Kenco Survey: Supply Chain Leaders Taking on New Tech, Labor Shortages & Sustainability
2 out of 3 already using or will use supply chain visibility tech soon
Given the volatility of the last few years, supply chain leaders are now likely one of the most flexible and adaptable groups out there. This is reflected in new research by Kenco Group, one of North America’s leading third-party logistics (3PL) providers, which found that supply chain leaders are adopting many new technologies, mitigating labor challenges and implementing sustainability strategies in new and interesting ways.
These findings were part of Kenco’s Supply Chain Survey, which polled more than 100 U.S. supply chain leaders to take the temperature on key logistics trends.
To diversify their tech stacks and optimize their operations, supply chain leaders are investing in various types of solutions: 65% have adopted or plan to adopt supply chain visibility technology by mid-year, 44% sensors and IoT, 42% robotics and automation, 34% 3D printing and 26% blockchain.
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“The popularity of supply chain visibility tech is a consequence of the pandemic, when both shippers and consumers realized how important it is to know where their shipments are at all times”
“The popularity of supply chain visibility tech is a consequence of the pandemic, when both shippers and consumers realized how important it is to know where their shipments are at all times,” said Felix Vicknair, VP of Supply Chain Solutions at Kenco. “For other technologies, the onus is on the tech providers to demonstrate to users the benefits of their solutions and how they can help companies improve warehouses, distribution, transportation or other logistics considerations.”
Supply chain leaders are also trying many different ways to attract and retain talent in today’s tough labor market, with 85% saying labor shortages have negatively impacted their business. The top ways respondents are trying to mitigate staffing challenges are raising wages (56%), offering flexible schedules (51%) and offering sign-on bonuses (38%).
“In addition to offering these incentives, my advice for supply chain leaders is to work on improving employee engagement,” said Vicknair. “It should come as no surprise that employees want to work somewhere they enjoy and somewhere they feel valued.”
Leaders in supply chain also recognize that they need to consider their impact on the environment. In fact, two-thirds of respondents said their business has goals related to sustainability, reducing waste or shrinking their carbon footprint. Using energy efficient warehouses and vehicles (45%), sustainable packaging materials (41%) and advanced analytics (33%) are the top three strategies respondents are considering implementing to support their companies’ sustainability goals.
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