SUPPLY CHAIN, PROCUREMENT & LOGISTICS
Industry 4.0 is driving digital transformation of value chains. Meanwhile, the world of production and distribution has become increasingly networked and interlinked to share intelligence autonomously. The need to recruit agile and adaptable talent to run operations in a dynamic and fast-paced environment is more critical than ever to companies and third-party logistics providers.
Businesses will continue to leverage big data to analyse their supply chains and increase productivity, quality and agility, realising competitive value. In light of these changes, candidates with strong analytical and process management
skills will be in high demand.
The evolution of e-commerce has led to customers demanding faster delivery of their products, often with increased customisation and flexibility. On the one hand, logistics and distribution companies have set up smaller regional distribution centres with roving and mobile inventory hubs to facilitate order delivery to local customers on a same-day basis. On the other hand, more companies are embracing 3D printing to streamline supply chain and localised customisation at point of sale. With increased adoption of 3D printing and other technologies, we anticipate companies evolving towards a more advisory and consulting capacity, such as fourth-party logistics (4PL) or supply chain integrators, thus driving the demand for technology-savvy supply chain professionals.
Supply chain transparency has become increasingly important due to demand from consumers and for vendor collaboration. Blockchain technology has been adopted in the supply chain industry to increase the transparency of the supply chain and enhance efficiency by enabling companies to allocate resources in the most effective way. Candidates with knowledge in this kind of technology will be sought after in 2019.
Top talent in supply chain is more and more in demand and the competition to attract and retain them is fierce. To make talent attraction more challenging, many jobs are changing and becoming more complex, with the constant introduction of new technologies. Candidates who are solutions and results-oriented, numerically and analytically astute, adaptable and at the same time strong in commercial acumen are highly in demand, in particular for management positions. With employers facing candidate shortages, salaries are expected to rise in 2019 across all levels of seniority.
