To face crisis and market instability in a complex, polymorphic and competitive context, enterprises need a shift in perspective: from a “company-centric” logic, in which production efficiencies are the highest priority, to a “customer-centric” one, wherein the structure and behaviour of the whole enterprise cannot neglect consideration of full knowledge of the various customer segments with which it interacts. The recent 4.0 paths that many companies have started to follow allow them to leverage availability, punctuality, promptness and flexibility. These are indispensable factors in satisfying and retaining demanding clients with higher expectations in terms of service quality (Ayres, 2010) and thus ensuring success. This research focuses on the key and central role of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) today (Lee et al., 2016; Partida, 2017) and the importance of having professionals with specific professional/technical skills and an adequate educational background. In light of an analysis previously carried out concerning the mapping of roles and skills required to operate effectively in logistics and SCM (Bisogni & Cantoni, 2017), this study queries whether Italian universities (along with other training institutions) are ready to meet these needs. Inspired by Niine and Koppel (2014, 2015), who argue that “logistics is an extensive interdisciplinary field across industries and jobs, merging the viewpoints of engineering, manufacturing, operations and business administration”, the study employed a census of the courses (three-year and “magistrali”) offered by the Faculty of Economics and Engineering in the 2017–2018 academic year to try to understand if they are able to offer the "logistics culture" consistent with guidelines for current and future guidelines competitive employment scenarios. This research aims to identify and operationalize possible tools to encourage the creation of communication "bridges" between the offer of Italian universities and the needs of enterprises’ professionals operating in logistics and SCM in terms of competences.
A COMPARISION BETWEEN THE ITALIAN UNIVERSITIES CURRICULA IN LOGISTICS & SCM AND THE PROFESSIONALS’ NEEDS
Marco Giannini
2018-01-01
Abstract
To face crisis and market instability in a complex, polymorphic and competitive context, enterprises need a shift in perspective: from a “company-centric” logic, in which production efficiencies are the highest priority, to a “customer-centric” one, wherein the structure and behaviour of the whole enterprise cannot neglect consideration of full knowledge of the various customer segments with which it interacts. The recent 4.0 paths that many companies have started to follow allow them to leverage availability, punctuality, promptness and flexibility. These are indispensable factors in satisfying and retaining demanding clients with higher expectations in terms of service quality (Ayres, 2010) and thus ensuring success. This research focuses on the key and central role of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) today (Lee et al., 2016; Partida, 2017) and the importance of having professionals with specific professional/technical skills and an adequate educational background. In light of an analysis previously carried out concerning the mapping of roles and skills required to operate effectively in logistics and SCM (Bisogni & Cantoni, 2017), this study queries whether Italian universities (along with other training institutions) are ready to meet these needs. Inspired by Niine and Koppel (2014, 2015), who argue that “logistics is an extensive interdisciplinary field across industries and jobs, merging the viewpoints of engineering, manufacturing, operations and business administration”, the study employed a census of the courses (three-year and “magistrali”) offered by the Faculty of Economics and Engineering in the 2017–2018 academic year to try to understand if they are able to offer the "logistics culture" consistent with guidelines for current and future guidelines competitive employment scenarios. This research aims to identify and operationalize possible tools to encourage the creation of communication "bridges" between the offer of Italian universities and the needs of enterprises’ professionals operating in logistics and SCM in terms of competences.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
