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Shivali Srivastava
University of Technology and Management
(Shivali.upes@gmail.com)
Rameshwar Dubey
Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management
(rameshwardubey@gmail.com)
1. Introduction
In recent years, supply chain has become strategic need of the company to perform
consistently in turbulent market. The supply chain has evolved over the years as a
strategy, however it took almost two decades to understand the evolution of supply
chain from traditional transportation practices to an integrated approach which binds
all the functional competencies, informations flow and fund flows from one end to
other ends which connect to remotest links which one firm have never realized. The
intense competitions among firms, depleting natural resources, environmental
concerns, political instability, crumbling economies and increasing inflation rates
have forced the firms to aligned and adapt themselves in the tune of global needs of
the hour. In one of the articles, Sheffi and Klaus (1997) argued that modern
logisticians need to possess different skill sets to perform in present global scenario
which is beyond transportation and warehouse planning. In present scenario
logisticians need to be flexible, agile, adaptable and must be able to align themselves
in the tune of the business needs of the firm. In one of the reports published by CIIKPMG (2007) & National Skill Development Council Report (2010), has found in
their studies that need for trained supply chain professionals at every level right from
supervisors cadre to senior positions is one of the serious concerns in forthcoming
years. In order to support rapid globalization of the firms and to improve
competitiveness, the need for trained skilled supply chain professionals is critical as
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they are like integrating linking pins in an organizational structure of the firm.Dubey
and Singh (2009), in of their studies have identified factors that leads to logistics
skill gap in Indian supply chain sector. In of the recent papers Wu et al.,2013 have
delved on an important aspect global logistics curriculum for the supply chain
professionals to meet the growing needs of the logistics professionals from Vietnam
practitioners perspective. Many studies, have unanimously expressed the dire need to
eliminate the supply chain skill gap through structured training programs , employee
support , motivational programs (to enhance and develop zeal and belongingness).To
meet these challenges, substantial change in logistics and supply chain education is
necessary"(e.g.,Closs,2000;Dubey and Singh,2009;Wu et al.,2013).One way to
classify current educational requirements of logisticians and supply chain managers
is with the following two terms: skills and competencies (Bramming 1998). Skills
cover general, context-independent knowledge; competencies refer to experiencebased and context-dependent knowledge. Skills are general tools and rules taught in
most logistics classes, which are vital for the practitioner. However, to reach a
competence level in the logistics discipline, practitioners acquire context-dependent
knowledge through organizational experience. Witt (1999) suggests workers must
remain on the job to become competent. Dreyfus and Dreyfus (1986) argued that a
competent practitioner makes decisions based upon rules and analysis, but with
organizational experience can depart from rule-based analysis and make synchronic,
intuitive, and holistic decisions. The complete practitioner of business logistics and
SCM needs skills and competencies, as SCM requires coordination skills-and ability
to adapt to special situations (Sheffi and Klaus, 1997). However, little has been
written on these new supply chain skills and competencies. Thus, our present
research paper will explore the variables that lead to supply chain skill gap and their
contextual relationships.
2. Literature Review
We have adopted systematic literature review (SLR) approach as proposed by
Tranfield et al., 2003 in our present study. We have classified our literature review in
two stages and each stage into phases to derive our research variables, resolved
issues related to methodology adoption and further develops conclusion, unique
contributions, limitations of our present study & further research directions. We will
further discuss our entire section into two stages as we have mentioned in the
beginning of literature review section as:
Stage 1: Planning for Review
Phase 0: Need Identification for Literature Review
It has been debated at various forums and meet organized by specialized bodies like
CII (Confederation of Indian Industries), CSCMP (Council of Supply Chain
Management Professionals), APICS (The Association of Operations Management),
CILT (Chartered Institute of Logistics Transport), FICCI, Asian Council of Logistics
Management and other related forums, regarding acute shortages of skilled logistics
and supply chain professionals. The Logistics and Supply Chain Management
industry provides ever-growing career opportunities, with highly qualified people
needed by virtually every company and government. The Logistics industry is
among the fastest-growing industries in India. As new dollars flow into the economy
Srivastava, Dubey
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pretested selected variables using experts opinion. We have further used final
shortlisted variables to prepare a questionnaire which we have used to collect
response in the form of SSIM (Structural self interaction matrix), which we have
discussed in our methodology section in detailed.
Table 1 Supply Chain Skill Gap and their Related Studies
Authors, Year
Objective
Conclusion
The skills required by a modem logistician are
Sheffi and Klaus To study skill required by no longer restricted to the understanding of
(1997).
modern Logisticians.
how to operate a warehouse or how to reduce
the rate per mile charged on a particular lane.
One way to classify current educational
To understand the right
Bramming
requirements of logisticians and supply chain
qualification needed for
(1998).
managers is with the following two terms:
logisticians.
skills and competencies.
How workers can become Suggests workers must remain on the job to
Witt (1999).
competent?
become competent.
Impact of SCM,
Mark and
outsourcing, and
Suggests that these trends are also changing the
Young (1998).
information technology
critical skill set needed by logistics managers.
(IT).
How Logistics is
SCM concepts has redefined the way logistics
Bechtel and
demanding with evolving is practiced thus logistics manager need to have
Jayaram( 1997).
SCM concepts.
deep SCM knowledge.
Third-party logistics
Competition for talent with technological
Richardson (
(3PL) providers are
knowledge is fierce. Indeed, lack of in-house
1997).
competing with shippers expertise seems to be holding up the
for good people
implementation of logistics technology.
In context to skills
Johnson et al.
Suggest today's logistics manager must be both
requirement of logistics
(1999).
a technical expert and a generalist.
manager.
Suggest that supply chain managers need
Handheld and
Skills requirement for the strong technological and/or functional
Nichols (1999). supply chain managers.
knowledge, good people skills, and common
sense.
Identified variables that leads to logistics skill
CIISurvey on logistics skill
gap and proposed a path diagram showing
KPMG(2007)
gap in India.
possible linkages among causes that leads to
skill gap.
Logistics skill gap study The study has identified variables that lead to
Dubey and
in context to Indian
logistics skill gap and their interaction effects
Singh,2009
supply chain sector.
using structural equation modeling.
The study has concluded positive associated
Pandey et
Role of HR practices in
between information sharing on supply chain
al.,2012
supply chain
integration under the moderating effect of HR
practices like training and reward alignment.
The study has aimed to build global logistics
Need for global logistics curriculum based on Vietnam practitioners
Wu et al.,2013
curriculum.
response to meet the future supply chain
managers requirements.
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3. Methodology
From above discussion and literature review it is very clear that there is high
dependence of supply chain management on human resource. Human factors insights
in these areas are critical for the effective development of global process networks.
Global supply chains are evolving into dynamic process networks in which
companies connect in novel combinations based on the context and requirements of
individual projects. This dynamic environment requires effective human resource
management. To understand the relationship among various variables that play a
vital role in supply chain skill gap ISM technique is used.
3.1 ISM Methodology
When literature review does not provide enough information to draw conclusion
related to relationship among variable then in that case interpretive structural
modeling (ISM) technique is used to develop contextual relationship among
variables. The ISM is defined as a process of assisting decision maker to understand
and clearly recognize what one does not know (Farris and Sage, 1975). It helps to
develop model which are vague and does not give clear visualization. In ISM we
identify elements and their relationships. A structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM)
is developed based on pair wise comparison of elements( e.g.Gorane and
Kant,2013;Sushil,2012;Sharma et al., 2011;Govindan and Haq,2007;Ravi et
al.,2005;Bolanos et al.,2005;Jharkharia and Shankar,2004;Singh et al.,2003;Mandal
and Deshmukh,1994; Warfield,1974).Once SSIM matrix is developed, it is further
translated into reachability matrix using binary digits. The matrix obtained is known
as Initial reachability matrix. Before we proceed further, it is advisable to check
the transitivity property among any three nodes. This will further translate the initial
reachability matrix into final reachability matrix. Once we have obtained final
reachability matrix, it is further subjected to level partitioning. Finally, ISM model is
prepared, which shows the structured format of elements relation in hierarchical
pattern as shown in Figure 1.
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A A A
A A
V
II
O V X
III
O O O
IV
V V
VI
VII
VIII
40
1 0
II
1 1
III
1 0
IV
1 1
1 0
VI
1 0
VII
1 0
VIII
1 0
Dependence Power 8 2
Level
Level1
Level2
Level3
IV and VIII
II
Level4
Level5
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Level 1
Level 2
Use of backdated
Technology (III)
Poor physical
Infrastructure (VII)
Talent war
among sectors (VI)
Lack of specialized
Curriculum (IV)
Level 3
Poor HR policies
of the firm (VIII)
Top management
Commitment (II)
Level 4
Level 5
The digraph for ISM is drawn. Having identified the levels of the elements, the
relations between the elements is drawn with the help of an arrow. The level 1
variables are in the top level in the hierarchy. The digraphs give information about
the hierarchy between the variables of supply chain skill gap. The digraph
completely depicts how various parameters of organization influences the supply
chain skill gap.It shows that top management commitment being the root cause is the
most important variable for supply chain skill gap.
4.5 MICMAC Analysis
The MICMAC analysis, i.e., cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to
classification was developed by Godet (1993) whose working principle is based on
multiplication properties of matrices (Sharma et al., 1995). The purpose of
MICMAC analysis is to identify the variables according to their driving power and
dependence (i.e., Ali et al., 2012; Sharma et al., 2011; Kannan and Haq, 2007; Ravi
et al., 2005; Bolanos et al., 2005; Jharkharia and Shankar, 2004; Singh et al.,
2003;Mandal and Deshmukh, 1994) into four clusters. The first cluster is of the
variables with low dependence and low driving power. These variables are called
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autonomous or excluded variables. The second cluster variables are those which
have high dependence but low driving power. These are called dependent variables.
The third cluster is of those which have high dependence as well as driving power.
These are called linkage variables. The fourth cluster variables are those which have
high driving power but low dependence power. We have represented these variables
and their position coordinates derived from reachability matrix as shown in Table 5
as:
Table 5 Position Coordinates of Identified Variables
Variables
Dependence Power
Driving Power
Variable I
Variable II
Variable III
Variable IV
Variable V
Variable VI
Variable VII
Variable VIII
4.3.1
Cluster 1: Autonomous Variables
Clusters 1 variables are those variables possessing weak driving and weak
dependence nature. These are relatively disconnected in the system, with which they
have few links, which may be very strong. In this cluster we have four variables, i.e.,
III (use of backdated technology, V(poor salary and compensation) , VI(talent war
among other sectors) and VII(poor physical infrastructure).
4.3.2
Cluster 2: Dependence Variables
Cluster 2 variables are those variables having strong dependence and poor driving
power. They are unstable. Any action on them will have an effect on others and also
feedback effect on themselves. In this cluster we have one variable, i.e. I (supply
chain skill gap).
4.3.3
Cluster 3: Linkage Variables
Cluster 3 variables are those variables which are having strong dependence and
strong or weak driving power. The strong driving power is termed as key enabler. In
this cluster, we do not have any variable.
4.3.4
Cluster 4: Driving Variables
Clusters 4 variables are those variables which are having poor dependence and
strong driving power. The strong driving power is termed as key enabler. In this
cluster, we have three variables, i.e., I (top management commitment), IV (lack of
specialized curriculum) and VIII (poor HR policies of the firm).
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7
6
5
Linkage
Variables
Driving
Variables(II,I
V,VIII)
4
3
Driving Power
2
Autonomous
Variables
Dependence
Variables(I)
(III,VII,V,VI)
0
0
10
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Lack of specialized
curriculum (IV)
Limitations
As we believe every research has its own limitations, our present study also has its
own limitations which provide further research directions. In our study we have used
ISM methodology which has its own merit when enough literature related to a
particular research is not available. In our case we have found literature related to
logistics & supply chain skill gap but there is hardly any research which has
attempted in past to study possible linkages among the antecedents which leads to
supply chain skill gap. In our study we have tried to establish the linkage using ISM
methodology which is the best possible use of ISM technique in our case; however
the ISM model which we have derived and further refined it using MICMAC
analysis may not be accepted by the empirical researchers community as in ISM
methodology we use few responses which are far below than minimum number of
samples size needed for statistical validation. We are also aware of our study
limitations which will lay down the foundation for further research directions.
Unique Contributions
We had an opportunity to read a seminal article authored by Whetten (1989) which
we have derived from the discussion of Sushil (2012) from one of his path breaking
article. According to Whetten (1989) there are three important ingredients of unique
contributions i.e. What, How and Why? In our present paper we have attempted to
answer these three key questions in terms of variables which we have derived using
SLR, developed a contextual relationship among these identified variables using ISM
methodology & MICMAC analysis and further developed a conclusive framework
which we have further developed for further analysis using structural equation
modeling (SEM) or any multivariate statistical techniques.
Further Research Directions
We have understood our limitations of present research which we further propose to
empirically validate using advanced statistical techniques like exploratory factor
analysis (EFA) and further test it using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using
SEM package like AMOS or LISREL. The ISM methodology can also be extended
using TISM (Total Interpretive Structural Modeling), which further take care of the
limitations of ISM methodology.
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Acknowledgement
We are grateful to Editor-in-Chief and referees for their structured comments on our
article. The comments have helped us immensely to improve the quality of the
manuscript.
6. References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
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About Authors
Shivali Srivastava is at present pursuing her PhD (Management) specializing in the
field of Human Resource Management and Supply Chain Management. She possess
B.Tech,(Electronics & Communication) and Master of Business Administration
(MBA).She at present working as a lecturer in a reputable management institution in
Allahabad. Her research interest lies in HR issues in Logistics & Supply Chain sector
and energy sector.
Rameshwar Dubey is actively involved in research and full time teaching at
Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nasik and as an adjunct faculty at
University of Petroleum & Energy Studies. His present association as a secretary of
Asian Council of Logistics Management and an executive council member of
Society of Operations Management, to promote research and industry-academic
collaborations is well appreciated. He is also an editorial board member of
International Journal of Innovation Science (Scopus indexed) and founding member
of International Association of Innovation Professionals (USA).He is a proud
recipient of AIMS International-IMT youngest research award for exemplary work
towards promoting research in the year 2011 and best faculty award for the year
2008 by University of Petroleum & Energy Studies, Dehradun.He is also an adhoc
reviewer of reputable journals like IJPE, IJPR, The TQM, Benchmarking: An
International Journal, IJIS, IJBIR, AIMS International Journal, Global Journal of
Flexible Systems Management and International Journal of Indian Culture and
Business Management. Beside reviewers he has published his work in reputable
journals listed in SCI/SSCI and SCOPUS.