Supply Chain Monthly

Wherever you are tuning in from these days—your couch, home office, back yard, etc., I look forward to welcoming you to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) EDGE 2020 Supply Chain Conference. This conference is the largest of its kind in our discipline, and starting this Sunday and continuing for the next three and a half days, more than 3,000 of your peers from around the globe—leading supply chain authorities, practitioners, academics and thought leaders—will take part in the most innovative and exciting supply chain experience in the world.

 

For 57 years, CSCMP has hosted supply chain’s premier event, providing attendees from all over the world with ideas and connections to be utilized through their careers. EDGE 2020 will still deliver the same content, access, and value you have known us for, but like all of you, we have had to pivot and innovate and change. Your EDGE 2020 experience will indeed be different than in previous years, but I challenge you to lean into this new technology, engage in the opportunities to chat and network, albeit from your laptop, and take advantage of the opportunity to experience even more content via the educational sessions than ever before. No matter whether “in person,” or through whatever connective technologies we use, it remains the people that drive our businesses. Yes, we benefit from all the technologies, the systems and the data that have made us more productive over the decades. But it’s the people, it is you, that really make the difference.

 

Recently, I wrote, “With the pandemic disrupting supply chains, industry professionals have an opportunity to create innovative solutions and rewrite the future supply chain landscape.” We are certainly traveling that path now as we rely upon the perspectives and experiences of those around us. We are creating solutions, some of necessity, some of opportunity, that we will undoubtedly rely on for years to come. Carve out time during the 3 ½ days EDGE is live to meet your peers and exchange ideas, mistakes and solutions alike. Do not underestimate the power of relationships, relationships that matter. That’s CSCMP.

 

Innovation knocks infrequently, so take this opportunity to welcome it. During the uncertainties in which we find ourselves, we are still facing the disruptions and innovations we have been discussing for years like blockchain, artificial intelligence and deep machine learning, drone technology and more. COVID-19 entered our reality and our focus immediately shifted from these strategic innovations to the urgent and necessary like securing our supply availability, making massive switches to alternative channels due to the shutdown, and instilling a relentless focus on safety for both our employees and the customers we serve. We’ve altered delivery processes, installed new safety and security protocols, upgraded our technology to support new channels with speed and accuracy. And we did most of this while simultaneously adjusting to working from our homes.

 

EDGE 2020 still provides attendees the opportunity to be immersed in more than 30 hours of high-quality education and more than 10 hours of dedicated networking time to engage, debate, and collaborate with supply chain management leaders. Sessions will investigate some of today’s top issues and trends, exploring topics as diverse as order fulfillment and customer service, manufacturing and service operations, supply chain leadership, transportation and logistics, and current research and surveys.

 

CSCMP believes that education is the foundation of continuous improvement. We, as supply chain professionals and ambassadors, never stop learning, never stop giving. We care about you, we care about your customers. We are confident that this conference will provide you with a broader, deeper vision of the profession, the opportunity to participate in relevant learning programs and networking activities, and the inspiration to enhance your personal and organizational development.

 

I look forward to seeing you at EDGE 2020! Here’s to a great conference.

 

As supply chain takes center stage through 2020’s pandemic response, recovery and renewal, we need all the effective and versatile leadership we can get. In this crucible, organizations that effectively attract, retain, engage and promote women—half or more of the professional workforce—will have a material advantage.

 

Since 2016, Gartner and AWESOME’s annual Women in Supply Chain Survey has highlighted best practices in attraction, development, retention and advancement of women, with a particular focus on advancing women into senior leadership positions. We collect baseline data on how many women are in supply chain organizations overall and at each level of leadership: frontline manager, senior manager, director, vice president and executive levels.

 

In 2020, the fifth anniversary of this project, our research shows that a clear majority of supply chain organizations (63%) have specific goals to increase the number of women leaders in their ranks, up from 59% in 2019. Pursuit of gender diversity in supply chain organizations is clearly in the mainstream.

We also saw encouraging progress at the C-level: 17% of these executive leaders are women, a marked increase from 9% in 2016. Elsewhere, results showed slight decreases in representation at other levels and sustained strong pipelines in consumer/retail supply chain organizations compared to other sectors. We also reinforced the finding that integrated pipeline planning and management—focusing on specific recruiting, development and progression-focused decision-making forums—is the most significant action CSCOs can take to pull more women into supply chain leadership positions.

 

Supply chains today are increasingly complex and subject to unforeseen disruptions and growing costs. Visibility is limited as goods move from the supplier’s supplier to the customer’s customer, and transactions are often still paper based.

 

In this Hot Topic written by Paul Chang, IBM Global Blockchain Industry Leader, learn how blockchains are best suited for collaboration, data sharing and visibility across the entire supply chain ecosystem.

 

After a volatile spring, the summer saw a tightening freight market. This has led to a spike in truckload prices and a rise in contract tender rejection rates. Getting reliable coverage from backup carriers can lower your overall freight spend significantly.

 

In this Hot Topic written by Convoy, learn how they have utilized dynamic pricing to customers that guarantees coverage within the routing guide to reduce a reliance on the spot market.

Congratulations to College of Lake County student, Ajibola Karimu, Universidad Anáhuac student Manuel Villavicencio and Imperial College of London student, Mingting Dai for passing the SCPro™ Level One Certification Exam and becoming SCPro™ Certified!

 

Interested in becoming SCPro™ Certified? Learn more here...

"Go to the events—whether they are local or national. Become an active participant. This will grow your network and your net worth for your company. The most valuable membership benefit is the educational experience. The national conference is the best way to stay in touch with the new trends in the industry that we can all take back to our companies and improve or add onto what we are already doing."

"I joined the Council of Logistics Management in the mid 1990's and have been involved in some capacity for the past 20+ years. I initially joined to learn more about logistics/supply chain and to network and meet logistics veterans—there is no better way to learn than from people who have 'been there, done that.' Ask questions, network and get involved in your local CSCMP roundtable. Dive in and take on a role within your roundtable. You will develop lifelong friendships that extend well past your career."

Burris Logistics is a 95-year-old family business rooted in refrigerated and frozen logistics. With a portfolio of brands and a suite of solutions to provide end-to-end supply chain management, they offer storage, distribution, freight brokerage, redistribution and logistics technology.

DSC Logistics, now CJ Logistics America, combines innovative solutions, collaborative partnerships, and high-performance operations to unlock the potential of the supply chain. They’ve joined with CJ Logistics, The Global SCM Innovator, creating an integrated international network with expanded capabilities.

The Logistics 2030 Report analysis, released August 20, 2020, provides a comparative view of today’s Warehousing and Distribution (W&D) capabilities versus the next decade’s requirements. Findings are based on expert insights from hundreds of W&D professionals.

Experts from Auburn University's Center for Supply Chain Innovation (CSCI), the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC), and AGiLE Business Media (publisher of DCVelocity & CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly), have undertaken a multi-year study. Over the next few years, the Logistics 2030 (L-2030) study will address key elements of the emerging supply chain.

Complimentary download of the report is a CSCMP member benefit (valued at $25). Download your copy today!

 

SAVE THE DATE and REGISTER for the 2030 Warehouse Research Webinar - Wednesday, October 14, 2020.

Join us on October 7-8 for the Reuters Events Supply Chain USA 2020 Virtual. It's the place where CEO's & CSCO's from the largest companies in the world will come together to drive supply chain forward.

 

The LMI^® is up (+3.0) from July’s reading of 63.0. This is the third consecutive reading in the 60’s and the highest overall score since November 2018. According to the report, while the overall economy may not be moving at the same rate it was during Q4 of 2018, logistics services are in higher demand as consumers turn increasingly to e-commerce and on-demand services. Ecommerce accounted for 16.1% of all U.S. retail sales in Q2 2020, up significantly from the same period in 2019, when it made up 10.8% of sales[1].This is encouraging news for logistics professionals after the massive drop-off experienced this Spring.