The world has never experienced a labor shortage quite like the one we are experiencing. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment growth will average .3 over the next decade; however, labor participation will drop from 62.2% to 60.4%. In essence, we have entered a secular labor shortage. Similarly, according to the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, half of German companies are struggling to fill vacancies due to labor shortages. Thus, the only companies that will thrive in the next decade will leverage technology and digitize the supply chain.
The use of technology and automation will be of paramount importance to not just supplement the labor force, but also to meet ever increasing customer requirements and provide visibility across the end-to-end supply chain. Companies must be faster, focused, and perform with lights-out manufacturing and logistics to succeed. Thus, a modern ERP system will be an assumption, not a differentiator. In addition, companies must pursue advanced technologies such as business intelligence and predictive analytics to forecast the future and determine where to focus, artificial intelligence, and IoT solutions to support items such as predictive maintenance, and digital twins to optimize process and product performance.