Each year the MHI Annual Industry Report provides valuable incites and useful data for businesses working across all areas of the supply chain. The 2023 report, authored jointly by MHI and Deloitte Consulting, was released at this year’s ProMat event which was hosted in Chicago from March 20-23. The results of industry-wide surveys are always one of the key takeaways from the MHI Reports, so let’s take a look at some of the responses from 2023 and what they mean for the future of the supply chain.
WHAT ARE BUSINESSES SAYING ABOUT LABOR?
With ten years of reports now released by MHI, we have a good set of long-term data from industry surveys. As you might expect, there are some consistent trends when it comes to these responses, especially responses related to labor supply and automation. When asked what their top supply chain challenges are currently, 56% of respondents indicated that talent shortage was the biggest priority. Likewise, 57% responded that hiring and retaining qualified workers was the biggest challenge. We have covered a lot of recent news on these topics, and it is clear from this year’s surveys that the concerns of business owners mirror news reports on the labor market. Over time, it continues to be difficult to find and retain the right workers in the shipping and logistics space. As a result, our team at DMW&H continues to stress the importance of applying automation where appropriate, and structuring your business in a way that allows human workers to perform the tasks they are best suited for.
SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES
Closely related to the labor issues that businesses are facing are supply chain issues. In this year’s survey 54% of respondents indicated that supply-chain disruptions were they greatest concern. This was followed closely by out-of-stock situations at 52%. While out-of-stock products and disruptions hit atmospheric highs during the pandemic, these clearly are still consistent challenges for a wide range of businesses. In working through these types of issues with our customers, DMW&H has found that forecasting and predictive software can be a real game changer. The better incite you have into when and how much products are going to be moving off the shelves, the more adaptable your business model will be. More parts of your businesses can be tracked and modeled today than ever before. Integrating these discrete lines of information together with a modern warehouse management system will better prepare you for future challenges.
CUSTOMERS
Last but certainly not least, 52% of this year’s MHI respondents indicated that customer demands were their greatest challenge. This is a great example of the complexity of the labor question. Oftentimes, human interaction is the difference between a positive and a negative customer interaction. While automation certainly has its place, customer service remains (at least in part) the realm of invested human workers. Modern innovation and technology are likely to reduce the demands of customers and improve their experience, but they are unlikely to eliminate them.