THE COUNCIL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PROfessionals (CSCMP) is conducting a survey to determine the interests of its more senior members and get their thoughts on whether
there’s a generation gap in the profession. The group is seeking
input from those whose membership numbers fall below 9,999; and
as one whose number is 666, I fall squarely into the “senior member” category. As I reviewed the survey questions, I was struck by
how much the profession has changed since the days when CSCMP
was known as the National Council of Physical Distribution
Management (NCPDM).
A few days later, I was thumbing through
a trade publication that featured a section on
“pros to know,” or its take on the current supply
chain visionaries. While there were a few notable
exceptions, the vast majority of the men and
women listed were affiliated with a company that
marketed supply chain technology. Around the
same time, I ran across a survey of chief financial
officers by Duke University that found that 70
percent of the respondents felt that the advantage
of hiring so-called “millennials” was their expertise in technology. So is there a gap between the
older and younger supply chain generations? You
bet there is. That said, obviously, there is no hard and fast dividing
line between the two groups. Some younger practitioners may subscribe to the more traditional management techniques, and I know
several (OK, a few) senior practitioners who have an excellent grasp
of new supply chain technologies.
Regardless of our time in grade, most of us are familiar with such
systems as warehouse and transportation management software.
They’ve been around for quite some time (although looking back,
the early versions were fairly primitive). But today, the list of technologies designed for supply chain applications is almost endless.
There are sophisticated systems for managing labor, inventory, and
the yard. There are voice order picking systems and speech recognition software. We have GPS, RFID, bar codes, clouds, wireless
technology, and 3D printers, not to mention our smartphones,
which give us almost instant connectivity. Obviously, with all this
technology comes a new breed of supply chain practitioner. This
vast reservoir of technology would be useless without those who
understand it, relate to it, and can apply it effectively. This is where
the gap exists—and a huge one it is.
BY CLIFFORD F. LYNCH fastlane
A supply chain generation gap?
As an adjunct supply chain instructor, I am
constantly reminded of what my students do
not know and what they know that I don’t.
They don’t believe me when I tell them that
25 years ago, I paid a consulting firm several
hundred thousand dollars to perform a basic
network analysis for my company. Most of
them do not know that transportation was
once regulated. But when we begin a discussion
about some of the current technologies, they
quickly leave me behind.
So yes, there is a generation gap, and thank goodness there is. As the world
becomes smaller, customers
become more demanding,
and channels of distribution change rapidly, a supply
chain manager’s task would
be impossible without new
techniques and technology,
and the people who understand them.
As with every major change, however, there is
a risk, and the supply chain environment is no
exception. Already, we have seen breakdowns
in personal communication and in sensitivity
to our colleagues, fellow employees, and subordinates, as well as declines in other management skills that cannot be systematized. I see
this as a huge risk, for I believe strongly that
the future belongs to the supply chain manager
who can master the technology and at the same
time, maintain those attributes that are so necessary for effective human relations. For these,
technology will never be a substitute.
Clifford F. Lynch is principal of C.F. Lynch & Associates, a provider
of logistics management advisory services, and author of Logistics
Outsourcing – A Management Guide and co-author of The Role of
Transportation in the Supply Chain. He can be reached at cliff@
cflynch.com.
