The "Supply Chain Talent Shortage: From Gap to Crisis" report by DHL said that failure to keep up with changing technologies, such as robotics, was driving a global talent shortage crisis.

DHL surveyed around 350 supply chain and operations professionals across five global regions.

More than a third of respondents had failed to take steps to create a future talent pipeline or develop their workforce.

Changing job requirements was cited as the biggest single driver behind the shortage. Almost nine in 10 (86 percent) ranked this factor as high or very high in terms of its effect on companies’ ability to find the right talent.

More than a quarter (27 percent) indicated difficulties finding talent with solid professional competencies.

But while the ideal employee combines tactical and operational expertise with professional competencies such as analytical skills, 58 percent said this combination was hard to find.

About 25 percent believed their company viewed supply chain as equally important as other disciplines and a common perception of supply chain careers as “lacking in excitement” was hurting the industry’s recruitment potential, the report said.

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