Only 1 in 3 supply chain companies have adequate staff

Hamburg, 30 November 2022. The Körber Supply Chain Benchmarking Report 2022 reveals hiring and retaining labor remains among the top challenges for today’s supply chains. The report shows only 37% of supply chain professionals have an adequate number of employees, and more than one in three turnover at least 50% of their warehouse associates each year.

“With more than one in three supply chain professionals churning over at least half of their warehouse associates each year, businesses need to rethink how they engage long-term employees to build a more welcoming workplace, how they train temporary employees for success during peak seasons, and how they comply with continually changing health and safety guidelines. It’s a daunting task, but supply chain software and technologies can help businesses create a more engaging and safer employee experience,” Chad Collins, CEO Software at Körber Business Area Supply Chain, said.

Providing detailed insight into the state of the industry, the Körber Supply Chain Benchmarking Report 2022 grouped participating companies into four maturity levels (leader, advanced, developing and initiating) and revealed leading companies have developed strategies to respond to the increasingly tight labor market. Against 65 % of companies struggling with that, leading companies have started to look beyond the traditional levers of recruitment and retention and put stronger emphasis on employee health and safety. The great majority of leaders thereby invests into workplace safety, gamification and ergonomics to attract and retain their staff.

“In an increasingly tight labor market, employee engagement is key to attracting and retaining employees. Equipping warehouse associates with the right tools and technology, such as gamification, artificial intelligence, and voice picking systems, will enable them to work as efficiently as possible, while directly addressing labor challenges such as lower unemployment rates and high employee turnover,” added Sean Elliott, CTO Software at Körber Business Area Supply Chain.

Körber turns challenges into opportunities with a depth and breadth of technologies and expertise to conquer supply chain complexity, spanning warehouse management, warehouse control, robotics, voice and simulation to address labor challenges through productivity gains, as well as improve employee satisfaction and retention.

The survey questioned more than 200 companies in North America and Europe with at least 500 employees and is part of a broader research initiative in cooperation with leading international analysts. Full findings are available at benchmarking.koerber-supplychain.com. The site also offers a rapid self-assessment to provide visitors a first view into the maturity of their own supply chain operations.