The supply chain has been in the news a lot over the past several years, as snarls made it nearly impossible for goods and materials to get where they needed to go. Today, partly in an effort to address those issues, supply chains are rapidly becoming digitized. But what does that mean for warehouse and distribution workers who must adapt to the changes? Here are three ways to empower your employees as they take on the newly digitized supply chain.
Training and Upskilling
The first step is to focus on training and upskilling your workforce on the new skills they will need. Digitization means dealing with tools and technologies that your workers may not have seen before. Consider holding all-hands onsite training courses to bring everyone up to speed all at once. That way, as people rotate to different roles throughout the facility, they will already know what to expect. And keep the lines of communication open. It may take some time for everyone to become comfortable with the new technology. They need clear communication channels to ask questions or voice concerns.
Strategic Implementation of Digital Tools
Just because you can implement a new tool or piece of software, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Pick and choose your new technologies carefully, and roll them out slowly. Give everyone the chance to become familiar with a new set of tools before adding on even more.
Soliciting and Acting Upon Feedback
Your front line employees are the people who will actually interact with your new digitized supply chain tools on a daily basis. So let them act as your eyes and ears. Gather feedback from them before you start making your digital transition to learn where the sticking points are. As you roll out new digital solutions, survey your workers to get their opinions. Find out what works and what doesn’t, and how you can help them do their jobs more efficiently. Then act on what you discover.
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