Lora Cecere, CEO of Supply Chain Insights, discusses new research from her company designed to identify the top 15 supply chains as measured against their peers, including capabilities and strategies that these companies share.

A recent survey of 37,000 global employers performed by staffing firm Manpower reported that 36 percent say they're having trouble filling available positions. Of those respondents, 35 percent cite a lack of hard skills or "technical competencies" as the reason, while 25 percent cite a lack of experience and 19 percent say a lack of soft skills makes it difficult to fill available roles.

Picking in a frozen environment with heavy gloves, paper and pencil impaired the productivity and accuracy of operations at Perry's Ice Cream in Akron, N.Y. A voice-picking system from Vocollect enabled Perry's to solve these problems and gain other benefits.

There is no disputing that talent is a top challenge for companies worldwide. In PwC's 2014 CEO Survey, 93 percent of participants said they recognize the need to change their strategies for talent, but 61 percent acknowledged that they haven't yet taken the first step. The challenge is especially acute in supply chain operations, which is facing a talent shortage - despite an increasing number of undergraduate majors, MBA concentrations and entire programs in supply chain management.