Analyst Insight: Procurement and sourcing is a continuously evolving profession. A global Gartner Supply Chain study of 453 companies finds 51 percent of procurement and sourcing talent hired in the last three years was to satisfy short-term needs, with a focus on basic, intermediate and advanced procurement and sourcing skill sets. Procurement and sourcing hiring strategies for 2012 shifts to long-term needs and advanced skills requirements in the areas of SRM, supplier collaboration, performance management and analytics, and financial procurement. - Mickey North Rizza, Gartner Supply Chain Research