If you want to have a successful career as a supply chain professional, it's important that you focus on building and marketing an exceptional professional brand.
When we think about "brands," we generally think of consumer products and the companies that design and make them. Consider, for example, such well-known companies as Domino's Pizza, Volvo, and Apple. With Domino's, we think "fast," because we know we can be eating pizza 30 minutes after ordering it. When we hear Volvo, we think "safety." Apple we associate with "innovation." These associations—the images that emerge when we think of each company—are brands.
Companies carefully cultivate their brands in an effort to ensure that the impression they make on you is the one they desire you to have. When they are successful in creating a strong, desirable brand, it has "pull"; in other words, it prompts action on the part of the consumer. Apple has been especially successful in this regard, with consumers routinely standing in line to be among the first to buy the company's latest innovation.
People can have a brand, too. As an example, the late television news anchor Walter Cronkite's brand was "trustworthy and honest." If Walter Cronkite said it, you believed it. This doesn't apply only to celebrities. When you think about your co-workers, certain descriptors probably come to mind: the creative one; the analytical one; the organizer. These descriptors are shorthand for their professional brands.
Whether you know it or not, you have a brand. You have made an impression on people, and they have associations when they think of you. Those associations—your brand—should not be left to chance. If you want to have a successful career as a supply chain professional, it's important that you focus on building and marketing an exceptional professional brand.
The elements of a professional brand
What are the elements of an exceptional professional brand? Just as in the case of a corporate brand, the most important aspect of a professional brand is that it be **bold italic{distinctive and compelling.} It must signify capabilities and benefits that are not easily replicated elsewhere. Let's say you have a brand that includes "collaborative leader," and a project arises in your company that requires the accounting and supply chain organizations to work together for six months. Your collaborative leadership skills and supply chain knowledge would make you an ideal candidate for that potentially high-exposure project.
A good brand has a position in the market. That position occupies a space that is unique and easily identifiable, often called the "market niche." This is the area in which you excel.
A good brand has to be relevant. It does you no good to have a brand as "the class clown" when that has no relevance to your career in a logistics firm. On the other hand, if you are a monologue writer for "The Tonight Show," being the class clown would be highly relevant.
Your brand must be consistent. Whatever distinctive and compelling value your brand represents, you must provide that value consistently. For the supply chain professional, if your brand is "superior organization," you must demonstrate superior organizational skills not just when things are easy, but more importantly, during the most trying times: for example, when a key team member is out on family leave, or when your firm is reorganizing or acclimating to a merger.
Finally, brands need to be supported. They need cultivation and investment. When I was a child, I gave my dad Old Spice aftershave on Father's Day. Back then the brand was well-known and highly visible. But it languished until a few years ago when it received the necessary cultivation and investment to reinvigorate it, launching a brand campaign that has won awards and boosted sales with a whole new clientele. Cultivation and investment are necessary for professional brands, too. For example, to maintain a brand of "innovation" in supply chain management, you must invest your time in keeping up with the latest advances by reading relevant periodicals, attending conferences, and cultivating your network of industry peers.
Getting the brand you want
Wwhy does having a professional brand matter? Just as with consumer products, a good professional brand has "pull." It creates more recognition and opportunities. Your unique and compelling professional brand represents your essence as a business executive.
The first step in building your professional brand is to do a situation analysis. What is your current professional brand, and what is your desired brand?
You can start that process by developing a 10- to 15-word brand identity statement that includes the associations you want people to have. This exercise will require introspection and focus. It should concisely describe who you are, what you do, and how you benefit your organization or team. It should look at you from the viewpoint of your customers.
Next, find out what your brand currently is. This can be difficult because we are not objective about ourselves. We see our outward actions through the lens of our inner motivations and thoughts. Getting objective information from co-workers can be problematic as well. Co-workers may downplay your more outstanding qualities, both positive and negative, for a variety of reasons, including competitiveness, fear of hurt feelings, and so forth. Ideally, get someone you trust to be objective and thorough (perhaps someone in human resources, your manager, or an outside consultant) to interview people about your strengths and weaknesses. An anonymous survey is another way to get good input.
Once you have conducted appropriate research, some consensus on your professional qualities should reveal itself, and a profile of your current brand should emerge. Compare that brand profile to the brand identity statement you developed earlier. What do you need to change in order to get the brand you want? A "brand marketing plan" that identifies the tactics required to achieve the brand you desire will help you bridge the gap between your current brand and the one you want. This plan should address the key brand principles: distinctive and compelling; well-positioned; relevant to your audience; consistent; and supported.
Here's an example of how that might play out. Let's say your current profile describes you as "approachable, a good listener, and introverted." Your aspirational brand, however, is "approachable, a good listener, and an effective communicator." You want to be seen less as an introvert and more as someone who has something important to say. This change matches up with two of the key brand principles: it will make you distinctive and compelling, and it is relevant to your career.
Making that part of your brand is important because you know that people who give effective presentations and clearly convey your company's goals and strategies to their teams are given better opportunities sooner than those who do not. However, although you have consistently tried to be a good communicator, maybe that aspect of your brand is not coming across. By supporting this aspect with a development and communication plan, you may achieve your aspirational brand. In this case, your plan could include such simple tactics as summarizing what people say to you and repeating it back to them to ensure understanding ("So you are saying..."). It could include asking, "Was I clear?" "Do you have any questions?" or "Did we cover everything?" Or it could involve taking a course in public speaking or joining a group like Toastmasters International that will help you become a more polished and effective speaker.
A communication plan involves letting others know about your brand dimension. In this case it could include offering to give presentations inside the company or at industry functions. You could also volunteer to take on the role of liaison to other groups within the company, such as accounting or sales.
A well thought-out professional brand is a guidepost pointing in the direction you want to go. Brand building is a process that gets refined over time. The key is to begin that process right away; it will pay dividends today and in the future.
The port worker strike that began yesterday on Canada’s west coast could cost that country $765 million a day in lost trade, according to the ALPS Marine analysis by Russell Group, a British data and analytics company.
Specifically, the labor strike at the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and Fraser-Surrey will hurt the commodities of furniture, metal products, meat products, aluminum, and clothing. But since the strike action is focused on stopping containers and general cargo, it will not slow operations in grain vessels or cruise ships, the firm said.
“The Canadian port strike is a microcosm of many of the issues that are impacting Western economies today; protection against automation, better work-life balance, and a cost-of-living crisis,” Russell Group Managing Director Suki Basi said in a release. “Taken together, these pressures are creating a cocktail of connected risk for countries, business, individuals and entire sectors such as marine insurance, which help to mitigate cargo exposures.”
The strike is also sending ripples through neighboring U.S. ports, which are hustling to absorb the diverted cargo, according to David Kamran, assistant vice president for Moody’s Ratings.
“The recurrence of strikes at Canadian seaports is positive for U.S. ports that may gain cargo throughput, depending on the strike duration,” Kamran said in a statement. “The current dispute at Vancouver is another example of the resistance of port unions to automation and the social risk involved with implementing these technologies. Persistent disruption in Canadian port access would strengthen the competitive position of US West Coast ports over the medium-term, as shippers seek to diversify cargo away from unreliable gateways.”
The strike is also affected rail movements, according to ocean cargo carrier Maersk. CN has stopped all international intermodal shipments bound for the west coast ports of Prince Rupert, Robbank, Centerm, Vanterm, and Fraser Surrey Docks. And CPKC has stopped acceptance of all export loads and pre-billed empties destined for Vancouver ports.
Connected with the turmoil, Maersk has suspended its import and export carrier demurrage and detention clock for most affected operations. The ultimate duration of the strike is unknown, but the situation is “rapidly evolving” as talks continue between the Longshore Workers Union (ILWU 514) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), Maersk said.
In addition to its flagship Clorox bleach product, Oakland, California-based Clorox manages a diverse catalog of brands including Hidden Valley Ranch, Glad, Pine-Sol, Burt’s Bees, Kingsford, Scoop Away, Fresh Step, 409, Brita, Liquid Plumr, and Tilex.
British carbon emissions reduction platform provider M2030 is designed to help suppliers measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions. The new partnership aims to advance decarbonization throughout Clorox's value chain through the collection of emissions data, jointly identified and defined actions for reduction and continuous upskilling.
The program, which will record key figures on energy, will be gradually rolled out to several suppliers of the company's strategic raw materials and packaging, which collectively represents more than half of Clorox's scope 3 emissions.
M2030 enables suppliers to regularly track and share their progress with other customers using the M2030 platform. Suppliers will also be able to export relevant compatible data for submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global disclosure system to manage environmental data.
"As part of Clorox's efforts to foster a cleaner world, we have a responsibility to ensure our suppliers are equipped with the capabilities necessary for forging their own sustainability journeys," said Niki King, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Clorox Company. "Climate action is a complex endeavor that requires companies to engage all parts of their supply chain in order to meaningfully reduce their environmental impact."
Supply chain risk analytics company Everstream Analytics has launched a product that can quantify the impact of leading climate indicators and project how identified risk will impact customer supply chains.
Expanding upon the weather and climate intelligence Everstream already provides, the new “Climate Risk Scores” tool enables clients to apply eight climate indicator risk projection scores to their facilities and supplier locations to forecast future climate risk and support business continuity.
The tool leverages data from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to project scores to varying locations using those eight category indicators: tropical cyclone, river flood, sea level rise, heat, fire weather, cold, drought and precipitation.
The Climate Risk Scores capability provides indicator risk projections for key natural disaster and weather risks into 2040, 2050 and 2100, offering several forecast scenarios at each juncture. The proactive planning tool can apply these insights to an organization’s systems via APIs, to directly incorporate climate projections and risk severity levels into your action systems for smarter decisions. Climate Risk scores offer insights into how these new operations may be affected, allowing organizations to make informed decisions and mitigate risks proactively.
“As temperatures and extreme weather events around the world continue to rise, businesses can no longer ignore the impact of climate change on their operations and suppliers,” Jon Davis, Chief Meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, said in a release. “We’ve consulted with the world’s largest brands on the top risk indicators impacting their operations, and we’re thrilled to bring this industry-first capability into Explore to automate access for all our clients. With pathways ranging from low to high impact, this capability further enables organizations to grasp the full spectrum of potential outcomes in real-time, make informed decisions and proactively mitigate risks.”
Third party logistics provider (3PL) C.H. Robinson has applied generative AI tools to automate various steps across the entire lifecycle of a freight shipment, the Minnesota company said last week.
C.H. Robinson said it created AI-based technology that reads incoming email then replicates tasks a person would do, including giving customers a price quote, accepting a load, setting appointments for pickup and delivery, and checking on the load in transit. The company has used the approach to automate more than 10,000 of those routine transactions per day, allowing shippers who use email to get the same speed-to-market and cost savings as customers who use C.H. Robinson’s online platform.
After starting with price quotes, the company said it has applied generative AI to increasingly complex tasks. “We announced in May that we’d been using our new tech for emailed price requests. Within a few short months, we created new models to automate more shipping steps and have already implemented them at scale,” Arun Rajan, the company’s Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, said in a release. “This a major efficiency breakthrough for the industry and for supply chains around the world. When you think about retailers that need hundreds of different products on their shelves or automakers that rely on just-in-time delivery for the 30,000 different parts in a car, saving hours and minutes on every shipment matters.”
The technology also saves time, cutting the task for a person to take care of an emailed load tender from as much as four hours to 90 seconds, according to Mark Albrecht, the company’s Vice President for Artificial Intelligence.
“Once a person got to the email in their inbox, it still took an average of seven minutes to manually enter all the shipment details into our system – and that’s for a single load,” Albrecht said. “If the email tendered us 20 loads, a person would be stuck manually entering the information one load at a time. With generative AI, we can process all 20 loads simultaneously in the same 90 seconds. That’s an enormous time savings, especially when you consider we’ve scaled this to thousands of shipment orders per day just since June.”
An overwhelming majority (81%) of shoppers do not plan to increase their holiday spend this year over last year, revealing a significant disconnect between retail marketers and shoppers in the weeks before peak season, according to online shopping platform provider Rakuten.
That result flies in the face of high confidence levels from retailers who have been delaying their marketing spend, as 79% of marketers are optimistic they will reach holiday sales objectives, and 65% are timing their spend as late as November.
However, consumers are nervous about supply chain disruptions. Almost half (42%) of shoppers have started their shopping early to avoid shipping delays, while 32% plan to do more shopping in-store to avoid potential delays. The results come from a survey conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of Rakuten from Sept. 5 – Sept. 9 , among 2,100 consumers aged 18 and older and 101 retail marketers.
"There's a clear disconnect between marketer perception and consumer realities, but this presents a unique opportunity for retailers to capitalize on the shortcomings of their competition," said Julie Van Ullen, Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Rewards. "As shoppers plan to spend less overall, there become fewer opportunities for retailers. This makes it evermore important for retailers to invest in strategies that set them apart throughout the entire holiday season.”
Three reasons behind the diverging views are:
Inflated prices. Even with softening inflation rates, nearly half (46%) of shoppers report that it will have the greatest impact on their holiday shopping strategy. Conversely, only 20% of marketers believe that to be true.
Election nerves. Shoppers anticipate that the upcoming election will have an impact on inflation, with 57% believing it will increase.
Weak brand loyalty. A majority of marketers (98%) believe shoppers will remain loyal to brands, but fully 42% of shoppers indicate they will prioritize finding the lowest prices by trading down to lower-quality brands and products for more affordable alternatives.
"Loyalty is up for grabs this holiday season, and success for retailers will hinge on offering value beyond just reduced prices," Julie Van Ullen, Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Rewards, said in a release. "Our research revealed that shopper concern extends beyond just price, and retailers will need to address those concerns with comprehensive deals that include several table-stake incentives. Incentives like free shipping, buy now pay later services, and elevated Cash Back will be important for maintaining a loyal shopper base."