Hiring in Supply Chain & Engineering: Guide and Trends in 2026

Strategic shifts unlock new roles and attract fresh talent in Supply Chain & Engineering

Vietnam’s strategic rise as a regional supply chain hub continues to reshape its talent landscape. Current hiring trends reflect a dynamic mix of global integration, digital transformation, and local competitiveness. As multinational corporations expand operations and domestic players scale up, demand for skilled professionals has intensified across every layer of the value chain.

Global organisations are undergoing strategic restructuring and reorganisation, leading to the relocation of supply chain and planning hubs. Many have chosen to base their regional hubs in Vietnam due to its cost advantages, talent availability, and improving infrastructure.These movements also created new leadership roles and transformation mandates.

Vietnamese conglomerates and large domestic manufacturers – especially in FMCG and retail – also contributed significantly to hiring volumes in 2025. According to Trang Nguyen, Senior Manager at Robert Walters Vietnam, these businesses hired aggressively, offering flexible budgets and high-impact business roles that drew experienced professionals across manufacturing, operations, and commercial functions.

Over the past year, a new wave of young, high-performing professionals stepped into leadership roles across the sector. Many of these candidates brought international education or cross-border experience, enabling them to bridge global strategy with local execution. These candidates’ digital fluency and appetite for innovation has driven the industry ahead, giving their organisations a competitive advantage in the market.

Read on to find out more about the labour market and hiring trends for Vietnam’s Supply Chain & Engineering professionals in 2026.

More executive hiring, stronger in-house capabilities

In 2026, Vietnam’s Supply Chain & Engineering sector will enter a new era defined by agility, innovation, and strategic talent management.

Global logistics providers and manufacturers will double down on investments in transformation. Major 3PLs and freight forwarders are already restructuring, with the aim of becoming more agile and tech-enabled. This will contribute to demand for senior leaders who can drive digital integration, regional network optimisation, and customer-centric service models.

A growing number of companies are also adopting shared service models to centralise planning, procurement, and customer service functions. These setups are creating new leadership roles in logistics transformation, with a premium placed on executives who can scale operations efficiently while delivering measurable cost and process improvements.

Top roles and skills in demand

End-to-end supply chain leaders are in heavy demand for their ability to manage integrated functions, from sourcing and procurement to distribution and customer fulfillment. These leaders will be expected to shape long-term business strategy, lead transformation projects and build future-ready supply networks that are resilient to market shifts. Roles include head of supply chain, E2E planning manager and regional logistics director.

Procurement is evolving into a strategic function that must respond rapidly to supply disruptions and changing demand signals. More pressure is on professionals to optimise costs and align with environment, social and governance (ESG) goals through smarter sourcing and supplier negotiations. The top roles in this function are category managers, strategic sourcing leads and procurement business partners.

As supply chains digitise, strong data skills and experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES) are highly sought after. Demand is most prominent in high-tech and consumer goods sectors. Industry professionals can expect to see more new roles in supply chain analytics, control tower operations, demand forecasting with AI/ML and inventory optimisation.

Partake in nurturing the talent ecosystem

Despite a growing talent pool, Vietnam continues to face shortages in niche areas like cold chain logistics, customs and trade compliance, advanced planning systems, and sustainable sourcing.

To secure the talent they need, Trang advises companies to get involved in growing the ecosystem.

Partner with universities and offer certification programs to uplift the talent pool’s competencies in relevant domains.

In hiring, companies can also look beyond borders to consider recruiting overseas Vietnamese professionals. These candidates possess skill sets they have honed abroad, which may be missing in the local market.

Salaries rise

In 2026, salary growth will continue as Vietnam remains one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies. With ongoing inflationary pressures and increased competition for skilled talent, most companies are expected to offer annual salary adjustments ranging from 5-8% on average.

For professionals considering a move, expectations are notably higher. Candidates who change jobs typically look for an uplift of 15-25% on their total annual package. In more exceptional cases – particularly when candidates feel underpaid in their current roles, or when the move requires taking on greater risks or stepping out of a strong, stable position - salary expectations can exceed 25% before they are willing to commit to a transition.

Find out more 

Request access to our 2026 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in Vietnam.