The Supply Chain suffers from old clichés. Little known and very often summed up as masculine, physical and not very rewarding tasks, the Supply Chain professions are struggling to attract the younger generations. Faced with the lack of attractiveness of the sector, how can vocations be created? What are the levers that could be used to enhance the value of the professions and change mentalities? A look back at the dedicated Webinar, organised by France Supply Chain, in partnership with SprintProject.

Attractiveness of professions, a major challenge for an active supply chain

Fabien Esnoult, President of SprintProject(www.sprint-project.com) and administrator of France Supply Chain, introduces the stakes of the theme by underlining the indispensable and strategic character of the Supply Chain sector, revealed at the height of the health crisis. In this respect, the active maintenance of the workforce as well as the challenges of recruitment, loyalty and training take on their full meaning. How can we respond to the growing needs and HR problems encountered by the sector? Certain innovations such as autonomous vehicles, IOT, 5G and the dissociation of transport and logistics seem to be possible solutions. But are they the only ones?

In this respect, the LAB RH of France Supply Chain, represented on this occasion by Marie-Laure Furgala, ISLI Director of Kedge Business School, and Guillaume Noirtin, Talent Acquisition Director of FM Logistic, is a working group of about twenty professionals, partners or active contributors from the world of Human Resources or Training. The ambition of the HR LAB is to promote the Supply Chain and to respond to the HR priorities of companies, which are: to recruit better, to improve the attractiveness of the sector and to develop new skills in the Supply Chain professions.

Innovation to improve the attractiveness of supply chain jobs

My Job Glasses was created a little over 5 years ago with one ambition: "Professional fulfilment for all". But to be fulfilled, Emilie Korchia, co-founder of My Job Glasses, assures us, you must already be well oriented. My Job Glasses puts people at the heart of career guidance by connecting young people aged 15 to 30 with a network of 52,000 professionals from all professions and sectors, including the supply chain. As the leading player in mentoring in France, My Job Glasses has helped more than 100,000 young people in 2020 in their professional orientation.

It is also, for the company, the possibility to create a pool of young talents interested in the Supply Chain sector and to initiate a CSR action of corporate citizenship. For the employees, it is also an opportunity, by giving a little of their time, to share their profession with the younger generations, to represent their company and to deconstruct clichés, and sometimes to have the privilege of inspiring vocations.

Indeed, while recruitment is a perennial problem in the Supply Chain, so is retention. By offering training courses ranging from a few hours to several weeks depending on the profile, the Delivery Academy offers a training solution as a means of increasing skills to make the jobs more attractive and to enhance their value.

For the second year, France Supply Chain surveyed its members in the autumn to understand how their companies have progressed with their supply chain (SC) in a more digitalised environment, but also with supply chains under pressure from the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

The responses obtained provide a good picture of the transformation and progress made since 2019. Indeed, the companies that responded have a total of 1 million employees and generate 200 billion euros in turnover in very different sectors.

The respondents to the survey represent :

Moreover, the relevance of the evolutions since the 2019 panorama has been reinforced thanks to a stable core of France Supply Chain members having participated in the 2019 and 2020 surveys. The trends were corroborated by the members of the France Supply Chain Digital & Technologies and ETIPME Labs.

After having unveiled its Guide to Higher Education in Supply Chain, France Supply Chain is initiating a new project to bring schools and companies closer together: the creation of pairs of professors and administrators of the association. The objective? To act together within the pedagogical councils.

Centrale Supelec, ESSEC, Sorbonne, ISTELI, MINES ParisTech, University of Grenoble, AFTRAL, E.S.T... At the initiative of France Supply Chain, under the leadership of Xavier Derycke, supply chain director of the Rexel group and head of the HR Lab, many training organisations, schools, universities and IUTs have responded to the association's call to forge lasting links between its administrators, active members and the world of training. To lay the foundations of this new synergy and establish a lasting dialogue between supply chain companies and the various spheres of training, France Supply Chain has chosen to form pairs comprising a representative of each of them. Thus, Felix Papier from ESSEC will establish a special link with Yann de Feraudy, the president of France Supply Chain, while Nadia Hamani from INSSET will communicate in particular with Jean-Christophe Cuvelier, general manager of My Tower, and Aurélie Delemarle from ESIEE with the supply chain director of Orange, Benoit Huver.

Forming a collaborative ecosystem for Supply Chain Training

These exchanges are all the more necessary since, as Xavier Derycke points out, the supply chain is "a profession that is being enriched, in constant search of a balance between service, stocks, costs and sustainability, driven by the major transformations underway: digital technology and CSR". Thus, alongside the association's various Labs (Digital & Technologies, HR, Supply Chain 4 Good and ETI PME), the players in this new project will be able to exchange and develop training with the desire to act to build a more resilient, collaborative, agile, close and sustainable world. "The crisis has accelerated the pace of change in these professions and many things are changing as a result. I am delighted to contribute to moving things forward at the French level and perhaps one day at the European level," said Evren Sahin, professor at Centrale Supelec. "We have a lot to offer each other: you have the raw materials and we will provide you with the human resources. Let's continue like this, together, to form a collaborative ecosystem," emphasised Olivier Lavastre, University Professor at Grenoble IAE.

Finally, in parallel, the HR Lab will continue its work this year, in particular on

400 companies and over 3,000 supply chain employees. France Supply Chain brings together many players in the sector in France and elsewhere. Its international division, which now has new chapters in America, is aimed at its employees throughout the world. 

To further anchor FrSCInter and its chapters in the "FrSC movement

The Morocco, Kenya and Ivory Coast chapters were launched on 21 January. Today, it is time for the Americas. "This is an immense territory of more than one billion people, made up of 35 countries that vary greatly in terms of problems, maturity in terms of supply chain and crisis management. There is a real dichotomy between the North and the South with regard to Covid. The pandemic has had a lasting impact on our supply chain, so there is no shortage of issues that we will tackle one by one, depending on the territory," says Anne-Élisabeth Duchesne, Senior VP AM Latin Market Line Operations at Geodis, based in Nashville, Tennessee.

America & Supply Chain: a common subject and multiple issues

Through a network that its members wish to be "friendly and benevolent", three objectives will animate these new American clubs:

"France Supply Chain offers a unique opportunity for exchange, a real asset to connect our teams and succeed in our regional anchoring while sharing our experience", says Annie Saillard, VP Rolling Stock & Component PL AME of Alstom in Canada.

What are the IoT levers capable of transforming the industrial Supply Chain? This is the question asked by the Digital & Technologies Lab of France Supply Chain and its guests during a webinar organized on March 30th. Focus on the experience feedbacks of Renault and Aubert & Duval (ERAMET Group) around geolocation.

Agility in the warehouse means agility in the supply chain. But what about real estate scalability? And what will be the contours of tomorrow's warehouse against a backdrop of sustainable development? Through a dedicated webinar, experts from the sector provide some answers.

The digitalization panorama is now available in its entirety to France Supply Chain members.

This survey was conducted among our members and partners. The results published in this panorama allow us to measure the transformation of the Supply Chain, to describe the difficulties encountered, to identify the keys to success and to enrich our future actions.

---

"The crisis management of the COVID-19 and its major impacts for all companies has put their resilience under stress. So in this 2nd edition of the Supply Chain Digitalization Panorama we have taken a special look at it. The resilience and agility of our supply chains are particularly important areas of focus at the beginning of 2021.

It is also worth noting the emergence of issues related to cyber security that pose a major risk to companies and will lead us to organize exchanges on this topic in 2021."

Francois Martin-Festa, Coordinator of the Digital & Technologies Lab

---

THE DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGIES LAB - A COMMUNITY AT THE SERVICE OF TRANSFORMATION :

Based on the results of this second Panorama de la Digitalisation, the LAB Digital & Technologies team of France Supply Chain will continue, in 2021, the organisation of meetings on the 6 themes (AI, Data exchange, Robotisation process, IoT, Intralogistics and Innovation). It will produce new tools (radars) and webinars (experience sharing) to help companies understand their digital transformation.

This study of best practices focused on answering 4 main questions:

Survey respondents represent :

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

France Supply Chain deploys its network internationally

Because its mission does not stop at the borders of its territory and because its sector has been expanding for many years, France Supply Chain naturally opens up to the international market. With passionate and involved members, the association launches France Supply Chain International with the ambition to build a worldwide network.

"Our members include major groups with international activities in their DNA. We want to bring them a global vision to feed their reflections in terms of culture, innovation and development, but also benefit from the wealth of their local knowledge to create a global network of supply chain players. To do this, we have imagined a decentralized governance and the creation of chapters by country, feeding on each other's knowledge", explains Jean-Michel Guarnieri, former president of Aslog and president of France Supply Chain International.

Local strengths serving a global network

In order to structure this vast international project, France Supply Chain relies on a central COPIL composed of supply chain directors of large groups and international logistics providers. Their missions? To identify the countries eligible for the creation of chapters, to coordinate their actions while promoting exchanges. The development of some thirty chapters over 24 months has therefore been staggered by geographical area: the Americas and Africa in 2020, the Near and Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia-Oceania in 2021 and finally Western Europe in 2022. Locally, a COPIL per chapter will be in charge of identifying and federating local companies, whether or not they are members of the association, and of facilitating exchanges. " At the central level, we provide them with material via our labs and all of our work, but it is then up to them to decide on an annual program, to open up membership and to address topics in line with local issues," emphasizes Jean-Michel Guarneri.

A concrete organization in Morocco where the Morocco Supply Chain chapter was born, led by a COPIL composed of local experts. In this country positioned as a regional hub, the supply chain is driven by expanding infrastructures, a dynamic economy, the presence of world-class integrated operators and a growing desire for digitalization: "The logistics sector in Morocco represents 6% of the GDP and employs about 500,000 people. More than 8,000 people are trained each year," says Hicham Alami, Associate Director at GCL. It is in this context that the creation of Maroc Supply Chain is registered. Four major themes will be addressed by the chapter in 2021: human resources, the supply chain of SMEs, digitalization and the place of Morocco in international supply chains.

---

Africa, a "priority market

And despite a lack of intra-regional connectivity and the need for investment in this area, this dynamism should also be driven by the entry into force on¹ January 2021 of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). As Sébastien Beuque, deputy CEO Africa Sales & Development at Bolloré Transport & Logistics, points out, "inter-African trade represents only 10% of the trade in the African zone. By comparison, in Europe, intra-European business amounts to 70%. The continent therefore has extraordinary potential.