MHD SUPPLY CHAIN Companies will need to adjust expectations moving into 2022 given supply chain talent is currently so scarce.
SUPPLY CHAIN RECRUITMENT IN THE YEAR AHEAD
Tony Richter, Partner at Bastian Consulting, explains the trends, demands, expectations and lessons at work in the supply chain recruitment arena – and what supply chain companies and recruiters can expect in 2022.
A
s a leading recruiter in the space of supply chain and logistics, Tony Richter, Partner at Bastian Consulting, says that he will have his eye out for two particular sets of skills as we move into 2022. “One is certainly an understanding of the e-commerce world and omnichannel fulfilment,” he says. “The rise in e-commerce during the past 18 months or so is a trend too obvious to need pointing out anymore, but it does make a significant difference in terms of recruitment. Supply chain professionals wedded to the old ‘bricks and mortar’ model – and lacking the ability to adapt to digital supply chain – are going to find it harder and harder to keep up in 2022.” Tony says that more and more supply
chain roles are coming to function as the conduit between traditional supply chain operations and technology. With increasing integration between operations and tech, he says that supply chain professionals are the “buffer” between the two, or the “control tower” that must coordinate and align different personnel skills and different segments of an organisation. The second major skill he thinks recruiters will be looking for is an ability to interpret data. “It’s not about finding the data anymore,” he says. “Machines collect and analyse a large chunk of data these days – a trend which won’t slow down, let alone cease – so the dataskill that will be highly prized moving forward is the ability to interpret data: ‘What does this data actually mean
in this context? Is this data relevant to us? If so, what actionable insights necessarily follow?’”
LABOUR SUPPLY AND DEMAND AT THE EXTREMES Tony says that globally, but especially within Australia and APAC, current investment in supply chain is unprecedented. As a result, supply chain consultants and software providers are under the pump keeping up with customer demand for supply chain transformation. “If you look at the market – it’s not everyone doing it at once – it’s staggered with companies starting different projects at different times,” he says. “It’s not a matter of flicking a switch and then everyone having to MHD NOVEMBER 2021 | 21
