{"id":7862,"date":"2025-03-06T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=7862"},"modified":"2025-03-06T07:52:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T13:52:51","slug":"the-talent-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/06\/the-talent-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"The Talent Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The digital transformation of supply chains promises to supercharge performance, improve efficiency and resilience, slash operating costs, increase customer satisfaction and boost sustainability efforts. However, a persistent shortage of workers with the right skillsets has become a major roadblock to realizing these much\u2011ballyhooed benefits. It\u2019s time, experts say, to focus on the people side of the human\u2011tech equation.<\/h4>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
BY DAVID H. COBURN<\/span><\/div>\n
\"theISTOCK.COM<\/a>\/IPOPBA<\/span><\/h6>\n

R<\/span>ick McDonald, recently retired chief supply chain officer (CSCO) at Clorox, remembers the days when finding workers to fill job openings\u2014workers with technical skills who would stick with the company for a while\u2014was as easy as walking out the front door of your manufacturing plant.<\/p>\n

“You could look to your left and right, and there were people who had worked in somebody else\u2019s plant, or they had worked on a farm, or they were a shade tree mechanic, or they did HVAC repair, or they were a diesel mechanic,” the 32\u2011year Clorox veteran said. “There were a lot of those people around.”<\/p>\n

McDonald isn\u2019t the only CSCO nostalgic for simpler times. Talent shortages have become endemic for enterprises globally, a perennial issue cited in survey after survey of industry leaders, including the 2025 MHI Annual Industry Report, which identified talent as the second\u2011leading supply chain challenge after economic uncertainty\/inflation.<\/p>\n

But what has been a top concern for years is taking on new urgency as organizations across the spectrum push to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) and other new digital tools that promise to transform their operations and produce world\u2011beating business results. They just can\u2019t find the talent to make it happen.<\/p>\n

In PwC\u2019s 2024 Digital Trends in Operations Survey, 69% of operations and supply chain officers said their digital investments fell short of expectations, citing “people capabilities” and “program leadership” as top factors, and 39% called lack of skilled digital talent the biggest challenge to digital transformation.<\/p>\n

Those sentiments echo the results of a 2022 survey by McKinsey showing that, while 89% of large companies had undertaken digital transformation projects, those initiatives had reaped a disappointing 31% of expected revenue gains and only 25% of projected cost savings.<\/p>\n

Supply chain experts say the underwhelming results delivered to date should serve as a caution flag prompting companies racing toward digitization to pump the brakes and refocus on the critical human elements that\u2014so far, at least\u2014have been lacking in many digital transformation initiatives.<\/p>\n

Those include creating a culture that allows employers to attract and retain talent, understanding how to roll out new technology in a way that empowers rather than overwhelms workers, and providing the upskilling and reskilling needed to help workers maximize the new tech tools being introduced.<\/p>\n

“CSCOs and supply chain leaders must prioritize people, their unique talents and abilities, with the mindset and motivation that humans are amplifiers of supply chain\u2019s digital and physical assets,” said Danielle Torgerson, senior principal analyst for Gartner Supply Chain. “Rather than focusing on the technology investment, organizations need to put people first and develop plans that are user\u2011 or people\u2011centric.”<\/p>\n

Multiple Factors in Play<\/h4>\n

While finding enough workers to fill open positions has been a pain point for years, new forces that have come into play over the past few years have exacerbated the imbalance in labor market supply and demand, including:<\/p>\n