Why Supply Chain Innovation Is The Best Way To Combat Uncertainty
What did 2020 mean for Supply Chain spending?
At the onset of the pandemic, the average consumer became acutely aware of the importance of supply chains because for the first time in many of their lives they couldn’t find goods they took for granted on the shelf. Supply chain professionals had their 15-minutes of fame, but probably did not stop to enjoy it because they were busy keeping goods flowing to consumers at this critical moment.
The modern-day supply is riddled with complexity and risk, which is hardly an original thought. The rapid growth trajectory of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity (VUCA) over the last decade has been well documented in supply chain. Knowing this, we must ask why the COVID-19 black swan event was such a shock to the system. One answer to that question is that while many organizations had invested in their supply chain and technology landscape to combat VUCA over the last decade, many more had not. These organizations had been putting off the investment in the capabilities that drive great supply chains. To understand which camp you fall into, ask this simple question: is your supply chain viewed as a competitive advantage and value driver, or a cost center? In either case, the COVID-19 “Black Swan” has expedited executive supply chain investment for these critical advancement capabilities.
One acute challenge faced
A warehouse labor shortage has persisted for years but was exacerbated by the implications of COVD-19 cases and government lockdowns. This shortage is happening now when the need for flex capacity is higher than ever. A labor shortage cripples a warehouse operation in many ways. Many sites are moving towards automation to avoid not being able to fulfill service level agreements and ultimately getting penalized.
Organizations are beginning to realize that an efficiently run warehouse can do more with fewer hands and can retain that labor. The modern-day supply chain needs to include technologies such as WMS Accelerators and robotic investments to obtain higher levels of automation. Needing less labor alleviates the risk of obtaining labor in a competitive environment.
In short, automated solutions helping to create the ideal operation will help retain and maintain employees. Not only does this ideal warehouse make the job as a warehouse employee much more seamless, but an optimal warehouse will begin to eliminate repetitive tasks.