There may now be as many as 6.5 million direct and indirect jobs in renewable energy, according to updated data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Earlier assessments had put the global estimate at 2.3 million jobs in 2008 (United Nations Environment Programme) and at 5 million jobs in 2012 (International Labour Organization).
If you want to recognize a rising star in purchasing/supply chain management, now is the time to act, according to ThomasNet and the Institute for Supply Management, which note that the deadline for their "30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars" Recognition Program is just a month away. All nominations must be submitted online by July 31, 2014.
Since the gas and diesel price hikes of the mid-2000s, industries across the board have taken hard looks at their energy expenditures and how to reduce them. Nowhere is this more apparent than in trucking, where logistics companies now employ sensors and global positioning systems in their vehicles to monitor the driving habits of their drivers, such as how they use the brakes and whether they are heavy on the gas pedal.
Supply-chain talent management is Topic A for many executives -- even though they harbor a number of misperceptions about the subject, according to Shay Scott, managing director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee.
Tim Voulopos grew up around transportation, majored in logistics and then worked his way up to an executive position at Cardinal Logistics Management. Today there is more technology and fewer drivers, which presents a real challenge, but the basics of trucking really haven't changed, he says.
Finding logistics workers with the right skills is a growing challenge for all companies. One approach that promises to help is a national certification program funded by the Department of Labor and being developed by two universities and nine community colleges.