Supply chain management skills to sense and seize opportunities

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-04-2014-0066
• Published date: 08 May 2017
• Pages: 266-289
• Date: 08 May 2017
• Author: Peter Tatham,Yong Wu,Gyöngyi Kovács,Tim Butcher
• Subject Matter: Management science & operations,Logistics

Supply chain management skills

to sense and seize opportunities

Peter Tatham and Yong Wu

Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia

Gyöngyi Kovács

Department of Marketing, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland, and

Tim Butcher

RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

Purpose –The 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/approach –Based 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.

Findings –Interestingly 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/implications –Problem-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 implications –The 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 implications –Functional 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/value –Testing 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.

Keywords Dynamic capabilities, Supply chain agility, Supply chain management skills,

Business turbulence, Business volatility, Sense and respond

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

Although the management of supply chains has reached a high degree of sophistication in

many contexts and settings, there is an increasing perception that the basic structures may

need revisiting in light of emerging changes in the global business environment.

In particular, it has been powerfully argued by academics and practitioners alike that

commerce and industry are faced with an increasing and persisting level of business

turbulence (Singh, 2009; Christopher and Holweg, 2011; Shell, 2011; Doheny et al., 2012).

In parallel, it is argued that whilst the skills required of supply chains managers have

received considerable attention since the field began to emerge in the 1990s (e.g. Murphy

and Poist, 1991; Keller and Özment, 2009; Rossetti and Dooley, 2010; Ellinger et al., 2011;

The International Journal of

Logistics Management

Vol. 28 No. 2, 2017

pp. 266-289

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0957-4093

DOI 10.1108/IJLM-04-2014-0066

Received 17 April 2014

Revised 6 February 2015

9 October 2015

23 November 2015

7 December 2015

Accepted 8 December 2015

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-4093.htm

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IJLM

28,2

Thomas et al., 2012), these also need to be revisited in light of the suggested increase in

business turbulence.

Grounded in an Australian business environment and using the lens of the

dynamic capabilities model (DCM), this paper draws on the supply chain management

(SCM) skills literature in order to investigate the skills required for managing a supply

chain in such turbulent times. The resultant research question that the paper addresses is

as follows:

RQ1. Which (groups of) skills support supply chain managers in sensing opportunities

and seizing them vs maintaining the competitiveness of their organisation?

Sensing and seizing opportunities are particularly important in turbulent times, and in a

turbulent business environment. To date, however, this perspective has not featured in the

supply chain skills literature which has traditionally focussed on grouping skills in light of

the “T-shaped”model (Leonard-Barton, 1995) which distinguishes between the functional

supply chain (the vertical arm of the “T”) and overarching general management skills (GMS)

(the horizontal arm) (Mangan and Christopher, 2005). However, taking this model as its

basis, our study aims to further develop this approach with a focus on the areas of emphasis

that are relevant in SCM in turbulent times. In this way, we will address a gap in the current

supply chain skills literature which has not yet specifically considered the skills required in

this context.

It should be noted that as will be demonstrated in the paper, the research was conducted

during a period of considerable business turbulence and, further, that this level of

turbulence is continuing and, to an extent, increasing. Thus, we were not able to conduct

a comparison between the perceived skills required in non-turbulent times vs those required

in turbulent times –rather, we have identified those skills that are perceived to be important

in the latter context, noting that this appears, at least for the time being, to be “state normal”.

It is accepted that if/when the business world becomes less turbulent, it may well be

that a similar skill set is also identified as being important in such a benign business

environment. For the time being, however, both recruiters and educators need to be aware of

the skills that are perceived to be important by business executives and adjust their

operations accordingly.

The next section of the paper will begin with a brief discussion of the SCM field and, in

particular, its breadth and the managerial implications. This will be followed by a focussed

review of the supply chain skills literature in general, and in relation to turbulence.

The research is framed by the DCM (e.g. Teece and Pisano, 1994; Teece et al., 1997;

Teece, 2007), not least due to its emphasis on dynamic and, indeed, turbulent environments,

and the waysin which companiesnot only respond tothese, but can organisetheir resourcesin

ways that lead to sustainable competitive advantage (Maskell, 2001).

In order to meet the aim of the paper, it is clearly important to establish the volatility of

the Australian business environment. To achieve this, we further develop, and then apply,

Christopher and Holweg’s (2011) Supply Chain Volatility Index (SCVI) to the Australian

context. Next we present results from a survey among Australian business executives that

indicates the skills that are considered important in terms of SC performance. These are

then linked to the DCM framework by means of a dendrogram and the associated

analysis. In the final section of the paper we draw out a number of conclusions and areas for

further research.

2. The scope of SCM

According to Bechtel and Jayaram (1997), there were more than 50 definitions of SCM at the

time their paper was published and, unsurprisingly, the position has worsened over the last

35 years –not least in light of the growth in articles that relate to the SCM field which

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SCM skills to

sense and seize

opportunities