Optimize Existing Labor to Meet Customer Demand
By Keith Moore – Posted November 15, 2021
Recently, SupplyChainBrain posted a blog, “Is There a Solution to the Supply Chain Worker Shortage?” The article talks about why there’s a shrinking workforce this year. In theory, many employers felt that people would start looking for a job once the federal unemployment benefits ran out in September. But that didn’t happen.
Other reasons cited in the article for the labor shortage include the fallout from the pandemic, causing people to fear returning to the workplace. Meanwhile, as workers either decided or were required to stay home, they bought more online, severely taxing transportation and warehouse operations.
The increase in orders has created the need for more workers to fill them. Carriers are having an increasingly hard time finding truck drivers to deliver goods. Warehouse owners are raising hourly pay, adding benefits, and updating rest areas. But there isn’t enough labor out there to hire.
Some companies think adding automation to their warehouse or distribution operations will speed fulfillment and reduce labor demand. Software vendors promise technologies to boost efficiency in the warehouse, including warehouse management systems (WMS), yard management systems, data replicas, digital twins, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotic automation and blockchain.
