Don Jacobson is the president of Optimum Supply Chain Recruiters, a recruiting organization that specializes in the placement of management personnel in the logistics field on a nationwide basis. You can reach him by calling Optimum SCR at (800) 300-7609 or by visiting the firm's Web site, www.OptimumSCR.com.
Shelley Safian is vice president of marketing for Optimum Supply Chain Recruiters, a recruiting organization that specializes in the placement of management personnel in the logistics field on a nationwide basis. You can reach her by calling Optimum SCR at (800) 300-7609 or by visiting the firm's Web site, www.OptimumSCR.com.
You can't ignore it any longer. For some time now, DC performance has been slipping. You've long suspected that the problem lies with your warehouse supervisor, but you haven't been able to bring yourself to let him/her go. It could be a well-liked old-timer who's constantly stumbling on the job ("He's always messing up, but he's such a nice guy. I can't fire him."). Or it could be a technically competent worker with an attitude ("She just doesn't get along with anyone, but she's so good at her job. How can I fire her?"). Either way, the problem has come to a head, and you have to act.
Chances are, this is not an employee who lacks both interpersonal and technical skills. If that were the case, you would have fired him/her long ago. This is a person with some redeeming features, which makes it a much tougher call. Does the good outweigh the bad? Is there a way to balance a person's skill set against his or her personality and fit with the company's culture (admittedly a highly subjective judgment)?
To lend some objectivity to the process, we've developed the Retention Rubric. To use the Rubric, you simply follow the steps outlined below to plot the employee's position on the grid and find the recommended action.
SKILL SET
CULTURE MATCH
1-Very Poor
2-Weak
3-Moderate
4-Good
5-Excellent
1-Very Poor
Fire immediately
Put on notice
Give a warning
Send to a class
Send to an interpersonal behavior seminar
2-Weak
Put on notice
Give a warning
Give a warning
Give a warning
Send to a class
3-Moderate
Give a warning
Put on probation
Assign a mentor
Assign a mentor
Assign a mentor
4-Good
Send back to school
Send to a class
Assign a mentor
Provide continuing praise
Provide continuing praise
5-Excellent
Send to a skills seminar
Send to a class
Assign a mentor
Provide continuing praise
Give a raise immediately
The horizontal axis: Skill set 1. On a scale from 1 to 5 (5 representing excellent and 1 representing very poor), evaluate the individual's ability to handle his/her assigned tasks. Does he or she schedule staff effectively? Are reports completed correctly and submitted on time? Does he or she manage inventory well? Are inventory counts correct? You may want to pull out a copy of the person's job description and run down the list, evaluating how well he/she performs each task using the 1 to 5 scale. Then, average the scores for each item to come up with an overall score.
2. Try to determine the root causes for a less-than-perfect score. Be honest and fair. If you believe that your organization is partially responsible for the person's difficulties—perhaps you've promoted someone from the ranks with no supervisory training—you must take that into account. It's not reasonable to punish a competent person who's effectively been set up to fail. Try to maintain objectivity when evaluating how well the person handles the job's technical aspects, but not at the expense of honesty. If he or she never turns in reports on time or keeps sloppy and inaccurate logs and inventory sheets, be truthful.
3. Evaluate the person's supervisory abilities. In other words, how good is he or she at motivating the staff? Is he or she an effective teacher or manager?
4. Consider the prospects for improvement. Is there any indication that this person could learn the missing skills or improve his/her performance? Do you believe this individual is capable of learning and willing to try?
The vertical axis: Fit with the organizational culture 1. On a scale from 1 to 5 (5 representing excellent, and 1 representing very poor), evaluate this person's ability to work well with others. Does he/she encourage teamwork and cooperation? Don't get sidetracked trying to assess his/her likeability; the real issue is respect. As you know, a person doesn't have to be liked to function well in an organization. Respect must be there; likeability is a bonus.
2. Review the real reasons for a lessthan- perfect score. Does the person try hard to do his/her best in a difficult corporate culture? Is he or she constantly getting the workforce riled up? Could the problem be that this person was trained in a different type of corporate environment (old habits die hard)? Could there be cultural reasons for the clash?
3. Decide whether he or she is a candidate for an attitude adjustment. If properly motivated, can he or she make himself/herself more agreeable and thus, more compatible with the company's culture?
Once you've plotted the scores on the Rubric, you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with. You'll also have some ideas for the next step to take. That's no guarantee that this job can be saved, of course. The fact remains that not everyone will be able to improve or succeed. But you just might end up turning a so-so performer into a superstar.
Nearly one-third of American consumers have increased their secondhand purchases in the past year, revealing a jump in “recommerce” according to a buyer survey from ShipStation, a provider of web-based shipping and order fulfillment solutions.
The number comes from a survey of 500 U.S. consumers showing that nearly one in four (23%) Americans lack confidence in making purchases over $200 in the next six months. Due to economic uncertainty, savvy shoppers are looking for ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style, the research found.
Younger shoppers are leading the charge in that trend, with 59% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials buying pre-owned items weekly or monthly. That rate makes Gen Z nearly twice as likely to buy second hand compared to older generations.
The primary reason that shoppers say they have increased their recommerce habits is lower prices (74%), followed by the thrill of finding unique or rare items (38%) and getting higher quality for a lower price (28%). Only 14% of Americans cite environmental concerns as a primary reason they shop second-hand.
Despite the challenge of adjusting to the new pattern, recommerce represents a strategic opportunity for businesses to capture today’s budget-minded shoppers and foster long-term loyalty, Austin, Texas-based ShipStation said.
For example, retailers don’t have to sell used goods to capitalize on the secondhand boom. Instead, they can offer trade-in programs swapping discounts or store credit for shoppers’ old items. And they can improve product discoverability to help customers—particularly older generations—find what they’re looking for.
Other ways for retailers to connect with recommerce shoppers are to improve shipping practices. According to ShipStation:
70% of shoppers won’t return to a brand if shipping is too expensive.
51% of consumers are turned off by late deliveries
40% of shoppers won’t return to a retailer again if the packaging is bad.
The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
The global air cargo market’s hot summer of double-digit demand growth continued in August with average spot rates showing their largest year-on-year jump with a 24% increase, according to the latest weekly analysis by Xeneta.
Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, Global average air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to continuing supply and demand imbalance. That came as August's global cargo supply grew at its slowest ratio in 2024 to-date at 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, rising +11%.
The second reason for higher rates was an ocean-to-air shift in freight volumes due to Red Sea disruptions and e-commerce demand.
Those factors could soon be amplified as e-commerce shows continued strong growth approaching the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and low-value goods exports from China in the first seven months of 2024 increased 30% year-on-year, including shipments to Europe and the US rising 38% and 30% growth respectively, Xeneta said.
“Typically, air cargo market performance in August tends to follow the July trend. But another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate growths of the year means there was definitely no summer slack season in 2024,” Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release.
“Rates we saw bottoming out in late July started picking up again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. This has been a busy summer, and now we’re at the threshold of Q4, it will be interesting to see what will happen and if all the anticipation of a red-hot peak season materializes,” van de Wouw said.
The report cites data showing that there are approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce and that 38% of small firms are unable to fill open positions. At the same time, the “skills gap” in the workforce is accelerating as automation and AI create significant shifts in how work is performed.
That information comes from the “2024 Labor Day Report” released by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm.
“We continue to see a labor shortage and an urgent need to upskill the current workforce to adapt to the new world of work,” said Michael Lotito, Littler shareholder and co-chair of WPI. “As corporate executives and business leaders look to the future, they are focused on realizing the many benefits of AI to streamline operations and guide strategic decision-making, while cultivating a talent pipeline that can support this growth.”
But while the need is clear, solutions may be complicated by public policy changes such as the upcoming U.S. general election and the proliferation of employment-related legislation at the state and local levels amid Congressional gridlock.
“We are heading into a contentious election that has already proven to be unpredictable and is poised to create even more uncertainty for employers, no matter the outcome,” Shannon Meade, WPI’s executive director, said in a release. “At the same time, the growing patchwork of state and local requirements across the U.S. is exacerbating compliance challenges for companies. That, coupled with looming changes following several Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to upend rulemaking, gives C-suite executives much to contend with in planning their workforce-related strategies.”
Stax Engineering, the venture-backed startup that provides smokestack emissions reduction services for maritime ships, will service all vessels from Toyota Motor North America Inc. visiting the Toyota Berth at the Port of Long Beach, according to a new five-year deal announced today.
Beginning in 2025 to coincide with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, STAX will become the first and only emissions control provider to service roll-on/roll-off (ro-ros) vessels in the state of California, the company said.
Stax has rapidly grown since its launch in the first quarter of this year, supported in part by a $40 million funding round from investors, announced in July. It now holds exclusive service agreements at California ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Benicia, Richmond, and Oakland. The firm has also partnered with individual companies like NYK Line, Hyundai GLOVIS, Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), and now Toyota.
Stax says it offers an alternative to shore power with land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology for shipping terminal and fleet operators without the need for retrofits.
In the case of this latest deal, the Toyota Long Beach Vehicle Distribution Center imports about 200,000 vehicles each year on ro-ro vessels. Stax will keep those ships green with its flexible exhaust capture system, which attaches to all vessel classes without modification to remove 99% of emitted particulate matter (PM) and 95% of emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Over the lifetime of this new agreement with Toyota, Stax estimated the service will account for approximately 3,700 hours and more than 47 tons of emissions controlled.
“We set out to provide an emissions capture and control solution that was reliable, easily accessible, and cost-effective. As we begin to service Toyota, we’re confident that we can meet the needs of the full breadth of the maritime industry, furthering our impact on the local air quality, public health, and environment,” Mike Walker, CEO of Stax, said in a release. “Continuing to establish strong partnerships will help build momentum for and trust in our technology as we expand beyond the state of California.”