Gartner: Talent is critical for your future supply chain
Only 27% of leaders believe they currently have the talent needed to meet current supply chain performance requirements, according to a report from analysts Gartner.
A new research paper from Gartner is targeted at Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) and focuses on the talent-related challenges and opportunities they will need to shape the supply chain professional of 2025.
“CSCOs report that their talent strategy is not in alignment with their digital business strategy; attraction, retention and development of skilled talent are top obstacles to achieving digital business goals,” said Dana Stiffler, VP Analyst, Gartner.
According to a survey by Gartner a shortage of supply chain talent with the right combination of knowledge, skills, experience and behavioural maturity was the top external force (29%) having the greatest impact on the supply chain.
“It's becoming increasingly apparent to many supply chain leaders that talking about talent is not enough - they need to focus on talent, and that talent should be a key part of their overall supply chain strategy. Once a supply chain talent strategy is in place, the organisation can build and invest where the largest gaps and biggest needs exist,” comment Gartner.
Supply chain leaders need to prioritise the development of their talent strategy so they can build and invest where the largest supply chain skills gap exist, states the report entitled Developing the Supply Chain Professional of 2025.
Empowerment of employees
“Employees are not currently empowered to act with agility. If CSCOs truly want to build an agile workforce, then they need to redesign work and focus on the capabilities that support digital,” comment Gartner.
“Adapting to new technologies and effectively leveraging data and analytics in the supply chain will require new capabilities. In order for employees to work digitally and support the efforts of becoming a digital business, supply chain roles will need to feature digital dexterity competencies. And with an increased focus on data and analytics in the supply chain, the average employee will need to develop skills in data literacy.
Digital dexterity
Digital dexterity is composed of the beliefs, mindsets and behaviours that can be used to accelerate digital business transformation. Outlined in the report are the competencies that drive this digital dexterity and data literacy – two skills Gartner stress are required for the supply chain professional of 2025.
According to Gartner despite the COVID-19 outbreak, CEOs tapped digital business for increased investment last year. A total of 47% expect to increase the speed of their digital initiatives to find innovative ways to drive growth.
This trend extends to the supply chain with Gartner’s 2020 CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey revealing that many CSCOs are choosing to increase their investments in technology in response to the pandemic.
“Information overload and the rapid pace of change make it impossible to keep up with what’s next. Gartner equips supply chain leaders to understand and mitigate market disruptors,” concludes the report which is free to download from the link below.
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