10 things eft’s been reading this week
Scarcity within the supply chain
Often supply chain managers are having to deal with scarcity when demand spikes or a there is disruption to the flow of goods. However, there is a more fundamental and harder to solve scarcity issue going on in warehouses across the globe – that of a shortage of workers and space. The labour deficit runs from warehouse pickers to software engineers and is going to take concerted planning and action to solve, including both traditional labour management practices and tech solutions. Warehouse shortages will also need smarter utilisation through data, robotics and razor-sharp inventory management. To help you understand the current dynamics, this week we take a look at the shortfalls and some of the solutions to this current crunch.
Supply Chain News: There really is a Driver Shortage and It's Worse than Ever, ATA Says. [SupplyChainDigest]
Chinese and Indian robots battle for Japan's logistics money. [Nikkei Asian Review]
Is there an answer to the labor shortage? [Logistics Management]
Trucking's labor shortage isn't just about drivers. [SupplyChainDive]
Freight-on-demand apps challenge traditional brokers — but can they solve trucking capacity? [SupplyChainDive]
Amazon to invest $700M to upskill 100K employees. [SupplyChainDive]
Q&A | The Warehouse Labor Shortage: Problem and Solutions. [SupplyChainBrain]
All that online grocery shopping is causing a cold-storage shortage. [Seattle Times]
CILT predicts chronic long-term skills shortage. [SHD Logistics]
Peak fever. [DC Velocity]
If you want to increase warehouse productivity to beat the crunch, then check out the agenda for the 3PL & Supply Chain Summit: Europe to see the multiple sessions around this topic.