Bis Henderson Group, the supply chain services company, has seen a 20% uplift in permanent executive jobs placed over the last six months of 2016 compared with the same period a year earlier. The figures come post-Brexit vote and seem to suggest that demand for logistics and supply chain jobs remains healthy with businesses looking to invest in talent now.
“Our level of work hasn’t slowed since the Brexit vote, it has grown,” says Andy Kaye, CEO of Bis Henderson Group. “We were half expecting a tail-off in hiring following the decision to leave the EU but that simply hasn’t materialised so far – far from it. Organisations are looking to future-proof themselves; investing in their business through improving the capability of their people,” he said.
The number of job placements related to ecommerce has almost doubled since 2014 and in the last year alone jobs related to ecommerce represented over a third of the company’s recruitment activity.
Mark Botham, COO at Bis Henderson Recruitment, says, “The greatest call for skills is for those individuals who understand logistics and supply chain activities related to ecommerce. Managing processes around single-item picking and the preparation of small orders is highly complex and requires talented people with strong problem-solving skills, the ability to communicate well and who are up-to-speed on the latest warehouse technology.”
However, he sees a looming problem regarding labour hire for warehouse operations. “The flow of people from Eastern Europe has slowed significantly and that will put pressure on middle management roles. Logistics and supply chain managers will have to become more creative about how they resource labour and how they develop future strategies to cope with a tightening labour market. I believe automation will be very much on the agenda and this could well be why organisations are seeking talented individuals capable of implementing such technology.”
Bis Henderson Recruitment figures to January 2017 show strong year-on-year job growth across its key sectors, including: 3PL transport and logistics, ecommerce/retail, procurement and supply chain.
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