Author: Glenn Joseph

Enhancing Talent Management with Automization

Posted on by Glenn Joseph

Talent Management Systems

 

Sales may rise or fall, companies may grow or shrink, but it’s the people on the inside that determine whether a company succeeds or not.  With talent acquisition being such a hard and tedious task, it is getting harder and harder to find someone with the right skills to fill that position.  This will require companies to lean towards talent management software.  A talent management system must deal with the four pillars of human resources: recruitment, performance management, learning and development, and compensation management.  For a long time companies relied on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to handle payroll and time management.  With a talent management system, different modules can be built to serve each purpose required.  These modules help management, from bottom-level managers to high level execs understand what’s working and what’s not working for the company.

Additionally, talent management systems work through the cloud which will help cut out the IT department and save time on deployment.  You can literally purchase a talent management system and that same day have it up and running.  Having the system through the cloud also provides Over-the-Air (OTA) updates of the system and allows vendors to work easily together.  The up to date system prevents companies from using legacy systems for years on end.  Another advantage is that this cloud-based system works in real-time, allowing HR departments to run simulations on what-if situations and test the outcomes in real-time, this will help the HR department work hand in hand with the business to create strategy.

As I mentioned earlier about vendors being able to work easily together, more and more features are being added in real-time.  Video interviewing platforms, linking with social media, and resume management are just a few of the features integrated.  Along with these features, the layout of the system even looks like Facebook, making the system easy to use and easy to recognize for many.

With HR being one of the key factors of a successful company, talent acquisition needs to be streamlined to make workforce employment more efficient and relevant.  While  many companies have been working to change their talent management strategy, more than half have yet to even begin addressing this issue.  Companies like SAP on the other hand have realized the value of a true talent management system and have acquired companies such as SuccessFactors ($3.4 billion) and Oracle has recently acquired Taleo ($2 billion), and there are many other companies out there such as Workday.com and Salesforce.com that have their own system.

What are some other features that would be valuable?

How big of a role does talent acquisition play in a company in your opinion?

 

Source: “The New HR Management Model.” Fortune Magazine 19 Mar. 2012: S1-S5. Print.

Taking the guesswork out of Supply Chain Management

Posted on by Glenn Joseph


Fuel consumption represents nearly 37% of average per-mile trucking costs.  In today’s time, with the advancement of technology, more and more companies are tapping in to technologies that allow for better risk management to improve efficiency and lower the risk of avoidable scenarios that were once considered “the cost of doing business.”  Many large companies such as Procter & Gamble and Whirpool have begun working with companies such as Breakthrough Fuel, which work with many shippers across the country to help provide strategy on fuel management.

Clients using Breakthrough Fuel’s model only pay actual fuel costs for particular routes on particular days, this allows for a savings on fuel consumption.  Breakthrough Fuel also has multiple locations from which a manufacturer can ship from which allows manufacturers to ship based on distance from their destination or the cheapest trucking costs.  To help aid in the transfer of shipments, there has been mass improvements to inventory tracking such as with the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

With the use of RFID technology and GPS, shippers can know exactly where a certain item is within a container.  This use of RFID chips helps alleviate errors in packaging and shipping such as when working with
parts for bigger items.  Think about a time where you will be able to place all of your groceries in a shopping cart at the supermarket and as you walk out, an RFID scanner will automatically scan all your groceries for you and display a price for each item without the hassle of you having to wait in line.  With the use of RFID technology I really believe that soon that is how our shopping will be.  What do you think are some other good uses for RFID technology?

Firms that ship in less-than-truckload (LTL) amounts need to make sure that they are shipping goods quickly in order to meet the high demand from their customers.  This idea of using LTL services provides shippers a way to send out shipments more quickly but at a higher price.  With the use of RFID technology, a shipper can carry multiple loads from different companies and be able to manage and control where each individual package gets delivered.  Say Walgreens and Dominick’s both need a certain brand of product, the manufacturer can use a logistics management company such as MIQ Logistics to make sure that their product gets to both Walgreens and Dominick’s stores in a certain location with the help of RFID chips to track and monitor the packages.  Certain transportation companies even provide their drivers with mobile devices to manage the inventory within their truck.  Shippers are working on delivering shipments damage free, within a reasonable amount of time, and with confidence that their shipment will arrive in the right location when needed.

What can you see as the advantages or drawbacks to using the LTL technology described above? Do you see any ways of improving this system?

 

 

Sources:

“Science Comes To Shipping.” Fortune Magazine 8 Apr. 2013: S1-S4. Print. (Also available here: http://www.timeincnewsgroupcustompub.com/sections/130408_Freight.pdf)