Survey: Supply chain leaders focus on these areas…

A new survey reveals three key trends that supply chain executives are attempting to stay ahead of.

According to a new survey of more than 100 U.S. supply chain leaders from third-party logistics provider Kenco, respondents are adopting many new technologies, mitigating labor challenges, and implementing sustainability strategies. Following are highlights of findings in each area.

Technology

To diversify their tech stacks and optimize their operations, respondents are investing in various types of solutions. Almost two-thirds (65%) have adopted or plan to adopt supply chain visibility technology by mid-year 2023, 44% have adopted orplan to adopt sensors and Internet of Things (IoT), 42% have adopted orplan to adopt robotics and automation, 34% have adopted or plan to adopt 3D printing, 26% have adopted or plan to adopt blockchain, and 21% have adopted or plan to adopt driverless/self-driving vehicles.

[Read more: Survey reveals disconnect in supply chain automation adoption]

“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.”

Workforce

Respondents are also trying many different ways to attract and retain talent in the current tight labor market. A large majority (85%) said 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%) offering sign-on bonuses (38%), and increasing benefits package offerings (32%).

“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.”

Environmental sustainability

Many respondents are also considering the impact of their supply chains 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. Other environmental strategies used by respondents include investing in a strong reverse logistics capability (32%) and investing in electric vehicles (27%).

For additional data from the Kenco Supply Chain Survey, visit https://go.kencogroup.com/PR-2223-SC-Survey-Results.