It's no news that the pandemic has affected all sectors of the economy and industry segments. In the supply chain, it was not different: factories closed, ports backed up, and transportation costs increased.
And this scenario had a price. The year 2021 reported the highest number of layoffs¹ by supply chain managers since 2016. From 2020 to 2021, the average separation rate - LinkedIn's calculation of monthly turnover based on profiles on the network - increased by 28% compared to the 2016 average. The main reason was the combination of burnout and the desire for better pay.
While on the one hand, companies have been paying more for supply chain managers because they need professionals who can handle the various problems in the industry and the various disruptions in the supply chain; on the other hand, professionals have reached burnout for the same reasons.
That may happen because 57% of companies facing supply chain disruptions expect them to continue acting for at least six months². This is another reason supply chain managers have been quitting their jobs, which can negatively impact the business.
What else is affecting the supply chain
With the mess caused by the pandemic - high demand, lack of resources, charter prices, and delays in production - professionals dealt with problems that could not be easily solved. And then, it is about burnout.
And it is not only logistical and inventory problems that affect supply chain professionals. After all, it is necessary to manage the entire process. And this is only possible when you have, in fact, well-established processes and technologies that help keep everything running.
Unfortunately, this is not what happens in most companies. Many professionals find themselves doing manual work daily. Dealing with an extensive collection and organization of data without the aid of technology has also driven managers to burnout.
Every day, dealing with a large amount of data, added to the current logistical problems, the amount of time spent manually organizing processes makes managers miss the opportunity to generate insights that contribute to the business. Adding this to the high-performance culture experienced by the industry at all costs, and there you have the recipe for failure: employee burnout.
Nowadays, excel spreadsheets are used as a management tool by 67.4% of supply chain managers³. And this is not yet the worst part. The lack of modern processes and technology directly impacts business. Only 6% of companies say they have complete visibility of their supply chain and 69% of companies have no visibility.
This shows a significant deficit in the industry. While leaders are highly focused on the supply chain, there is a clear opportunity to optimize the process part. With up-to-date technology, task automation can ensure not only greater efficiency and accuracy but also reduce the burden on supply chain managers and allow them to be more strategic to the business.
How to Deal with Overload in the Supply Chain Industry?
Have an exemplary mapping of your supply chain
Having complete visibility of your supply chain is essential to anticipate problems and help avoid disruptions, stock-outs, and logistical issues.
Invest in systems and technologies that automate processes.
Investing in process and system updates not only removes the team's burden but also ensures greater visibility of all steps. Investing in modern logistics software, such as Easy4Pro, provides more visibility, control, cost reduction, and greater accuracy in data analysis.
Keep an eye out for signs of burnout
Losing a supply chain manager, especially abruptly, can negatively affect your business. So keep an eye out for signs of burnout in your team. Lower productivity increased inattention and presence, and disconnection with the team may be some signs.
Have you felt the impact of burnout in your company?
Sources:
² Statscan
³ Zippia