As we navigate the global supply chains in 2024, the landscape continues evolving, presenting unprecedented challenges and transformative opportunities for industry stakeholders. This white paper analyzes the key priorities, concerns, and strategic imperatives shaping the supply chain ecosystem, drawing insights from our surveys conducted in the second quarter of 2024.

Alcott Global conducted a survey between April and May 2024, inviting 152 C-level executives from various geographies and regions globally. Forty percent of the respondents represented companies with revenues exceeding $10 billion, followed by 26% from firms with revenues between $1 billion and $10 billion, with varying proportions from other revenue brackets.

As a result of the survey, we have identified the current talent and tech trends in the supply chain space.

Talent Trends of 2024

As revealed in the survey, the top skills for supply chain talent include end-to-end understanding of supply chain operations (96%), data analysis (59%), understanding of the latest supply chain technologies (45%), ESG and sustainability practices (38%), and inventory management and control principles (35%).

Other notable mentions include inventory management and control principles (35%), risk management (35%), sourcing and procurement strategies (26%), transportation management and optimization (21%), trade regulations and compliance requirements (20%), and others (8%).

On the other hand, some of the biggest challenges in hiring supply chain leaders include finding candidates with the right skill set (65%), a shortage of talent with specialized skills (59%), reducing time-to-hire (36%), a lack of diversity in the candidate pool (27%), and retaining talent and reducing turnover (22%).

Tech Trends of 2024

In an era of technological innovation, supply chain organizations leverage advanced technologies to enhance efficiency, agility, and resilience. The top strategic priorities for technology adoption in 2024 include cost reduction and efficiency improvement (76%), digital transformation (76%), enhancing supply chain resilience and agility (63%), implementing sustainable practices (47%), and expanding into new markets or regions (29%).

While technology holds significant potential for driving supply chain innovation, organizations encounter challenges implementing new technologies. The key challenges identified include integration challenges with legacy systems (61%), resistance to change from employees (51%), and high implementation costs (50%). 

Conclusion

Challenges in talent requirements don’t always have straightforward solutions, especially as we move higher up the career ladder. It also demands customizations and development when complexities increase or when companies undergo major digital transformations while needing to continue business-as-usual operations; hence, survey responses vary from year to year.

In the context of the ongoing evolution of supply chain leadership as a strategic function in organizations, which is expected to align with the organization’s business strategy, it’s not surprising that the executives surveyed overwhelmingly agreed that “finding candidates with the right skill set” is the biggest challenge they have when it comes to hiring for leadership roles.

There is a need for a balanced blend of tech-savviness and strategic foresight to help them navigate the complexities of digital transformation with operational excellence.