Dec 28, 2021

Back in October of 2021, over $20 billions worth of products sat motionless in California’s Los Angeles and Long Beach ports causing major supply chain disruptions, out-of-stocks, and unprecedented price hikes across industries. Reports indicate that several shipment delays contributed to the fastest 12-month price inflation since 2008 along with a 172% increase in out-of-stocks, similar to pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, current projections suggest price increases and shortages are expected to continue into the new year, thus exemplifying the drastic consequences of supply chains’ biggest challenge: labor shortages.

Before the 2020 healthcare crisis, labor shortages in warehouses and distribution operations already experienced high turnover rates at 37% compared to average rates at 3.6%. New demands and compliances surrounding social distancing and contactless transactions placed greater pressure on warehouses already struggling to meet same-day delivery and real-time order tracking. Furthermore, younger workers entering the workforce also brought new challenges since foundational green-screen and keyed operations now became harder to adopt by millennials and gen Z workers. These snowballing challenges feed into even higher turnover rates as today’s warehouse workers avoid complex short-staffed workplaces for little pay.  However, without skilled teams, labor shortages ultimately enable:

• Price inflation
• Delayed shipments
• Out-of-stocks
• Stressed workers
• Missed sales
• Unsatisfied customers

Supply chains seeking to thrive in these challenges have turned to intelligent automation, and while this has proven highly successful, modernization can also bring additional implementation hurdles, such as extensive training, and costly downtime. Therefore, the best solution involves a combination of intelligent optimization and assisted scalability through a qualified team. 

How to start navigating through the labor shortage in 2022

Automation’s popularity is fundamentally rooted in its ability to consolidate several key tasks such as data capture, team communication, and inventory management through one digital terminal. This removes the hassles of training workers to use several different disparate devices and may even reduce the number of needed employees at any given space since individual employees are empowered to do more with less. However, successful automation hinges on more than just next-generation hardware. Below are three tips we recommend in place of siloed device upgrades:

1. Reframe your wireless infrastructure to target dead zones – Connectivity plays a huge role in securing unbroken uptime, yet environmental constraints such as tall ceilings, metal walls, and extreme temperatures pose a risk for dropped sessions and slowed processing speeds, creating bottlenecks in warehouses and production floors. Consequently, even best-in-class technologies are unable to connect and function properly. To solve this issue, Heartland’s AlwaysConnected service works alongside your IT team to assess your space and devices to create an architecture that limits overlapping signals and dropped networks for maximized productivity anywhere in the facility. This empowers workers to remain connected with the most up to date inventory data without compromise.
2. Roll out software and application updates to future-proof current devices – To help reduce the costs of hardware upgrades, software and app updates can also expand your device’s functionality by integrating new tasks onto a familiar platform. Furthermore, updates can also help prevent data breaches by fixing any gaps in security and privacy. Scanning and visibility applications empower smaller workforces to transform devices to accomplish more without additional MDM contracts and labor expenses. Our AlwaysOn mobile device management service simplifies device management, ensuring updates are rolled out effortlessly. Moreover, our certified repair services relieve administrators by accelerating repair times to ensure maximum device availability.  
3. Add mobile devices that are compatible with your peripherals and software – Lastly, when new devices are required, working alongside a seasoned deployment team can speed up integration through assisted procurement, software configuration, and on-site training. For example, the Heartland/Honeywell Advantage combines the power of AlwaysConnected, AlwaysOn, and Honeywell’s future-forward technologies to create a scalable automation solution that embraces changing workforce sizes. By communicating with several OEMs, we can streamline your current devices alongside newer user-friendly technologies without overwhelming IT teams.  

Above are just some of the few ways warehouses can start overcoming labor shortage challenges. To explore more targeted approaches, contact our modernization teams here.