Nurturing industry leaders to help increase supply chain robustness
Emergency logistics is a fast-paced, high-pressure working environment that requires its professionals to thrive on the time-sensitive expectations of clients that often include high profile vehicle manufacturers. Recruiting for a competitive sector with no ready-made specialists, Evolution Time Critical reveals the challenges of having to nurture a trustworthy team that can be relied upon to deliver results to near-impossible timescales.
The nature of emergency logistics requires the immediate availability of insight, decision-making and appreciation of clients’ requirements; clarity of vision and ability to identify the clearest route to the swiftest solution is crucial. A rigorous recruitment process and evaluation of crisis-management potential leaves a small pool of suitable candidates, who then face a lengthy training programme that leads to the development of a core of dedicated emergency logistics professionals.
“When Evolution Time Critical was founded in 2001, a ready supply of emergency logistics staff did not exist, and they still don’t today. We have to identify the best people who excel in the sector that we’re looking to recruit for, such as air freight, and mould them to represent the Evolution mindset,” says Evolution Time Critical managing director, Brad Brennan. “It requires a willingness to think outside the box and identify potential and the right characteristics to succeed in a high-pressure environment that requires a response within 15 minutes of a client’s inquiry, 24-hours a day. The most critical factor is to change the way logistics professionals think: air freight workers may be used to thinking in terms of hours and days, whereas we need to think in minutes.”
More than just an ability to react quickly to time-sensitive situations is required. An analytical approach and extensive knowledge of infrastructure and global policies is crucial for the correct implementation of solutions that conventional logistics cannot offer. As well as temporarily bridging potentially unstable links in the supply chain, emergency logistics can also provide measures to build ongoing contingency and a lasting robustness.
Intensifying production schedules, increasingly tight margins and a focus on optimizing all areas of the supply chain have driven the automotive industry’s need for emergency logistics. As the benefits of a reliable supply chain have become widely acknowledged, so too have the negative connotations of supply chain failure, from initial financial losses to long-term reputational damage for vehicle manufacturers and tier one and two suppliers. The contingency that emergency logistics expertise brings is critical for the longevity of supply chain connectivity, especially at a time when manufacturers show an increasing willingness to move production locations more frequently than in the past.
“Emergency logistics requires a very specific set of skills and provides an environment that the right kind of person can thrive in – we have to indentify these people and help nurture their abilities,” says Brennan. “Anyone who joins Evolution does no direct handling for three months while preparing the different mindset that is required – it’s a strict policy, which combines with a strategic development of employees to craft tailor-made emergency logistics staff who remain dedicated to the company.”
