The integration of digital technology into point-of-sale and display environments has moved from a premium differentiator to a baseline expectation among major retail clients. The challenge for POS businesses is that the talent profile required to deliver digital-integrated projects is materially different from the one required to deliver traditional printed display — and the supply of people who genuinely bridge both worlds is limited.
What the Skills Gap Actually Looks Like
Most experienced POS professionals have deep expertise in either the physical side — substrate knowledge, production disciplines, large-format printing, installation logistics — or the digital side — screen technology, content management systems, interactive experiences, data integration. The overlap is rare. Finding a senior project director or technical manager who genuinely understands both print production constraints and digital content delivery architecture is a genuine needle-in-a-haystack exercise in the current market.
This matters commercially because clients increasingly expect seamless integration. A retail campaign that combines traditional printed POS with dynamic digital screens and interactive elements requires a single point of accountability on the supplier side who can manage both disciplines and their interdependencies. Businesses that can provide that accountability — through a single capable individual rather than a team with a join in the middle — win the work.
How Businesses Are Responding
The most effective approach we see is businesses hiring the digital expertise at a senior level and investing in cross-training for existing print specialists, rather than trying to hire a single unicorn profile. A technically strong Production Director with 15 years of large-format POS experience can learn the operational and procurement dynamics of digital display technology. What they can’t learn quickly is the print production discipline that underpins delivery reliability.
The second approach — and the one that creates the most sustainable competitive advantage — is partnering with digital technology suppliers and building the integration capability through a joint team. This works when the business has the commercial relationship with the client and manages the overall programme, with the technology partner handling the digital delivery under that umbrella.
We’re actively placing senior talent at the intersection of physical and digital POS for a number of clients. If you’re building capability in this area, we’d welcome a conversation about your current team and the profiles that are available in the market.
