A few years ago, in south Florida, some older Girl Scouts were helping their local Girl Scout Council on cookie pick-up day. This is when troops pick up the cases and cases of cookies they’ve ordered. Some troops even rent a U-Haul to pick up their cookies.

The girls were amazed at the level of detail and volume. They were curious about the “behind the scenes” of the Girl Scout Cookie program. They wanted to know where the cookies were made and all that goes into getting all those cookies from the baker to them. 

That sparked an idea, and the council, Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, worked with Miami-based Ryder to develop a special patch program about the supply chain, which debuted in 2020.

Patch programs like this one are an addition to traditional Girl Scout badges, and can be developed by regional Girl Scout councils, businesses, even individual Girl Scouts and troops.

Ryder continues to develop the program. To date, 350 girls have earned the supply chain patch and another 100 girls are expected to earn it this year.

Girl Scout Event Features Supply Chain

In April, Ryder hosted the first-ever Girl Scouts Rock Supply Chain event. It worked with the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida and members of the University of Tennessee Global Supply Chain Institute’s NeXxus, a UT student organization developed to increase the number of young women in supply chain fields.

Approximately 30 girls registered to participate in the program to learn about planning, sourcing, and production, as well as disruptions that can negatively impact a supply chain. (The Covid-19 pandemic certainly comes to mind.)

The event also explored the critical role of the supply chain in disaster recovery with industry veteran and CEO of Good360 Romaine Seguin.

The patch program was designed for Juniors (4^th-5^th grade) and Cadettes (6^th-8^th grade). I’ve been a Girl Scout leader for more than 10 years, so I know that in order to keep girls this age engaged in the program, they need hands-on experiences that aren’t like school. I asked GSTF how they made this supply chain program appealing to girls (let’s face it, it doesn’t sound as interesting as horseback riding or robots). In fact, it turns out, girls helped design the activities in the patch program.

Digging into the Supply Chain Patch Program

I took a look at the patch program. After all, it might be something I could do for our local Girl Scouts.

There are four steps required to earn the patch, with a choice of activities for each one:

1. Follow a product you know from its creation to your home.

This could involve researching the ingredients and showing on a map where those ingredients go on their supply chain journey. Another option is to interview a retail business owner or manager and learn about how they get their products. And there’s a virtual option, with videos about Domino’s supply chain.

2. Learn about supply chain management and logistics and how it impacts everyone’s lives.

One of the options is interviewing a professional or student in the supply chain or logistics field. Another is to play a game like Farmville for a week and think about what it takes to move forward and what skills are needed. And again, a virtual option, with a video about the journey of a Girl Scout Cookie.

3. Find out about problems supply chain managers may face.

One option is interviewing a professional to learn more about challenges managing the supply chain. Another is to make a list of all the things that could cause disruptions. And there’s a video from Subway about how their $5 Footlong promotion caused problems with their supply chain.

4. Learn about women in supply chain fields.

Options include interviewing a woman working in the field, doing some online research about women in the field, and watching a video to hear about some young women who have chosen supply chain management as a career.

Girl Scouts anywhere can complete the “Girl Scouts and the Supply Chain” program and earn the patch.

Take Action to Educate Girls About Supply Chain Opportunities

While the supply chain has more women in the field than, say, truck drivers or technicians, there’s still room for improvement.

According to the Gartner “2021 Women in Supply Chain Research,” the average percentage of women in supply chain roles has increased from 35% to 41% over a five-year period from 2016-2021.

Getting girls interested in the supply chain, as well as in trucking and transportation, at an early age can help prime the pipeline for the future. If you’re in the supply chain, consider reaching out to your local Girl Scouts and offering yourself as an interview resource for this patch. Perhaps your company could even work with the Girl Scouts to put on an event.

Editor's note: This isn’t the only patch program for Girl Scouts related to trucking and transportation. Women in Trucking has a Transportation Patch program. I first wrote about the  program when it debuted in 2014, and nearly 1,700 girls have earned it since then.