DC Velocity - January 2014

strategicinsight 3PLs

WHAT ELSE COULD 3PLs DO?

During the past 25 years, I have literally talked to thousands of people who are employed in the global 3PL industry, from board chairmen to warehouse workers. Based upon that interaction and my additional exposure to the industry, I believe there are some steps that the industry as well as individual companies might take to attempt to improve 3PLs’ ability to find and keep talented managers.

I’d like to suggest that 3PLs form an industry task force to examine these matters and provide research funding to explore issues affecting the industry. That might be coupled with an industry-sponsored conference that would specifically address these issues.

The industry should also participate more extensively in on-campus recruiting and job fairs, and consider providing scholarships to universities with supply chain management programs. That might be coupled with establishment of a 3PL industry speakers’ bureau. Collectively, these steps would increase the visibility of the industry and provide greater access to students with a background in the field.

There would also be value in establishment of an online industry marketplace for job postings and résumés that would be sponsored by and used exclusively by 3PLs. The Internet could also be used to create an online forum where 3PL employees could discuss human resource management issues. Finally, I’d like to suggest that executives learn from the experience of other industries that have been dealing with similar issues. There is often a reluctance to do that, which goes back to the roots of many of these companies in the transportation and warehousing industries.

Those are ideas that will take some
effort by the industry as a whole. But
there are several things large 3PLs can
and should do individually, right now.
They should conduct a thorough job
analysis of positions within their compa-
nies and use objective standards to com-
pare the adequacy of not only their job
designs and requirements, but also of
their compensation and benefits pack-
ages. They should also conduct annual
employee surveys to “take the tempera-
ture” of their organizations. Managers
should be rotated out of “problem” client
assignments with regularity; better yet,
over time, that type of client should be
eliminated from the client base. Often,
the problems such clients cause more
than offset the monetary value they
deliver to their service providers.
Consistent with that point, 3PLs should
continue to seek more collaborative
working relationships with their key
clients. Many are doing so, and that is a
very important development. Finally,
3PLs should develop an exit interview
“data bank” with information from man-
agers and operating personnel who leave
their organizations. Analysis of that data
could provide valuable insights into the
reasons talented people leave and what
might be done within the company to
address those issues.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The emergence and evolution of the third-party logistics industry has been one of the most interesting and important developments in the history of supply chain management. Its scope has become global in nature, and its existence provides very important strategic opportunities for existing and potential clients. The 3PL industry’s future appears to be bright, but it will be very dependent upon the industry’s ability to find and keep talented managers. The marketplace for talent in the field of supply chain and logistics management is very competitive, and data generated through our annual surveys of 3PL CEOs clearly indicate that top-level executives are aware of areas in which their companies might currently suffer a competitive disadvantage.

There are real challenges involved in attempting to improve the industry’s talent base, but those challenges can be overcome through thoughtful attention from management and decisive action to make the industry an attractive place for young professionals to work and grow. ;