On the occasion of the Women's Day, SprintProject met Valérie MACREZ, Managing Director of France Supply Chain, to discuss the work that the association is doing on the attractiveness of the Supply Chain to the new generations and more particularly to young women.
In your opinion, what would be the first factor of attractiveness of the Supply Chain sector among young people?
Generally speaking, the Supply Chain sector needs to be better known by the younger generations. Our first objective is to make the young generations understand the stakes of our entire sector and the richness of all its professions. Beyond the aspects of physical logistics (warehousing, order preparation and transport), the Supply Chain integrates the whole of flow management, such as forecasting and planning.
In fact, it is in order to bring together all these activities, and not to oppose them, that the ASLOG (French Association of Supply Chain and Logistics) became last summer the French Association of Supply Chain, France Supply Chain. One of the objectives of our HR LAB is precisely to promote the attractiveness of our professions to the younger generations with actions to promote the sector to students, and more specifically to female students for whom training and careers in Supply Chain seem even less attractive.
What is your view on the place of women in the Supply Chain sector and the challenge of making the professions attractive to the new generation of professionals?
For France Supply Chain, the feminization is also an important stake among our actions of valorization. Indeed, we are convinced that diversity is a richness to be cultivated in order to develop efficient Supply Chains in our companies. Feminisation is one of the dimensions of this diversity
Women members of France Supply Chain: 27% of professional contacts are women, 21% of students are young women.
France Supply Chain wishes to convey a more representative image of the professions and to show the new generation that this sector offers professional opportunities which also allow to give meaning and this, in all sectors of activity. In this respect, the women on the Board of Directors of France Supply Chain are the perfect example of this through the diversity of their backgrounds and professions.
What message do you want to convey to the new generation?
Our ambition is to help the new generations in their educational process. Even more today than yesterday, we are aware that they need to be guided and supported in the choices that determine their future. France Supply Chain takes the responsibility to help them discover their future vocation beyond the clichés.
The current situation proves that Supply Chain is now identified as one of the key sectors of our society and that it is a real lever of transformation for companies. The trend suggests that tomorrow's leaders will come from Supply Chain backgrounds or have a solid knowledge in the field. It is also a way for young people to project themselves on positions of responsibility.
But the biggest challenge remains to convince those who are not yet familiar with the Supply Chain and the extent of the opportunities it offers. This is what we are currently working on. It is the responsibility of every professional in the sector to encourage women to take an interest.
For the students who have already found their way and are integrated into specialized training courses that are members of our ecosystem, they become members of the France Supply Chain association via the member schools. This allows them to be in touch with the professional world and to create a network before they enter the job market. They also have access to content to improve their knowledge of the sector and the professions. Finally, since September 2020, we also provide them with a "Guide des Formations Supérieures en France" specialized in Supply Chain in order to encourage those who wish to continue their studies.
Within the framework of the Women's Day, SprintProject met Marie-Laure FURGALA, Director ISLI, KEDGE - Member of the Board of Directors, France Supply Chain, to discuss the work that the association is initiating on the attractiveness of the Supply Chain to new generations and more particularly to young women.
What is your vision of women in the supply chain?
Supply Chain is a fairly young function where the new talents trained are becoming more and more female. I have been able to measure the evolution since my graduation from ISLI in 1996, where we were 6 women out of 46 students, and the number of women currently trained at KEDGE, which represents 40% of ISLI graduates.
Unfortunately, the key positions held by women are still under-represented and the Supply Chain is no exception. They are good listeners, anticipators and doers, and yet they have the soft skills required to succeed in this profession. Invested and demanding with themselves, women are driving forces and are fabulous assets for companies.
As a Supply Chain professional and today as Director of ISLI, I want to show students who are starting out in this profession, that it is an exciting profession, in full expansion, with many challenges and where the only limits are those that we set ourselves.
How do you see your job as a woman?
The image of the Supply Chain is still too limited to an old, technical and industrial vision of the profession, whereas the Supply Chain is precisely one of the most evolving sectors.
As a Supply Chain Manager, we have to deal with suppliers, subcontractors, customers... and collaborate with different functions: purchasing, marketing, sales, HR... We can work in transport, production, engineering... Change jobs or change business sectors, evolve with new technologies, digitalization. In the end, we have a real impact on the company's current and future challenges. It is a cross-functional profession in the midst of change that is emerging from the shadows and proving to be one of the important levers of change.
My ambition is to promote a transverse and responsible Supply Chain. And in my opinion, innovation must be the driving force of this Green Supply Chain. My wish is to see the ISLI students of today take up the challenge of building the sustainable Supply Chain of tomorrow.
On the occasion of the Women's Day, SprintProject met Latifa GAHBICHE, Country General Manager France & Morocco CHEP - Member of the Board of Directors, France Supply Chain, to talk about the work that the association is doing on the attractiveness of the Supply Chain to the new generations and more particularly to young women.
What is your vision of women in the supply chain?
Whether it is in the Supply Chain or in any other sector historically assimilated to a so-called "masculine" universe, it is especially when we look at the positions of responsibility that women are becoming rarer . To counter this in companies, a strong will and accompanying measures are absolutely necessary.
In short, it is a matter of making this state of affairs not only a subject of debate but above all the subject of the implementation of a concrete and measurable action plan (coaching and mentoring for example).
Things will only change if companies build a diverse and successful talent pool.
At CHEP, we take our responsibility to increase the number of women in leadership positions very seriously. I'm living proof of this and, of course, I'm not the only one. At Brambles, CHEP's parent company, 30% of senior management positions are held by women. This will increase to 40% by 2025. This is one of its CSR commitments.
In addition, CHEP has become an active member of the LEAD (Leading Executives Advancing Diversity) network at European level and, since autumn 2019, at national level to reflect and act to increase the number of women in leadership roles in the retail and consumer goods industry through education, leadership and management.
How do you see your job as a woman?
I am well aware that I am a pioneer in the industry. I hope to show the way, to inspire female careers and ambitions. I would like to encourage women to open their perspectives to join any sector, to not forbid themselves, to fight against self-censorship.
As for my vision of the job in the strict sense of the word, I don't think it differs from that of a man simply because, when I work, I don't refer to my gender but only to my function.
For the Women's Day, SprintProject met with Anne BORDE, Supply Chain Director, Louis Vuitton - Member France Supply Chain, to talk about the work the association is doing on the attractiveness of the Supply Chain to the new generations and more particularly to young women.
What is your vision of women in the supply chain?
In my professional world of luxury, I work with many women who work in the supply chain, whether in production, logistics or in sales forecasting and stock management. I have also observed with my generation, the assumption of strong responsibility within the company on these trades. We still need to continue to achieve perfect gender balance, but we're on the right track! On the other hand, this is not yet the case in other areas of activity, where women are under-represented.
Ladies, there are places to take!
How do you see your job as a woman?
It is one of the most exciting jobs in a company: strategic, cross-functional, innovative, in contact with the product, serving the customer, and in operations!
Behind this word "Supply Chain", the diversity of professions is great and in perpetual evolution.
I myself have done several Supply Chain jobs during my career: first on the shop floor to plan production according to customer needs. Then at the head office in more central roles of global production planning or sales forecasting or distribution/stock management. These are rich jobs in contact with production, purchasing, product development, our suppliers, logistics, retail, marketing, merchandising, finance etc.
The crisis of the covid showed how important the Supply Chain professions were to face the unpredictable. This has highlighted functions that are sometimes unknown, that bring high added value, that are ahead in terms of innovation and use of data.
I have never considered that the fact that I am a woman differentiates the vision of my job vs. a man. I think in terms of competence, in terms of soft skills.
