6 Strategies for Hiring During a Supply Chain Talent Shortage

Accenture projects that the supply chain industry will need 1.34 million additional workers by 2035, while the workforce is expected to add about 221,000 workers over the same period. That points to a significant shortage of people available to fill supply chain roles.

For companies hiring supply chain professionals, the question is practical: How do you find qualified people when the available talent pool is limited? That may require expanding where hiring teams look, reconsidering which experience they require, developing talent internally, and making opportunities competitive for professionals who already have options.

1. Recruit passive supply chain talent

When fewer qualified professionals are actively looking for jobs, hiring teams may need to look beyond the people who happen to be applying. Passive candidates are already employed and may not be searching, but some may be open to the right opportunity. That makes outbound recruiting an important part of the search. Rather than posting a role and waiting to see who responds, recruiters can define the experience they need and identify professionals who have already demonstrated it. LinkedIn, employee referrals, professional associations, industry networks, recruiting databases, and existing relationships can all contribute to that search.

The outreach matters just as much as the sourcing. Someone who already has a job has little reason to respond to a vague message about an "exciting opportunity." The message should explain what the role is, why that particular person was contacted, and what makes the opportunity worth considering. A relevant professional can then decide whether the role is worth a conversation without being pushed into an application.

More strategies on how to find and engage passive supply chain talent here.

2. Look beyond direct industry experience

Direct industry experience can be valuable, especially when a role involves specialized regulations, processes, customers, or technical requirements. Making it an absolute requirement can also narrow an already limited talent pool. Hiring teams can instead look at the experience behind the industry label: the complexity and scale of the operation, functional expertise, systems experience, leadership responsibility, suppliers or customers managed, and problems the candidate has solved.

Looking at those factors can help determine whether someone's experience could transfer to the role, even when their current industry is different. Some roles will still require specific industry knowledge, but not every requirement carries the same weight. It is worth distinguishing between experience that someone genuinely needs on day one and experience they could reasonably develop after joining.

3. Recruit from adjacent industries

Looking beyond the company's own industry can expand the search further. Adjacent industries may have professionals working with similar levels of operational complexity, technologies, processes, or supply chain challenges, even when the products or markets are different. Rather than limiting the search to people who have already worked in exactly the same environment, hiring teams can identify where similar capabilities exist elsewhere.

Industry knowledge still matters, but it can be evaluated alongside the rest of a candidate's experience. Someone may need time to understand a new product, customer base, regulation, or operating environment while already bringing relevant functional and leadership experience. Considering that tradeoff can open the search to candidates who might otherwise be screened out based on industry alone.

4. Hire for transferable skills

Hiring teams may need to place more weight on skills that can transfer from one role or environment to another. A candidate does not necessarily need to have performed the exact same job in the exact same setting to bring relevant experience. Their previous work can provide useful evidence of how they approach problems, manage complexity, work with stakeholders, or lead change.

Look at the skills behind previous roles: problem-solving, supplier management, planning, analytics, process improvement, leadership, systems experience, change management, or managing operational complexity. Some technical or industry-specific knowledge may still be essential, while other requirements may be learned on the job. The distinction is between the skills someone needs to bring with them and those that can be developed after joining.

5. Use compensation and flexibility to compete

Finding someone with the right experience is only part of the challenge. Qualified professionals who are already employed have their own reasons for staying, so the opportunity needs to be competitive enough to warrant consideration. Compensation should reflect the level of experience and responsibility required, while flexibility may also influence how attractive a role is where hybrid, remote, or flexible arrangements are possible.

The opportunity itself also needs to be clear. Greater responsibility, career progression, leadership exposure, a larger scope, or the chance to solve an important business problem can all be meaningful reasons to consider a move. Those factors should be communicated during the recruiting process rather than relying on the job title and compensation alone.

6. Work with a specialized supply chain recruiter

When internal recruiting teams do not have the network, market knowledge, or capacity to run a broader search, a specialized supply chain recruiter can extend the reach of the hiring process. Recruiters who work specifically across supply chain functions may already have relationships with passive candidates and professionals who are not actively applying to jobs.

Industry experience also matters when vetting candidates. A recruiter who understands supply chain can assess more than whether someone has the right title or keywords on a resume. They can evaluate the systems, scope, functional experience, leadership responsibility, and operational challenges behind a candidate's background, helping hiring teams focus their time on candidates who warrant a closer look.

For difficult-to-fill supply chain roles, an established recruiting network can give hiring teams another way to reach and vet qualified professionals.

Build a broader approach to supply chain hiring

A supply chain talent shortage makes the way hiring teams approach the search increasingly important. Recruiting passive candidates can expand the pool beyond active applicants. Looking beyond direct industry experience and into adjacent industries can bring different backgrounds into consideration. Hiring for transferable skills can prevent relevant experience from being overlooked, while compensation and flexibility can make opportunities more competitive for professionals who already have options.

None of these approaches requires lowering the standards for a role. They are ways to broaden the search while keeping the focus on the experience and capabilities that actually matter. For hiring teams facing difficult searches, that can create more opportunities to find the right person rather than relying on a limited pool of candidates who already match every requirement on paper.

Need help finding hard-to-reach supply chain talent? SCOPE Recruiting is one of the supply chain recruitment agencies turn to when they need to identify, reach, and strategically vet qualified professionals across executive, procurement, logistics, warehouse, operations, and manufacturing roles.