Today’s supply chains are under enormous stress. The industry has seen major impact from the pandemic, port crises, severe weather events and supply and labor shortages – all adding to shipping delays.
Decision makers are turning away from manual processes and embracing analytics and AI-driven approaches. The next generation of supply chains is set to harness the power of automation to analyze and synthesize large amounts of data, perform repetitive tasks, learn and make recommendations – all while humans oversee and manage the supply chain and make key decisions.
As a consequence, supply chain organizations must reassess their talent acquisition, development and retention strategies if they are to compete in the market for top talent. Those strategies will need to include extensive retraining, continued work-from-home options and investments in data science. The increasing role of automation and the fast-tracking of projects aimed at achieving a digital and autonomous supply chain in no way diminish the enormous importance of acquiring skilled talent. A shortage in this area remains a key concern across the industry; the lack of skilled employees is a top obstacle for a successful supply chain.
With years of experience in recruiting for the supply chain industry, MRINetwork understands the factors that underscore the complexity of finding, growing, developing and retaining talent. Technology and geopolitics, coupled with economic and societal changes like the emergence of the gig economy and other disruptors, are rewriting the skill sets that the supply chain industry needs. The scarcity of people in the market with critical skill sets in planning, manufacturing and artificial intelligence/machine learning results in a heated competition for their services. MRINetwork recruiters have developed strong ties to these hard-to-find professionals. They know where they are and what is needed to successfully bring them to their clients.
Beyond growing in new talent resources, businesses must also invest in developing, supporting and retaining their people. Part of the solution lies in unleashing the power of technology – to complement, supplement and enable the workforce. This demands creating a workforce culture that is human-centric, yet empowered by digital tools for efficient labor allocation and skill utilization and redefining the structure, processes and enablement of the end-to-end. The successful supply organizations of the future will make a commitment to put their workforce at the center of their efforts.