by Fronetics | Jul 10, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Kale is the hippest and trendiest of vegetables.
The dark leafy vegetable has received Bon Appetit’s dish of the year award, it was served at the White House Thanksgiving, and it has received ringing endorsements by celebrities and celebrity chefs. Kale also has its own T-shirt, lawsuit, and day. Did I mention the book? 50 Shades of Kale is an Amazon bestseller.
The appearance of kale on restaurant menus has increased by 400 percent since 2008. A recent Guardian article reported that sales of kale at Marks & Spencer are already up 32 percent on the same period last year and that it expects this rise to continue in the longer term. Similarly, at Waitrose, sales of kale are up 20 percent year on year.
How is it that kale is cool? Much of it has to do with re-branding – communicating a new image for the vegetable and communicating new (and more flavorful) uses.
The supply chain is suffering from an image problem. If we are going to attract new talent we need to make an effort to make the supply chain hip. The supply chain should look to kale for inspiration. If a leafy green vegetable can realize such a rapid ascent to popularity, so too can the supply chain industry.
by Fronetics | Jul 10, 2014 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Kale is the hippest and trendiest of vegetables.
The dark leafy vegetable has received Bon Appetit’s dish of the year award, it was served at the White House Thanksgiving, and it has received ringing endorsements by celebrities and celebrity chefs. Kale also has its own T-shirt, lawsuit, and day. Did I mention the book? 50 Shades of Kale is an Amazon bestseller.
The appearance of kale on restaurant menus has increased by 400 percent since 2008. A recent Guardian article reported that sales of kale at Marks & Spencer are already up 32 percent on the same period last year and that it expects this rise to continue in the longer term. Similarly, at Waitrose, sales of kale are up 20 percent year on year.
How is it that kale is cool? Much of it has to do with re-branding – communicating a new image for the vegetable and communicating new (and more flavorful) uses.
The supply chain is suffering from an image problem. If we are going to attract new talent we need to make an effort to make the supply chain hip. The supply chain should look to kale for inspiration. If a leafy green vegetable can realize such a rapid ascent to popularity, so too can the supply chain industry.
by Fronetics | Jul 7, 2014 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
According to Supply Chain Insights 60 percent of companies within the supply chain industry have job openings and 51 percent of companies are seeing an increase in turnover of supply chain leaders. This is now. Looking ahead, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that the number of logistics jobs are expected to grow by 22 percent by 2022 – nearly double the rate of other professions.
The shortage of supply chain talent is generally attributed to a skills gap. Specifically, that graduates with undergraduate and graduate degrees in supply chain management are not adequately prepared for supply chain jobs, and that professionals within the supply chain do not have the skill set necessary to take on management roles.
Thought leaders including Lora Cecere and David Widdifield have offered viable strategies to address the skills gap. That being said, focusing on education and training, employee retention and growth, and rethinking the talent pool itself does not address the bigger issue – the supply chain industry just isn’t perceived as sexy.
Bob Trebilcock captures this sentiment perfectly in a recent piece in the Supply Chain Management Review:
Admit it. You go to a party and someone asks you what you do for a living. You want to say: Hey, I’m the bass player for Metallica or I’m a transplant surgeon or I’m a skydiving instructor. Something with a Wow factor. Instead, a little sheepishly, with averted eyes, you say: Oh, I work in the supply chain.
Here’s the thing – the supply chain industry is perceived by those outside the industry as having no “wow” factor whatsoever. If the supply chain industry is going to attract new and qualified talent, it needs a face lift. It is time for the supply chain industry to rebrand itself.
If the supply chain industry wants to fill open positions with great talent it needs to change its image. Companies within the industry can start by redesigning their website and by becoming active in social media. Companies can also rethink their recruiting materials and talking points.
What is it that makes (or could make) the supply chain sexy? What can the supply chain industry offer great talent? How can the supply chain better showcase the supply chain of today?
If the supply chain industry can successfully rebrand itself, great talent will not dismiss the supply chain industry, instead it will come pounding at the door.
by Fronetics | Jul 7, 2014 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
According to Supply Chain Insights 60 percent of companies within the supply chain industry have job openings and 51 percent of companies are seeing an increase in turnover of supply chain leaders. This is now. Looking ahead, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that the number of logistics jobs are expected to grow by 22 percent by 2022 – nearly double the rate of other professions.
The shortage of supply chain talent is generally attributed to a skills gap. Specifically, that graduates with undergraduate and graduate degrees in supply chain management are not adequately prepared for supply chain jobs, and that professionals within the supply chain do not have the skill set necessary to take on management roles.
Thought leaders including Lora Cecere and David Widdifield have offered viable strategies to address the skills gap. That being said, focusing on education and training, employee retention and growth, and rethinking the talent pool itself does not address the bigger issue – the supply chain industry just isn’t perceived as sexy.
Bob Trebilcock captures this sentiment perfectly in a recent piece in the Supply Chain Management Review:
Admit it. You go to a party and someone asks you what you do for a living. You want to say: Hey, I’m the bass player for Metallica or I’m a transplant surgeon or I’m a skydiving instructor. Something with a Wow factor. Instead, a little sheepishly, with averted eyes, you say: Oh, I work in the supply chain.
Here’s the thing – the supply chain industry is perceived by those outside the industry as having no “wow” factor whatsoever. If the supply chain industry is going to attract new and qualified talent, it needs a face lift. It is time for the supply chain industry to rebrand itself.
If the supply chain industry wants to fill open positions with great talent it needs to change its image. Companies within the industry can start by redesigning their website and by becoming active in social media. Companies can also rethink their recruiting materials and talking points.
What is it that makes (or could make) the supply chain sexy? What can the supply chain industry offer great talent? How can the supply chain better showcase the supply chain of today?
If the supply chain industry can successfully rebrand itself, great talent will not dismiss the supply chain industry, instead it will come pounding at the door.
by Fronetics | May 21, 2014 | Blog, Talent
According to R.J. Bowman, author of The Secret Society of Supply Chain Management, demand for supply chain professionals exceeds supply by a ratio of six to one. Looking forward, it appears that demand for supply chain professionals will only increase. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that demand for supply chain talent will increase by 26 percent between 2010 and 2020 – a growth rate that is twice as fast as 14 percent of all occupations.
In response to the demand for supply chain professionals, universities have introduced undergraduate majors, M.B.A. concentrations and even entire degree programs dedicated to procurement, inventory management and global supply-chain strategy. The Wall Street Journal has even gone so far as to declare supply chain management the “hot new MBA.”
The University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics is one university which offers MBA courses focused on supply chain management. This semester Fronetics has had the opportunity to work with students in one of the school’s supply chain management courses. Students in the school’s Supply Chain Management MBA course learn how to design, plan, and operate supply chains for competitive advantage; develop an understanding of how the key drivers of supply chain operations can be used to improve performance; and develop knowledge of logistics and supply chain methodologies and the managerial context in which they are used.
Over the next several weeks Fronetics will share topical supply chain management articles written by several of the MBA students. The students are inclusive of full-time graduate students and professionals who attend the MBA program part-time. The articles point to the diversity of this group of students as well as the student’s breadth of knowledge on supply chain issues.
A full list of the students’ articles follows below:
