Poor image of logistics among the young worsens talent crunch

Manpower shortage seen impacting Singapore as a distribution hub

- Angela Tan

The logistics industry is a prime mover in employing brain power to meet the complex challenges of moving items from A to B as fast as possible, but its greatest challenge now is to overcome the sector's own image problem.

The problem in essence is that for many people, especially young people, logistics conjures up unappealing images of harried workers unloading cartons from the back of a van in the blazing sun. Try selling that to a young job seeker.

Yet supply-chain management industry-speak for logistics - requires people and leaders with the very traits the young possess: Nimbleness, innovativeness and IT savviness.

The need is ever greater now as firms navigate the constant disruptions to global trade that have stemmed from the pandemic.

Singapore is on the front line when it comes to meeting this challenge, given that 23 out of the top 25 global logistics companies have operations in the country, with many of them basing their regional headquarters in the citystate.

Major companies like Dole, Johnson & Johnson, Henkel, Schneider Electric, 3M and Procter & Gamble have also made Singapore their supply-chain hub.

Mr Eddie Lim, an executive director at the Singapore Logistics Association, told The Straits Times there is a shortage of manpower across logistics, but the problem is more acute among the "rank and file".

"This is a constant problem. During the Covid-19 pandemic, some operators and people in customer services were displaced. The foreigners left the country and never returned. Other sectors like retail as well as food and beverage are also grappling with similar manpower issues," he said.