Development of skill sets will be key to the future of procurement, says Cast UK

Mark Nesbit, Managing Consultant at Cast UK

As procurement executives are under pressure to perform in an era of globalisation and outsourced capabilities, many are pushing procurement in directions where new models and new ways of working are essential. This year, KPMG has released findings from its “25 in 25” research where 25 senior chief procurement officers and executives were asked to comment on what the world of procurement will look like in 2025.

Commenting on these findings, managing consultant at specialist recruitment company, Cast UK, Mark Nesbit points to the development of employee skill sets to incorporate a broad spectrum of capabilities as key to effective talent management and recruitment, which was noted as “central” in the KPMG report.

“Individuals will be required to develop an improved balance between sourcing expertise and business awareness, and a consultative approach to stakeholder engagement will certainly facilitate this. Furthermore, the attraction of procurement as a career path for the best graduates will certainly be heightened as the industry strives towards recognition as a business partner alongside IT, Finance and HR,” said Mark.

Based on findings, KPMG discovered that top-level execs believe procurement can provide greater value to businesses than they do. Additionally, chief procurement officers (CPO) see procurement’s future role of challenging many of the existing assumptions of procurement as a “cost savings enabler,” developing into a “trusted partner,” and culminating into a future role as “supply chain innovator”.

“As a professional level recruiter in this space, I’m intrigued as to how my clients’ requirements evolve as we move forward, and how university programmes adapt to these new demands and ensure that professionals coming into procurement understand the new role procurement will play in business,” said Mark.

At Cast UK, all senior recruiters have either worked directly in logistics and procurement or have extensive experience in our specialist areas. This business model ensures that recruiters are informed about the industry challenges faced by their clients and they can assist them with finding the right people to tackle these demands.

“It will be interesting to understand if future recruiting managers will truly be comfortable in appointing experienced technical specialists into their teams and then making the necessary investment to ‘up-skill’ them into procurement.

“Though the parallels in soft skills required for success in marketing, sales and business development are obvious with those in procurement, I fear it may be some time before we see experienced candidates consistently being given the opportunity to make this leap - though I very much hope this is not 25 years away,” concluded Mark.

To read the full article, visit Cast UK.

Cast UK continues growth curve with five appointments

Cast UK, which specialises in recruiting specifically in procurement, supply chain and logistics, has bolstered its team with five new appointments to its Manchester office.

Dan Rowe has joined the team as a senior logistics consultant after originally working for Cast UK from 2010 to 2012, having spent the past two years working in a sales role at a vehicles telematics business.

In addition to this, four new faces at Cast UK have joined the company’s Graduate Training Academy; Hannah Villa-March, Natalie Foster, Frances Upton and Genevieve Greensted. Dan has ten years’ experience in the logistics sector and was drawn to return to Cast UK as a result of its marked growth, given that the employee-base has doubled in the past two years alone.

Hannah joins Cast UK after graduating in German and Spanish and gaining career experience in a media sales role.

Natalie, a graduate in Business Management and Economics, was attracted by the opportunity of being part of a growing business, and was actively seeking a career that rewards effort and ambition.

Frances also joins Cast UK after graduating in English Literature and working in China for a short time as a teacher and course co-ordinator.

Genevieve completed her Fashion and Textiles Retailing degree in summer and will be a resourcer within the company’s logistics division.

Cast UK’s model of working, which sees a departure from the typical 360 recruitment structure, ensures that graduate resourcers focus exclusively on supporting candidates, while benefitting from one-to-one support and mentoring from consultants to aid them in their career development.

Speaking about the approach, Dan Rowe said: “The business has grown substantially in the last couple of years. This new way of working ensures the team is focused and freed up to concentrate on important issues like developing strong relationships and really understanding the respective needs of clients and candidates.”

Wayne Brophy, managing director of Cast UK, added: “The launch of our Graduate Training Academy has been a real success.  We’ve adopted a way of working that enables new recruits to bed in and allows us to invest time in supporting their career growth. It also lends itself well to our senior consultants, who are able to provide a high quality, client-centric service.”

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