Supply Chain Market Update

1. Key Roles Recruited
in 2014:
 Head of Supply Chain
– MENA: Pharma
 Supply Chain
Manager – Oil & Gas
 S&OP Director EEMEA
- FMCG
 Demand & Supply
Planning Manager –
Pharma
 Supply Chain Director
– FMCG
 Head of Customer
Service – FMCG
 Head of Operations
KSA - FMCG
GRG – Supply Chain Market
Update
Sam Browning
Senior Supply Chain &
Logistics Consultant
Tel: +971 56 175 3106
Sam.browning@thegulfrecr
uitmentgroup.com
This has been an interesting year
in the world of Supply Chain
recruitment; the first half of the
year saw a lot of movement in
the market (Jan 2014 – Sept
2014). The breakdown of the
levels recruited is below:
 30% of all new hires
were Demand/Supply
Planner Level
 60% of all new hires
were Demand/Supply
Planning Manager level
 10% of all new hires
were Supply Chain
Manager and above
This is a trend that continued
from H2 2013 as businesses are
investing heavily in their
Supply Chain Market Overview
forecasting and planning
functions. What this tells us is
that a lot of companies have been
streamlining processes, making
the levels below the SCD more
functionally focused, i.e splitting
Demand & Supply Planning. This
is going to drive the supply chain
agenda more effectively within
these organizations.
As the year has gone on the
market has definitely slowed
down, when Ramadan hit (which
is normally our busiest time!) a
lot of roles went on hold or fell
away due to internal restructures
or global hiring freezes, and this
has caused a buildup of
exceptional candidates now in
the market searching for new
opportunities. From the
conversations we have been
having across the region only 30%
of the Supply Chain Directors in
the region see a likelihood of
hiring again before the end of the
year, this is contrast to the 80% of
candidates earning over AED 30k
per month I have spoken to, who
would all be looking for a move
out of their current role before
the end of this year!
We now find ourselves in a very
client driven market, there is an
abundance of quality talent
available but a lack of
opportunities for them! So if you
would be interested in knowing
more, please get in touch.
What’s the market paying in Supply Chain?

2. It would be fair to say that there are a
lot of conflicting messages about the
current status of hiring across the region
and with close to 68% of statistics made
up on the spot; it is difficult to know
whether it is a great time to be a client
hiring or a lonely candidate looking.
What The Gulf Recruitment Group will
say is that the market does appear to be
heading towards a polar opposite to
where it sat in 2008. Defensive markets
like FMCG and Pharmaceutical are
showing signs of distress and slowing
growth (with exceptions of
course) while industry spend
and new found optimism both in
the Financial and Construction
space are creating a demand for
talent not seen in almost 5
years.
So is it a candidate driven
market or is the client still in
control of who and how they
hire? In short we would say that
the supply and demand for
talent is still weighted towards
the client but The Gulf
Recruitment Group predict in the
next 12 months a transition in
some vertical markets enabling
the lonely candidate to have
both more options and control
over their professional future.
Written by Mark Timms –
Director at The Gulf Recruitment
Group
“If you want to
understand today,
you have to search
yesterday.”
Pearl S. Buck
Supply & Demand – Hiring Overview
The Supply Chain industry across the
Middle East has navigated through very
turbulent times - last month, last year,
and earlier. In many respects, the
challenges we navigated yesterday, are
the same faced today, tomorrow and
throughout 2015 – which is change.
Although a very dynamic landscape will
remain throughout 2015, some trends
carrying into next year will remain.
Areas of the Supply Chain driven by the
private sector will mature, with change
brought through localized manufacture
and sourcing, leveraging scale and
technology, and implementing global
best-practice. A change such as moving
from the heavy reliance on imported
products to local manufacture, changes
the ancillaries of the supply chain
The Middle East’s Supply Chain – Industry Expert’s View
landscape - handling of raw
materials and packaging is very
different from finished goods,
triggering a change in the calibre
and capability of suppliers,
people and technology to plan,
run, optimize, and report these
new operations.
Third Party Logistics providers will
have to maintain great service,
and as businesses invests in new
systems and processes, 3PLs will
need to adapt or risk being left
behind. Saturation in the
Warehousing market will
continue, however today’s Big 5
will likely be tomorrow’s.
Transporters will see a shift in
procurement practices, moving
away from historic price battles and further
towards service and quality battles,
magnified by expected regulatory changes.
The abovementioned changes may be
significant, however are controlled. In the
Middle East, we are aware of the very fluid
and sporadic change we have come to live
with beyond the rate of exception -
opening and closing of borders, non-
serviceable countries, unsafe territories,
etc, victims of many levels of instability.
As always, those most agile, with fingers on
the pulse, and a little bit of luck, will
navigate through 2015 better than most,
but in Supply Chain, this is all in a day’s
work.
Written by the current Head of Supply
Chain for a Global FMCG MNC
For a Candidates Perspective on the Market – Please email me at sam.browning@thegulfrecruitmentgroup.com to find out more
GRG – Supply Chain Market Update
“….the market does
appear to be
heading towards a
polar opposite to
where it sat in
2008”
Since Jan 2014
60% of all new
roles recruited in
the region have
been based in
Saudi Arabia
Only 40% of candidate
movement is money
motivated, 40% move for
more seniority or a
change of job title, and
the remaining 20% leave
to escape an unhappy
work environment
80% of all Supply
Chain Director Level
Candidates are
passive job seekers.
Meaning they are
only accessible
through headhunts
There has been a
30% rise in
temporary and
contract based
hires since this
time last year
The focus on Saudi
Nationals has
slowed down, with
only 20% of all
Supply Chain Hires
in Saudi this year
being a Saudi
National