How Pandora Is Strengthening Every Link in Its Value Chain

Supply chain leaders cannot design for one fixed version of the future.

Conditions change too quickly, and decisions that work today may become less effective as markets, costs, and customer expectations shift. For Anders Frandsen, VP of Global Supply Chain at Pandora, the answer is to build a value chain that can perform across a range of possible outcomes.

“One of the things that we did was look into a lot of scenarios and ask what makes sense to change,” he said.

Designing for a range rather than a forecast

Frandsen advises companies to avoid over-optimizing their value chains around a single set of assumptions.

A highly optimized model may work well while those assumptions hold. It can become fragile when demand, supply, or trade conditions move in a different direction.

Scenario planning helps leaders assess which decisions remain effective across several possible futures.

“Make it more range-relevant and more agile,” he said.

At Pandora, this matters because the company operates a vertically integrated value chain. It owns multiple stages of the journey and must make connected planning decisions across all of them.

The aim is to build enough flexibility into the network to respond as conditions change, without constantly redesigning the business around every new disruption.

Leading with a cool head and a warm heart

Frandsen believes uncertainty also places greater demands on leadership.

Leaders need to stay calm, maintain a clear view of the situation, and use data to guide their decisions. They also need to understand how change is affecting the people around them.

Pandora’s supply chain team describes this as having a “cool head, warm heart.”

“To me, that embodies having the cool head with a strategic overview and the data-driven approach,” Frandsen said. “But also the warm heart of staying super connected and having high empathy in your team.”

Some employees may see uncertainty as a source of opportunity. Others may feel concerned about what it means for their role or the organization.

Strong leadership needs to account for both responses.

Remembering to lead, as well as manage

Frandsen draws a distinction between management and leadership.

Management is focused on execution, processes, tasks, and immediate decisions. Leadership is about setting direction, developing people, and creating space for teams to innovate.

Both are necessary. The balance becomes harder to maintain during periods of pressure.

“There could be a risk that you turn to management because of the situation,” he said. “Ask yourself whether you remember to lead enough, or are you turning to too much managing.”

The right response depends on the situation. Some moments call for a quick decision. Others require more discussion and room to explore opportunities.

Frandsen recommends asking teams what they need.

“Do you need a decision quickly, or should we actually innovate and look at opportunities?”

Starting the AI journey now

Frandsen sees strong potential for AI across Pandora’s value chain.

Advances in generative AI and agentic AI are creating new ways to support planning and decision-making. The key question is how companies turn those capabilities into practical value.

“I’m certain that AI will be of great potential and great value for us in that journey,” he said.

His advice is to begin building capability now rather than wait for a perfect strategy.

Pandora is looking at structured training and AI literacy, while also identifying employees who are interested in experimenting with the technology.

“Let them play and let them create things, and give them room to challenge the status quo,” Frandsen said.

Concrete use cases can help the organization understand where AI is useful, where it is not, and what capabilities it needs to develop next.

Aiming high and staying humble

Frandsen believes the strongest leaders combine ambition with humility.

“Aim high on your own ambitions and your ambitions for your organization,” he said. “Put a lot of hard work and energy into it. Be humble at the same time.”

He describes effective leaders as hungry, humble, and people-smart.

Those qualities are especially important when leaders are navigating uncertainty, introducing new technology, and asking teams to work in different ways.

For Pandora, resilience depends on more than making the right decision for today. It means preparing the value chain for several possible futures and building an organization that is ready to respond.

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