We are merging our inventory control and procurement seats into a single Supply Chain seat on our Accountability Chart, but our legacy inventory manager does not have the strategic skill set to handle procurement. How do we make this structural change without insulting a tenured employee?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Merging seats to streamline operations is a smart strategic move, but it often highlights when a legacy employee has hit their ceiling. If your inventory manager is a great core values fit but lacks the strategic capacity to manage procurement, you cannot put them in the new combined seat.

To handle this without destroying morale, separate the person from the seat during your assessment. Do they get, want, and have the capacity for the new combined Supply Chain seat? If the answer is no to any of those three, they cannot have the seat.

Schedule a direct, private meeting. Explain that as the business scales, the structure must evolve. Show them the new Accountability Chart and explain why the combined seat requires a different skill set.

Assess if there is another seat in the company that matches their core values and conative strengths. For example, they might transition to an inventory specialist role reporting to the new Supply Chain lead. If no such seat exists, you must help them transition out of the company with dignity. Do not compromise the company's future by leaving someone in a seat they cannot successfully own.