Multi-criteria analysis of professional education on supply chain management

Birsen Karpak,Valerio Antonio Pamplona Salomon,Claudemir Leif Tramarico,Camila Aparecida Maciel Da Silveira,Fernando Augusto Silva Marins

doi:10.1590/0103-6513.20180087

Birsen Karpak, Valerio Antonio Pamplona Salomon + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-6513.20180087

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Abstract

Abstract Paper aims This paper presents an analysis of professional education programs on Supply Chain Management (SCM). The purpose of this study is to analyze six professional education programs offered by the leading SCM associations, including Advanced Certified Professional Forecaster, Certified Production and Inventory Management, Certified Professional in Supply Management, and Supply Chain Professional. The analysis of professional education programs shall consider relevant criteria. There are multiple relevant criteria; some are tangible, and some others are intangible. Originality In 2007 Prof. Lummus researched professional education influence to SCM practices. This work is an extension of Prof. Lummus research, updating it, including more professional education programs and analyzing with AHP. Research method This paper applied the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a method for multi-criteria analysis, considering individual benefits and organizational benefits as the two main criteria, and professional education programs as alternatives. Main findings The two major contributions of this paper are: first, it presents individual benefits and organizational benefits that must be met by professional education programs; second, it evaluates the programs from multiple perspectives. Implications for theory and practice The approach proposed evaluates both tangible and intangible benefits of the programs.

Highlights

The purpose of this paper is to identify the topics of professional education on Supply Chain Management (SCM) that, in practice, are valued by the organizations attempting to align their strategies and capabilities with their customer needs
The research presented in this paper has addressed six SCM associations with their main professional education program: APICS, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), ELA, IBF, ISCEA, and Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
This work is an extension of an earlier research which evaluated APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and concluded that certification finds target audience through new employees (Lummus, 2007)

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to identify the topics of professional education on Supply Chain Management (SCM) that, in practice, are valued by the organizations attempting to align their strategies and capabilities with their customer needs. There are strategic guidelines for optimizing education and learning in SCM that contribute to sustaining the organization’s competitive advantage (Gibson et al, 2016). The delivery of SCM education should include appropriate instructional methods to enable learners to achieve those competencies required by industry to compete globally (Hohenstein et al, 2014) and meet the demand for qualified professionals, especially by firms that are integrated into global value chains (Cottrill, 2010). The first professional education program in SCM was developed by APICS (The Association for Supply Chain Management, formerly, American Production and Inventory Control Society).

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