How The Great Supply Chain Reset is changing industrial leadership

A sharpened demand for strategic product sourcing has led to a more defined role within organizations’ supply chain functions: procurement.

It’s no secret that supply chain shutdowns caused by Covid-19 closures exposed many organizations’ operational deficiencies in 2020. Now, with ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, inflation and demand for sustainability, industrial leaders are in the middle of what’s being called “The Great Supply Chain Reset.”

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This reset has inspired a variety of organizations to place greater emphasis on procurement. Historically, larger organizations hired procurement-specific individuals while smaller ones folded these responsibilities into more generic supply chain roles, but that’s changing.

Procurement as a functional role:

We’re now seeing hiring managers silo procurement into its own distinct role within organizations of all sizes. These roles frequently fall into the director or vice president level and require candidates to have experience managing a budget, sourcing product and, importantly, deep knowledge of the specific materials they’re in charge of procuring.

In addition to procurement becoming a functional role in and of itself, we’ve also seen the rise of specialized procurement positions, such as “vice president of soybean procurement” or “director of plastics procurement,” for example.

Organizations had to quickly rethink where they sourced products when the supply chain experienced disruptions in 2020. Supply chain managers who oversaw procurement for multiple products became overwhelmed and had difficulty sourcing alternatives, whereas deeply knowledgeable procurement professionals with one specialty area came equipped with the connections and insight to pivot their sourcing strategies.

We’re now seeing demand for these specialty positions across organizations of all sizes who hope to catch up to pre-pandemic supply levels and are bracing for ongoing volatility in global commerce.

Finding the right procurement professional:

The demand for specialized procurement roles throughout 2020-2021 also put a strain on HR leaders to hire quickly and effectively.

HR departments were experiencing pressure themselves from increased hiring efforts, employee burnout and mandated shifts to hybrid and remote work due to Covid-19. This created a perfect storm where organizations had a massive need for procurement talent but struggled to find and hire the right individuals.

Many decided to open the aperture for this talent by allowing increased flexibility (such as permanent remote or hybrid work options) or raising compensation. While hiring managers have regained some leeway into their hiring specifications, many procurement roles remain fully remote.

In our experience, the average specialized procurement executive has a related MBA degree, 15-20 years of procurement experience and deep knowledge of the products they’re sourcing; in some cases, organizations will require these individuals to have spent the majority of their career focused on the one product they’re in charge of.

Is the procurement role here to stay?

The Great Supply Chain Reset has convinced leaders to prioritize procurement expertise as a specialized role instead of folding it into different positions, and our team fully expects these positions to remain popular for organizations managing a complex supply chain and bracing for an uncertain future.

To learn more about supply chain and procurement trends, contact Eric Spell at (336) 217-9116 or eric.spell@charlesaris.com.