S5-Ep36: Lasting Solutions for Distribution Center Labor Shortages

Guest: Will O’Brien & Dave DuBose

The labor shortage is not going away. Workers are more transient, looking for better pay, plus Amazon, Walmart, and other large online retailers are continuing to drive up competition for distribution center (DC) employees. So, most DC operators resort to wage increases and retention bonuses as the quick solution to this really challenging people problem. Will O'Brien and Dave DuBose joins the show to share the better answer, which is a set of more robust solutions that better serve the operators’ longer-term needs and mitigate their dependence on short-lived “quick fix” wage and bonus answers that everyone else is chasing.

Here's what Will, Dave, and Maureen cover:

• Why pay is only the beginning in forming long-term solutions to supply-chain labor;
• How Columbus, Ohio, represents the distribution issues retailers face; and
• Why, regardless of the economy, the labor shortage is not going away.

 

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

• Supply Chain Innovation: Orders Can’t Be Filled with Stagnation with Mike McLellan of DHL
• Evolving Leadership to Navigate Disruption with Greg Moran
• Are You Disrupting, or Being Disrupted? with Mark Kvamme

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, too!

 

RESOURCES:  

Will and Dave are partners with True North Growth Partners; you can learn more at https://truenorthgrowthpartners.com. (We love their motto: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”)

 

Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 

 

She’s also written several award-winning books on leadership development. You can peruse and purchase them here. 

 

 

Books we’re reading for fun or personal development right now include:

• Hello, I Must Be Going: The Mostly True Story of an Imaginary Band by David Meyers
• The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
• Snow White & the Seven Robots by Louise Simonson & Jimena Sanchez

 

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko

Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko

Central to Our Distribution: Luigi Morelli, Jenna Reik, & Connor Carson

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About Our Guest:  

Will O’Brien is a partner at True North Growth Partners where he works with organizations on the supply chain and operations sides of their business. He helps his clients overcome the things that hold back their growth and profitability. He has over 30 years of experience in supply chain and operations. He has held executive positions in both industry and consulting. As an executive at Lowe’s Home Improvement he helped to lead the development of the supply chain for that big box retailer during a period of rapid growth, from $35 billion to $50 billion in revenue. He also helped pioneer Lowe’s omni-channel fulfillment when its online sales were growing significantly. He successfully grew a mid-sized family-owned supply chain consulting firm by over 50%, expanded its markets, improved its pricing, reengineered its sales and business development organization and created career paths and professional growth for its associates.

 

Dave DuBose is a senior supply chain professional with strong cross-industry experience including retail, consumer products, resources and high-tech in the North American and global theaters. Dave has held executive positions in logistics and supply chain in industry as well as consulting and has more than 30 years of professional experience. DuBose delivers innovative results and can translate business strategy into operating strategy and tactics. He has deep expertise in end-to-end business operations and in deploying business solutions from strategy through implementation. Dave is on the Columbus Roundtable, and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. He is active in speaking and writing about contemporary supply chain issues.