Susan Lacefield has been working for supply chain publications since 1999. Before joining DC VELOCITY, she was an associate editor for Supply Chain Management Review and wrote for Logistics Management magazine. She holds a master's degree in English.
Looking for a warehouse line supervisor, transportation analyst, customer service representative, or similar entry-level
employee? Or are you interested in providing current employees with the skills they need for those jobs? If so, you have six
months left to take advantage of what is likely one of the most cost-effective supply chain training programs in the United
States.
The LINCS (Leveraging, Integrating, Networking, Coordinating Supplies) national supply chain management education and
certification program (also known as the Supply Chain Pro Fundamentals Certification) was founded approximately three and a
half years ago with a US $24.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. It was designed to provide supply chain training
primarily for veterans, people whose jobs have been outsourced overseas, and those who are underemployed or unemployed.
LINCS is administered by a consortium of colleges and universities across the country and consists of eight different courses:
Supply Chain Management Principles, Warehousing Operations, Transportation Operations, Customer Service Operations,
Demand Planning, Manufacturing & Service Operations, Inventory Management, and Supply Management & Procurement.
Participants are free to select as many certification tracks as they wish. Students can either take the courses online or in
instructor-led classes at the following nine colleges across the United States: Broward College, Florida State College at
Jacksonville, and St. Petersburg College in Florida; Essex County College and Union County College in New Jersey; San Jacinto
College in Texas; Long Beach City College in California; Columbus State Community College in Ohio; and Harper College in Illinois.
For those who choose to take the courses online, the program is essentially free, except for a US $25 fee to get the exam proctored. Five of the nine colleges (San Jacinto in Houston, Broward in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida State College in Jacksonville, Union College in New Jersey, and Long Beach City College in Long Beach) offer the program for free but do not offer any credits for the course. The other four colleges currently charge for the program but also provide credits for a degree. Harper College near Chicago provides three credits, while the other three offer one credit. The colleges offering one credit are charging tuition in the US $120-150 range, while Harper is at US $350 for three credits. When the grant ends at the end of March, the cost at each college will increase, as each will have to charge for both the exam, which is free today, and normal tuition.
CSCMP serves as the official industry partner and certifying body for LINCS. While the general subject areas that the LINCS
courses address are the same as those covered under CSCMP's SCPro Certification, they are taught at a more fundamental,
introductory level and are referred to as SCPro Fundamentals. "Our [Fundamentals] program is at the 101 college level," says
Dee Biggs, vice president of industry partnerships for CSCMP, who is heavily involved in the program. "It's completely different
from SCPro certification, which is taught at a different, higher level. This is for people who might be looking for entry-level
jobs."
In the past 20 months, some 4,000 people have taken one or more of the LINCS/SCPro Fundamentals certification exams. Of those
4,000, 15 percent were veterans. Participants have a wide range of backgrounds, from high school degrees to master's degrees, says
Biggs. The typical demographic for participants, however, is a 33-year-old with an associate degree and 10 years of work experience.
Benefits for participating companies
Companies can take advantage of the program in two ways, says Biggs. If they have job openings, they can contact one of the
participating nine colleges, and the program will send them two to three resumes from the most qualified graduates of the program.
This service is particularly beneficial for companies located near one of the nine colleges.
Additionally, companies can use the program for their own internal training and development. "This part of the program has been
a runaway best seller," says Biggs. Companies that have taken advantage of this aspect of the program include Pepsi and Honda.
Honda, for example, has sent 90 people through the program and plans to have another 30 to 40 people participate in the coming
months.
Editor's note: This article was updated on October 4, 2016. A previous version of the article had incorrect pricing information about the LINCS courses.
Online merchants should consider seven key factors about American consumers in order to optimize their sales and operations this holiday season, according to a report from DHL eCommerce.
First, many of the most powerful sales platforms are marketplaces. With nearly universal appeal, 99% of U.S. shoppers buy from marketplaces, ranked in popularity from Amazon (92%) to Walmart (68%), eBay (47%), Temu (32%), Etsy (28%), and Shein (21%).
Second, they use them often, with 61% of American shoppers buying online at least once a week. Among the most popular items are online clothing and footwear (63%), followed by consumer electronics (33%) and health supplements (30%).
Third, delivery is a crucial aspect of making the sale. Fully 94% of U.S. shoppers say delivery options influence where they shop online, and 45% of consumers abandon their baskets if their preferred delivery option is not offered.
That finding meshes with another report released this week, as a white paper from FedEx Corp. and Morning Consult said that 75% of consumers prioritize free shipping over fast shipping. Over half of those surveyed (57%) prioritize free shipping when making an online purchase, even more than finding the best prices (54%). In fact, 81% of shoppers are willing to increase their spending to meet a retailer’s free shipping threshold, FedEx said.
In additional findings from DHL, the Weston, Florida-based company found:
43% of Americans have an online shopping subscription, with pet food subscriptions being particularly popular (44% compared to 25% globally). Social Media Influence:
61% of shoppers use social media for shopping inspiration, and 26% have made a purchase directly on a social platform.
37% of Americans buy from online retailers in other countries, with 70% doing so at least once a month. Of the 49% of Americans who buy from abroad, most shop from China (64%), followed by the U.K. (29%), France (23%), Canada (15%), and Germany (13%).
While 58% of shoppers say sustainability is important, they are not necessarily willing to pay more for sustainable delivery options.
Schneider says its FreightPower platform now offers owner-operators significantly more access to Schneider’s range of freight options. That can help drivers to generate revenue and strengthen their business through: increased access to freight, high drop and hook rates of over 95% of loads, and a trip planning feature that calculates road miles.
“Collaborating with owner-operators is an important component in the success of our business and the reliable service we can provide customers, which is why the network has grown tremendously in the last 25 years,” Schneider Senior Vice President and General Manager of Truckload and Mexico John Bozec said in a release. "We want to invest in tools that support owner-operators in running and growing their businesses. With Schneider FreightPower, they gain access to better load management, increasing their productivity and revenue potential.”
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Mode Global said it will now assume Jillamy's comprehensive logistics and freight management solutions, while Jillamy's warehousing, packaging and fulfillment services remain unchanged. Under the agreement, Mode Global will gain more than 200 employees and add facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and Ontario to its existing national footprint.
Chalfont, Pennsylvania-based Jillamy calls itself a 3PL provider with expertise in international freight, intermodal, less than truckload (LTL), consolidation, over the road truckload, partials, expedited, and air freight.
"We are excited to welcome the Jillamy freight team into the Mode Global family," Lance Malesh, Mode’s president and CEO, said in a release. "This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our growth strategy and aligns perfectly with Mode's strategic vision to expand our footprint, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the logistics industry. Joining forces with Jillamy enhances our service portfolio and provides our clients with more comprehensive and efficient logistics solutions."
In addition to its flagship Clorox bleach product, Oakland, California-based Clorox manages a diverse catalog of brands including Hidden Valley Ranch, Glad, Pine-Sol, Burt’s Bees, Kingsford, Scoop Away, Fresh Step, 409, Brita, Liquid Plumr, and Tilex.
British carbon emissions reduction platform provider M2030 is designed to help suppliers measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions. The new partnership aims to advance decarbonization throughout Clorox's value chain through the collection of emissions data, jointly identified and defined actions for reduction and continuous upskilling.
The program, which will record key figures on energy, will be gradually rolled out to several suppliers of the company's strategic raw materials and packaging, which collectively represents more than half of Clorox's scope 3 emissions.
M2030 enables suppliers to regularly track and share their progress with other customers using the M2030 platform. Suppliers will also be able to export relevant compatible data for submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global disclosure system to manage environmental data.
"As part of Clorox's efforts to foster a cleaner world, we have a responsibility to ensure our suppliers are equipped with the capabilities necessary for forging their own sustainability journeys," said Niki King, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Clorox Company. "Climate action is a complex endeavor that requires companies to engage all parts of their supply chain in order to meaningfully reduce their environmental impact."
Supply chain risk analytics company Everstream Analytics has launched a product that can quantify the impact of leading climate indicators and project how identified risk will impact customer supply chains.
Expanding upon the weather and climate intelligence Everstream already provides, the new “Climate Risk Scores” tool enables clients to apply eight climate indicator risk projection scores to their facilities and supplier locations to forecast future climate risk and support business continuity.
The tool leverages data from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to project scores to varying locations using those eight category indicators: tropical cyclone, river flood, sea level rise, heat, fire weather, cold, drought and precipitation.
The Climate Risk Scores capability provides indicator risk projections for key natural disaster and weather risks into 2040, 2050 and 2100, offering several forecast scenarios at each juncture. The proactive planning tool can apply these insights to an organization’s systems via APIs, to directly incorporate climate projections and risk severity levels into your action systems for smarter decisions. Climate Risk scores offer insights into how these new operations may be affected, allowing organizations to make informed decisions and mitigate risks proactively.
“As temperatures and extreme weather events around the world continue to rise, businesses can no longer ignore the impact of climate change on their operations and suppliers,” Jon Davis, Chief Meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, said in a release. “We’ve consulted with the world’s largest brands on the top risk indicators impacting their operations, and we’re thrilled to bring this industry-first capability into Explore to automate access for all our clients. With pathways ranging from low to high impact, this capability further enables organizations to grasp the full spectrum of potential outcomes in real-time, make informed decisions and proactively mitigate risks.”