Supply chains are global, interconnected, and highly complex. With how the recent events unfolded, many industries with heavy dependencies on Supply Chain Management have quickly grown in the last few months. For example, the e-commerce boom has pushed companies in shipping and fulfillment to expand their workforce to accommodate the increased market demand.

Besides the massive growth in logistics (especially cold chain), the new market situation also hastened the digitization journey of many organisations. In fact, Supply Chain Brain explains that with the constant disruptions, it’s now impossible for companies to put off their digitization efforts. Much has changed in the last few months, and we should expect to see more this year and the next couple of years.  

As we continue the discussion, we’ll tackle how the market and economic changes affect SC and Procurement talent hiring trends and what this means for companies and aspiring SCM talents. 

1. Embracing digitisation

Digitisation is an inevitable step that every sector needs to go through to keep up with the digital era’s demands. Certain sectors require rapid digitisation such as those with direct links to consumers. McKinsey Global Institute lists sectors such as pharmaceutical and manufacturing as examples of sectors that have been quickly adapting to the changes. 

Others like logistics, healthcare, finance, and the maritime sector are taking their time to embrace and refine the process. Digitisation also comes in handy in Category Management for companies to know when and where to procure the resources and supplies needed. 

With this upward trend, you can expect to see companies sourcing talents with digitisation skills and background. The Harvard Business Review emphasizes the importance of having the necessary soft skills and the value of upskilling people who can potentially develop the required tech skills for a digitisation role.

2. Growth in Category Management

With the uncertain market conditions and limited resources, companies turn to improve their procurement process. For example, fuel is a huge category that needs to be managed properly, The same can be said for digitization as a category. Organisations create a strategic approach in their purchasing structures, especially those involved in high-impact purchasing.

This could mean increased demand in category management roles such as Category Management Leaders, Buyers and Sourcing specialists. And with the current direction of the market in this digital age, we might also see a surge in demand for automation to be managed as a Category in Procurement.

3. An increasing need for Demand Planning Professionals 

In a previous blog post, we tackled how the Nutrition and Healthcare industries are addressing the challenges of new normal while running their IBP. In the discussion, we’ve established the pivotal role of IBP in helping companies stay afloat, especially during these trying times.

Everything is different from before. Projections during the first and second quarter of 2020 were severely affected by the pandemic. Consequently, this affected the projections for the future. Gathering and analysing data to make necessary changes is pivotal to a company’s survival especially after everything settles. The Integrated Business Planning or S&OP process’s structure and integrity could heavily impact an organisation’s outlook in the post-COVID world. 

With this trend, it’s likely to see a higher demand for IBP and S&OP talent. Companies could either bring in someone new or upskill and train available talent in their workforce. Either way, it’s exciting to see how things will unfold in this area.

4. The future belongs to whoever has a stronger talent pool

Another important trend we’d like to focus on is the shortage of talent and skills supply. Until today, this remains a serious problem that APAC faces.  

Unfortunately, the current statistics from Oxford Economics imply that the same trend shortage will continue in the foreseeable future, with most countries in the APAC region having a strong talent deficit. Because of the situation, organisations could choose to make a few adjustments including: 

• Improving the talent acquisition process 
• Maximising work-from-home arrangements to find international talents 
• Retaining, redeploying, and reskilling existing employees  

As we begin another year, we’re faced with a plethora of uncertainties. The pandemic is far from over, so we might see more drastic changes depending on how things would progress. Nevertheless, we look forward to a more positive year in the Supply Chain and Procurement space, especially in the recruitment market. Make sure to keep tuning in as we provide more updates in the APAC supply chain and procurement sector. 

Looking to source Supply Chain and Procurement talent in APAC? The Supply Advisory can help. We can also help talents looking for opportunities here in the region. Get in touch with us today for more information!  

Ananya Sinha Roy is the Director at The Supply Advisory (a division of Datasearch Consulting), a leading executive recruitment firm specialising in Procurement & Supply Chain.

You can view the The Supply Advisory website or contact them directly at info@supplyadvisory.com for a more detailed discussion.