Talent is the future of supply chain management

At MIT’s Research Expo 2014, the future of supply chain was on display

By Bob Trebilcock, Executive Editor

You would think that issues like cost reductions, customer service levels and fuel prices would top the list of things that keeps distribution, transportation and supply chain managers up at night. After all, those are the items by which we are most often measured when bonuses are handed out.

But at every industry conference I have attended in the last year, the paucity of talent has been topic number one. That was true at ProMat last January, at the MHI fall meeting, and at the APICS and CSCMP annual conferences.

It could explain why supply chain management is the hot new MBA, according to the Wall Street Journal, or why it was the leading topic of discussion at all four of the Material Handling & U.S. Logistics Roadmap round table meetings last summer. I just published a provocative piece out of Penn State on the coming supply chain talent perfect storm in the January issue of Supply Chain Management Review.

At the same time, there is a generation of young, dedicated professionals training for roles in our industry in colleges and universities around the country. Last night, I got a glimpse into the up and comers at MIT’s Research Expo 2014. >> Continue reading