76% of logistics operators suffering from labour shortages
A study of 1,000 logistics decision-makers from 9 European countries, plus Canada and the USA, conducted by Descartes Systems Group and the Sapio research institute, has found that 76% of logistics operators are suffering from labour shortages. The sample included 150 supply chain managers as well as personnel from the manufacturing, distribution, logistics and transportation industries.
76% of respondents said they were experiencing labour shortages, while 37% described their labour shortage as severe. Transportation was found to be the worst-affected sector. It is not just a case of skilled manual professions like lorry drivers either. 55% of the supply chain managers interviewed said they had experienced difficulty recruiting qualified workers.
The shortages are understandably having an impact on operations, with 58% of respondents stating their customer service levels had dropped as a result.
Among the French companies surveyed, 46% said they invested in technology, which was actually the lowest rate among any countries who participated. 35% said they’d invested in tech to improve warehouse management, followed by transport operations on 34%, and transport planning on 31%.
Commenting on the results, Mounir Zaïdi, Senior Sales Account Executive at Descartes, said:
“The economic slowdown and the end of the Covid crisis had given rise to the idea that in the world of logistics, the labour shortages of recent years would ease. But that has not turned out to be the case. Supply chain companies continue to struggle to hire, and the employees they do hire they need to develop. Given that their performance is linked to both the quantity and quality of their resources, supply chain managers must rethink not only their hiring and retention strategies, but also the way technology can be utilised to help alleviate the challenges of this labour shortage.”
