Logistics Industry culture shift targets workforce shortage
A new world of work is emerging for the Logistics Industry. Gathering insights from over 80 members of the logistics industry, from operational roles to senior management, the Q3 CCLI report detailed a cultural shift in hiring and retention.
One of the most critical issues facing the logistics industry right now is workforce shortages. While automation and robotics are allowing teams to achieve higher output, simplify complex tasks, and remove manual paperwork — the need for skilled personnel will never be replaced.
The industry is continuing to grow in both size and value, and flow on-impacts from the global pandemic continue to impact day-to-day operations — including remaining workforce shortages.
The unprecedented nature of the pandemic highlighted the critical role of supply chain stability and flexibility in the logistics industry. However, it also brought with it border closures coupled with workforce restrictions, illness, and health precautionary measures that dwindled the workforce at a time when logistics operations were booming.
The wider impact of post-pandemic flow-on include rising labor and operational costs (rising fuel prices and warehouse rent among a few), changes in workforce preferences and accelerated retirement. These trends have coupled to change the workforce of our industry, driving companies to explore new avenues in terms of workforce attraction and retention.
The CartonCloud Logistics Index (CCLI) 2022 Q3 industry whitepaper found ongoing workforce shortages were driving businesses to think outside the box in terms of hiring.
Gathering insights from over 80 members of the logistics industry, from operational roles to senior management, the Q3 CCLI report detailed a strong cultural shift angled at boosting workforce recruitment and retention.
“What it means to work in logistics is changing. Our industry is changing, and while our bread and butter will continue to be the storage and movement of goods, the services and specialized roles supporting this are evolving,” said Mr Fletcher.
“We’re seeing a major shift in the attitudes and tactics surrounding hiring within our industry.
“Companies are working to become more attractive employers by offering flexible work arrangements, on-the-job training, higher pay structures, and career advancement, looking at their own company values and culture.”
Having more defined company values can not only be used to set employers apart from the pack, CartonCloud COO/ Head of North America Shaun Hagen explained.
Strong company values also provide an opportunity for employers to look at bringing in new skill sets, and offering their customers new services, like data analysis, sales and marketing.
“It may be that new logistics employment opportunities emerge as a result of the cultural shifts toward hiring,” Mr Hagen said.
“New members of the workforce will continue to diversify the skill sets held within companies, and the adoption of technology and software solutions will continue to reduce the load of manual tasks, allowing companies to invest in other areas for growth.”
The CCLI report showed adoption of technology is trending upward, driven by greater expectations from both customers and other industry partners for data capture and sharing.
“This is altering the landscape of hiring within the logistics workforce,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Higher tech adoption across the industry brings new roles for data analysis and may open up greater opportunities for hiring flexibility in terms of roles and hours. What’s more, companies using easy-to-operate technology are finding it easier to train and assign workloads within their workforce, which means they can expand their hiring beyond those with prior industry experience.”
CCLI respondents cited flexible hours, on-the-job training, healthy team dynamics, wage incentives, and appropriate benefits as some of the tactics they were using to attract and retain their staff.
The report gathered insights from over 80 members of the logistics industry, across all roles and operations, from Australia and North America.
“The CartonCloud Logistics Index allows us to track and understand the issues that are most important to industry members today, and also gives us the opportunity to provide valuable insights and data back to the industry,” Mr Hagen said.
“We believe in data-led decision-making to drive growth. It’s at the heart of what we do, creating technology that is both powerful and easy to use — based on the most important features logistics people need to grow their business.
“Providing data like this allows us to support industry members to explore their own decisions within an industry context, and grow from the insights shared by others.”
CartonCloud works closely with industry members to identify, track and predict the issues and opportunities facing logistics businesses today and in the future.
To find out more, download the full CartonCloud Logistics Index from our webiste, or contact the team at CartonCloud for more information on intuitive software systems, built for logistics people.
The number of container ships waiting outside U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports has swelled from just three vessels on Sunday to 54 on Thursday as a dockworker strike has swiftly halted bustling container traffic at some of the nation’s business facilities, according to analysis by Everstream Analytics.
As of Thursday morning, the two ports with the biggest traffic jams are Savannah (15 ships) and New York (14), followed by single-digit numbers at Mobile, Charleston, Houston, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Miami, Everstream said.
The impact of that clogged flow of goods will depend on how long the strike lasts, analysts with Moody’s said. The firm’s Moody’s Analytics division estimates the strike will cause a daily hit to the U.S. economy of at least $500 million in the coming days. But that impact will jump to $2 billion per day if the strike persists for several weeks.
The immediate cost of the strike can be seen in rising surcharges and rerouting delays, which can be absorbed by most enterprise-scale companies but hit small and medium-sized businesses particularly hard, a report from Container xChange says.
“The timing of this strike is especially challenging as we are in our traditional peak season. While many pulled forward shipments earlier this year to mitigate risks, stockpiled inventories will only cushion businesses for so long. If the strike continues for an extended period, we could see significant strain on container availability and shipping schedules,” Christian Roeloffs, cofounder and CEO of Container xChange, said in a release.
“For small and medium-sized container traders, this could result in skyrocketing logistics costs and delays, making it harder to secure containers. The longer the disruption lasts, the more difficult it will be for these businesses to keep pace with market demands,” Roeloffs said.
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
As the hours tick down toward a “seemingly imminent” strike by East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers, experts are warning that the impacts of that move would mushroom well-beyond the actual strike locations, causing prevalent shipping delays, container ship congestion, port congestion on West coast ports, and stranded freight.
However, a strike now seems “nearly unavoidable,” as no bargaining sessions are scheduled prior to the September 30 contract expiration between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) in their negotiations over wages and automation, according to the transportation law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary.
The facilities affected would include some 45,000 port workers at 36 locations, including high-volume U.S. ports from Boston, New York / New Jersey, and Norfolk, to Savannah and Charleston, and down to New Orleans and Houston. With such widespread geography, a strike would likely lead to congestion from diverted traffic, as well as knock-on effects include the potential risk of increased freight rates and costly charges such as demurrage, detention, per diem, and dwell time fees on containers that may be slowed due to the congestion, according to an analysis by another transportation and logistics sector law firm, Benesch.
The weight of those combined blows means that many companies are already planning ways to minimize damage and recover quickly from the event. According to Scopelitis’ advice, mitigation measures could include: preparing for congestion on West coast ports, taking advantage of intermodal ground transportation where possible, looking for alternatives including air transport when necessary for urgent delivery, delaying shipping from East and Gulf coast ports until after the strike, and budgeting for increased freight and container fees.
Additional advice on softening the blow of a potential coastwide strike came from John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody’s. In a statement, he named six supply chain strategies for companies to consider: expedite certain shipments, reallocate existing inventory strategically, lock in alternative capacity with trucking and rail providers , communicate transparently with stakeholders to set realistic expectations for delivery timelines, shift sourcing to regional suppliers if possible, and utilize drop shipping to maintain sales.