The post-COVID Hydra: Supply chain and workforce woes

As a kid (and let’s face it, as an adult too) the myth of the Labors of Hercules held a special fascination for me.

Part of it was the idea that a single person could tackle the hardest tasks in the world and overcome them. Talk about inspiring. Another part of it was a more mundane lesson in the way the world works: two of the first 10 tasks completed by Hercules were over-ruled on technicalities and designated incomplete, and two more were added to his list. (I think we all know this feeling.)

Several tasks involved creatures with multiple heads or bodies, like Cerberus the three-headed dog who guarded the Underworld, and the less-famous giant Geryon, who also possessed three heads. However, the most famous of these by far is the Hydra, the multi-headed serpent. Like many of life’s problems, you cut off one head of the Hydra, and two grow back. Maddening. Exhausting. How can something like this be beat?

The tale of Hercules and the Hydra came to mind today after reading several studies and news reports on what the post-COVID industrial landscape will look like. As of early May, 147.5 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot just announced her goal to fully open the city by July 4, and the manufacturing PMIs for March and April were both above 60%. Even Disneyland has re-opened.

So, why think of the Hydra? Because it feels like with one head almost hacked off (i.e., COVID-19), two more are rising quickly to take its place: supply chain and workforce.

The first of these challenges made it to the front page of the Wall Street Journal, in the story “Auto Makers Retreat From 50 Years of ‘Just in Time’ Manufacturing.” The article charts how Toyota, Volkswagen AG, and Tesla all have modified their supply chain to embrace more of a “Just In Case” philosophy, where more parts are kept on hand and, in the case of Tesla, more effort is focused on sourcing raw materials directly.

As if this change wasn’t enough, a new report from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute suggests that the skills gap is getting wider. Companies are still finding it difficult to hire skilled talent, but this new report indicates that the immediate labor shortage now extends to entry-level positions. Overall, based on responses from industry, the report concludes that finding qualified talent with the right skills is 1.4 times harder today than it was in 2018.

Furthermore, the study found that one in four women are considering leaving the manufacturing industry. Carolyn Lee, executive director of The Manufacturing Institute, commented to CNN that “it’s mathematically impossible for us to compete in the future without having a more diverse workforce going forward.”

And, for the record, Hercules did beat the Hydra, with innovative thinking and the help of a trusted co-worker.

This story originally appeared in the May 2021 issue of Plant Services. Subscribe to Plant Services here.