Finding "new right answers" to age-old supply chain questions
Keynote speakers at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' 2013 Annual Global Conference focused on how to apply creative thinking to address problems.
Thousands of supply chain professionals from 34 countries marked the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' 50th anniversary by attending the organization's Annual Global Conference in Denver, Colorado, USA from October 20-23, 2013.
That theme of "the changing right answer" also featured prominently in the opening keynote presentation by Felipe Calderón, president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012. Calderón spoke about lessons that could be learned from the way his country handled the 2008-2010 recession. When the recession hit, Mexico increased public spending to 3 percent of its gross domestic product and expanded its social programs. This was the right decision at the time, according to Calderón. Once the economy started to recover, however, the right answer to the question of how to help the economy changed. Mexico responded by developing an "exit strategy," which largely reversed those previous actions. "At that time, you saw other economies where presidents did the same in the crisis but then never took steps to reduce the deficit after the crisis," Calderón said.
Calderón also saw the recession as an opportunity to increase Mexico's global economic competitiveness. Using the sense of crisis as a catalyst, the government put in place structural reforms while simultaneously strengthening Mexico's commitment to free trade and an open global economy, he said.
The keynote address for the second day of the conference, by Peter Carlsson, vice president of supply chain for Tesla Motors, also played into the concept of new answers to old questions. Carlsson talked about Tesla's quest to challenge conventional wisdom about automobile manufacturing as it designs and manufactures high-end electric cars. To accomplish this feat, the company has focused on creating a completely new, complex supply chain that combines the best of Detroit and Silicon Valley, Carlsson said. Tesla wants to radically change not just the cars themselves but also how the supply chain enables production of those cars. For example, the company has a goal of significantly reducing tooling lead times, in the same way that the consumer electronics industry some years ago was able to reduce its tooling times from 14 to 16 weeks to three or four weeks.
Carlsson acknowledged that it will be hard for "the smallest fish in the world's biggest industry" to change the game. The key to success for Tesla so far has been seeing its supply chain as a key differentiator, and developing deep ties with key suppliers. For example, Tesla has been able to secure a disproportionate amount of resources and attention from some of its suppliers because the owners of those companies have become personally interested in the product and see securing Tesla's business as a long-term investment.
To help conference attendees be like Mexico and Tesla and find their own "new right answer" for age-old problems, CSCMP presented three days of breakout educational seminars that touched on such hot topics as outsourcing, sales and operations planning, risk mitigation, and talent management, among many others. CSCMP members can learn more about these sessions by downloading the presentation slides from CSCMP's website. A member log-in is required to download the slides.
The conference also included numerous special events, including facility tours, the annual supply chain educators conference and doctoral symposium, a "Women at Work" panel and reception, and a student recruitment day. Additionally, the Supply Chain Exchange exhibition showcased cutting-edge technology, equipment, and services (although the hottest attraction on the show floor was a shiny new, black Tesla).
To find next year's right answers to long-standing questions, mark your calendar for the 2014 Annual Global Conference: September 21-24 in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
CSCMP bestows awards for excellence
Here is a brief rundown of the awards that were presented for excellence in business and academics at CSCMP's 2013 Annual Global Conference.
CSCMP recognized a number of special achievements at its annual conference. Here is a brief rundown of the awards that were presented for excellence in business and academics.
Jason Acimovic, assistant professor of supply chain and information systems at the Smeal College of Business of The Pennsylvania State University, received the Doctoral Dissertation Award for his research, titled "Lowering Outbound Shipping Costs in an Online Retail Environment by Making Better Fulfillment and Replenishment Decisions."
The Bernard J. La Londe Best Paper Award was given to Adriana Rossiter Hofer of the University of Arkansas, A. Michael Knemeyer of The Ohio State University, and Paul R. Murphy of John Carroll University for their paper "The Roles of Procedural and Distributive Justice in Logistics Outsourcing Relationships." The La Londe Award recognizes the best paper published in the Journal of Business Logistics.
Office products company Staples Inc. and on-demand packaging manufacturer Packsize received the Supply Chain Innovation Award for Staples' "Smart-size" packaging program, which creates corrugated packaging that is customized for each individual order.
Keiko Arai of Bell Helicopter, Florian Schick of Merck Serono, and Amanda Tolhurst of Whirlpool were presented with the CSCMP Young Professionals Emerging Leader Award. In its inaugural year, this award recognizes CSCMP members age 30 or younger who have made substantive contributions to the field.
New board officers announced
CSCMP elected new officers to its board of directors at the association's annual business meeting
In addition to being an educational event, CSCMP's Annual Global Conference also serves as the association's annual business meeting. As part of those proceedings, members elected the following officers to CSCMP's board of directors:
Board of Directors Chair: Heather L. Sheehan, vice president, indirect sourcing and logistics, Danaher Corp.
Immediate Past Chair: Rick J. Jackson, executive vice president, Mast Global Logistics Inc., a subsidiary of Limited Brands Inc.
Board Chair-elect: Ted Stank, Bruce Chair of Business and professor of supply chain management, University of Tennessee
Board Vice Chair: Kevin F. Smith, president and chief executive officer, Sustainable Supply Chain Consulting
Secretary and Treasurer: Mary C. Long, vice president logistics and network planning, Domino's Pizza
A list of CSCMP's current board members and committee chairs is available here.
The venture-backed fleet telematics technology provider Platform Science will acquire a suite of “global transportation telematics business units” from supply chain technology provider Trimble Inc., the firms said Sunday.
Trimble's other core transportation business units — Enterprise, Maps, Vusion and Transporeon — are not included in the proposed transaction and will remain part of Trimble's Transportation & Logistics segment, with a continued focus on priority growth areas following completion of the proposed transaction.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but as part of this agreement, Colorado-based Trimble will become a shareholder in Platform Science's expanded business. Specifically, Trimble will have a 32.5% stake in the newly expanded global Platform Science business and will receive a Platform Science board seat. The company joins C.R. England, Cummins, Daimler Truck, PACCAR, Prologis, RyderVentures, and Schneider as a key strategic investor in Platform Science along with financial investors 8VC, Activant Capital, BDT & MSD Partners, Softbank, and NewRoad Capital Partners.
According to San Diego-based Platform Science, the proposed transaction aims to enhance driver experience, fleet safety, efficiency, and compliance by combining two cutting-edge in-cab commercial vehicle ecosystems, which will give customers access to more applications and offerings.
From Trimble customers’ point of view, they will continue to enjoy the benefits of their Trimble solutions, with the added flexibility of the Virtual Vehicle platform from Platform Science. That means Virtual Vehicle-enabled fleets will receive access to the Virtual Vehicle Marketplace, offering hundreds of new and expanded applications, software, and solution providers focused on innovating and improving drivers' quality of life and fleet performance.
Meanwhile, Platform Science customers will enjoy the added choice of Trimble's remaining portfolio of transportation solutions which will be available on the Virtual Vehicle platform, the partners said.
"We believe combining our global transportation telematics portfolio with Platform Science's will further advance fleet mobility and provide our customers with a broader portfolio of solutions to solve industry problems," Rob Painter, president and CEO of Trimble, said in a release. "Increased collaboration between the new Platform Science business and Trimble's remaining transportation businesses will enhance our ability to provide positive outcomes for our global customers of commercial mapping, transportation management, freight procurement, and visibility solutions. This deal will result in significant synergies along with tremendous opportunities for employees to continue to grow in a more-competitive business."
The acquisition comes just five months after Platform Science raised $125 million in growth capital from some of the biggest names in freight trucking, saying the money would help accelerate innovation in the commercial transportation sector.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in August, though growth slowed slightly from July, according to the most recent Logistics Manager’s Index report (LMI), released this week.
The August LMI registered 56.4, down from July’s reading of 56.6 but consistent with readings over the past four months. The August reading represents nine straight months of growth across the logistics industry.
The LMI is a monthly gauge of economic activity across warehousing, transportation, and logistics markets. An LMI above 50 indicates expansion, and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Inventory levels saw a marked change in August, increasing more than six points compared to July and breaking a three-month streak of contraction. The LMI researchers said this suggests that after running inventories down, companies are now building them back up in anticipation of fourth-quarter demand. It also represents a return to more typical growth patterns following the accelerated demand for logistics services during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lows of the recent freight recession.
“This suggests a return to traditional patterns of seasonality that we have not seen since pre-COVID,” the researchers wrote in the monthly LMI report, published Tuesday, adding that the buildup is somewhat tempered by increases in warehousing capacity and transportation capacity.
The LMI report is based on a monthly survey of logistics managers from across the country. It tracks industry growth overall and across eight areas: inventory levels and costs; warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices; and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices. The report is released monthly by researchers from Arizona State University, Colorado State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).
That hiring surge marks a significant jump in relation to the company’s nearly 17,000 current employees across North America, adding 21% more workers.
That increase is necessary because U.S. holiday sales in 2023 increased 3.9% year-over-year as consumer spending grew even amidst uncertain economic times and trends like inflation and consumer price sensitivity. Looking at the coming peak, a similar pattern is projected for this year, with shoppers forecasted to drive a 4.8% increase in holiday retail sales for 2024, Geodis said, citing data from Emarketer.
To attract the extra workforce, Geodis says it will offer competitive wages, peak premium pay incentives, peak and referral bonuses, an expedited payment option, and flexible schedules. And it’s using an AI-powered chatbot named Sophie to serve as a virtual recruiting assistant.
“We acknowledge the immense responsibility we have to our customers to deliver exceptional service every day, and this is especially true during peak season,” Anthony Jordan, GEODIS in Americas Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a release. “Because peak season is the most business-critical sales period of the year for many of our retail clients, expanding our workforce is vital to ensure we have a flexible, dynamic team that can handle anticipated surges in demand.”