As manufacturing gets smarter with Industry 4.0 and the ever-expanding Industrial Internet of Things, the workforce skills needed to deploy new technology are falling behind.
With the supply chain industry suffering from a lack of available talent for management positions, U.S. companies are stepping up efforts to recruit qualified and skilled professionals for those roles.
Manufacturing is expected to yield approximately 700,000 new jobs in 2015, according to a report from APICS Supply Chain Council, which urges the industry to recruit women for those positions.
At 29 years of age, Katy Conrad, site lead at Shell's Geismar Chemical Plant, is a terrific ambassador for her profession. She loves everything about supply management - working with smart engineering and business professionals, solving tough problems, and making a bottom-line impact. At Shell, she has delivered significant savings, built a regional B2B sourcing strategy, and held an overseas assignment.
The use of external labor is widespread, comprising as much as 30 percent to 50 percent of the total global workforce. Companies of all sizes, and in all industries and geographies, have a large flexible workforce on the ground around the world, including contingent workers, independent contractors, workers engaged through Statements of Work (SOWs), offshore resources and those involved in a variety of other project-based services.
Nominations are being accepted through July 31, 2015, to recognize 30 individuals 30 years old or younger who are bolstering the supply chain management profession.
The labor shortage in the supply chain and manufacturing industries has been well-documented, and increasingly so as that shortage continues to grow. Female executives at logistics services providers can't stress enough how they'd like to see more women continue to enter the supply chain workforce and break the stereotype of it being "a man’s world."
ThomasNet and Institute for Supply Management have announced the winners of their first "30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars" Recognition Program, a jointly sponsored initiative to advance the future of the supply chain profession. The winners, aged 30 or younger, were recognized for making significant contributions to their organizations.
There is no disputing that talent is a top challenge for companies worldwide. In PwC's 2014 CEO Survey, 93 percent of participants said they recognize the need to change their strategies for talent, but 61 percent acknowledged that they haven't yet taken the first step. The challenge is especially acute in supply chain operations, which is facing a talent shortage - despite an increasing number of undergraduate majors, MBA concentrations and entire programs in supply chain management.