The study was aimed to analyze and enhance the supply chain management (SCM) skills of supply chain professionals in the Province of Negros. It used a descriptive and relational research design to determine the significant difference in training needs among supply chain professionals if grouped according to profile variables. The study also determined whether there are significant relationships between the training needs of the participants and the profile variables. Sixty-five supply chain professionals who are mostly males with college degrees or higher, in supervisory positions and in the manufacturing, services and wholesale/retail sector, participated in the study. Findings revealed that less than 50% of the participants attended SCM skills development trainings. Female SCM professionals in the province tend to have lower skills in transportation management, while those with post graduate degrees have significantly higher skills in some aspects such as purchasing, contracts and laws, forecasting and planning. Those in the academe had significantly lower skills in import/export and service procurement. Active PISM members had higher attendance in purchasing, negotiation, demand management, replenishment, and warehousing. Furthermore, those with supervisory functions have received more trainings in contracts and laws, logistics, materials handling, information system, ethics, forecasting, and planning. There is no significant relationship between training needs and the profile variables of age, bachelor’s degree, and diploma/certification attainment of the participants. Recommendations to enhance the supply chain management skills of the supply chain professionals in the province have been provided.
Keywords: supply chain management, skills enhancement, training needs[1] Ahmad, A., Mollaghasemi, M., & Rabelo, L. (2004). General purpose ontologies for supply chain management. IIE Annual Conference Proceedings, 1-7.
[2] Ashby, A., Leat, M., & Hudson Smith, M. (2012). Making connections: A review of supply chain management and sustainability literature. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 17, 497-516. 10.1108/13598541211258573.
[3] Barnes, J. & Liao, Y. (2012). The effect of individual, network, and collaborative competencies on the supply chain management system. International Journal of Production Economics, 140(2), 888 - 899.
[4] Beardwell, I. Holden, L. & Claydon, T. (2004). Human resource management: A contemporary approach. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
[5] Bolstorff, P., Trebilcock, B., & Aschenbrand, J. (2016). A portrait of the supply chain manager. Supply Chain Management Review, 20(4), 22-28.
[6] Brown, Travor & McCracken, M.. (2009). A bridge of understanding: Using barriers to learning participation to improve transfer of learning.
[7] Chopra, S., & Meindl, P. (2010). Supply chain management. New Jersey: Pearson.
[8] Croxton, K.L., Garcia-Dastugue, J., Lambert, D.M., & Rogers, D.S. (2001). The supply chain management processes. International Journal of Logistics Management, 12(2), pp. 13-36.
[9] Dischinger, J., Closs, D.J., McCulloch, E., Speier, C., Grenoble, W., & Marshall, D. (2006). The emerging supply chain management profession. Supply Chain Management Review, 10(1), 62-9.
[10] Ellinger, A.E. & Ellinger, A.D. ( 2014 ). Leveraging human resource development expertise to improve supply chain managers` skills and competencies. European Journal of Training and Development, 38(1/2), 118-35.
[11] Larano, C. (2014). Manila struggles with port congestion. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/manila-struggles-with-port-congestion-1411593828
[12] Lau, A. (2010). Training needs of purchasing and supply management personnel in Hong Kong. Journal of European Industrial Training, 34(5), 400-415.
[13] Lorentz, H., Töyli, J., Solakivi, T. and Ojala, L. (2013). Priorities and determinants for supply chain management skills development in manufacturing firms. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 18(4), 358 - 375 .
[14] Mathies, C., & Burford, M. (2011). Customer service understanding: Gender differences of frontline employees. Managing Service Quality, 21(6), 636-648.
[15] McAfee, R., Glassman, M. & Honeycutt, E. (2002). The effects of culture and human resource management policies on supply chain management strategy. Journal of Business Logistics, 23(1), 1-18 .
[16] McCrea, B. (2014). Leveraging the value of supply chain education. Supply Chain Management Review, 18(1), S1-S7.
[17] Murphy, P., & Poist, R. F. (2007). Skill requirements of senior-level logisticians: A longitudinal assessment. Supply Chain Management, 12(6), 423-431.
[18] Nix, N., & Stiffler, D. (2016). Women in supply chain. Supply Chain Management Review, 20(5), 44-51.
[19] Oliva, R., & Watson, N. (2011). Cross-functional alignment in supply chain planning: A case study of sales and operations planning. Journal of Operations Management, 29(5), 434.
[20] Philippine Statistics Authority. (2015). www.psa.gov.ph
[21] Rahman, S. & Qing, S.R.N. (2014). Graduate students` perceptions of supply chain skills for supply chain managers. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 21(2), 276 - 299 .
[22] Samaranayake, P. (2005). A conceptual framework for supply chain management: A structural integration. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 10, 47-59.
[23] Slone, R., Dittmann, P., & Mentzer, J. (2010). The new supply chain agenda. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
[24] Stock, J. & Boyer, S. (2009). Developing a consensus definition of supply chain management: a qualitative study. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 39(8), 690-711.
[25] Stuhlmacher, A., & Walters, A. (1999) . Gender differences in negotiation outcome: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 52, 653-677.
[26] Sussman, D. (2002). Barriers to job-related training. Perspectives, Statistics Canada Catalogue, 75-001-XIE, Ottawa, 5-12
[27] Trent, R. (2004). Supply Chain Management Review, 8(2).
[28] Varkonyi, I. (2017). Advancing your career with logistics education. Defense Transportation Journal, 73(5), 12-42.