Developing competencies of supply chain professionals in Australia: collaboration between businesses, universities and industry associations

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe collaboration between businesses, universities and industry associations in Australia with the aim of developing an appropriate set of competencies for supply chain professionals.Design/methodology/approachThree related initiatives are described involving questionnaire surveys (Initiatives 1 and 3) and a series of meetings involving representatives from businesses, universities and industry associations (Initiative 2).FindingsInitiative 1 identifies that although supply chain professionals in Australia are highly educated, they had limited training in relation to supply chain management. Initiative 2 developed a set of 20 competencies for supply chain professionals and their importance was then assessed in Initiative 3. Generally, high importance is highlighted for the set of competencies. Maintaining momentum of the collaboration is identified as a challenge.Research limitations/implicationsOne specific limitation is the somewhat low response rates achieved for the two questionnaire surveys conducted: 15 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively. Australia is unique in many respects; hence generalisation of the findings is limited.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies Australian industry needs reflected in the set of competencies developed. The paper highlights the value of collaboration between business, universities/colleges and industry associations.Originality/valueThis paper identifies a set of supply chain competencies considered highly important by supply chain professionals in Australia. These can be used by academic institutions in developing future programs, by businesses for assessing performance of supply chain professionals that they employ and by industry associations in developing appropriate services for their members.