Companies in Singapore looking to make the most of the improving economy while safeguarding against the impact of the global political uncertainty are become increasingly reliant on procurement and supply chain professionals.
“Many businesses in Singapore are right now, undergoing or preparing transformation and change projects that will deliver greater cost efficiencies and operational excellence. To help achieve their goals, businesses are turning to Procurement and Supply Chain professionals” says Lynne Roeder, Managing Director for Hays in Singapore.
“Procurement and supply chain is now seen as a vital strategic, commercial partner to the organisation rather than just a tactical function,” says Lynne.
“We are seeing a far greater appreciation and understanding of the value outstanding candidates can bring to a business and not surprisingly, competition for talent is increasing,” she says.
“While there is no doubt the stock of Procurement and Supply Chain professionals is on the rise, we are yet to see salaries follow suit.”
“Employers are looking at using extra non-monetary benefits to secure a preferred candidate, but this may not be enough as the market continues to heat up. Top professionals know their worth and are prepared to negotiate for a better deal.”
“We are also seeing employers focus more attention on cultural fit often requiring shortlisted candidates to attend three or more job interviews to test how they would fit into the team. With competition for talent already high, the longer an employer takes to make a decision, the more they risk losing their preferred candidate.”
“We also predict businesses in Singapore will look increasingly to Procurement and Supply Chain professionals to provide thought leadership on what technologies they should be exploring now, and in the future to minimise costs and to maximum efficiencies in getting goods and services to market across the region.”
“It could well now be time for companies to view the remuneration structures offered to Procurement and Supply Chain professionals” says Lynne.
Other observations offered by Lynne about Singapore’s Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment market include:
- “Commercially savvy candidates able to manage transformation projects and senior stakeholders resistant to change are in high demand.”
- “Employers not able to find the right candidate to manage a change project will hire from outside the procurement industry if the candidate has a strong track record of managing transformation projects.”
- “Companies are also bringing contractors on board to carry out pre-implementation work to set up Procurement and Supply Chain management change projects for success.”
- “On the Supply side, we are seeing a big focus on improving efficiencies related to getting products to market across the region.”
- “Regional hubs are being set up to focus on improving cost effectiveness and efficiencies. Roles being created include Head of Procurement roles based in Singapore and country heads based in offshore shared service centers.”
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To find out more about the Procurement & Supply Chain industry in Singapore, please read our Inside Story of the sector here.
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About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2017 the Group employed 10,000 staff operating from 250 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:
– the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million;
– the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 60% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 40% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA