University–industry collaboration: Enhancing students’ business acumen and aptitude through competitive SCM challenges

2021 ◽  
pp. 095042222110415
Author(s):  
Gregory E. Benson ◽  
Ngan N. Chau
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Collaborative Process ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
Supporting Material ◽  
Business Acumen ◽  
University Industry ◽  
Student Team

This article describes a collaborative process between a university’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) program and the business community supporting the program to bring about a student team–based case competition. The ideas used for the competition were based on actual challenges experienced and submitted by businesses, while the case narrative and supporting material, as well as the assessment rubric, were developed and written by the SCM program faculty. The implementation of the competition was originally designed to benefit students by helping them further develop and demonstrate their capabilities in the areas of business acumen, soft skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving to potential employers. Interestingly, this activity also provided unforeseen benefits to the original collaborating parties. The article discusses the immediate benefits resulting from the collaboration as well as its impact on future collaborative opportunities between SCM programs and businesses.

The Supply Chain Management Applied Learning Center: A university–industry collaboration

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Gregory E. Benson ◽  
Ngan N. Chau
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Educational Expectations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Applied Learning ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
Skill Improvement ◽  
University Industry

In today’s changing and intensely competitive global environment, postsecondary educational programs must find ways to adapt their method of delivery to meet the educational expectations of students and talent needs of “real-world” employers. This is especially true in the evolving field of supply chain management (SCM). The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the effectiveness of the SCM Applied Learning Center (referred to as the “Center”) at a Midwestern university in the United States by understanding its perceived value through its stakeholders—that is, participating companies and students. This understanding was achieved by interviewing stakeholders who used the Center during its initial 18-month rollout period. The data analysis from this study resulted in the emergence of the following themes: (1) developing transferable skills, (2) accelerating applied learning, (3) cultivating personal relationships, and (4) supporting business improvement. The establishment of the Center and the corresponding results from this study contribute to the literature associated with university–industry collaboration, SCM education, and the evolving role of higher education. This work provides a template to programs interested in improving their working relationship with business partners through the implementation of comparable industry collaboration activities, while at the same time providing skill improvement opportunities for their students.

Accelerating supply chain management learning: identifying enablers from a university-industry collaboration

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trish Gibson ◽  
Donald Kerr ◽  
Ron Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
University Industry

Purpose There is an acknowledged need to advance the supply chain management (SCM) learning agenda, with an emphasis on integration. This paper discuss an Australian university–industry collaboration aimed at accelerating SCM learning and offers some insight into models for building a forward-looking SCM. Design/methodology/approach The research is an exploratory case study of the industry–university collaboration, using grounded theory procedures. The primary data involved 25 interviews with key participants from the university and industry partners, and from the first cohort of students in the undergraduate program developed within the collaboration. Findings A theoretical framework for accelerating SCM learning was developed from the case study data; it comprises six constructs that influence, at strategic and operational levels, the acceleration of SCM learning. Four cross-construct concepts from the framework that form the cornerstones of accelerated learning are discussed in some detail. Research limitations/implications The framework facilitates an examination of successes and shortfalls in the case study collaboration and generates a deeper understanding of critical elements for progressing the SCM learning agenda, and expanding SCM education. As with all qualitative research, the results may not be generalisable; testing the relevance and usefulness of the framework with the field will be an important next step. Practical implications As the framework identifies conditions, characteristics and capacities of organisations and individuals that support the acceleration of SCM learning, it can provide assistance in designing future university–industry collaborations for advancing SCM learning. Originality/value The framework identifies critical success factors for alliances and partnerships aimed at accelerating learning in an emerging body of knowledge such as SCM.

Il marketing territoriale tra industry co-opetition e societing. Un progetto sperimentale nell'agroalimentare

2011 ◽  
pp. 85-103
Author(s):  
Paola Signori ◽  
Ilenia Confente
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Sono State ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Industry Collaboration

Il paper si propone di illustrare come un progetto di marketing territoriale possa essere declinato a strumento che abbia ricadute oltre i classici obiettivi di valorizzazione del territorio e di sviluppo economico, riuscendo a garantire la vitalitÀ di un sistema. A tal fine, l'impostazione teorica deriva dall'incrocio dei nodi cruciali di filoni paralleli di ricerca, riguardanti oltre al marketing territoriale, anche i concetti di funzionamento tipici della collaborazione verticale (Supply Chain Management) e orizzontale (Industry collaboration, Co-opetition), e i segnali provenienti dalle nuove frontiere del Societing (ricadute di efficacia sociale). Tali osservazioni sono state applicate in un progetto sperimentale nel settore dell'agroalimentare dell'area metropolitana vicentina.

scholarly journals The adoption of soft skills in supply chain and understanding their current role in supply chain management skills agenda

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 1063-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozlem Bak ◽  
Christine Jordan ◽  
James Midgley
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
The Uk

PurposeWith supply chains expanding in scope and scale globally, the academic literature underlined the increasing role and importance of soft skills. Traditionally, the supply chain literature geared towards hard skills including functional and technical skill sets with limited discussion on soft skills. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess and explore the soft skills demand in supply chain management arena.Design/methodology/approachThis study has utilised a mixed methods study in two phases, with the first stage including a questionnaire distributed to 120 supply chain employees in the UK, followed by six interviews with supply chain experts in the UK.FindingsThe results suggest that soft skills, especially behavioural skills such as communication, planning, initiative and negotiation, were seen to be more important when compared to decision making, negotiation and management skills. The findings indicate that the changing supply chain scope encourages the requisition and development of different supply chain soft skills with varied levels of emphasis in relation to 15 soft skills identified in the literature.Research limitations/implicationsThis study employs a mixed-method approach to establish the perceived importance of soft skills in the UK supply chains. This limits the generalisability of the results to other contextual settings.Practical implicationsThis paper presents soft skills impact upon the supply chain. Specific soft skills are critical to supply chain employees compared to others (e.g. behavioural and people management skills), which may lead to articulation of supply chain soft skills training initiatives.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the soft skills discussion in the supply chain context and discusses the role of soft skills. Topical gaps in the literature are identified as areas for future research. The findings have generated additional supply chain skills to the academic literature as well as provided an understanding of the weighting of soft skills in terms of their importance and application to industry needs.

scholarly journals UNIVERSITY KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE IN FIRMS: THE GHANAIAN EXPERIENCE

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 2050023
Author(s):  
ABDUL-FATAHI ABDULAI ◽  
LYNDON MURPHY ◽  
BRYCHAN THOMAS
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
Using Data ◽  
University Industry

This paper examines the association between university–industry collaboration and firm innovation performance, and the effect of informal mechanisms of knowledge transfer on such an association, using data from a survey of 245 firms in Ghana and employing partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results are of significant relevance to the business community and policy-makers in Ghana and West African. We find that while university–industry collaboration is positively related to innovation performance in firms, informal mechanisms of university knowledge transfer do not and negatively moderate the positive association between university–industry collaboration and innovation performance in firms. It is also found that to facilitate innovation outcomes, formal, legal binding contracts are required. The study recommends that university knowledge generation and innovation policies in Ghana encourage formal collaboration between knowledge exchange actors. It is also suggested that improvements need to be made to the efficacy of intellectual property legislation in Ghana.

Genetic Algorithm Approach for Inventory and Supply Chain Management

2018 ◽  
pp. 468-478
Author(s):  
Poonam Prakash Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Genetic Algorithm Approach ◽  
Intelligence Approach

Inventory and supply chain management is a real concern for business community in today's globally competitive scenario. Various inventory models are proposed, significant parameters are analysed and finally optimized by researchers in order to give managers an insight for the different parameters. Mathematical and logical analysis of different inventory and supply chain models helps mangers in overall cost reduction and further higher revenue generation. Members often encounter conflicting interest and unforeseen scenario. So, all this make supply chain very complex and dynamic process. Complex and uncertain nature of inventory and supply chain, many times either it is not feasible to solve the issue with traditional methods or it is not cost effective. Thus many researchers are using artificial intelligence approach for investigation. Genetic algorithm is one among them that works efficiently with complex nature of the inventory and supply chain management. This article provides an up to date review about the role of GA in overall inventory and supply chain management.

Genetic Algorithm Approach for Inventory and Supply Chain Management

2021 ◽  
pp. 1175-1185
Author(s):  
Poonam Prakash Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Algorithm ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Genetic Algorithm Approach ◽  
Intelligence Approach

Inventory and supply chain management is a real concern for business community in today's globally competitive scenario. Various inventory models are proposed, significant parameters are analysed and finally optimized by researchers in order to give managers an insight for the different parameters. Mathematical and logical analysis of different inventory and supply chain models helps mangers in overall cost reduction and further higher revenue generation. Members often encounter conflicting interest and unforeseen scenario. So, all this make supply chain very complex and dynamic process. Complex and uncertain nature of inventory and supply chain, many times either it is not feasible to solve the issue with traditional methods or it is not cost effective. Thus many researchers are using artificial intelligence approach for investigation. Genetic algorithm is one among them that works efficiently with complex nature of the inventory and supply chain management. This article provides an up to date review about the role of GA in overall inventory and supply chain management.

An international university-industry collaboration model to develop supply chain competences

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karla M. Gámez-Pérez ◽  
Ana Maria Sarmiento ◽  
Heriberto Garcia-Reyes ◽  
Josué C. Velázquez-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Good Practices ◽  
Collaboration Model ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
International University ◽  
University Industry

Purpose The increase in the supply chain complexity demands new professionals who are able to deal with the new challenges faced nowadays. The purpose of this work is to propose an international university–industry collaboration model to develop supply chain management competences in students as a tool for the training of future professionals. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes an international collaboration model to develop supply chain competences. The model consists of three main phases from the genesis of the collaboration to the assessment of the competence development. This study validates the model collaborating with one of the largest retailer companies in Mexico. Findings Results identify collaboration good practices and point at possible improvements for the next model iteration. This study identifies four key supply chain competences as part of this model. Three didactic approaches (i.e. guidance methods) and two student’s involvement schemes were tested. The results show that professors acting as an advisor (i.e. acting as a guider without telling student directly what to do or how to do it) plus a voluntary student’s involvement in the project promote better competence development. Originality/value The first contribution of this research is the definition of an international collaboration model that promotes competence-based education. Also, this study documents good practices for this type of partnership. The second one refers to a large-scale model validation (i.e. 14-week experiment in nine different regions of Mexico involving a retail company, 20 professor-researchers and more than 100 students). The third contribution includes the assessment of different levels of competences development using diverse students’ participation schemes and professor’s guidance methods.

scholarly journals Critical Issues at the Upstream Level in Sustainable Supply Chain Management of Agri-Food Industries: Evidence from Pakistan’s Citrus Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Naseer ◽  
Muhammad Ashfaq ◽  
Sarfraz Hassan ◽  
Azhar Abbas ◽  
Amar Razzaq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Seed Quality ◽  
Business Community ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Citrus Industry ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain Management ◽  
Food Industries

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has recently received increasing attention from researchers and the business community. Due to globalization and changing consumption patterns, agri-food industries have undergone a transformation, and the sustainability of agri-food supply chains has also received greater attention. However, the issues of SSCM at the upstream level of the supply chain in agri-food industries have not been adequately empirically studied. This paper aims to list key issues or constraints in the production and marketing through farmers’ group discussions, supplemented by the literature, and empirically identifies key constraints to SSCM of the citrus industry in Pakistan. The paper used cross-sectional data from 300 farmers involved in the production and marketing of citrus in Punjab, Pakistan. Farmers were asked to answer on a Likert scale data about potential constraints identified from the literature and farmers’ group discussions. Kendell’s coefficient of concordance and the mean ranking technique was used to rank and to identify the critical constraints in the production and marketing of citrus. In addition, factor analysis (principal component analysis) was used for the grouping of these constraints. In production constraints, factors, such as fertilizer, pesticide, and seed quality, climate change, high production cost, and agricultural labor performance, are important. These constraints are aligned with some key marketing factors, such as packaging, grading, and storage facilities. The findings convey messages for policymakers to solve these issues and challenges at the upstream level of the SSCM chain in the citrus and related agri-food industries.

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