Darcy MacClaren

Introduce yourself and your role at SAP

I'm responsible for the go-to market for SAP’s digital supply chain solution set – what we call ‘design to operate’. It's everything from how a company designs its products, to how it plans, schedules,  manufactures, delivers and operates. 

This means my team is responsible for working with customers to help transform their supply chains to be resilient, risk proof, and agile.

We’re the point of contact between SAP and our audience. 

As Chief Revenue Officer, I am the customer side of it. Then there’s the solution and marketing aspect, plus we are involved with engineering product development. We work together to determine the go-to market for the supply chain at SAP globally.

How did you come to be in your current role?

I joined SAP 12 years ago, but in all I have about 25 years of experience. I have an economics background, and I have an MBA that I got when I was with Hewlett-Packard, who recruited me and trained me on manufacturing technology.

My expertise since then has been in building and scaling niche supply chain companies. I started out with a planning and scheduling company, whose solutions now reside at Oracle. I worked across most of the design-to-operate pillars, in planning, transportation, and design. I did building and scaling in procurement, too. 

I just loved it. I loved the algorithms, I loved the optimisation and the strategic decisions being made. It made me realise how powerful and important the supply chain was. I liked the impact it had on the business and the mathematical complexity of it. From a technology standpoint, I embraced it.

My career path followed what the ERP vendors were developing in the supply chain. I joined SAP because I liked the way it connected the entire supply chain together in conjunction with its ERP. 

What makes you passionate about your role?

I'm on a mission to work with our customers in transforming their supply chain, because I view this as a global issue. Supply chain was always very important, but Covid brought it to the forefront of people’s thinking, at boardroom and government levels. 

So if we want to delight the end consumer, and do it in a sustainable and cost-effective way, it comes down to the supply chain. I have a strong sense of ownership and responsibility in helping companies do that, and take it very seriously. That's what I really enjoy about it. The impact that it has across society, globally.

Proudest professional achievement?

Founding the Women in Supply Chain Network, which is a group of SAP employees, customers and partners – people who share the goal of improving diversity of supply chain for women. 

There was a diversity issue at SAP, as there were not enough women, and so I founded the network two years ago, and it's been game changing. Not only has it improved the diversity of our supply chain within SAP, it has given me the opportunity to meet awesome women across North America. And now I'm expanding it across the globe. but Whenever you're in a meeting with supply chain people, you still don't see enough women.

I also work with a lot of universities, and what's interesting is we're seeing the classes right now are 50% or more women. So more women are coming in. The goal now is to make sure they stay in the field. We need to mentor, coach and sponsor them, to ensure they rise to senior levels. We tend to lose many of them mid-career, and that's what we're working on now.

The Foundation is very personal to me. I'm at the point of my career where it's time to give back, and this is my way of giving back.

Advice to younger self? 

To chill. I think in the past I've been a little too intense, especially early on in my career. So I would advise myself to not sweat the small stuff, and just lighten up a little bit. Life is too short

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