Howdy readers!

It’s great to have you back again. This issue, The Supply Times is going GLOBAL, tackling issues of supply chain management and employment trends on a worldwide scale. I’ve also got a great list of things I’ve been reading, watching, listening to, and thinking about, as well as some other juicy tidbits to help you stay in the know.

Fasten your seatbelts, and let’s take a trip around the world.

Industry Highlights: Globalization Goals

Globalization was once seen as the answer to many of the world’s problems.

Following World War II, experts felt it would stabilize and strengthen relationships between nations that were otherwise at odds. Supply lines grew longer but faster and more efficient, and cheaper costs meant lower prices for consumers and more profit for business owners.

Toward the end of the 20th century, most routes went through China—not only for the aforementioned reasons, but because many believed propping up China’s economy would push it toward more capitalist and democratic ideals.

But in the following years, globalists got lazy. Companies—especially in the US—began relying TOO heavily on overseas suppliers, and when those countries fell into turmoil for one reason or another, it had a major ripple effect. Look no further than the fuel issues that plagued Europe as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, and, of course, my oft-mentioned US reliance on Taiwan for the all-important semiconductor.

These snarls have not only jeopardized supply lines, but also—at least in US’s case with microchips—threatened national security.

It’s no secret that multinational corporations see the need for a shift. Reshoring and nearshoring are words that are now thrown around in every boardroom across the world on a daily basis, and governments are slowly trying to inch away from China by imposing export bans.

Is this the end of globalization as we know it?

Not necessarily.

As The Wall Street Journal recently reported, companies aren’t completely cutting ties with traditional trade partners like China and Russia, but they’re certainly diversifying and re-routing around them in the interest of preventing global conflict.

In some ways, this is a boon for nations who were lower on the totem pole. Countries like Vietnam, Mexico, and the Philippines are gaining export business. Even the US is benefitting, having gained a larger share of the energy sector since European countries began weaning themselves off of Russian exports.

On the other hand, increased costs associated with these supply shifts are inevitable, leaving business leaders and policy makers with the tough task of finding the middle ground between forging safe and reliable supply chains without pricing out their consumers.

Economists say a new, global restructuring will certainly take some time in order to work out the bugs, but that we may have more time than we think.

The Future of Work: 2023 Trends to Stay Ahead

When it comes to their workforces, employers aren’t out of the woods yet.

That’s the primary message the Harvard Business Review shared in a recent report that looked ahead to 2023’s jobscape. For the past two years, companies have battled historic levels of turnover and employee burnout, an uncertain economy rife with inflation, and a thorny trail of post-covid return-to-office policies.

While pandemic-related issues are (hopefully) in the rearview for most businesses, HBR states 2023 will find us facing some of those challenges—and adding a few more.

At some point, is it time for us to stop saying “next year will be better?”

Here are some of the trends HBR expects us to see in the near future:

Employers will “quiet hire” in-demand talent

You remember the “quiet quitting” trend that hit the workforce last fall, right? This is the inverse idea, where companies will find ways to acquire new skills and capabilities without adding to their employee roster.

This might look like upskilling and reallocating team members to high-need departments and leveraging existing company networks to hire specialized freelancers for high-value projects. Companies might offer bonuses, raises, or other incentives as compensation for these internal shifts.

Hybrid flexibility will reach the front lines

Hybrid positions developed out of need during the last couple of years, and experts predict the roles will not only become a more permanent fixture at most firms in the near future, but could actually find a home in frontline manufacturing and healthcare jobs as well.

A Gartner survey found that 58% of companies with frontline workers invested in improving employee experience during 2022, researching ways to give employees more flexibility around their positions. The biggest areas of exploration? Giving employees more control and stability in their work schedule and more opportunities for PTO.

Organizations will have to address social skills erosion

I sometimes jokingly call out the younger generations about their inability to meet professional workplace norms, but research shows that it’s not just the Millennials and Gen Z’ers who are having a tough time. Our current professional environment is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced before, and workers are struggling to adapt—especially when it comes to understanding how to appropriately act in the workplace.

As such, companies will have to get deliberate about building company culture in a way that spans geographic and generational boundaries. This might look like surveying teams with a connection preference assessment or establishing norms about when it’s okay to turn your Zoom camera off. A Gartner survey found that when companies make intentional decisions about connection-making, employees are 12x more connected with their colleagues—and 5x more productive.

Companies will become more transparent in recruiting tech

More and more companies are leveraging AI to automate their recruiting and hiring, but as I discussed in my recent VireUp webinar, doing so has exposed some significant biases in the technology.

Companies with AI-augmented hiring processes will soon face government regulations (as they have in New York City), and most will be looking for companies to get ahead of them. In order to leverage AI, companies will have to develop bias-audit systems—and publicize the audit data—as well as give candidates the choice to opt-out of AI intervention.

The time for companies to expect things to go back to normal is long-over. The firms who want to stay successful will have to prioritize these future-of-work issues or risk missing out on the best talent. In this environment, proactive businesses will come out on top.

The Supply Aside: What I’m Reading, Watching, Listening to, and Thinking About Re: Supply Chain, Work, and Beyond

📕 Read - When McKinsey Comes To Town

A few months ago, I broadly mentioned Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe’s book, When McKinsey Comes To Town, but I’ve recently had the chance to dive into it. My goodness, what a scathing exposé. If you’re a member of corporate America, you might understand the influence these elite consultants have on the landscape, but to see how subtle yet pervasive their impact has been on the US from a holistic perspective is mind boggling. I think if more people knew about the tricks and manipulative tactics they’ve employed to line their clients’ and their own pockets to the detriment of the global good, people would be outraged. Between turbocharging the sale of opioids and helping the CCP grow their expertise, it was a tough call which was more appalling. Probably both. This is when capitalism becomes cronyism—and when empires fall. A scary thought, indeed.

📺 Watch - MADOFF: The Monster of Wall Street

Bernie Madoff was “a financial serial killer.” At least that’s how he’s characterized by Joe Berlinger, the Oscar-nominated director of the new Netflix docuseries, MADOFF: The Monster of Wall Street. The series follows the rise and fall of Madoff, who orchestrated one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in Wall Street history. A frightening story that shows how much you can get away with when no one’s looking. While it is quite engaging, one does wonder if we have truly learned our lesson here or will history repeat itself? I fear we know the answer to that question.

👂 Listen - The New World of Work Podcast

This week, I listened to a fantastic episode of Adi Ignatius’s The New World of Work podcast, where he interviewed political consultant Ian Bremmer on the current state of global leadership. Bremmer said he’s most disturbed by “rogue actors” like Putin, Jinping—and even Zuckerberg and Musk—who are becoming increasingly disruptive. These leaders are in almost complete control of their institutions, are surrounded by “yes men,” and have virtually no checks and balances against their power. A worrisome trend that must be closely monitored.

💡 Think - Workplace Power Dynamics

I’m thinking a lot about the power dynamic in the worker-employee relationship and, as this Wall Street Journal article points out, wondering if this is the year that the scales will finally balance out. With the job market showing signs of coming back to earth, will the dynamics change? I believe it will be, but of course that’s contingent on the industry itself. Big Tech, for example, is cutting back and laying off, while some sectors continue to be in dire need of workers. The media paints the jobscape with pretty broad brush strokes most of the time, but when you zoom in, you see that the results are really pretty jagged across different industries.

Charts of the Week

Quote of the Week

Tweets of the Week

Finally...

Thanks so much for reading. I’d love to know what you think about this issue and how I can make it more useful to you.

If you have suggestions or topics you’re interested in seeing me address, shoot me an email at [email protected]!

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Happy reading this weekend!

-- Naseem