Lucky 13

Welcome to The Supply Times—issue Lucky 13! Here’s what I’ve got in store for you this time around:

• Can startups save the supply chain?

• The flexibility—and faults—of freelancing

• A roundup of what I’m watching, listening to, reading, and thinking about

Away we go!

Industry Highlights: Startups Save The Day

I’ve talked for the last several weeks about the absurd measures the Chinese government is taking to achieve a “Zero Covid” state, and it was only a matter of time before it started to make a global impact.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that China’s trade dropped significantly in April, piling on a global economy that’s already sagging due to high inflation and stagnated supply chains.

Not only are the country’s factories being hit with Covid-related closures—the American Chamber of Commerce in China reported 60% of factories are not operating at full capacity—but transportation and supply chains have stagnated as well. Couple that with Ukraine’s decision to formally close its Russian-captured seaports, and we’ve got ourselves quite a mess whose impact will likely be felt for years to come.

But never fear—the startups are here! A recent Economist article revealed that some of the hottest startups aren’t dealing in microchips or crypto, but in finding ways to shake up the shipping industry. A great example of this is Forto, a German freight forwarding company that’s tripled its business in the last four years and become a top 10 presence in the trade lanes between Germany and China.

VC firms are starting to take notice. According to data provider PitchBook, supply-chain tech firms raised more than $62 billion in 2021—more than twice what they received in 2019. PitchBook also identified more than a dozen freight-tech “unicorns” valued at more than $1 billion.

The reason VCs see this as a worthy investment is the potential for disruption. The majority of freight companies use logistics that are woefully antiquated. “This industry is completely offline,” digital freight marketplace Freightos’s CEO Zvi Schreiber told The Economist. “You would expect that shipping a container would be just as digital as booking a flight, but it is not at all.”

As these forward-looking startups begin exploring tech options to improve their logistics, experts think it’s possible they’ll be on the forefront of revolutionizing the way we see shipping. It might not solve all of our supply and inflation woes, but hey, it’s a start (up).

The Future of Work: Freelancers—Friend or Foe?

One of the Great Resignation’s many byproducts was an outpouring of employees demanding more job flexibility—a Harvard Business school survey reported 32% of workers left a traditional job because they had to prioritize caretaking responsibilities. And while some companies have embraced nontraditional work arrangements, others haven’t been as willing to budge. 

The result? An uptick in workers setting out on their own. According to research from  Upwork, the number of freelancers offering skilled services—such as design or marketing—has grown by 8% over the last two years.

As recent Gallup polls have demonstrated, worker engagement and confidence has sagged throughout the pandemic. The mobility of freelance work gives workers the option to jump around a bit, wearing many hats and working for many clients. It provides the flexibility and autonomy predominately sought after by Millennials—but according to The Boston Herald, over 30% of Gen X’ers and Boomers are getting in on the action too in order to escape office drudgery.

A Harvard Business School review of this new on-demand workforce reported that executives can also reap the benefits of a larger freelance pool. Three out of five executives surveyed said they would increasingly prefer to “rent, borrow, or share” talent, which would result in fewer full-time staff—and thus lower overhead costs.

But workers willing to make the jump to freelance work must be willing to trade freedom for stability. An article from Monster.com points out that freelance life raises the stakes for would-be freelancers. The inconsistent work and cash flow can leave you hustling for new gigs 24/7, and you don’t get the benefit of company-sponsored healthcare or retirement perks. Plus, there’s no one to have your back if you get sick or want time off. Being a lone wolf can be kind of, well, lonely.

The bigger question the Financial Times posed on this subject: why should employees have to trade flexibility for security? “A better future exists in which full-time employees are afforded these conditions too,” writes Sophia Smith. “We deserve the best of both worlds.”

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

RE: Supply Chain, Work, and Beyond

• 📕 Read A couple of years back, I read Rachel Botsman’s Who Can You Trust? How Technology Brought Us Together and Why it Might Drive Us Apart. It came out in 2017, but I think it really resonates today. It’s a book that analyzes the past, present, and future of trust. In the book, Botsman asks why exactly we’re so shrewd with our personal information in the real world, but sling it around willy-nilly on the internet. It’s a great read for anyone who’s interested in thinking about what our world will look like in 10 years, as well as anyone who needs a primer on what the heck blockchain is.  

• 📺 Watch: Netflix has a great documentary out called Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. It explores how Wall Street’s influence and Boeing’s internal culture resulted in two historic plane crashes, over 300 fatalities, and a Kennedy-esque cover-up. Do you love corporate greed and corruption? Get the popcorn ready for this one.Also, just so you don’t think I’m a complete nerd all the time, I finished Ozark this week. A lot of people complained the ending was lackluster, but I liked it. I also think Jason Bateman has just been incredible throughout this entire series.

• 👂 Listen: I’ve talked about Financial Times’ Working It podcast before, but they’ve just been killing it lately. This week, host Isabel Berwick talks about the future of business travel. Spoiler alert: both experts she interviews say a trend coming down the pike will be bleisure—a blending of business travel and leisure time.

• 💡 Think: The April PMI numbers were positive territory and showed that the manufacturing economy continues to improve, as demand remains strong. It made me think how staffing has been consistently hampering productivity. All the turnover is impacting productivity and fueling the inflationary fire as wages rise. There is some chatter on what will happen If the economy starts to slow and revenue forecast concerns grow—especially if we’re still in a heated labor market. Companies better buckle up, as they will be getting squeezed from both sides.

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