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.
From the truck seat to the C-suite, every supply chain is facing the exact same challenge: There just aren’t enough people to do all the work that needs to be done.
Mandy Rennehan, known as the “blue-collar CEO,” says there’s a simple reason for that: “We suck at marketing.”
Known for her popular HGTV show “Trading Up” and her advocacy of blue-collar labor, Rennehan worked her way up from a high school-educated contractor to CEO of the multimillion-dollar facilities management company Freshco. Speaking at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) annual Edge conference in September, Rennehan said that “some of the best humans” she’s ever met work in supply chain management, but the field in general does a terrible job of communicating what supply chain is and its value to society.
“How are you going to attract talent if they don’t even know what you do?” Rennehan bluntly asked attendees.
She has a point. If you comb through DC Velocity’sconsiderable archive of interviews with logistics thought leaders, you’d be hard pressed to find even one who dreamed of being a logistics professional in high school. And these are supposedly our best and brightest: the innovators who have transformed supply chain management operations at major companies, smaller cutting-edge firms, and government agencies. We are lucky that these people who spent their youth dreaming of being astronauts and doctors, soldiers and entrepreneurs somehow found their way into supply chain instead.
Yes, it can seem a little ridiculous to think of a 14-year-old dreaming of working in the supply chain. But why not? What supply chain professionals do is cool and remarkable. You feed the world and vaccinate it. You put everything from iPhones to electric guitars to baby formula in peoples’ hands. We all know that without supply chain people, the economy just … stops … moving.
I get it: Supply chain and logistics managers are not typically self-promoters. (Frankly, as a journalist covering the space, that’s one of the things I like the most about folks who work in the field.) You would rather solve problems than talk about how great you are for doing so.
But maybe it’s time we all start to get a little uncomfortable and start talking. CSCMP, for one, is doing just that with its newly launched nonprofit organization, the CSCMP Talent Center.
The Talent Center will reach out to places and people that have traditionally been under-represented in the supply chain workforce and offer training-to-jobs programs. It will also reach into high schools by providing supply chain curriculum. That curriculum will focus both on preparing students for supply chain programs at two- and four-year colleges, and on providing technical training for students who want to enter the supply chain workforce as soon as they graduate.
Let’s go back to those thought leaders for a moment. How did so many of them—who knew nothing about logistics or supply chain in high school—end up in this field where they’ve had such an impact? Often, it was because someone reached out to them and suggested they take a look at supply chain—try a class, seek out an internship, apply for a job.
Maybe it’s time we did the same?
CSCMP has set an ambitious goal of raising $5 million for the Talent Center in five years. If you or your organization wants to get involved, reach out to CSCMP Director of Engagement, Education, and Sustainability Cynthia Mebruer at cmebruer@cscmp.org.
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.”