The wider UK jobs picture is mixed, and that shapes how logistics and supply chain teams hire today. The most recent KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs tracks how employer appetite is shifting month to month, and it's a useful barometer for anyone planning headcount in a data-heavy function like supply chain.
Vacancy demand is also concentrating in professional, analytical work. Official figures show the largest volume increase in vacancies recently sat in professional, scientific and technical activities, up by 5,000, according to the ONS Vacancies and jobs in the UK bulletin. Supply chain planning lives in exactly this space: it rewards people who can read data and act on it.
There's a bigger pattern here too. Demand for AI skills rose nearly 200% in a year, per Accenture data reported by The Register. As visibility platforms lean on forecasting and automation, planning teams increasingly need people who are comfortable working alongside these tools, not just spreadsheets.
When you can see stock, demand and disruption in real time, you need people to interpret it. That's driving demand for demand planners, supply planners, inventory analysts and control-tower coordinators who translate live data into decisions about what to move, make or hold.
These roles sit close to the analytical occupations already under pressure. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, around 193,000 workers, are among the occupations in critical demand, notes the GOV.UK Occupations in demand 2025 data. Supply chain planning competes for similar analytical talent, so it pays to move quickly when you find the right person.
Entry routes are widening as the work becomes more technical. Apprenticeships rose from 3% of AI hires in 2020 to 19% in 2025, according to the DSIT AI Labour Market Survey 2025. That matters for supply chain too: as visibility tools mature, employers can grow their own planners rather than only hiring ready-made ones.
Start by being specific about the data. A demand planner and an inventory analyst may share a job title family, but the day-to-day tools and decisions differ. Write the role around the outcomes you need: fewer stockouts, better forecast accuracy, faster response to disruption.
Second, expect to grow talent, not just buy it. With demand hotspots for specialist skills like AI and data set to drive the 2026 market, per Computer Weekly's tech recruitment outlook, the strongest teams pair experienced planners with apprentices and analysts who can learn the visibility tools fast.
Third, move at the pace of demand. When analytical talent is scarce and competition is high, a slow process loses good people. Keep interviews tight, give feedback quickly, and be ready to make an offer when the fit is clear.
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