March 2025

This month’s top stories in the supply chain world

Welcome to INBOX! The vision of our INBOX monthly series is to highlight articles for you that we think are timely and important. The articles put forth come from a wide variety of industry sources, as well as popular media. Some articles are original, written by the RCK staff and our community of friends and partners.

Have questions about how to improve your operations and better position your business for growth? As always, reach out at info@rcksc.com. We have a network of experts who can help — it just takes one call to get you started.

In this issue:

• New blog post: In our drive toward productivity in the warehouse, have we missed the opportunity to develop a human workforce to its best?

• Bob and Kelly’s ‘story of the month’ picks: 

  • Common sense strategies behind using temporary labor

  • Operating in a supply chain ‘permacrisis’

• Top headlines this month: Tariffs, cyber attacks, and global food security

• RCK Consulting announces an exciting new partnership with JGA

The human element behind productivity

By Bob C. Kennedy

Principal

Automation. Software. Process Engineering. Material handling equipment. Mobile and voice computing. You name it, the drive behind all these technologies is to improve the performance of an operation. That can mean increasing throughput, reducing errors, reducing inventory, and almost always, impacting labor requirements.

What all of this drive toward productivity has missed, and continues to miss, is the opportunity to develop a human workforce to its best. With every project I have ever done, I invariably came to understand that there is a huge resource of knowledge in the workforce – about how things really work – as well as enormous productivity reserves. When your workforce is rewarded, encouraged, and ultimately respected for their native knowledge of the business, you can release that reserve and incrementally drive up productivity.  

I think we have left a lot of potential on the table. 

Today I am introducing a new series exploring the “human element” behind productivity. Here's the interesting part: we’re going to try taking concepts developed for other industries and applications and apply them to a warehouse operation, with a little help from our friends.

This Month’s Picks

Our takes on supply chain stories

RCK Consulting announces partnership with JGA

JGA is a seasoned supply chain system integrator and professional services organization specializing in Manhattan Associates, Körber, Blue Yonder, Infor, and SAP solutions. Its team of experts provide strategic guidance, WMS support, and seamless implementation to optimize supply chain operations across diverse industries, including life sciences, retail, 3PL, and across retail, omnichannel, and e-commerce channels.

With over 200 successful WMS implementations and a team of highly experienced professionals and trusted contractors, JGA delivers tailored solutions that accommodate complex workflows, from basic configurations to highly automated MHE integrations.

“When if comes to the difficult challenge of WMS implementation, experience is vital,” says Bob Kennedy of RCK Consulting.“The JGA team brings unsurpassed experience every project needs to be successful.”

Founded in 2008, JGA has built a strong reputation as a trusted industry leader, dedicated to excellence, innovation, and long-term client success. JPA is headquartered in Saco, Maine, and led by Founding Partners James and Mary Ann Goldman.

As a member of our network, it takes just one call for us to connect you with JGA.  First, let’s discuss whether JGA is the right fit for your business. Contact us at info@rcksc.com.

To learn more about our partnership with JGA, visit the Partners section of our website.