Supply Chain: Are you relevant to the current job market?

The skills needed to work in the supply chain industry keeps changing. What you learned in the classroom years ago is still relevant, but with today's challenges in the job market, you need to keep yourself up-skilled at all times.

According to the Chief Supply Chain Officer Report, 26% out of the 1 068 executive-level respondents said that finding supply chain talent is extremely challenging. And to add onto it, a study showed that by 2017, there will be approximately 360, 000 supply chain vacancies available globally.

The battle for top supply chain talent is focused on acquiring people with process expertise. To select the right people to oversee the increasingly essential supply chain responsibility, hiring managers to make sure they know the blueprint for the "ideal" supply chain candidate. Being productive and organized are two of the best characteristics to have. To help you stand out from the crowd, here are a few qualities you can develop to make you relevant in today's job market.

Integrated business planning
Being able to deal with cross-functional issues is a large part of the supply chain. This includes integrating a company's operational side with its demand-side and embracing demand and supply integration concepts, such as sales and operations planning.

As a supply chain professional, you deal with collaboration initiatives between suppliers and customers. You must master the challenge of planning the end-to-end supply chain. Having this trait is imperative.

Be tech-savvy
Supply chains are global, and they have become more integrated. Data, networks and high-powered computing are helping make supply chains more agile, streamlined, and robust.

A recent article in IT Web said that South African companies are adopting voice technology in the supply chain. Technology is helping organizations drive efficiencies and productivity across their business.

You don't have to be the next coding prodigy, but you must be able to manage technology and work closely with technology teams to understand a company's IT capabilities and identify opportunities to improve supply chain processes.

Effective communication skills
Communication is one of the most important parts of your job. As a supply chain professional, like in most professions, you will spend a sufficient amount of time communicating with employees, colleagues, managers, and clients. Hence, having good and effective communication skills is vital to your professional success.

In today's competitive job market, having these valued qualities will make you stand out from your peers. Having these important characteristics will open up new career opportunities for you.

Find your next Supply Chain or Freight position with Communicate Recruitment. We have hundreds of vacancies in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.

Visit our website for more information.