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Daniel Swan

Senior PartnerConnecticut – Darien

Co-leads McKinsey’s Operations Practice globally, and helps manufacturing and service companies transform their operations performance and capabilities

Dan is the co-leader of the firm’s Operations Practice globally, as well as the managing partner of McKinsey’s Stamford office. He serves manufacturing (e.g., CPG, industrial) and service (e.g., retail, rental companies) clients on end-to-end operations issues across procurement, planning, manufacturing, and logistics. Through his client work and research, he leads the firm’s thinking on operations collaboration.

In his career, Dan has helped global consumer and retail companies identify and achieve deep improvements in their supply chains. His recent work includes helping a leading food manufacturer design and implement an end-to-end supply chain transformation program across multiple business units and regions. The project focused on direct and indirect procurement, manufacturing four-wall performance, and building a more responsive supply chain, spanning network design to planning and inventory management. In the process, more than $500 million in cost reductions were identified and achieved.

Examples of his recent client work include the following:

  • assisting a CPG manufacturer with developing a supply chain transformation strategy and priority workstreams to target a more than $2 billion increase in margin over 5 years
  • helping a $3 billion food manufacturer undertake an end-to-end supply chain performance transformation program to achieve a more than $200 million improvement
  • working with a leading food manufacturer to accelerate performance transformation, resulting in a significant increase in margin
  • helping an industrial manufacturing company to drive a commercial transformation across its three business units, leading to meaningful sales and pricing performance
  • driving a fundamental turnaround of an inbound supply chain to the biggest plant at a heavy equipment manufacturer that led to an increase in machine availability and output
  • working to drive a fundamental performance transformation for a CPG manufacturer across the enterprise to deliver 400-plus basis points of bottom-line margin performance

Prior to joining McKinsey, Dan worked with the supply chain organization at a global consumer packaged goods company.

Podcast

Diagnosing the pain in your supply chain,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021

PUBLISHED WORK

Navigating the new normal: Operations insights for 2024,” McKinsey & Company, April 2023

Skinny design: Smaller is better,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

How business operations can respond to price increases: A CEO guide,” McKinsey & Company, March 2022

Supply chain steps up: An interview with Kimberly-Clark’s Shane Azzi,” McKinsey & Company, January 2022

The CEO: Architect of the new operations agenda,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021

CEO dialogue: Perspectives on productivity and sustainability,” McKinsey & Company, November 2021

Effectively implementing President Biden’s supply-chain review,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021

Risk, resilience, and rebalancing in global value chains,” McKinsey Global Institute, August 2020

Six steps to successful supply chain collaboration,” Supply Chain Quarterly, Spring 2012

PAST EXPERIENCE

Campbell Soup Company
Senior supply chain strategy analyst

EDUCATION

Purdue University, Krannert School of Management
MBA, operations
BS, industrial management