“The Supply Management Talent Wars: Moving From Skills to
Competencies”
James D. Reeds
C.P.M., CPSM, CFPIM, CIRM, CPCM
President, Learning Solutions International
and
Past President, ISM Silicon Valley, Inc.
Introduction.
When we consider the many issues related to finding the “right person(s) for the
job,” one reality that seems counterintuitive is that there is at the moment a global
economic crisis that suggests a very real and large corporate “shedding of jobs.”
When viewed through the lens of supply and demand, there should be a more
than an ample supply of talent to fill almost any entry and management level
position in Supply Management. On the other hand, there is evidence that
corporations are “starving” for sufficient numbers of competent, qualified talent to
pursue their strategies for growth and profitability. How can this be? To offer a
useful consideration of this issue, it would prove enlightening to examine this
“war for talent” in terms of the unique position offered by the talent needs of
contemporary Supply Management. In this analysis, we will discover that the
underlying issues are more complex than often assumed. From recent research
in the quest for “World Class Supply Management,” a more comprehensive view
of Supply Management talent needs and how these needs can be fulfilled to the
satisfaction of both the Supply Management professional and the business
enterprises that employ them is offered.
The Talent Conundrum in Supply Management.
It may surprise many that the notion of a general “war for talent” as viewed by
the world’s corporations is nothing new. In the 1990’s, the consulting firm of
McKinsey & Company aptly identified the problem of a talent ‘shortage.” A
recent update of the issue through a survey of business leaders revealed the
following frustrations regarding talent acquisition and retention:
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McKinsey “War for Talent” Findings :
For many businesses that seek “the best and the brightest” talent in the Supply
Management profession, the problems are perceived in much the same way.
This was revealed in the latest research from the Aberdeen Group in their 2008
survey, “CPO Rising – The CPO’s Agenda for 2008”2:
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The responses in the Aberdeen Group study are revealing. They suggest that
there are two key underlying issues that have yet to be fully addressed: (1) The
current Supply Management talent pool does not possess the appropriate “job
skills,” and (2) they cannot find Supply Management talent with appropriate
educational preparation. How can we help solve this critical problem? Let us
focus on the issue of the “job skills deficit.”
We Must Reframe Our Concept of Supply Management Talent.
It is difficult to properly fill talent needs if our conceptual “framework” of what
constitutes Supply Management talent or skills is somehow outdated or
misaligned from current (or even future) reality. Specifically, “Frames are mental
structures that shape the way we see the world. As a result, they shape the goals
we seek, the plans we make, the way we act, and what counts as a good or bad
outcome of our actions…we also know frames through language. All words are
defined relative to conceptual frames. Because language activates frames, new
language is required for new frames. Thinking differently requires speaking
differently.3”
Thus, the broad view of what thinking is linked with the terms “talent” or “skill” is
necessary.
The New Oxford American Dictionary defines the term “talent” as4:
1. natural aptitude or skill: he possesses more talent than any other player | she
displayed a talent for garden design.
• people possessing such aptitude or skill: I signed all the talent in Rome | Simon
is a talent to watch.
In this widely-held view, “talent” is often used synonymously with “skills,” “skill
sets,” or “aptitudes.” In this approach, Supply Management top leadership as
well as the Supply Management Professionals too often view the attributes of
talent or skills (skill-sets) as a mere list of accumulated experiences. The
majority of corporate job descriptions and most resumes or CV’s that are part of
the “talent wars” reflect this traditional stance. This framework might well suffice
if the demands for Supply Management talent were unchanging or static.
However, this approach most often fails when we find ourselves looking forward
to drive organizations toward vastly changed and unfamiliar business
relationships. This is especially true when a Supply Management organization
finds itself tasked with the wholesale shift in individual and group behaviors from
traditional “Procurement” to that of Supply Management, and ultimately “World
Class Supply Management.”
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The Notion of Competence.
To help us reframe the thinking associated with the views traditional “talent” or
“skills,” it is more useful to consider the concepts related to “competencies.” A
Competence, as contrasted with a “talent” or “skill” is “the ability to do
something successfully or efficiently.” The link between skills and
competencies may be described as:
“A competence is the efficient, effective and proper application of skills
based upon appropriate knowledge.” 5
In addition to necessary skills, “competence” includes aspects of knowledge and
attitude. It is only by having an appropriately positive attitude that skills can be
efficiently, effectively, and properly applied. No matter how superior an
individual’s knowledge or how impressive their skills, a firm would be unwise to
employ them or use their expertise unless there was confidence in their proper
attitude.
This is, of course, a much more nuanced view, but the notion of Supply
Management competence is more appropriate in helping us bridge the “talent
gap.” This is especially true in organizations that aspire to World Class status.
The World Class Supply Management Model6.
What would this universe of Supply Management competencies look like?
Research into the attributes of “World Class Supply Management“ by Dr. David
N. Burt, Ph.D. (Emeritus) of the Supply Chain Management Institute at the
University of San Diego, suggests a more holistic landscape against which to
gauge the Supply Management talent needs of both business and Supply
Management Professionals. A review of the variables and stages of this forward-
looking model and the attributes within each can help us successfully reframe
Supply Management competencies.
The Burt-Lynch Model offers us a powerful study of the many nuances in breadth
and depth for a detailed review of Supply Management competencies. For
example, one may view the variables and stages of this framework in terms of
behavior orientations of the individual and at the same time, the organizational
needs of the business organization:
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A Behavior Orientation View of Supply Management Competencies
Looking beneath the surface of “traditional” Procurement talent needs reveals a
varied, complex, yet straightforward set of attributes of Supply Management
competencies. It helps us to “reframe” our thinking and thus to gain a more
thorough understanding of just what is required of individuals in the Supply
Management profession and the companies that seek to employ them.
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Endnotes.
1
Guthridge, Matthew, Asmus B. Komm and Emily Lawson. “Making Talent a Strategic Priority,”
The Mckinsey Quarterly. 2008. No.1. The original year-long study, entitled ”The War for Talent,”
was conducted in 1997. Its authors later published a book of the same name, which was based
on updated research conducted during 2000. See Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones and Beth
Axelrod, The War for Talent, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2001.
2
CPO Rising: The CPO’s Agenda for 2008. The Aberdeen Group. Boston, Massachusetts.
February 2008. p. 11.
3
George Lakoff, Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate.
Chelsea Green Publishing Company. White River Junction, Vermont. 2004. p. xv.
4
The New Oxford American Dictionary. The Oxford University Press. New York, N.Y. 2001.
5
John Lorriman. Continuing Professional Development – a Practical Approach. The
Institution of Electrical Engineers. London. England. 1997. p. 37.
6
Dr. David N. Burt Ph.D., and Robert Porter Lynch. Engines of Innovation. Burt-Lynch Model
of Supply Management Evolution & Competitive Strategy: Building to World Class. The
Warren Company and the Strategic Supply Management Institute. Providence, Rhode Island.
2006. http://www.enginesofinnovation.com/
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Burt-Lynch Model of World Class Supply Management
STAGE 1. STAGE 2. STAGE 3. STAGE 4. STAGE 5
Clerical Behavior Transactional Process-Based Strategic Behavior Systemic Behavior
VARIABLES Behavior Behavior
Transactional Bid- Supply Chain Value Chain Value Network
Tactical Buying
Based Buying Management Management Management
Innovation, Top & Total Value Impact,
Timely Quality, Bottom Line, Innovation,
Availability, Just-in-Time.
Value Driver Purchase Price
Total Costs, Revenue,
Convenience Total Cost of Ownership
Internal Integration Speed
Revenue & Bottom
Line Impacts, Present & Future
Improve Bottom Improve Bottom
Increase Revenue,
Overhead-Cost Line, No Line, Some
Bottom Line,
Shareholder Value,
Financial Impact Center Consideration of Consideration of
Transform Supplier & Stakeholder
Revenue Impact Revenue Impacts
Innovation Into Impacts
Value
Moderate
Partial Internal Integration. Internal
Full Internal and
Functional & External
External Integration:
Integration Low Internal
No Internal Integration Integration: Supply,
Level & Integration Supply, R&D,
Integration (Procurement, R&D, Logistics,
Logistics, Operations,
Functional Procurement and
Logistic,
Purchasing Operations,
Engineering,
Elements Logistics
Operations, Engineering,
Customer’s Strategies
Engineering) Customer Service,
Marketing
Coordination &
Hyper-Competition,
Basis of Leverage Size of Buyer Synchronicity,
Throughput, technology Hybridization,
Competitive Power Dynamics
Do the Job Interconnectedness
Global Impact Speed, Innovation &
Advantage Between Buyer & Seller vs. Relationships and
Customization
Trust
On Time Delivery, Low Speed, Effectiveness, Innovation, Synchronicity,
Performance Timeliness & Coordination & Cost,
Component/Unit Cost Monitor Supply synergy, Monitor Customer
Metrics Efficiency Supplier Development
Environment Environment
Process Innovation,
Internet, Auctions, Speed and Integration,
Innovation Develop Requirements, New Processes, Systems
Squeeze the Vendor Design Supply Base,
None
Focus Solutions, Leverage
Integrated Supply
Near Defect-Free Supplier Technologies
Strategy
Supply
Anticipate Customers’
“Should Cost” Analysis,
Internet Understand Markets, Future Needs, Anticipate
e-Commerce Understand Suppliers
Knowledge Phone Book Industries, Supply Base Industry Trends,
Connectivity
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Multi-Dimensional
Relationships,
Transactional, Collaborative &
Supplier Adversarial & Transactional &
Collaborative, &
Personal Networked
Relationships Transactional Collaborative
Alliance Relationships, Vision
and Value-Based
Relationships
Isolated from Reactive to Responsive to Proactive to “Preactive” with
Time Focus
Customer Customer Customers, Customer Customers
Proactive As “Preactive” with
Considered as Part
Market Customers to
Not Considered Added Cost Factor of Total Cost of
Environmental Differentiator For Reengineer as Added
Ownership
Customer Value
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