Hiring and operational trends within the Supply Chain sector have evolved significantly over recent years – but how will the market develop further in the months ahead?
Abdul Walid, Manager of Supply Chain at Robert Walters, shares the 5 key trends which he believes will shape the landscape in 2022.
E-commerce will continue to excel
Many retailers of all shapes and sizes took a dramatic hit during the pandemic. However, it was the businesses that weren’t equipped with a well-run E-commerce platform that felt these detrimental impacts most of all.
As online shopping has increased over many years, the demand for logistic workers in this area has in turn increased too. We do however expect this to increase at an even more rapid rate in the upcoming months, as the job market expands and technology advances further.
For many in 2022, future-proofing their businesses by offering a customer-friendly online platform is high up on the list.
There will be an increase in the use of omni-channels
There’s been a significant rise in demand for omni-channel services from retailers to ensure there are multiple routes provided to the customer, to help reduce potential risks and reliance on a single service solution. This has resulted in demand outweighing supply for candidates with this skillset.
Automation will be crucial
Another thing that was brought to light during Covid was just how much reliance businesses have on people, particularly when it came to warehousing. When people required time off due to illness or isolation, businesses were down on labour and so delivery, output and therefore profit was affected. We’re seeing a lot of employees now investing in automated facilities to reduce risk and increase resilience. This means that people with experience in implementation and automated services (e.g. Warehouse Management and System Implementation) are in very high demand.
A notable high demand within the pharmaceutical industry
Whilst we’re seemingly coming out of the other side of the pandemic, this doesn’t mean the healthcare sector is reducing or slowing down – we are noticing an even larger increase in recruitment within this market to ensure that businesses are far more prepared in the future.
Many of our employees within this sector are scaling up, with purchases of additional sites being made and therefore a significant rise in vacancies.
The last 2 years have just been a wake-up call and now more than ever operations need to be durable.
Expect to see more attractive job offerings
The employment market is the busiest I’ve seen it – the demand for candidates has truly transformed. It is because of this that employees are really focusing on the requirements of candidates in order to appeal to the top-talent. Particularly in logistics businesses are offering a lot more flexibility when it comes to providing a hybrid working environment. Most employees in this area now embed flexibility within the business model. This remote working is also coming into play during initial interviews, with a reduction in stages and options for first and second stage interviews to be run as video calls, for maximum convenience.
Salaries have also increased significantly, with as much as a £20k+ increase on roles when comparing the same position before the pandemic. It is for this reason that counteroffers have significantly risen too – with negotiations becoming a lot more persuasive as companies battle to retain talent.
Looking for your next move in supply chain and want to know what you should be expecting? Discover your earning potential across the UK with the Robert Walters Salary Calculator.
