Recent industry panels explored the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics’ impact on business and the supply chain workforce
The U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics was discussed during the recent Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) Conference and National Logistics & Distribution Conference (NLDC). The U.S. Roadmap consists of a report and action plan that will increase productivity, reduce costs, create jobs and improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. between now and 2025.
WERC Conference panel discussion on the Roadmap’s impact on business
Panelists included:
–Randolph L. Bradley, Technical Fellow in Supply Chain Management at The Boeing Company
–Jonathan A. Rader, Manager of Design Engineering at FedEx SmartPost
–David Maloney, Senior Editor at DC Velocity
–Paul Avampato, Vice President of Customer Service and Logistics at Mondelēz International and current WERC President
“It was a very well-rounded panel representing multiple aspects of the supply chain, and it drew in more than 120 attendees,” said Michael Wohlwend, Head of Services Cloud Unification, Americas at SAP and past WERC President, who moderated the discussion.
“We tried to take the discussion to a different level by talking about the ten trends in a ‘how are they impacting your business’ way—in hopes of making it easier for the attendees to relate.”” he noted.
The panel used a border crossing analogy as a means to get the audience to think about how the Roadmap might apply to their companies, Wohlwend said, asking participants to consider the trends in terms of: Where were you? Where is your company on these topics right now? And, where is your company going?
“Ultimately, every organization is likely on a different adoption curve based on the trends, as well as its role within the supply chain,” he said. “For example, commercial real estate companies have had to switch from leasing thousands of square feet of single-level distribution and warehousing space in the suburbs, to retrofitting inner city, multi-level buildings to accommodate urbanization and same-day e-commerce deliveries.”
By Wohlwend’s assessment, the audience seemed particularly keen to hear about e-commerce and the tightly compressed buying process that has evolved of late. The challenges associated with transportation of goods through the supply chain—including the limited number of certified drivers and how relentless competition inhibits load consolidation and lower freight cost opporunities—also drew interest.
“The trends identified in the Roadmap have completely changed the supply chain game and turned things upside down,” he concluded.
NLDC participants discuss Roadmap topics
During National Logistics & Distribution Conference (NLDC), a one-hour session was devoted to the industry trends highlighted by the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics.
Guiding the session were:
–Rick Blasgen, CEO of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
–Peter Bradley, Editorial Director of CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly and DC Velocity
–Jim Bowes, Founder of NLDC and President of Peach State
The trio spearheaded an open discussion of the topic, “Supply Chain 2025: What will happen in the world of Supply Chain in the next 11 years?”
“As it turns out, workforce challenges and how to solve them by leveraging automation and robotics technologies are truly what’s keeping supply chain executives up at night,” said Ralph Henderson, the event’s Executive Director.
Because of that, labor issues—such as the gap between attracting and retaining baby boomers and millennials—dominated the session conversation. Participants shared their workforce concerns, as well as their strategies for recruiting talent at all levels, including young professionals, senior executives, warehouse associates, full- and part-time laborers, technicians and more.
The potential impact of technologies, including robotics, automation and even driverless vehicles, to help mitigate the effects of an aging and shrinking workforce were also discussed.
An audio recording of the WERC Roadmap panel discussion can be heard here.
A video of the NLDC Roadmap discussion can be found here.
Click here to learn more and download the U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling & Logistics.
