BY MARK B. SOLOMON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR – NEWS
FACILITY MANAGEMENT
Technology
THE THOUSANDS OF FOLKS WHO WALKED THE PROMAT 2017
show floor in Chicago earlier this month witnessed material handling
automation on a scale unimaginable just two years ago. But the breath-taking high-tech improvements come with a hitch: an ongoing shortfall
of skilled workers to service the increasingly complex stuff.
According to a 2017 survey by MHI, the trade group that runs
ProMat, 63 percent of respondents said that “hiring and retaining
a skilled workforce” remains their top challenge. A 2015 forecast by
EMSI, a unit of CareerBuilder.com, predicted the number of new
supply chain technician positions would grow by 11 percent through
2025 to more than 2. 6 million from less than 2. 4 million. On top of the
expected growth in new positions, about 22 percent of the 2015 tech
labor pool will turn over by 2025 due to retirements and departures,
according to the EMSI forecast. As a result, 770,000 tech-level job
openings (new and replacement) will be created by mid-decade, the
firm said. However, universities and technical schools are not turning
out enough skilled techs to meet the projected demand, according to a
study by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Organizations like the National Center for Supply Chain Automation
are working to connect industry, academia, and talent in a long-range
plan to build a self-sustaining labor pipeline. In the meantime, though,
the goods still need to flow, warehouses need to hum, and expensive
mission-critical systems and equipment need to be maintained and
serviced.
The stakes in keeping systems running are higher than ever because of
the explosive growth of e-commerce, which puts a premium on speed
and precision in the DC to meet uncompromising omnichannel fulfillment demands. A company like Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc., the
world’s largest e-tailer and now a major fulfillment services provider,
has “no tolerance for downtime” in its centers, said Todd Sermersheim,
vice president, North America customer service for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based systems
integrator Dematic, a unit of German conglomerate Kion Group AG.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION ...
Maintenance comes at a cost, but the tab in time and money can be mitigated by proactive
lifecycle checks, according to executives of system integrators, companies that blend material
handling and software systems from multiple suppliers into a whole and ensure the component parts function smoothly together.
Whether they do it in-house or outsource the work—and many companies still opt for the
former—businesses need to conduct five- to 10-year lifecycle assessments on new systems and
develop remediation plans for older systems that are more vulnerable to near-term problems,
said Dave Trice, senior director of business development, lifecycle support for Mason, Ohio-
The persistent
shortage of
qualified
material
handling techs
can be
surmounted,
and it starts
with some
forward
thinking,
executives say.
Getting around the
warehouse tech labor crunch
