Title: An innovative Supply Chain Management programme structure: broadening the SCM skill set

Authors: Uche Okongwu

Addresses: Department of Logistics and Organisation, Toulouse Business School, 20 boulevard Lascrosses, BP 7010, 31068 Toulouse Cedex 7, France

Abstract: This paper proposes a matrix structure for training Supply Chain Management (SCM) professionals. It is an innovative programme structure that combines two approaches: cross-border and inter-organisational. It enables the students to comprehend complex and specific business environments and to understand the diverse nature of SCM systems in both theory and practice. Based on the literature review and the analysis of SCM and logistics job advertisements in two countries – the USA and France, we identified the skills and competences required to be a SCM professional. Results of the job analysis show that, in most cases, the same responsibilities are assigned to both logistics and SCM professionals. However, we argue that the SCM programmes should have a broader scope than the logistics programmes.

Keywords: logistics training; programme structure; skills; competences; supply chain management; SCM skills; SCM training; literature review; USA; United States; France; job advertisements; professional development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLC.2007.015509

International Journal of Learning and Change, 2007 Vol.2 No.2, pp.192 - 212

Published online: 22 Oct 2007 *

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