Supply Chain “Global Talent Shortage” Warning

In a statement sent to Post&Parcel yesterday, DHL said that it had recently surveyed more than 350 supply chain and operations professionals in five global regions, and the findings revealed that there are a number of reasons contributing to the talent shortage crisis in a rapidly evolving field.

The report ‘The Supply Chain Talent Shortage: From Gap to Crisis’ was commissioned by DHL and authored by Lisa Harrington, president of the lharrington group.

Harrington said: “Leading companies understand that their supply chains, and the people who run them, are essential to their ability to grow profitably. However, the task of finding people with the right skill sets required to run these highly complex operations is increasingly difficult, especially at the middle and upper management levels. Unless companies solve this problem, it could threaten their very ability to compete on the global stage.”

The survey revealed the top factors driving the talent shortage were:

• changing skill requirements;
• an aging workforce;
• companies not taking steps to create or feed their future talent pipeline; and
• a perception that supply chain jobs lack excitement.

According to Harrington: “Companies are now recognizing that sourcing strategy has a large impact on their bottom line and ability to remain competitive. As one study recently found, companies that excel in talent management increased their revenues 2.2 times as fast and their profits 1.5 times as fast compared to ‘talent laggards.’ That’s a powerful advantage.”

“Unfortunately, recruiting the right talent – especially at the critical mid-level and senior management levels – is proving very difficult in today’s environment. New technologies and fundamental areas of the supply chain have changed, meaning they now require that a person has a different and much larger skill set than required when most of the current workforce began their careers.”

The report provides recommendations on how the Supply Chain industry can start closing this talent gap.

According to DHL: “Offering clearer career paths and a visible commitment to the professional development of its supply chain staff combined with competitive remuneration packages are just a few ways to develop and retain their current talent.”

“To attract talent, the industry needs to start emphasizing that the future workforce will need to have skills in robotic management, AI and AV control – job aspects that would be attractive to the younger demographic and help combat the negative perception of the sector.”