|
A failing grade for business schools:
There's a persistent lack of attention on supply chain management
PMAC
Pick any college or university business program across Canada. In each, you would undoubtedly find a strong general grounding along with optional specializations in marketing, organizational behaviour, finance and accounting.
But what is the single greatest contributor to the success of enterprises in today’s global economy? It's supply chain management. The supply chain adds more value than any traditional business function. Why then (with few exceptions) do post-secondary institutions across this country offer a token operations management course, but provide no meaningful instruction in comprehensive supply chain management?
Where is procurement and strategic sourcing? What about logistics and transportation? How can our centres of higher education be turning out the business leaders of tomorrow without at least preparing them in the fundamentals of managing a supply chain?
We need B.Comms, MBAs and other business degree and diploma holders with a greater appreciation for the critical role supply chains play in achieving and sustaining a strategic competitive advantage.
Market research conducted by the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) shows this status quo is simply not sustainable. Our surveys consistently highlight a large and growing demand for trained and educated supply chain management professionals. Statistics Canada data indicate 86,000 new or vacant supply chain management jobs will become available in the next three to five years.
The new Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council—funded by the federal Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada—was launched earlier this year to address the labour market requirements that will help Canada remain competitive and become a supply chain leader.
The value proposition
As the voice of 40,000 supply chain management professionals in Canada, PMAC believes it has an obligation to bring a message to the nation's post-secondary institutions. The message is this: the needs and expectations of the marketplace for supply chain management education are not being met.
Among the most critical business issues facing organizations today is the need for expertise in global supply chain management. First, senior executives must understand the value proposition of the supply chain and have the knowledge to guide their companies' supply chains. Second, these top leaders must recruit high-caliber talent with not only a broad understanding of general business principles, but specialized supply chain management skills.
When it comes to business success, the supply chain is the value chain. Organizations can't compete solely as individual firms. Increasingly, they must rely on effective supply chains to compete in the networked economy.
Europe more advanced
While there are a limited number of trailblazing business faculties already offering or considering graduate and applied degrees in supply chain management in Canada—the US is no further ahead on this count—we still haven't seen the widespread recognition that supply chain management must form a core component of the curriculum. By contrast, European schools are more advanced in elevating supply chain management within their business programs.
The lack of attention paid to supply chains in Canadian post-secondary institutions may be attributed in part to the relative newness of supply chain management as a defined field of practice with its own body of knowledge and core competencies.
As PMAC works to identify the knowledge, skills and attributes associated with this new profession, the association is optimistic about the future of Canadian supply chain management education.
In line with its mandate to develop and advance world-class strategic supply chain management, PMAC sees itself working alongside academia. Colleges and universities provide a foundation in supply chain management; PMAC offers training at the executive development level through its Certified Professional Purchaser (C.P.P.) accreditation program.
Our program addresses supply chain management from a strategic and integrated perspective with a focus on cultivating advanced analysis, decision-making and teamwork skills for practical application in the workplace. As a certifying body, PMAC also establishes and maintains standards for the profession.
What we teach our next generation of business leaders will be critical to the future of Canada. Post-secondary institutions must rise to the challenge and expand and deepen the supply chain management instruction they offer. The competitiveness of our economy depends on it.
The above column, and the French translation on page 36, were submitted by the Purchasing Management Association of Canada. For more information on the association, visit www.pmac.ca
|
