years from now. I want to know what I am
going to be doing.”
Crawford, who did stints at two compa-
nies during his college years and was part
of a team that won a distribution center
design award in 2008 from the Material
Handling Industry of America (MHIA),
says he will not join a company that does-
n’t have defined career paths for its
employees. “If a company doesn’t have a
vision for where this person is going, then
[the individual] will probably not get
there,” he says.
Room at the top?
In a tough job market, employers can be
selective. For example, Starbucks Coffee
Co., which has launched a global effort to
build a high-level personnel pipeline to
support its supply chain for the next 15 to
20 years, will only consider the top 10
percent of the graduating class of the
schools it plans to work with, according
to Shawn Simmons, Starbucks’ vice president, partner resources for supply chain
operations.
The ideal candidates—Starbucks plans
to hire and groom eight to 12 people per
year for the foreseeable future—will have
exposure to Fortune 500 organizations
either through prior work experience or
internships, must have demonstrated
leadership in previous roles, and will be
open to accepting international as well as
domestic positions, Simmons says.
Whether it be at Starbucks or other
companies its size, today’s college graduates or graduates-in-waiting may have to
bide their time before assuming high-level leadership roles. A 2009 survey by
Ohio State University found that the
average age range for directors and vice
presidents was 45 to 49. Although that
was down a bit from the 50- to 55-year
range reported in prior studies, there
were more over- 55 executives holding
senior management titles than in years
past, the survey found.
For those worried about a lack of young
blood to replace today’s upper echelon,
Crawford has some encouraging news. In
addition to the students who are pursuing
formal studies in logistics, he says, there
will be lots of others who are open to
careers in the profession. Many of his
peers have developed an interest in
logistics and supply chain management not because of an affinity for
the discipline itself, but for its effect
on so-called vertical fields like health
care and automotive.
“The supply chain is expanding
into many different areas of opera-
tion,” he says. “We will see people
taking standard concepts and apply-
ing them in different ways. Someone
who is interested in health care but
not in supply chain management
now finds [the supply chain] stimu-
lating because of the impact it has on
that person’s chosen field.”
Finally...
a company with
pragmatic solutions
an approach designed around
my business
a partner who ensures results
;
;;
;
Strategy Services
Supply chain assessments
Best practice assessments
Distribution network strategy
Mergers & consolidations
Inventory optimization
Transportation optimization
Outsourcing strategies
Organization design
Benchmarking
Fortna designs, implements and supports
supply chain solutions. Our focus on the
business case and willingness to share
your risk ensures that you are meeting
your business objectives.
Distribution Services
Distribution operations design
Material handling
implementation
Engineering
Equipment sourcing
Site selection
Construction management
Labor optimization
Leadership training
Technology Services
Supply chain execution
systems (WMS/TMS/LMS)
Warehouse control systems
Evaluation & implementation
IT strategies
Technical integration
Driving Supply Chain Results
