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Tag: supply chain and procurement

  • Logistics Job Skills: What Employers Are Looking For

    Logistics Job Skills: What Employers Are Looking For

    The logistics industry is a complex and ever-changing field. It involves coordinating and moving resources from a location to the desired destination. Resources can be people, materials, inventory, and equipment. The sector demands detail-oriented planning and execution to meet deadlines. And to accomplish the business function, an organisation needs the right people possessing key skills for logistics.

    With the continuous evolution of this industry, organisations constantly need to adapt to new challenges, which demand professionals with unique skills to thrive in various roles within the logistics sector.

    In this blog, understand what are the top job skills for you to claim your place in the logistics industry.  Whether you are a seasoned logistics professional looking to stay ahead or an aspiring professional seeking to enter this dynamic field, this guide will provide valuable insights into the key skills that employers highly value.

    You must also read: 7 Traits Every Employer Is Looking for in a New Employee

    What are the Elemental Skills Required in Logistics?

    Various logistics job skills must synergise to make you stand out and get hired. So let us look closely at the must-have skills.

    #1. Data analysis

    Data is everything for the modern logistics industry. Data analysis lets you make informed decisions and plan the next step accordingly. Additionally, data allows teams to spot trends & patterns and forecast what the future holds.

    With top-grade data analysis skills, you can quickly ensure your company’s goods reach their destination. Along with strong mathematical skills, you must also use spreadsheets to plan and execute activities to calculate pricing & delivery times.

    #2. Versatility

    Knowing how to identify & address concerns rapidly is one of the key skills for logistics for having a progressive career in logistics. In addition, those who understand the importance of adaptability pave the way for their growth. The reason is the scale of the supply chain for large-scale organisations require flexibility to address the situation effectively.

    #3. Resource management

    Logistics workers must be able to allocate the ideal amount of staff and other resources, such as vehicles, equipment, and building space, for a smooth process. They must know the resources available at their disposal and understand the right way to utilise them.

    Besides, resource maintenance skills are crucial when shaping a logistics career. Therefore, one must hone resource management skills to build a bright career in the industry.

    #4. Planning & organisation

    Strict planning and organisation are required for working in logistics. If you aren’t good at planning and organisation, it might lead to unhappy customers who would discontinue using your firm’s services due to missed deadlines. Undoubtedly, even the employer wouldn’t consider retaining an employee who cannot plan accordingly.

    On top of it, the organisation wouldn’t only lose revenue but see a sharp rise in costs due to an unplanned way of working.

    #5. Preventive maintenance

    Machine downtime causes loss of production and money, and companies look out for candidates with preventive maintenance skills. The reason is the skill helps employees to lower the risks of breakdown. Additionally, knowing the maintenance and repair of plant tools and equipment is a bonus in landing the right job.

    #6. Smart transport modeling

    It makes perfect sense to learn how to evaluate existing conditions and conduct a more detailed investigation into future projections. Logistics companies look for candidates who can approach logistical routes mathematically and ensure the cost-effectiveness of the trips.

    #7. Dispute resolution

    To enter the world of logistics, you must acquire and master dispute resolution. You must be able to minimise the effect of a dispute through arbitration and mediation. For employers, job hunters who can pay attention to detail and check how communication happens are the most valuable assets.

    To enhance your profile even better, you must work on your ability to work alongside clients, businesses, and legal teams.

    #8. Warehouse safety knowledge

    Having good warehouse safety knowledge is necessary because warehouses remain under potential risks. However, you must remember that you should aim to acquire warehouse safety knowledge from a legal and moral viewpoint. If you have the proper knowledge, you can optimise the warehouse’s layout to improve workflow and shift to new technology to make the work environment safer.

    Related Read: Skills to Master Before Your Next Job Search

    Additional Must-have Skills

    There are specific other skills that you must embed in your personality to progress in the logistics industry. Have a look at them!

    Teamwork

    Whether you are experienced or planning to enter the industry as a newbie, teamwork is one of the crucial logistics job skills at the heart of the industry. Having the ability to work with a team is fundamental to your success.

    Communication

    You cannot help yourself settle into the environment without good communication skills. Therefore, you must know how to communicate with the stakeholders, customers, and colleagues. Also, encourage openness and honesty to enable the other person to communicate freely.

    Contingency planning

    Disruptions are a part of logistics. Therefore, staying prepared by creating a contingency plan can serve as a merit point for you while applying for a job. The skill involves assessing potential risks, communicating with customers, and seeking alternatives.

    If you’re interested in a career in logistics, it’s important to develop the skills that are essential for success in this field. By developing these skills, you’ll be well-positioned for a successful career in logistics.

    Ready to grow your career?

    Integral to every part of modern society, logistics is a very diverse sector. As a result, it offers a multitude of career opportunities. Moreover, the industry boasts fast growth even in times of economic struggle. If you are willing to start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way up, the industry will never disappoint you. While you get to work with new technologies, the starting salary packages also attract job seekers.

    Master the logistics job skills and break into the world of logistics. Check out the latest job openings and how our Supply Chain & Procurement team can help you land your dream job.

    Apply Now – Jobs in Supply Chain

    FAQs

    1. What are the skills needed for logistics?

    Carving a career in logistics requires some skills that make you stand out, which are as follows:

    • Data analysis

    • Resource management

    • Planning and organisation

    • Transport management

    • Adaptability

    2. What are the five elements of logistics?

    The five elements of logistics are:

    • Storage, warehousing, and materials handling.

    • Packaging and unitisation.

    • Inventory.

    • Transport.

    • Information and control.

  • How Can Employers Access A Wider Pool Of Talent?

    How Can Employers Access A Wider Pool Of Talent?

    Finding and attracting top talent / qualified candidates is one of the biggest challenges faced by HR managers & business leaders today. As per LinkedIn’s 2022 Employee study, 76% of hiring managers admit that attracting suitable candidates to fill the vacancies is their biggest challenge.

    With the widening skills gap and talent shortage, employers must augment their hiring capabilities and efficiently attract the right talent. And as we have entered the year 2023, you must start exploring new avenues to earn the right candidates for your organisation. This is with particular reference to the fact your business game won’t be the same anymore but will be leveled up this year. But, more than that, you will be competing against aggressive competitors.

    Let’s dive into knowing how employers can access a wider talent pool. But first, we’ll examine what a talent pool is and its importance.

    What is a Talent Pool?

    Structurally, a talent pool refers to a database of potential candidates who have previously shown an interest either with your organisation via your portal or any recruitment agency. The candidates included in the database are highly qualified with skills & expertise as well as aligns with your organisation’s competencies & values.

    An ideal talent pool contains candidate information, including skills, potentially suitable roles, their capacity to fit in the company’s culture, and more.​

    How can Employers Access a Wider Talent Pool?

    #1. Engaging a HR Specialist Recruiter

    Many recruitment firms work hard for employers by developing a talent pool. Working with a HR specialist recruiter can help you find candidates more efficiently. With a vast talent network at their disposal, you can tap into a pool of vetted candidates. Therefore, you won’t have to wander from source to source to find qualified candidates and can access the talent pool of a recognised recruitment firm.

    Not only this, you won’t be accessing an average but an extensive talent pool of higher-quality candidates.

    Why have we placed this source on top of our list? Because of the benefit of catching hold of the specialist knowledge of the consultants that your in-house recruiters might not possess. Collaborating with a recruitment firm can work like magic for you, given their better knowledge and a deeper understanding of the targeted job market segments.​

    #2. Employee Referrals

    Are you present at your office premises? If yes, then look around and name what you see. Of course, the most visible assets of your organisation are your people – your employees who are your passive source of talent recruitment.

    Remember Mark Zuckerberg’s words: “People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising.”

    Reach out to your team; this tactic will earn you some carefully screened candidates. However, beware of entertaining ingenuine referrals from your employees as they might try favouring their friends or family.​

    #3. Social Network

    Current trends reveal organisations employ people from social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. You can access a wider talent pool by surfing these social networks and expect some hires. So to develop a candidate pool, the key is to identify the candidates that fit your job role and separate them from others. In due course, you will be able to develop and access a talent pool to make the highly required hires.

    Although exploring social networks is a great idea, you must stay cautious of considering hiring candidates that overrate themselves.​

    #4. Career Sites & Job Boards

    Online career sites and job boards are a fail-proof idea to access a rich talent pool. Using them effectively will leave you with a candidate pool to hire quality professionals.

    Make sure you choose the right career sites, as some might not suit your industry and requirements. Additionally, check for their reputation and authority.​

    #5. Attend Events & Connect

    We are living in an era that is witnessing a surge in online and in-person events in the corporate world. As a result, employers get dramatic exposure to a talent pool when attending events and networking. Moreover, corporate events allow you to meet talented people who can convert into your next hires.

    Cultivate your network and reach out to people whenever you have a hire to make. What better could you ask for than getting introduced to a pool of quality candidates? But one thing worthy of attention here is that you have to choose wisely the events to attend because some of them may not deserve your time.​

    Conclusion

    The modern-day corporate culture is witnessing the power of choice being bestowed upon candidates. Therefore, exposure to a talent pool is a sure-shot way to make hires and fill vacant positions within your organisation. And when you have a rich pool of candidates, ensure you update, maintain, and utilise the database.

    Need help to make your hiring journey smooth and speedy?

    Allow Cornerstone Global Partners (CGP) Singapore to serve you with specialist knowledge and a deeper market understanding. Take a step forward and partner with us to hire confidently and quickly.

    We operate by maintaining a candidate-centric approach, we leverage a multi-brand, geography, and service line model to allow for maximum entrepreneurship and ownership for our Teams. We offer our clients an executive search strategy to match our clients with the best talent within hours.

    After analysis and research, we concluded that the CGP database, built from years of meticulous screening and upkeep, was sizable and fit the requirements for our standard. Enabling this inventory would be the key factor in unleashing the platform’s potential, allowing senior talent access top-quality jobs and at the same time, clients tap into a greater talent pool.

    Get in Touch

    FAQs

    1. What is a wider talent pool?

    A wider talent pool refers to a broader group of potential job candidates. It comprises candidates who have previously shown interest in working for a particular organisation and are highly qualified. The database could also include former employees or passive candidates. A talent pool reduces recruiters’ work of searching for candidates and makes it much cheaper. It consists of data such as skills, potential roles, how well they match with the organisation’s culture, and more.

    2. How can a company attract more talent?

    The most effective ways companies can use to attract more talent are:

    • Present attractive fringe benefits.

    • Provide them with a plan about how the organisation will contribute to their growth.

    • Leverage social networks like LinkedIn.

    • Build an employer brand.

    • Attend corporate events & network with people.

    • Promote employee referrals.

    • Reach out to previous employees.

    3. How do employers attract employees?

    The current market trends say that employees are looking not only for attractive salary packages but also for company culture. Besides, they also look for an organisation’s fringe benefits and work flexibility. Therefore, to attract top talent, employers must offer good salary packages matching the candidates’ skills, fringe benefits, and a healthy & flexible work environment.

  • Digital Transformation: 5 Industries Leading The Way

    Digital Transformation: 5 Industries Leading The Way

    Reshaping the Global Manufacturing Landscape

    The definition of digital transformation is still widely disputed across industries. It depends on the way one industry adopts new technologies or the term differs in different industries.

    Here’s what digital transformation currently means for 5 top industries as we draw conclusions on leading trends of digital technologies, data-driven efficiencies and improving manufacturing processes.

    • Aerospace
    • Chemicals
    • Construction
    • Third-Party Logistics
    • Electronics

    Aerospace: Global Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Market to Reach $55.6 Billion by 2026

    ​The global market for Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) estimated at US$44.8 Billion in the year 2020, reaches a revised size of US$55.6 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% over the analysis period. (“Global Market Trajectory & Analytics” report)

    ​The digitalization of MROs comes in the form of cloud-based service or supply chain mobile applications from human-touch to human-led basis. The industry fuels on the massive potential of improving processes through robotic automation, data analytics and artificial intelligence.​​

    Chemicals: Digital Technologies Open New Way for Chemical Products and Services

    ​Chemical producers were among the first industrial companies to deploy digital technologies, using digital sensors and controllers to optimize production and control plant operations. Recently, the digital chemical industry market size was valued at US$ 11.1 billion in 2021 and it is expected to reach US$ 61.7 billion in 2030, recording a promising CAGR of 21.4% from 2022 to 2030 (Bloomberg report).

    ​Chemical enterprises look beyond traditional ways of primary manufacturing operations and processes through means of artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics (BDA), internet of things (IoT), robotics and many more as it also shifts from evolutionary to disruptive era.

    ​Larger chemical organisations have plans to invest about 5% of their annual revenues in further digitalization of their various operations over the next five years.​​

    Construction: Is This Industry Embracing Digitalization Well?

    ​Digitalization in the construction industry moves forward though it is slow. From the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), Digital Documentation to Process Automation, there have been many milestones for the construction industry’s business leaders to have a holistic picture.

    ​Construction companies are becoming more aware of the potential and plan to invest more in digital technologies. Therefore, the digital technologies market of construction 4.0 market is projected to increase by around $29 Billion by 2027.​

    Third-Party Logistics: Rising customer sophistication and expectations are driving forces for digital transformation

    ​With retail e-commerce sales grew quickly from US$25.4 billion in 2019, clients of third-party logistics companies are increasingly looking for specialized services (PWC report).

    ​Right after the pandemic, e-commerce powers up the digital forefront of third-party logistics companies. Many industry leaders are optimizing fundamental digital changes to meet expectations through pockets of driving factors like faster delivery speeds, better online delivery visibility, and new digital purchase models.

    ​

    Electronics: Smart, Connected Products Gain New Competencies

    ​Digital initiatives in the forefront of the electronics industry have taken place through highly invested product development of smarter and connected products, projected to reach $6.9 trillion by 2030 (PWC report). As digital complexities are all rising precipitously, manufacturers are actively leveraging the initiative to accelerate their digital transformation journeys, to change the way they design, fabricate, and deliver in the current era. New digital and hardware technologies, coupled with integrative design principles open new possibilities for manufacturers.

    ​As we learn through the top transformative digitalization trends of the 5 major industries, how about understanding the future of the workplace in manufacturing industries?​

    ​The Future of Work: Digital Transformation of Employment​

    ​The Future of Work: Digital Transformation of Employment​

    A Future of Work (FoW) framework NASA developed based on research to embark on a new future workforce journey

    Digital transformation is not only disrupting the process and productivity aspects of manufacturing but also talent needs bringing new opportunities for upskilling and reskilling. Digital skills must be a priority for the manufacturing industry to step forward into digital transformation.

    To hire in the digital era, various hiring jobs are morphing with must-have skillsets such as digitalization project management, industry 4.0 capability, and more. Manufacturing jobs are reimagined to reflect these ongoing skillsets. We are all preparing for a future that promises to be transformative.

    ​If you are a professional or work within the manufacturing industry who wish to find out more about market dynamics or career options, reach out to us here »​

    The views expressed in this article are those of CGP Singapore’s contributing members – Kent Yar, Kathleen Zhu, Bennett Chow, Donny Leong and June Tan.

  • The Game Is Still Changing: Digitalization Within Aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

    The Game Is Still Changing: Digitalization Within Aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

    ​Digitalization is steadily changing everything, from the ways maintenance is planned to parts secured to documentation, execution, and turning of wrenches in hangars. This has resulted in the need to re-skill and upskill leaders as well as employees, forming a more digital mindset leading to greater success within the aerospace industry.

    Technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, AR/VR, digital twins, and 3D printing to perform MRO operations have increased the efficiency of operations and have dramatically reduced turnaround time.

    SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), a subsidiary company of SIA is Asia’s foremost Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) providerhas recorded revenue of $125.3 million for the first quarter of FY2021-22, $6.8 million higher year-on-year (+5.7%) largely driven by higher flight activities. Consequently, the Group incurred a lower operating loss of $2.9 million compared to the operating loss of $8.6 million in the same quarter last year.

    The group has earlier announced on 20th January 2021 that it has started Phase 2 of its Transformation Program after seeing significant improvements in the company’s operating performance with its increased productivity and thus improved turnaround time and reduced operating costs after it began its Transformation Phase 1 since 2017. They have worked closely with OEMs that provide the data analytics and big data together to revolutionize maintenance—making it more predictable in terms of results and more cost-effective.

    “The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant severe disruptions to the aviation industry has made it even more imperative that we press on with the next phase of SIAEC’s Transformation journey to strengthen our resilience and agility while positioning us to be first off the blocks when the upturn comes around. With the launch of Transformation Phase 2, we will strive to be more productive and innovative and emerge from this crisis with enhanced competitiveness. We will support our staff through digital training and equip ourselves with digital tools that enable real-time sharing of information and data-driven decisions,” said SIAEC Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ng Chin Hwee.

    ST Aerospace, the world’s largest airframe MRO solution provider has also integrated advanced predictive analytics into its system modeling for CFM56 engines to provide data-based engine health management programs which they have plans to expand predictive maintenance beyond engines to components. According to a Market Research Future report, the global digital MRO market is expected to register a 12% annual growth during the forecast period 2019-2030 which the report says: “Digitalization will help the industry to create a continuous stream of data flowing through different levels of the supply chain thus having a digital MRO strategy is becoming central to core strategies of organizations, helping them to gain a competitive edge over others and having the right tool to automate data ingestion, parsing it, and managing various versions of the document, amongst other tasks, can reduce indirect costs by more than 70 percent.