There is no disputing that talent is a top challenge for companies worldwide. In PwC's 2014 CEO Survey, 93 percent of participants said they recognize the need to change their strategies for talent, but 61 percent acknowledged that they haven't yet taken the first step. The challenge is especially acute in supply chain operations, which is facing a talent shortage - despite an increasing number of undergraduate majors, MBA concentrations and entire programs in supply chain management.

FinancialForce.com, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) provider on the Salesforce1 platform, has introduced Everyday HCM (Human Capital Management).

In the debate over why the U.S. has been so slow to emerge from the Great Recession, many have laid the blame on what's become known as the skills gap: Despite an abundance of workers, too many simply aren't qualified to fill the jobs available. Even now that hiring is running at its fastest clip since the late 1990s, business and industry groups such as the Chamber of Commerce continue to emphasize the damage the skills gap is doing to the economy. So do a lot of consulting firms.

A discussion about the talent gap in supply chain management – and what 3PL Transplace is doing about it – with Adrianne Court, chief human resources officer, and Blake Whicker, a graduate of the company's New Grad Professional Development Program.

What makes a great supply-chain leader? Steve DiBlasi, vice president of global sourcing with Lanier Clothes, has an answer.