Back to the future — development and validation of a second-order competence model for tomorrow’s purchasing and supply chain management (PSCM) professionals

The future is inexorably coming, but the traces of the past are still to be found. A similar “back to the future” scenario is to be expected in relation to future competencies required for purchasing and supply chain management (PSCM) professionals. Whereas skills in the areas of digitization and sustainability are undisputedly growing in terms of importance, traditional competencies in relation to internal or external communication and interface management will remain to be a key to success. Through means of an extensive literature review, we identify current and future competencies which, subsequently, serve as a basis for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. As a result, we develop consolidated professional competence fields (e.g., methods, systems and tools) which allow a further break‐down of the required skills and knowledge for specific role profiles (e.g., knowledge in data analytics and digital tools to collect, process and analyze large amounts of data). The concretization is indispensable for the HR department in light of a targeted recruitment or selection as well as individualized training and development of specialist profiles in the field of PSCM.