Supply chain consultancy Middlebank Consulting Group has appointed Mark Hopkins as an Associate, adding more than 25 years of planning and inventory expertise to its team. The appointment, announced in May 2026, strengthens the firm's advisory capacity as clients worldwide seek to optimise their supply chain operations and extract greater value from existing systems and data.
Hopkins will focus on supply chain planning, inventory optimisation and operational visibility, working directly with clients to drive sustainable performance improvements. Alan Win, Founder and CEO of Middlebank Consulting Group, said Hopkins brings a combination that is increasingly valuable as organisations look to leverage their planning systems more effectively. According to Win, "Mark brings strong technical planning expertise alongside practical operational experience. That balance is increasingly important as organisations look to get more value from the planning systems and data they already have in place." Hopkins expressed enthusiasm for the move, stating: "Much of my career has focused on how planning actually works in practice, and I look forward to continuing that work with clients, strengthening the link between data, planning decisions, and execution."
Before joining Middlebank, Hopkins served as Vice President for Global Accounts at Netstock, a cloud-based inventory management and demand planning software company used by more than 2,400 organisations globally. In that role, he worked closely with enterprises on the practical application of forecasting and planning processes, including system configuration and cross-functional alignment. Earlier in his career, Hopkins held roles at KPMG Australia as an Associate Director in Supply Chain Consulting, and at major corporations including Genentech, Coca-Cola Amatil, and others across the retail, distribution and biotechnology sectors. His professional focus has consistently centred on translating planning decisions into executable day-to-day operations, with particular expertise in inventory optimisation, multi-country supply chain visibility, and the use of data to support operational decisions.
Middlebank Consulting Group was founded in New Zealand in 1998 and has grown into an international firm with operations in Australia, Singapore, India, the United States and the Middle East. The consultancy specialises in logistics and supply chain management, having completed projects with more than 150 client organisations across diverse sectors. According to the firm, its work has consistently achieved results including average operational cost reductions of 15% and implementation of technology systems designed to improve supply chain efficiency. The company's team collectively brings over 225 years of combined experience in supply chain and logistics advisory work.
The appointment signals Middlebank's confidence in sustained demand for consulting focused on how organisations can better utilise the planning systems and data infrastructure they have already invested in, rather than purely large-scale transformation work. This positioning reflects post-pandemic pressures on supply chains globally, where businesses have been under significant pressure to improve planning discipline and forecasting accuracy while managing greater operational complexity. The hire demonstrates a strategic fit between Hopkins' hands-on expertise in translating technical systems knowledge into practical operational improvements and Middlebank's service model, which emphasises sustainable change within client organisations' existing operational environments.
