High-Tech Supply Chains Are Straining The Talent Pool

As demands within the supply chain shift and evolve, innovators are looking at new ways to disrupt the status quo. While this disruption is considered a progressive development, helping supply chain professionals to streamline operations and reach a global market, new research shows that these innovations could be causing friction in the supply chain thanks to a lack of qualified individuals to employ from the talent pool.

New research just released by Deloitte suggests that today’s supply chain is in the midst of a paradigm shift: positively disrupted thanks to new technologies, but with a workforce that is not yet entirely capable of adapting to these disruptions.

A High-Tech Future – And Present

The concept that high-tech solutions to some of today’s most pressing needs of supply chain managers is not merely a hypothetical. In fact, professionals surveyed by Deloitte expect some of these innovations to become a regular part of the supply chain in the near future – and many reveal that these solutions are already commonplace.

For example, about one quarter of those surveyed from manufacturing firms said that they currently use 3D printing. An additional 21 percent said they plan to use the technology within the next three years. According to Deloitte, supply chain professionals aren’t simply experimenting with the technology, also known as additive manufacturer. Instead, researchers cite conglomerates like Amazon and Boeing as some of the frontrunners regularly using 3D printing in the supply chain to create replacement parts.

Big Data is another area revolutionizing the supply chain, especially through the rise of predictive analytics. Researchers highlighted the ability for data analytics to anticipate economic changes or fluctuations in the competitive environment. The strategy has lead to a host of up-and-coming technologies that supply chain professionals said they either expect to use or are already currently using, including demand forecasting, risk analytics, and control tower analytics. Demand forecasting and the use of optimization tools are the most commonly adopted innovations within the supply chain, together accounting for more than 70 percent of employees reporting existing or future use of these tools.

But other high-tech tools are on their way. According to the data, more than half (56 percent) of those surveyed anticipate the use of artificial intelligence in supply chain operations in the near future. Half said that wearable technology will soon be commonplace, and more than half (51 percent) said manufacturing will see an influx in the use of advanced robotics.

Overcoming Disruption

Technological innovation is designed to disrupt the status quo. But what happens when professionals cannot adequately adapt to the disruptions that are intended to improve operations? Deloitte’s research suggests that the supply chain sector is in the midst of this dilemma.

One of the biggest takeaways from the survey, in fact, is the finding that only 38 percent of supply chain professionals say they are either very or extremely confident that their supply chain organization is competent to meet modern demands. What’s more, some of that incompetency is due to a lack of human talent, not a lack of innovative technology.

Deloitte concluded that there are two types of talent pools crucial to businesses’ successful adoption of innovative tools: employees with technical competencies, and employees with leadership and professional competencies. A total of 73 percent of respondents said it is extremely important to hire technically competent workers – even more (79 percent) said it is extremely important to hire professionally competent employees.

This demand for talent is likely a direct result of the adoption of new technologies. For example, as innovations facilitate suppliers’ ability to do business across their own borders, supply chain managers said that compliance and regulatory expertise is the second-most necessary talent that the supply chain will need in the near future.

Similarly, the rise in the use of Big Data and data analytics to stay ahead of the competition is also leading to the rise in demand for employees with the technical know-how to embrace these tools, with 66 percent of respondents agreeing that it will become a more important skill for years to come. Today, however, less than half of those surveyed view data analytics skills as crucial to the function of today’s supply chain.

In addition to this skill gap, perhaps even more troubling is Deloitte’s finding that despite the demand for stronger and more specialized talent, supply chain managers are not extensively investing in talent adoption techniques. The survey identified 11 possible practices to nurture and strengthen the talent pool, but none of them were used by more than 20 percent of supply chain professionals.

As a whole, Deloitte found a broad range of areas in which the supply chain is expected to change over the next five years, with nearly half of respondents saying they expect supply chain operations to experience an overall shift to what is called a “center of excellence,” either a physical or virtual “center of knowledge” that consolidates expertise and resources.

But while the supply chain evolves, Deloitte has also revealed a gap in talent able to facilitate the adoption of new technologies and meet the rising demands of the next generation of supply chain operations. Whether companies can nurture the talent pool will likely reveal the winners – and losers – of a high-tech, global supply chain.