One of the hardest things to find in the supply chain industry is somebody under 30, and it’s darn near impossible to find a female supply chain professional under 30. At least, that’s what the statistics say. In our soon-to-be-released 2015 Supply Chain Salary Survey, only 2% of the respondents are under 30, and only 14% of the total respondent base are female. That calculates out to a mere 0.01% of the total supply chain population being young women.
It’s hardly a secret that young people as a whole are shunning certain types of jobs and industries, and “finding top talent” continues to be one of the biggest challenges for all companies, big and small, throughout the supply chain. Fortunately, it’s not quite as bleak as it appears.
The Institute for Supply Management teamed up with ThomasNet to identify and then celebrate young professionals in the supply chain field who are making a difference in their companies and organizations. Since 30 is a nice round number, this slideshow introduces you to 30 supply chain leaders under the age of 30.
Pay particular attention to Katy Maynor, who is considered a “megastar” for her achievements at Shell Oil since she began her career there in 2008. As Shell’s category manager, Finished Lubricants/B2B, Maynor has devised a new approach to one supplier relationship that yielded significant savings across half that vendor’s portfolio. She also has built a regional sourcing strategy for Shell’s B2B products, and co-led the creation of a new contracting model.
So don’t let anybody tell you there aren’t any good young people in the supply chain field. As this slideshow illustrates, that’s just old thinking.