Demand for provide chain managers has surged following a sequence of disruptions to international commerce, propelling once-overlooked professionals to more and more vital positions in multinational corporations.
The variety of US job postings for provide chain managers on LinkedIn greater than doubled between 2019 and 2022, based on information shared with the Monetary Instances.
UK vacancies for provide chain managers on jobs website Certainly rose 22 per cent between 2019 and 2021, when commerce points for a lot of companies peaked, outpacing an 8 per cent improve within the complete variety of UK roles marketed. Demand continued to rise final yr, when openings have been 36 per cent greater than in 2019.
Current crises, together with Covid-19 and the struggle in Ukraine, have led to extremely publicised shortages of products from microchips to vegetable oil — placing provide chain points on the centre of boardroom discussions.
Lucy Harding, head of the availability chain apply at headhunter Odgers Berndtson, mentioned companies had realised they need to “rent extra senior folks. [Supply chain professionals] have grow to be extra vital.”
She added that executives answerable for provide chains had more and more been invited into boardrooms and that corporations had been increasing groups of analysts who may determine potential provide chain issues earlier than they hit, together with these attributable to political instability.
Earlier than the pandemic, companies usually sought to chop prices of their provide chain — however some blue-chip corporations “have been caught with their pants down” as shortages emerged, mentioned Richard Wilding, emeritus professor of provide chain technique at Cranfield College and a guide to multinational corporations.
Companies have since invested to make their provide chains extra resilient, he added.
BT introduced plans in 2021 to recruit 70 folks to a brand new procurement arm based mostly in Dublin. Employees have since been planning find out how to defend the telecoms group’s provide chain, together with by holding “struggle video games” to organize for a possible battle between China and Taiwan.
An government at an enormous meals producer mentioned that they had created a “resilience crew”, which identifies attainable points within the firm’s community of suppliers. “We have been saying, ‘We must be higher at this. Let’s get some specialists in provide chain administration’,” the manager mentioned.
Job vacancies throughout a variety of vocations have soared over the previous couple of years, as employers boosted hiring after Covid-19 lockdowns and employees sought new careers. However headhunters and provide chain managers mentioned the hiring pattern in procurement had been notably notable.
Kory Kantenga, senior economist at LinkedIn, mentioned probably the most intense demand for provide chain professionals had eased as international pressures receded in current months.
The tip of China’s zero Covid coverage and declines in client spending have helped alleviate the pressure on producers and delivery.
However demand for US provide chain managers through the first two months of this yr remained 54 per cent greater than throughout the identical interval in 2019, based on LinkedIn information, and companies could also be confronted with a scarcity of individuals with the correct abilities.
“There’s a crunch in obtainable expertise,” mentioned Harding. “These are first-time challenges for lots of senior leaders.”
Wilding added that the comparatively small variety of folks with related provide chain experience had come below strain.
LinkedIn and Certainly don’t share information on the precise variety of jobs posted on their web sites.
