At the end of a presentation that I gave at GITAM University in Vizag on the East Coast of India last week, a young lady came up to me to ask if young women such as herself should enter the world of logistics and supply chain management. My answer was a whole - hearted yes. “Of course they should and you should” I replied, “the world of logistics offers lots of jobs that are not just suitable for women but would be better off with their involvement”.
My presentation was titled “The Fortunate Generation” and in case there was any misunderstanding as to who the fortunate generation was, slide# 2 simply read
YOU
are the fortunate generation
Young, college educated people are entering the workforce in India at a time when India’s is a $2.3 trillion economy and set to increase to $18 trillion over the next thirty years, roughly the time that they will be working. What a wave to ride!
This period will be accompanied by an unprecedented investment in new roads, highways, ports, airports, and warehouses as India tries to make up for sixty years of under-investment in these assets. It also coincides with the maturing of industries such as e - commerce that is transforming how, when and how often we buy and consume goods. Every nook and cranny of India is gradually opening to 'to door’ deliveries, calling for intermediate warehouses and last mile fine distribution.
What we are able to buy, in terms of food from around the world, is changing rapidly, as is what we are able to export to the rest of the world.
There are jobs that people in logistics will be performing years from now that don’t even exist today. What if last mile delivery is carried out by self - driving vans? What would the woman manage that fleet of vehicles be called, An Autonomous Delivery Device (ADD) Manager?
Women in transportation, logistics and supply chain management are no longer presumptuously limited to jobs in customer service or finance and accounting. Today they head sales teams and manage network planning teams. Companies such as Maersk have an internal KPI to address the imbalance between and men and women in the workforce and have made adjustments in their (re) hiring policies to allow women to start families and have fulfilling careers.
So yes, women anywhere in the world should seriously consider jobs in transportation and logistics. Women in India are especially fortunate given the macro economic trends at play. 21CC is pleased to offer online courses that help new entrants into the workplace to understand the industry in a visual and interactive manner and get a step up.
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