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How to retain Supply Chain Talent?

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As more and more enterprises participate in the global competition, the complex supply chain talents who can meet the challenges of globalization are becoming rare, the supply chain talent crisis is beginning to emerge, and the trend of shortage of supply chain talents has become more and more severe. On the other hand, despite the shortage of talents in the supply chain, the number of talents in the composite supply chain has not shown an explosive growth trend. So, what kind of supply chain talent strategy should enterprises adopt? How to retain Supply Chain Talent?

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How to retain Supply Chain Talent

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Firstly, Supply chain management talent must have supply chain strategic thinking, be familiar with the supply chain in various sub-areas of knowledge and operation, and have a wealth of practical experience and management, implementation ability.

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1. Recruit multifaceted talents adapted to the complex environment of the supply chain

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Supply chain management is no longer just the independent operation of business units or business processes, but integrates the entire enterprise operation and management process, from the front end of the market demand analysis, to product design and development, supplier development, supplier management, quality management, production operations, international trade, warehousing logistics, after-sales service, as well as policy and regulations, information technology and customer relationship management.

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Although the number of graduates in business administration, logistics management, supply chain management and so on is increasing, it is increasingly difficult for enterprises to find the right supply chain talent. Cross-border talents who can adapt to the complex environment of the supply chain (while familiar with procurement, logistics, trade, information technology, e-commerce, law and other fields) should be the focus of all enterprises in the supply chain talent competition, MBA in supply chain management, domestic and foreign MBA graduates, may be able to meet the needs of enterprises in the high-end supply chain talent.

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2. Establish an effective internal rotation mechanism for supply chain posts

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Many companies complete the recruitment process after hiring employees in the supply chain sector, and do not make full use of the supply chain talent they employ, but limit them to a very small area of work, engage in very professional and specific work, and rarely develop a reasonable career plan for them. In most cases, supply chain talent chooses to leave after three or five years or even two or three years in a business.

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Companies should encourage employees to participate in cross-functional work and offer cross-functional career development opportunities. Within the enterprise, you can carry out the rotation plan for the positions of purchasing, logistics, warehousing, planning, international trade, etc., although this method has a long cycle and the staff will have a long time to engage in basic work, but it is the most effective way to train the supply chain management talent suitable for the enterprise.

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3. Provide professional supply chain knowledge and skills training

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The shortage of high-end talents in the supply chain is, in the final analysis, the lack of highly specialized knowledge level of talents in the supply chain area, and in the training of supply chain talents. We should adopt the strategy of both internal and external professional training. Internal training can make supply chain talents more understanding of the internal operation mechanism and development strategy, external training can improve professional thinking and skills.

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In view of the development plan and ability level of supply chain talents, providing professional supply chain training can greatly improve the professional knowledge and ability of supply chain personnel, and improve the matching of professional competence with job needs.

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4. Establish a career rise channel for supply chain management personnel

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Some enterprises have invested a lot of time and energy in the training of talents in the composite supply chain, but in the end they have not retained the talents who spend time training, mainly because they have not established an effective talent career rise and incentive mechanism.

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Moreover, enterprises must communicate effectively with the potential supply chain management personnel training, reach a tacit understanding, establish effective career rise channel and incentive mechanism. Job rotation, job promotion, salary incentives and skills training is often the most effective incentive means.

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5. Improve supply chain organizational structure and business process standardization

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In a chaotic organizational structure and vague business processes, individual talent can be found, but it cannot be cultivated. Companies should strive to make each job function more professional and specific, and establish standard processes and specifications for each function.

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The business environment is changing, and the business processes of enterprises at different stages are bound to change. Through business process reorganization and business process change, enterprises must divide their responsibilities clearly and accelerate the standardization of business processes, so that supply chain people can quickly familiarize themselves with it and master the work responsibilities and content of all aspects of the supply chain.

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6. Attract and retain high-end supply chain management talent in the industry

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Many enterprises do not attract and retain high-end supply chain management talent, or worse, most companies lack a supply chain management talent succession plan. Once the supply chain executives leave, it has a serious impact on procurement, logistics, import and export, quality, production, sales and other departments.

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For high-end talents in the supply chain, they should be given sufficient authority to promote the change of enterprise supply chain, provide a challenging working environment and attractive salary and benefits, combine their personal development plans and corporate vision, and establish a mechanism for the development of advanced supply chain management successor talents.

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