A survey of 600 professionals holding procurement jobs in the USA and Britain has found that almost two thirds of respondents (65%) believe that regulations have multiplied the risks posed to their businesses over the last three months.

The study, conducted by commercial analytics and data suppliers Dun & Bradstreet, also found that 53% those polled reported that their ability to perform their jobs effectively was being impeded by the regulations. Just 3% of procurement professionals were unconcerned about the effects of official policies in the coming six months.

The survey sampled the views of procurement professionals in this transitory period, as the global regulatory and compliance landscape undergoes rapid and radical change. While efforts are underway in the US to stimulate economic growth and lower compliance costs by paring back regulations pertaining to financial, environmental and federal business domains, a number of states have actually seen regulations multiply to compensate for reforms at a federal level.

To compound matters, a large number of important regulatory rollbacks have been mothballed pending the outcome of court cases. All this adds up to one thing: people in supply chain jobs still have to mitigate risk and minimise costs, but they’re doing so in a context that obliges them to keep track of rising regulatory requirements and forthcoming additions to that burden.

New regulations around GDPR are affecting trade on both sides of the Atlantic, as indeed are new and upcoming trade agreements, prospective changes to previously stable post-war alliances, and tariffs with their attendant risk of international trade wars. Procurement jobs have, as a result, become increasingly complicated and more crucial.

A Dun & Bradstreet spokesperson said: “By benchmarking results and continuing to analyze findings periodically, we aim to provide supply chain and compliance professionals shared insight and a common industry gauge to measure how they’re performing and where there is room for improvement.”

Procurement recruitment firms will need to ensure that candidates are well-versed in this fast-shifting regulatory environment.

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