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Our members are recruitingTICKET OF THE WEEK
By Karine Samuel, President of AIRL
International Association for Research in Logistics and Management and France Supply Chain, a win-win relationship
From 18 to 20 May 2022, the 14thAIRL-SCMMeeting was held at the IAE Clermont Auvergne - School of Management, Clermont-Ferrand. Every two years, they bring together the international community of researchers working on logistics and supply chain management.
For this 14th edition of the AIRL-SCM Meetings, which focused on the challenges of logistics and supply chain management at the crossroads, some sixty speakers, researchers and professionals had the pleasure of meeting and discussing their work on topics such as planning tools, demand management, customer-supplier relations, etc. But the meetings also allowed us to address current issues such as the response of supply chains to crises, food supply chains, resilience and security of chains, sustainable supply chain management.
A visit to an educational warehouse in Montluçon was carried out, in order to highlight the innovative educational tools that contribute to the training of future logisticians.
As a highlight of these 14th meetings, a round table dedicated to the major challenges of supply chains brought together the Supply Chain Directors of Louis Vuitton, Michelin, Théa, Yves Rocher and Arkema, who gave their testimonies on various current topics: the vulnerability of supply chains and the means used to develop greater agility, regionalisation and the challenges linked to the reconfiguration of supply chains, the implementation of omnichannelity, and the place of the human element in the supply chain. Each participant took part in a foresight exercise to project their Supply Chain to 15 years by placing at the heart of their priorities a desire to develop more adjusted, decarbonised, resilient and globally more sustainable Supply Chains.
At the end of this conference, the AIRL-SCM and France Supply Chain reaffirm their close links to engage academic actors to conduct their research in collaboration with managers in the field in order to build the knowledge and managerial skills of students who will address tomorrow's challenges facing companies.
The France Supply Chain thesis prize for the best article in sustainable supply chain, awarded during the gala evening, rewarded the work of Joséphine Riemens, Andrée-Anne Lemieux, Samir Lamouri, Léonore Garnier, published in the Sustainability magazine and entitled "A Delphi-Régnier Study Addressing theChallenges of Textile Recycling in Europe for the Fashion and Apparel Industry". This research focuses on textile recycling and presents the testing of innovative solutions for improving recycling processes in this sector.
A Jury's Favourite Award was also given to Anne Touboulic and Jane Glover for their article "Tales from the countryside: Unpacking 'passing the environmental buck' as hypocritical practice in the food Supply Chain" published in the Journal of Business Research.
HIGHLIGHTS
Can technology support supply chain employment?
Many companies have noticed that the supply chain suffers from an image deficit and has difficulty recruiting both in France and in other parts of the world. According to a global study conducted by Tools Group and the CSCMP (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals) among 300 Supply Chain decision-makers, 52% of Supply Chain transformation projects would be hampered by the lack of skills and manpower. This is a worrying situation for many executives who are making "strengthening recruitment systems" a priority. These initiatives often aim to improve working conditions but also to make supply chain jobs more attractive. Thus, 51% of companies state that they will increase their automation capacities in 2022 in order to refocus employees on activities with higher added value. This trend is corroborated by another study conducted by the equipment manufacturer Zebra. This survey, which is based on more than 1,500 respondents, reveals that a majority of companies are concentrating on automating workflows to make it easier to recruit operators: mobile terminals, mobile printers, rugged tablets or even software for sizing and automatically measuring packages are among the most widely used technologies. For reasons that are often similar, it can be observed that over the last 5 years, automation and robotisation have made a lightning breakthrough in the supply chain. A trend that will continue at an extremely high rate. While 23% of European warehouse operators have already deployed autonomous mobile robots (27% worldwide), this figure is expected to rise to 88% in Europe and 90% worldwide in the next 5 years. What do these studies tell us? First of all, they contradict a widespread idea that robotisation is systematically to the detriment of employment. In this case, the figures indicate that the appeal of technology is improving the image of the supply chain and facilitating recruitment. Moreover, if arduous and unpleasant jobs are destroyed, we are witnessing the creation of other more rewarding and more remunerative jobs. Moreover, it can also be considered that technologies increase productivity and bring a real competitive advantage in a perspective of reindustrialisation of the territory. It is therefore legitimate to see many benefits. Provided, of course, that we do not lose sight of the human element. For as good old Rabelais said in the 16th century: "Science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul". This is even more true today!
NOT TO BE MISSED
The results are in!
At the beginning of 2022, France Supply Chain launched the Best Article Award in Sustainable Supply Chain. Last week during the RIRL of AIRL, the jury announced not one but two winners: the prize for the best article and the jury's favourite.
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