Supply Chain Management Skills Research Articles

Penerapan Alat Bantu Pengaduk dan Manajemen Rantai Pasok untuk UMKM Pembuat Rendang

This community service program aims to solve the unstandardized production process and the high bargaining power from suppliers in rendang making for Small, Micro, and Medium Businesses (MSMEs). The appropriate technology and consultation training implementation are the applied method in achieving the goal. Therefore, the main problems to be solved are uniformity mixture between seasoning and meat during cooking process within 4-5 hours and low management skill to organize the supply chain components. The results are a uniform mixture of all ingredients and SMMB has basic supply chain management skills. The stirring process with constant speed and intermittent monitoring process during the entire cooking process produces the uniformity mixture. The SMMB is equipped with the skill to identify the supply chain components in the form of compact map. This community service program can blend technology and management implementation into interconnected activities to increase the MSMEs competitiveness, unlike similar community service program.

The supply and demand challenges of medicines at Princess Marina Hospital, Gaborone, Botswana

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate medicines' supply and demand challenges at Princess Marina Hospital in light of the prevalent shortage and unavailability of medicines in both the public and private sectors globally. Despite this, medicines remain essential commodities to healthcare systems. For Botswana, the unavailability of medicines situation has worsened over the past years due to complications from HIV, and AIDS. There was a need to investigate the supply and demand challenges of medicines at Princess Marina Hospital, Botswana's largest hospital. Methodology: A quantitative methodology using a close-ended questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 41 pharmacy personnel at Princess Marina Hospital. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Findings: The supply and demand challenges identified are low manufacturing capacity by manufacturers, shortage of raw materials, poor supply chain management by local suppliers, Botswana’s uneconomical small market, inefficient logistic supply system, irrational use of medicines, Just-In-Time- Inventory, tendering system of awarding the lowest bidder, unexpected increased marketing strategies, long regulatory timelines, limited registered medicines, inadequate supply chain management skills, insufficient personnel, and poor collaboration between Princess Marina Hospital and Central Medical Stores. Originality/Value: This paper identifies the supply and demand challenges of medicines specifically in Princess Marina Hospital. To attain the purposes of the study, an inquiry was created containing two components related to investment decisions, including financial literacy and economic factors. The inquiry was delivered to a sample of 85 people. Descriptive data were used to expound on study samples in the way that frequency, mean, and standard deviation. In addition, of highest quality-sample t-test and a natural linear regression reasoning were used to test the study theory at a consequence level of 0.05. The main findings of this study include (I) the impact of financial knowledge and literacy on investment decisions and (II) the impact of economic factors on investment decisions. The focus was on investment and savings-related decisions and preferences. Banks, financial institutions, and investors can benefit from understanding the impact of financial literacy, behavioral, and individual factors, thus inviting investors to other financial options. The study provided many recommendations, the most important of which, is by communicating financial factors and knowledge of finance to financial literacy, allowing decision-makers to anticipate economic events and plan for the future.

The Key Role of the Dimensions of Supply Chain Management on the Success of the Project Completion Process

From studies, reports, and information, we can see that the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) has a major impact on project success. The Supply Chain Management (SCM) plays an important role in achieving potential cross-company success because the SCMS allows us to control the development, design, management and identification of the most effective and efficient inputs, information and other resources required to complete the project. An effective SCMS is of essential importance for the strength of the competition and for the success of the entire organization. Therefore, the competitive advantage in this new environment no longer depends on the company's performance, but also on the entire supply chain partners, including competitors. The main objective of this research is to conduct the relationship between the supply chain management system, project success, project performance, to identify, and to determine the potential impact of SCM on project completion and success. In this study, a random sample was drawn from a population made up exclusively of construction companies, and project departments from other companies in Amman, the capital of Jordan. As a tool for data collection, we chose a questionnaire. Based on this, many statistical analyzes were carried out and the hypotheses of this study were tested. As a result of this test, we found out that in general there is a clear and positive relationship between supply chain management and project completion. The dimensions of supply chain management (knowledge, skills, and tools) have different effects on the project closure process. The knowledge dimension has the strongest effect.

Weaving the Knowledge Capabilities and Supply Chain Management Skills into the Fabric of Supply Chain Decision Makers: Coexist of Coping Capacity

The recent global outbreak of COVID-19 has created a huge global crisis, breaking down many global supply chains. Decision makers in the supply chain are faced with very challenging situation as the application of supply chain resilience mechanisms are questionable and unreliable during the post pandemic. Hence, leaving them to continue learning new ways to cope, adapt and mitigate the risk to navigate through the uncertainties. This imply that knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies of decision makers have become the centre stage for organizations' survival and sustainability.The purpose of this paper is to identify the key factors that influence decision making competency in the supply chain of the Malaysian manufacturing firms. This is a conceptual paper focusing on developing a theoretical framework through the integration of the behavioural decisional theory and competency model. The theoretical framework with respect to the construct of decision making competency are elaborated. This paper hopes to provide a valuable pragmatic framework and roadmap for managerial decision-making in the context of supply chain. By understanding the supply chain decision-making in operations, this can help to contribute to de-risking of supply chain beyond the usual risk response into the proactive reduction of risks for future supply chain sustainability.

A principal component analysis of supply chain management skills for the Nigerian construction industry

Supply chain management (SCM) has been posited as a remedy to address the challenges and reduce fragmentation in the construction supply chain. But the success of its adoption in the construction industry (CI) is influenced by the availability of professionals with the required SCM skills. This study examined SCM skills with a view to identify the existence of any relationship and complex structure among them using a data reduction technique. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to 215 construction professionals and a relatively high response rate of 82% was attained. A principal component analysis of the data was carried out, and this reduced the identified 24 SCM skill variables to four skill areas namely; information and human resource management competencies; leadership and negotiation competencies; process management competencies, and political sensitivity and salesmanship competencies. These forms the basis for effective SCM training in the context of the Nigerian CI. The study recommended that professionals and students in the CI should undergo trainings in these areas and educators should update their curriculum to be in track with current and emerging practices of SCM. Further studies can replicate this research in other developing countries to affirm or disprove the study results.

Skills frameworks: A focus on supply chains

Background: Supply chain management (SCM) has grown considerably, owing largely to globalisation, advancements in technology and its pivotal role in meeting the dynamic needs of customers. As supply chains (SCs) expand, complexity also increases, as does the associated demand for well-skilled SC professionals. To achieve the expected SCM skills in organisations, a skills framework is likely to guide managers and practitioners. Unfortunately, research on SCM skills frameworks is fragmented, providing little or no guidance to practitioners. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to document the SC skills described in the literature, identify existing frameworks and propose a framework to guide practitioners and academics. Method: A systematic literature review design was followed. The data obtained were analysed using content analysis. Results: About 270 SCM skills were identified. The skills were grouped using many SC skills frameworks, including business logistics management, T-shaped, expertise level, SCM skills and hard and soft skills. The proposed skills framework included skills related to business, logistics, management, and ethics and environment. Emerging skills such as the application of blockchain technology, big data and SC sustainability have been included in the framework. Conclusion: The proposed framework provides a guide to SC managers about which skills groups to focus on and advises a contingency-based approach to identify the relevant skills per group in line with organisational requirements.

Measuring the performance of poultry business through effective supply chain management skills

Measuring the performance of poultry business through effective supply chain management skills

Skills requirements in South African supply chains: A higher education perspective

In recent years, South African supply chains have struggled to move domestic and international freight efficiently and effectively. The purpose of this paper is to determine the skills that students believe are required in the industry to determine whether there is a mismatch between the supply and demand of supply chain management skills. The findings from this research suggests that, whilst industry has a need for technical (hard) skills, there is a stronger requirement for soft skills, which largely appear to be undervalued by students. This suggests that current curriculums focus on hard skills and do not meet the skills sets required by industry and provides evidence of gaps within the current supply chain education programmes. This research provides an original contribution in that it is the only survey which gauges students’ perspectives on logistics and supply chain requirements in South Africa and compares them to industry perspectives to provide a comprehensive overview of supply chain education in South Africa.

The adoption of soft skills in supply chain and understanding their current role in supply chain management skills agenda

PurposeWith supply chains expanding in scope and scale globally, the academic literature underlined the increasing role and importance of soft skills. Traditionally, the supply chain literature geared towards hard skills including functional and technical skill sets with limited discussion on soft skills. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess and explore the soft skills demand in supply chain management arena.Design/methodology/approachThis study has utilised a mixed methods study in two phases, with the first stage including a questionnaire distributed to 120 supply chain employees in the UK, followed by six interviews with supply chain experts in the UK.FindingsThe results suggest that soft skills, especially behavioural skills such as communication, planning, initiative and negotiation, were seen to be more important when compared to decision making, negotiation and management skills. The findings indicate that the changing supply chain scope encourages the requisition and development of different supply chain soft skills with varied levels of emphasis in relation to 15 soft skills identified in the literature.Research limitations/implicationsThis study employs a mixed-method approach to establish the perceived importance of soft skills in the UK supply chains. This limits the generalisability of the results to other contextual settings.Practical implicationsThis paper presents soft skills impact upon the supply chain. Specific soft skills are critical to supply chain employees compared to others (e.g. behavioural and people management skills), which may lead to articulation of supply chain soft skills training initiatives.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the soft skills discussion in the supply chain context and discusses the role of soft skills. Topical gaps in the literature are identified as areas for future research. The findings have generated additional supply chain skills to the academic literature as well as provided an understanding of the weighting of soft skills in terms of their importance and application to industry needs.

Supply chain management skills to sense and seize opportunities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the supply chain management (SCM) skills that support the sensing and seizing of opportunities in a changing business environment.Design/methodology/approachBased on the previous literature on the T-shaped model of SCM skills, data were collected through a mail survey among Australian business executives. The resultant skill sets are grouped along factors that support the sensing vs seizing of opportunities.FindingsInterestingly from an SCM perspective, functional logistics-related skills are important to maintain competitiveness but are not the ones contributing to a firm’s ability to sense opportunities and threats, and to seize opportunities in a changing business environment. The authors, therefore, support the notion that supply chain managers should be managers first. Factual SCM knowledge is the solid basis, but otherwise only an entry requirement in this field.Research limitations/implicationsProblem-solving skills, along with forecasting and customer/supplier relationship management, stand out as important components that support the ability of supply chain managers to sense and shape opportunities and threats in a turbulent business environment. This focus would tend to suggest the importance of supply chain integration and collaboration as management approaches. Other SCM skills from warehousing and inventory management to transportation and purchasing are more prevalent for maintaining competitiveness.Practical implicationsThe results of the survey and the consequential analysis indicate that the content of tertiary-level educational programmes should be significantly reviewed to deliver two distinct (but partially overlapping) streams that focus on the generalist and functionalist managers who must work together in the management of the increasingly global and complex supply chains.Social implicationsFunctional skills often form the basis of training and education programmes for supply chain managers. Whilst these form the solid foundation for their jobs, they are entry requirements at best. In a changing business environment, other skills are needed for success. Given that turbulence is becoming the norm rather than the exception, this finding necessitates rethinking in training and education programmes, as well as in the recruitment of supply chain managers.Originality/valueTesting the T-shaped model of SCM skills from a dynamic capabilities perspective, the results of the factor analysis lead to a regrouping of skill sets in terms of sensing and seizing opportunities in a turbulent business environment.

Preparing Engineering Students for the Global Sourcing Environment

<p><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><em>Abstract</em>—Globalization and rapid changes in modern product development and realization are creating gaps in engineering education systems around the world. The global economy has changed the way that engineering firms design, develop, and produce their products. Companies need to evaluate many options available worldwide, not just locally. The current trends are only likely to continue as the world economy becomes more competitive, interdependent, and characterized by global relationships among supply chain partners. This paper presents a plan for preparing engineering students for the new global sourcing environments and product realization processes. Infusions of supply chain management and project management skills into the curriculum are recommended, as well as use of university-industry partnerships, course portfolios, and study abroad programs.</span></span></strong></p>

Supply chain management of health commodities for reducing global disease burden.

Reducing global disease burden requires improving access to medicines, thus the need for efficient and effective supply chain management for medicines. The Nigerian government came up with new policies on Mega Drug Distribution Centres and National Drug Distribution Guidelines to improve access to quality medicines with pharmacists having a key role to play. However, pharmacists in Nigeria seem not to be aware and adequately equipped to handle the medicines supply chain. This article aimed at assessing the awareness and readiness of Nigerian pharmacists on supply chain management practices for improving access to medicines. Pharmacists in Nigeria's Capital were randomly sampled. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered. Descriptive statistics was used in data analysis. P values less than 0.05 were considered to be significant. 29.3%, 20.7% and 53.7% were not aware of supply chain management, National Drug Distribution Guidelines and Mega Drug Distribution Centres, respectively. 85.46% do not have a copy of the National Drug Distribution Guidelines. 78% were not aware that Mega Drug Distribution Centres are already operational. 35.4% have never been involved in any supply chain management practice. 69.5% often experience stock out of vital and essential medicines, of which 85.2% were in hospitals. 15.9% were successful in managing their facility's supply chains. 84.1% opined that pharmacists in Nigeria are not yet ready to handle the medicines supply chain. Findings showed limited awareness and readiness on supply chain management of medicines. This may be due to inadequate supply chain management skills and infrastructure, poor financing, lack of accountability and poor management. Tackling these as well as pharmacists showing more interest in the country's health policies and obtaining necessary postgraduate certifications will lead to improvements. This will improve access to quality medicines and thus help in the fight to reduce disease burden both locally and globally.

Preparing Engineering Students for the Global Sourcing Environment

Globalization and rapid changes in modern product development and realization are creating gaps in engineering education systems around the world. The global economy has changed the way that engineering firms design, develop, and produce their products. Companies need to evaluate many options available worldwide, not just locally. The current trends are only likely to continue as the world economy becomes more competitive, interdependent, and characterized by global relationships among supply chain partners. This paper presents a plan for preparing engineering students for the new global sourcing environments and product realization processes. Infusions of supply chain management and project management skills into the curriculum are recommended, as well as use of university-industry partnerships, course portfolios, and study abroad programs.

Graduate students' perceptions of supply chain skills for supply chain managers

Purpose– The aim of this research is to identify the relevant skills and their relative importance, required by supply chain managers, and to suggest the key skill items that require improvement.Design/methodology/approach– Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected against 41 supply chain management skills. Using expert opinion, these skill items were then grouped to create four higher level supply chain skill-categories. These are supply chain general management (SCG) skill-category, supply chain analytical (SCA) skill-category, supply chain information technology (SCIT) skill-category, and supply chain environmental-related (SCE) skill-category. Subsequently, the importance-performance matrix (IPM) analysis was conducted to these higher level skill-categories to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the offered skills as perceived by the respondents.Findings– The analysis revealed that in order to prepare supply chain managers to face up to the future challenges educational institutions are required to devote their attention on areas such as warehousing management, distribution planning, demand forecasting, negotiation skill, cross-functional coordination skill, and knowledge of environmental issues in supply chains.Originality/value– This research provided insight into skills need for supply chain managers using IPM analysis. The results of the study could be adopted to upgrade the existing logistics and supply chain management program or design new logistics education and training programs to meet the current and future needs.

Multi-Agent Technology Application in the ASCM Model

The bottlenecks of supply chain management need to be solved. The development of internet promotes the Agent technology. Internet makes the Agent technology become a powerful tool that breaks through the bottlenecks of the supply chain management skills. With the guidance of system engineering and methods, an agile supply chain management system with Agent technology of artificial intelligence is presented in this paper. The application of Multi-Agent technology in the ASCM model is discussed also. Results indicate that the application of Multi-Agent skill in the ASCM model is a feasible way of thinking and appropriate approach.

Priorities and determinants for supply chain management skills development in manufacturing firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find out the current SCM skill development priorities in manufacturing firms and how the structural properties of the supply chain translate into demand for SCM skills in manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approachAn internet survey was designed and conducted. The responses of 154 manufacturing companies operating in Finland were analysed through descriptive statistics and regression analyses.FindingsThe supply chain management skills with an inter‐organisational focus tend to have a higher development priority than the skills with an intra‐organisational focus. The top five skills for development are: demand forecasting and supply planning; sourcing and supplier management; customer and distribution channel management; production planning and control; and information systems for logistics and production planning. Structural properties of the supply chain seem to have an effect on skills that are related to supply chain design and information flow infrastructure, i.e. the ability to locate the various nodes in the network, and to connect and coordinate their respective activities in the face of often uncertain demand.Research limitations/implicationsThe results are based on survey research with a limited sample size and geographic coverage with bias towards large firms. The research scope is further limited to investigating the influence of structural properties of the supply chain, leaving opportunities for further research on the demand for SCM skills.Originality/valueThe authors report original findings that provide input to the development processes of training programmes and university curricula, related to supply chain management. They also initiate theory development on the determinants of demand for SCM skills.

The Application of Multi-Agent Technology in the ASCM Model

The development of internet promotes the Agent technology. It makes Agent technology become a powerful tool that breaks the bottlenecks of the supply chain management skills. With the guidance of systems engineering and methods of thinking, using Agent technology of artificial intelligence, we study on the supply chain management systems to build a model for applications. The results indicate that the application of Multi-Agent skill in the ASCM model is a feasible way of thinking and approaches.

The impact of supply chain relationship dynamics on manufacturing performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the dynamics of supply chain (SC) relationships impact on manufacturing performance.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework was developed incorporating dimensions of SC relationship dynamics and manufacturing performance. Structural equation modelling was used to test the model with data collected using a postal questionnaire from 200 suppliers in the electronics sector in the Republic of Ireland.FindingsThere was mixed support for the impact of SC relationship dynamics on manufacturing performance. Hypotheses in respect of cost and quality were supported but those in respect of flexibility and delivery were not.Research limitations/implicationsUsing single informants and focal customers in research design.Practical implicationsThe process of forming and developing SC relationships can be complex and requires firms to be competent in areas such as negotiation skills, conflict management, anticipating problems/finding solutions in advance and joint problem solving. The selection of such managers should be driven by the need to find individuals who possess supply chain management skills and relational competencies.Originality/valueThe nature of the relationship between measures of manufacturing performance has been addressed by two dominant theories: the cumulative or “sandcone” theory and the “trade‐off” theory. Findings provide only partial support for this theory with respect to quality and cost. In contrast, the model is more aligned with the Skinner's (1969) “trade‐off” theory.