Why is there a talent deficit in the Procurement field?

During Deloitte’s global CPO survey in 2016, they polled 324 senior procurement leaders representing $4.4 trillion dollars in global spend. They asked questions regarding the talent gap, and shockingly “62% of CPOs do not believe their team has the skills and capabilities to deliver their procurement strategy.”

What has changed in the industry, that CPOs do not feel their teams are up to job at hand?

1. The traditional procurement function is evolving. With the ability to outsource and automate everything from requisition to requisition to payment management, many traditional procurement roles are being removed from the equation. Organizations are now looking to their Procurement teams to act as critical thinkers, influence business decisions in the use of 3rd party activities, and focus on innovation. This trend is not expected to change, with 19% of CPOs in the Americas planning to increase the level of outsourcing within their procurement functions over the next year. 

2. 20 years ago, it was rare to find someone in Purchasing who sought out that field as one to pursue. Now, across many Universities you have robust Supply Chain Management programs. Unfortunately, the number of education professionals does not yet match the requirements of the growing industry.

3. Talent is not being invested in. The Deloitte survey also found that 30% of CPOs spent less than 1% of their operating budgets on training their current employees. With the rapidness of changes within the industry, talent should be invested in now more than ever.

4. Digital capabilities like cognitive analytics, e-sourcing tools, supplier relationship management tools, auto contract metadata capture, and more are growing increasingly important for organizations to stay current and agile in the Procurement industry. 82% of CPOs say their organizations have started their digital supply chain journey. With new technology coming out every day, often the current talent is not trained or familiar with these new tools.

5. There is a demand and supply imbalance. The U.S. Bureau of Labor reported that logistics jobs are expected to grow 26% by 2020. Coupled with 60 million Baby Boomers retiring by 2025, Procurement is an area being affected like many others across the US.

Given the talent gap at hand, organizations need to find ways to recruit and retain top-tier talent within the Procurement industry. Follow along as we dive into ways organizations can do just this in our next blog post. 

To view the Deloitte study referenced, click here.