![The supply chain gender gap [Infographic]](https://www.fronetics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/supply-chain-gender-gap.jpg)
by Fronetics | May 26, 2015 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
The number of women who work full-time in the workforce is up 15% since 1979. In the manufacturing sector, the story is very different. The number of men working in the manufacturing sector has increased, while the number of women working in the sector has declined. The number of women in the sector now stands at the lowest it has been since 1971.
Looking more broadly at the supply chain industry, it is clear that there is a significant gender gap. Between 70% and 80% of positions within the supply chain industry are held by men and 95% of top level supply chain positions within Fortune 500 companies are held by men. By comparison, men hold 85% of all executive officer positions within Fortune 500 companies.
The dearth of women working, at all levels, in the supply chain is not because women do not have the skillset and ability to succeed within the industry. Women are as capable as men when it comes to working within the supply chain industry. Indeed, it has been put forth that women are better suited for roles in supply chain management than men. Research conducted by SCM World found that the majority of men (63%) and women (75%) believe that the natural skillsets of women differ from those of men and that these differences are advantageous for supply chain management. Similarly, new research by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15%more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
The talent gap; an opportunity
According to Supply Chain Insights 60% of companies within the supply chain industry have job openings and 51% of companies are seeing an increase in turnover of supply chain leaders. Looking ahead, there are an estimated 1.4 million new supply chain workers needed by 2018 and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that the number of logistics jobs is expected to grow by 22 percent by 2022 – nearly double the rate of other professions. The supply chain talent gap arguably presents an opportunity to increase the number of women in positions throughout the supply chain and close the gender gap. The big question is how.
Addressing the gender gap
Here are 4 ways the supply chain industry can address the gender gap:
1. Increase visibility and tackle the image problem
93% of most companies’ supply chain is invisible. This statistic could also be used to reflect the number of people who know what the supply chain industry is; few people outside of the industry know what the supply chain is and what career opportunities there are. This needs to change.
To attract new talent the industry needs to make people aware of the supply chain – what it is, the integral role it plays in business, and the various opportunities there are within the industry.
2. Rethink talent acquisition and promotion
Within the supply chain industry the typical path up the corporate ladder has started out on the shop floor. If the industry is going to attract women and new talent companies need to look not only beyond their four walls, but also outside of the industry itself. When it comes to talent acquisition smart companies focus on the qualities of the individual and what they can bring to the table.
3. Move from talk to action
Battalia Winston’s Susan Medina and Peter Gomez point out that: companies without a proactive diversity-building strategy will fall victim to common-pitfalls and will fall flat.
“It’s important to acknowledge that diversity building is a proven growth strategy, not a superficial endeavor. But paying lip service to diversity and inclusion without a proactive strategy will lead to failure. Organizations need to prioritize, collaborate, and think long term.”
4. Take control
Women tend only to apply for jobs that they feel they are a 100% match; men do so even when they meet no more than 60% of the requirements. Similarly, men tend to be promoted more often than women simply because they speak up and ask for a promotion.
Women need to take responsibility for themselves and for their own careers. Women need to apply for jobs with confidence, even when they don’t have 100% of the requirements. They also need to speak up and ask for a promotion.
Kevin O’Marah, Chief Content Officer at SCM World, sums up the issue of the supply chain gender gap nicely: “Women in supply chain are too few, and their path to the top is at least partially blocked. Yet we all seem to think they bring something to the party that will make it better. The time to break this problem down is now.”
by Fronetics | May 26, 2015 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
The number of women who work full-time in the workforce is up 15% since 1979. In the manufacturing sector, the story is very different. The number of men working in the manufacturing sector has increased, while the number of women working in the sector has declined. The number of women in the sector now stands at the lowest it has been since 1971.
Looking more broadly at the supply chain industry, it is clear that there is a significant gender gap. Between 70% and 80% of positions within the supply chain industry are held by men and 95% of top level supply chain positions within Fortune 500 companies are held by men. By comparison, men hold 85% of all executive officer positions within Fortune 500 companies.
The dearth of women working, at all levels, in the supply chain is not because women do not have the skillset and ability to succeed within the industry. Women are as capable as men when it comes to working within the supply chain industry. Indeed, it has been put forth that women are better suited for roles in supply chain management than men. Research conducted by SCM World found that the majority of men (63%) and women (75%) believe that the natural skillsets of women differ from those of men and that these differences are advantageous for supply chain management. Similarly, new research by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15%more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.
The talent gap; an opportunity
According to Supply Chain Insights 60% of companies within the supply chain industry have job openings and 51% of companies are seeing an increase in turnover of supply chain leaders. Looking ahead, there are an estimated 1.4 million new supply chain workers needed by 2018 and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that the number of logistics jobs is expected to grow by 22 percent by 2022 – nearly double the rate of other professions. The supply chain talent gap arguably presents an opportunity to increase the number of women in positions throughout the supply chain and close the gender gap. The big question is how.
Addressing the gender gap
Here are 4 ways the supply chain industry can address the gender gap:
1. Increase visibility and tackle the image problem
93% of most companies’ supply chain is invisible. This statistic could also be used to reflect the number of people who know what the supply chain industry is; few people outside of the industry know what the supply chain is and what career opportunities there are. This needs to change.
To attract new talent the industry needs to make people aware of the supply chain – what it is, the integral role it plays in business, and the various opportunities there are within the industry.
2. Rethink talent acquisition and promotion
Within the supply chain industry the typical path up the corporate ladder has started out on the shop floor. If the industry is going to attract women and new talent companies need to look not only beyond their four walls, but also outside of the industry itself. When it comes to talent acquisition smart companies focus on the qualities of the individual and what they can bring to the table.
3. Move from talk to action
Battalia Winston’s Susan Medina and Peter Gomez point out that: companies without a proactive diversity-building strategy will fall victim to common-pitfalls and will fall flat.
“It’s important to acknowledge that diversity building is a proven growth strategy, not a superficial endeavor. But paying lip service to diversity and inclusion without a proactive strategy will lead to failure. Organizations need to prioritize, collaborate, and think long term.”
4. Take control
Women tend only to apply for jobs that they feel they are a 100% match; men do so even when they meet no more than 60% of the requirements. Similarly, men tend to be promoted more often than women simply because they speak up and ask for a promotion.
Women need to take responsibility for themselves and for their own careers. Women need to apply for jobs with confidence, even when they don’t have 100% of the requirements. They also need to speak up and ask for a promotion.
Kevin O’Marah, Chief Content Officer at SCM World, sums up the issue of the supply chain gender gap nicely: “Women in supply chain are too few, and their path to the top is at least partially blocked. Yet we all seem to think they bring something to the party that will make it better. The time to break this problem down is now.”
by Fronetics | May 25, 2015 | Blog, Strategy
M&A can be a strategic move to increase visibility, efficiency, and profits, as well as a smart way to plug missing capabilities within a company, reach new markets, and expand geographically. M&A activity in the past few years has been bustling in all sectors, seeing a rise in both the number of deals and the valuation of them. Given our awareness that so many deals can fall through for various reasons ranging from objections from regulators and consumer advocates to an unraveling of confidence within the two companies, the amount of deals that have recently been attempted and successfully completed is impressive.
In A Comprehensive Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions: Managing the Critical Success Factors Across Every Stage of the M&A Process, that authors point out that: “many research studies conducted over the decades clearly show that the rate of failures is at least 50 percent. In surveys conducted in recent years, the percentage of companies that failed to achieve the goals of the merger reached 83 percent.” If the odds are so great, and the payoff may not be fully beneficial, why has M&A been booming? Will we see the bubble burst in the coming years?
The M&A Boom
According to the 2014 Deloitte M&A Trends Report, “activity had flagged in 2012 amid economic malaise in certain European markets and key emerging markets, as well as uncertainty about health care and other regulatory and legislative matters in the United States.” In 2013, with the economy slowly seeing signs of improvement, M&A activity also started to strengthen.
As stated by Big Four auditor PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2014 was a very strong year for M&A and 2015 is set to follow suit. Robert McCutcheon, PWC’s U.S. industrial products leader, claims, “CEOs are more optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy and growth prospects domestically. That CEO confidence coupled with historically low commodity prices, new advanced technologies and a skilled U.S. labor force will likely continue to give the U.S. industrial products sector competitive advantage in the marketplace. We believe that the U.S. manufacturing resurgence will also continue and M&A will be a big part of the industry’s growth prospect going forward.”
Thompson Reuters’ recent Mergers and Acquisitions Review indicated that worldwide M&A had increased by 47% from 2013 to 2014, and that North American M&A increased by 55% during this period. With many pointing to continued economic improvement for the rest of 2015 and into the coming years, and with 84% of corporate executives anticipating “a sustained, if not accelerated, pace of M&A activity in the next 24 months”, when might we see the mighty growth of M&A plateau or decline?
Recent Failures
One of the most current failures in manufacturing came when the Department of Justice found that combining business between American company, Applied Materials, and Japanese company, Tokyo Electron, would “restrict competition”. The $10 million deal fell through in late April. With so many requirements, restrictions, and reviews of high dollar deals, these disappointments are commonplace.
Despite megadeals – transactions worth more than a billion dollars—rising from 62 in 2013 to 95 in 2014, many larger companies attempt but can not successfully complete an M&A deal. Perhaps the year’s largest M&A collapse came when regulators and consumer advocates prevented a $4.5 billion deal between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
Over the years there have been many unsuccessful M&A deals. New York Times article As Big Merger Deals Boom, So Do Big Failures, author William Alden points to some of the largest megadeals gone awry, with many of the most expensive deals collapsing in 2014. However, it makes sense proportionately that with more attempts each year will come more failures.
Predictions
Some people see the wave of optimistic financial news continuing into the next few years, while others worry about the coming year— an election year. In his Forbes article, author Michael Schwerdtfeger, writes, “one thing markets hate is uncertainty, and shifting expectations of the political future can impact uncertainty levels. Expect 2016 to be a much slower year for dealmaking than 2015 as buyers try to predict the election outcome.” As we enter the election campaign season, we’ll see if the political uncertainty, does, in fact, shift the impressive growth of M&A deals.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors provides M&A support to companies of all sizes. Our firm is able to execute from target identification through post-deal integration and value creation. At Fronetics Strategic Advisors we work with our clients to build and capture value.
by Fronetics | May 25, 2015 | Blog, Strategy
M&A can be a strategic move to increase visibility, efficiency, and profits, as well as a smart way to plug missing capabilities within a company, reach new markets, and expand geographically. M&A activity in the past few years has been bustling in all sectors, seeing a rise in both the number of deals and the valuation of them. Given our awareness that so many deals can fall through for various reasons ranging from objections from regulators and consumer advocates to an unraveling of confidence within the two companies, the amount of deals that have recently been attempted and successfully completed is impressive.
In A Comprehensive Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions: Managing the Critical Success Factors Across Every Stage of the M&A Process, that authors point out that: “many research studies conducted over the decades clearly show that the rate of failures is at least 50 percent. In surveys conducted in recent years, the percentage of companies that failed to achieve the goals of the merger reached 83 percent.” If the odds are so great, and the payoff may not be fully beneficial, why has M&A been booming? Will we see the bubble burst in the coming years?
The M&A Boom
According to the 2014 Deloitte M&A Trends Report, “activity had flagged in 2012 amid economic malaise in certain European markets and key emerging markets, as well as uncertainty about health care and other regulatory and legislative matters in the United States.” In 2013, with the economy slowly seeing signs of improvement, M&A activity also started to strengthen.
As stated by Big Four auditor PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2014 was a very strong year for M&A and 2015 is set to follow suit. Robert McCutcheon, PWC’s U.S. industrial products leader, claims, “CEOs are more optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy and growth prospects domestically. That CEO confidence coupled with historically low commodity prices, new advanced technologies and a skilled U.S. labor force will likely continue to give the U.S. industrial products sector competitive advantage in the marketplace. We believe that the U.S. manufacturing resurgence will also continue and M&A will be a big part of the industry’s growth prospect going forward.”
Thompson Reuters’ recent Mergers and Acquisitions Review indicated that worldwide M&A had increased by 47% from 2013 to 2014, and that North American M&A increased by 55% during this period. With many pointing to continued economic improvement for the rest of 2015 and into the coming years, and with 84% of corporate executives anticipating “a sustained, if not accelerated, pace of M&A activity in the next 24 months”, when might we see the mighty growth of M&A plateau or decline?
Recent Failures
One of the most current failures in manufacturing came when the Department of Justice found that combining business between American company, Applied Materials, and Japanese company, Tokyo Electron, would “restrict competition”. The $10 million deal fell through in late April. With so many requirements, restrictions, and reviews of high dollar deals, these disappointments are commonplace.
Despite megadeals – transactions worth more than a billion dollars—rising from 62 in 2013 to 95 in 2014, many larger companies attempt but can not successfully complete an M&A deal. Perhaps the year’s largest M&A collapse came when regulators and consumer advocates prevented a $4.5 billion deal between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
Over the years there have been many unsuccessful M&A deals. New York Times article As Big Merger Deals Boom, So Do Big Failures, author William Alden points to some of the largest megadeals gone awry, with many of the most expensive deals collapsing in 2014. However, it makes sense proportionately that with more attempts each year will come more failures.
Predictions
Some people see the wave of optimistic financial news continuing into the next few years, while others worry about the coming year— an election year. In his Forbes article, author Michael Schwerdtfeger, writes, “one thing markets hate is uncertainty, and shifting expectations of the political future can impact uncertainty levels. Expect 2016 to be a much slower year for dealmaking than 2015 as buyers try to predict the election outcome.” As we enter the election campaign season, we’ll see if the political uncertainty, does, in fact, shift the impressive growth of M&A deals.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors provides M&A support to companies of all sizes. Our firm is able to execute from target identification through post-deal integration and value creation. At Fronetics Strategic Advisors we work with our clients to build and capture value.
by Jennifer Hart Yim | May 21, 2015 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain
This article is part of a series of articles written by MBA students and graduates from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
Lindsey Marley completed dual undergraduate degrees in Business and History at Southern New Hampshire University. She is in her final semester of the MBA program at the University of New Hampshire. In her free time she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband and their two dogs.
On November 24, 2012 there was a deadly fire at a garment manufacturing company which killed 112 people in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Another manufacturing facility in Dhaka collapsed on April 24, 2013 killing 142 people. The ready-made garment manufacturing industry in Bangladesh has grown to $19 billion dollars and is reported to be one of the most unsafe industries in the world. The consequences of corporations being lax in the sourcing of their products can have horrific consequences for people, the environment, and the company. Consumers in developed countries are demanding companies be more responsible in their sourcing as a result of the wealth of information found on the Internet about the production of goods and services.
Responsible Sourcing
The concept of responsible sourcing is in itself still being developed; however, responsible sourcing generally consists of two parts – people and the environment. There are several organizations which have provided guidelines to assist companies in developing their own code of conduct including:
One such industry-specific coalition, which was created in response to numerous tragedies such as those described above, is the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety which was founded in 2013 by a group of North American apparel companies and retailers.
Alliance: A Global Response
The Alliance created a binding five-year agreement to improve worker safety among the largest importing companies of Bangladesh garments. Some of the most well-known participants include Limited, Carter’s Inc, Fruit of the Loom, Gap Inc, Kohl’s Department Stores, LL Bean, Macy’s, Target Corporation, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The Alliance is accomplishing its mission through the use of a collective fund which was $42 million at the time of its creation.
The International Labour Organization has assisted the Alliance in the creation of an operational guide. The Alliance focuses on opening lines of communication between employees and management to ensure worker safety. Interviews with employees regarding existing safety practices and training are conducted and then safety discussions are coordinated between those employees and members of management. The Alliance also requires assessments be completed of garment manufacturing plants by independent engineers to certify worker safety and the structural soundness of facilities. After the initial evaluation and recommendations, the independent auditors return to confirm the changes previously discussed have been made as well as to assess the manufacturer’s ongoing compliance.
Had the Alliance been in place prior to the fire in 2012 the auditors would have found the illegally stored mounds of fabric and yarn, which accelerated the spread of flames, and required the materials to be stored in a more appropriate and safe manner. Another aspect of the fatal fire which could have been prevented was the allegation of factory managers directing employees to ignore the fire alarm. This wasted precious time for workers to exit the building safely. Ultimately, this lead many employees, trapped by the flames and smoke, to jump from upper floors to the rooftops of surrounding buildings or to their deaths. The tripartisan relationship that is created between the Alliance, employees, and management representatives is critical to ensure a clear, consistent message regarding basic employee safety. This communication helps to empower workers and could have encouraged them to challenge management’s direction to disregard the alarm when the fire broke out.
With regard to the building collapse of 2013, it was determined the four upper floors had been constructed illegally without permits. The three pronged scope of the Alliance (worker safety, fire safety, and structural soundness) again could have prevented this tragedy. In this situation, management at the garment manufacturing facility were aware of structural concerns before the collapse, but as in the case of the fire, ignored the risk and kept the factory open. Engineers working for the Alliance drill into factory walls to determine the structural integrity of the concrete and rebar used during construction to determine structural soundness.
Your Span of Control
These examples highlight the importance of maintaining a large span of control throughout your supply chain to ensure responsible sourcing. It is no small task to exercise this breadth of control for any company; however, companies can utilize the resources provided by the organizations listed above to develop their own requirements for responsible sourcing and supplier relationships. Companies can derive the maximum consumer exposure by enforcing responsible sourcing across their entire supply chain. It is also important to engrain this behavior into the culture particularly among employees who have the most interactions with the ultimate consumer.
Communicating to Your Customers
Consumer communication is the final piece of the responsible sourcing puzzle which brings together the voluntarily socially responsible company with their expecting consumer base. Responsible sourcing without informing consumers is a waste of good public relations. Many companies bury the information about their responsible sourcing efforts on the corporate website where consumers have to hunt for the information. Some coalitions and third party companies provide the insignia to compliant participants as a means of notifying consumers of their membership, but that is not always an option. If possible, a company’s commitment to responsible sourcing should be quickly and clearly communicated on its product packaging, in its digital footprint, and in the way it conducts and manages its supply chain.
The fast food giant Chipotle consistently communicates its commitment to responsibly sourced ingredients in its signage, website, commercials, and in its direct to consumer communications at the individual locations. The pervasive nature of the company’s responsible sourcing efforts has been strongly rewarded by its ever-growing customer base. In a time where consumers are switching brands to support socially responsible companies, it is imperative to keep a company’s responsible sourcing objectives, actions, and accomplishments at the forefront of consumer’s minds.
by Jennifer Hart Yim | May 21, 2015 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain
This article is part of a series of articles written by MBA students and graduates from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.
Lindsey Marley completed dual undergraduate degrees in Business and History at Southern New Hampshire University. She is in her final semester of the MBA program at the University of New Hampshire. In her free time she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband and their two dogs.
On November 24, 2012 there was a deadly fire at a garment manufacturing company which killed 112 people in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Another manufacturing facility in Dhaka collapsed on April 24, 2013 killing 142 people. The ready-made garment manufacturing industry in Bangladesh has grown to $19 billion dollars and is reported to be one of the most unsafe industries in the world. The consequences of corporations being lax in the sourcing of their products can have horrific consequences for people, the environment, and the company. Consumers in developed countries are demanding companies be more responsible in their sourcing as a result of the wealth of information found on the Internet about the production of goods and services.
Responsible Sourcing
The concept of responsible sourcing is in itself still being developed; however, responsible sourcing generally consists of two parts – people and the environment. There are several organizations which have provided guidelines to assist companies in developing their own code of conduct including:
One such industry-specific coalition, which was created in response to numerous tragedies such as those described above, is the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety which was founded in 2013 by a group of North American apparel companies and retailers.
Alliance: A Global Response
The Alliance created a binding five-year agreement to improve worker safety among the largest importing companies of Bangladesh garments. Some of the most well-known participants include Limited, Carter’s Inc, Fruit of the Loom, Gap Inc, Kohl’s Department Stores, LL Bean, Macy’s, Target Corporation, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The Alliance is accomplishing its mission through the use of a collective fund which was $42 million at the time of its creation.
The International Labour Organization has assisted the Alliance in the creation of an operational guide. The Alliance focuses on opening lines of communication between employees and management to ensure worker safety. Interviews with employees regarding existing safety practices and training are conducted and then safety discussions are coordinated between those employees and members of management. The Alliance also requires assessments be completed of garment manufacturing plants by independent engineers to certify worker safety and the structural soundness of facilities. After the initial evaluation and recommendations, the independent auditors return to confirm the changes previously discussed have been made as well as to assess the manufacturer’s ongoing compliance.
Had the Alliance been in place prior to the fire in 2012 the auditors would have found the illegally stored mounds of fabric and yarn, which accelerated the spread of flames, and required the materials to be stored in a more appropriate and safe manner. Another aspect of the fatal fire which could have been prevented was the allegation of factory managers directing employees to ignore the fire alarm. This wasted precious time for workers to exit the building safely. Ultimately, this lead many employees, trapped by the flames and smoke, to jump from upper floors to the rooftops of surrounding buildings or to their deaths. The tripartisan relationship that is created between the Alliance, employees, and management representatives is critical to ensure a clear, consistent message regarding basic employee safety. This communication helps to empower workers and could have encouraged them to challenge management’s direction to disregard the alarm when the fire broke out.
With regard to the building collapse of 2013, it was determined the four upper floors had been constructed illegally without permits. The three pronged scope of the Alliance (worker safety, fire safety, and structural soundness) again could have prevented this tragedy. In this situation, management at the garment manufacturing facility were aware of structural concerns before the collapse, but as in the case of the fire, ignored the risk and kept the factory open. Engineers working for the Alliance drill into factory walls to determine the structural integrity of the concrete and rebar used during construction to determine structural soundness.
Your Span of Control
These examples highlight the importance of maintaining a large span of control throughout your supply chain to ensure responsible sourcing. It is no small task to exercise this breadth of control for any company; however, companies can utilize the resources provided by the organizations listed above to develop their own requirements for responsible sourcing and supplier relationships. Companies can derive the maximum consumer exposure by enforcing responsible sourcing across their entire supply chain. It is also important to engrain this behavior into the culture particularly among employees who have the most interactions with the ultimate consumer.
Communicating to Your Customers
Consumer communication is the final piece of the responsible sourcing puzzle which brings together the voluntarily socially responsible company with their expecting consumer base. Responsible sourcing without informing consumers is a waste of good public relations. Many companies bury the information about their responsible sourcing efforts on the corporate website where consumers have to hunt for the information. Some coalitions and third party companies provide the insignia to compliant participants as a means of notifying consumers of their membership, but that is not always an option. If possible, a company’s commitment to responsible sourcing should be quickly and clearly communicated on its product packaging, in its digital footprint, and in the way it conducts and manages its supply chain.
The fast food giant Chipotle consistently communicates its commitment to responsibly sourced ingredients in its signage, website, commercials, and in its direct to consumer communications at the individual locations. The pervasive nature of the company’s responsible sourcing efforts has been strongly rewarded by its ever-growing customer base. In a time where consumers are switching brands to support socially responsible companies, it is imperative to keep a company’s responsible sourcing objectives, actions, and accomplishments at the forefront of consumer’s minds.
