Journal of Transportation Management

Volume 27 | Issue 1 Article 6

7-1-2016

Identifying critical skills for logistics professionals:Assessing skill importance, capability, andavailabilitySean P. GoffnettCentral Michigan University, sean.goffnett@cmich.edu

Zachary WilliamsCentral Michigan University, willi1zs@cmich.edu

Brian J. GibsonAuburn University, brian.gibson@auburn.edu

Michael S. GarverCentral Michigan University, garve1ms@cmich.edu

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Recommended CitationGoffnett, Sean P., Williams, Zachary, Gibson, Brian J., & Garver, Michael S. (2016). Identifying critical skills for logistics professionals:Assessing skill importance, capability, and availability. Journal of Transportation Management, 27(1), 45-61. doi: 10.22237/jotm/1467331500

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IDENTIFYING CRITICAL SKILLS FOR LOGISTICS PROFESSIONALS: ASSESSINGSKILL IMPORTANCE, CAPABILITY, AND AVAILABILITY

Sean P. GoffnettCentral Michigan University

Zachary WilliamsCentral Michigan University

Brian J. GibsonAuburn University

Michael S. GarverCentral Michigan University

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to identify critical skills needed in the logistics profession now and in thefuture. This study uses survey research, means tests, and importance analysis to explore a multi-factorframework that identifies critical supply chain skills perceived by 176 experienced supply chainprofessionals from manufacturing, transportation, and retail/wholesale segments. Results indicate significantdifferences exist between current and future needed skills, among current capabilities and current availabilityof skills, and among skill needs utilizing a multi-factor index. Identifying needed skills based on importance iscommon. Considering more factors than just importance offers a more thorough assessment that reducespotential oversights and inefficiencies that can occur if decision makers focus on one factor when planningkey processes, such as recruiting, hiring, and training, in a talent management program.

INTRODUCTION

Collaborative consumption, globalization,outsourcing, and technological advances in businessare serious challenges that have created a turbulentenvironment for supply chain managers, and morespecifically for logistics managers that are the focusof this article (Christopher and Holweg, 2011;Margaritis, Anagnostopoulou, Tromaras, and Boile,2016; Shaheen, Mallery, and Kingsley, 2012).These turbulent events resonate within supply chainorganizations where they amplify other challengessuch as talent management (Shi and Handfield,2012). Many logistics and supply chainorganizations are strained by the urgent need toattract and retain logistics talent (Keller andOzment, 2009; Leon and Uddin, 2016; Partida,2014). Unfortunately, these increased needs comeat a time of increased retirements (Wolff et al.,2009) and shortages (Cotrill, 2010). As such, it is

not surprising that a number of industry reports haveshown many employers are experiencing significantchallenges caused by talent shortages (Gibson et al,2013 CSCMP; ManpowerGroup, 2013).

The importance of talent management in logisticscannot be overstated. For example, finding the“right talent” is the first major step to establishing aneffective supply chain strategy (Sloan et al., 2013,p. 41). Moreover, Stank et al (2011) declaredfinding the right talent as one of five major “pillars”that form the foundation from which supply chainmanagers can enhance organizational performance(p. 941).

Identifying and acquiring talent with the skillsnecessary to perform the essential functions of a jobis the foundation of any talent management program.Employees that lack the requisite skills to perform atacceptable levels in an organization may experience

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a high level of incompatibility and decide to quit orthey might discover a misalliance through negativeperformance appraisals that could lead totermination of employment. Employmentseparations create additional turbulence thatmanifest as disruptions with negative consequenceson performance (Glebbeek and Bax, 2004;Kacmar, Andres, Van Rooy, Steilberg and Cerrone,2006). It is critical that companies effectively assesstalent needs to fill supply chain skill gaps in order toremain competitive (Daugherty et al., 2000; Leonand Uddin, 2016; Richey et. al., 2006), as it hasbeen shown that SC disruptions impedeperformance and limit profitability (Hendricks andSinghal, 2005; Kacmar et al., 2006). One shouldnot find it surprising that researchers have beencalling for further research on supply chain talentmanagement, and logistics in particular (e.g., Cottrill,2010; Ellinger and Ellinger, 2013; Myers et al,2004; Williams, Garver, and Taylor, 2011; Shi andHandfield, 2012; Thai, 2012). Before turbulentemployment issues become more damaging tologistics, it is important that managers learn moreabout essential logistics skills that are currentlyneeded so decision makers can acquire the righttalent with the right skills, at the right time, toachieve the right performance in the right jobs – i.e.,the perfect hire. What skills are perceived asneeded most in view of not only the importance of agiven skill or skillset, but also by understandingcurrent capabilities in the firm and current availabilityof skills in today’s labor market, will help lead tobetter talent management results.

The following section reviews literature involvingsupply chain skills. The next section presents themethods and results of this research. Theconcluding sections discuss the findings andimplications for academics and practitioners.

LITERATURE REVIEW

This section provides the theoretical underpinning ofthe study, then defines talent management anddescribes a number of relevant and influential skillsstudies in logistics and supply chain managementthat pertain to the purpose of this research. Thefollowing synthesis of literature aims to further the

understanding of critical skills for supply chainprofessionals.

Resource-Based View of Skillsand CapabilitiesCappelli (2008) asserts that failing to manage talent,from acquisition to retention, is no different thanfailing to manage the supply chain from beginning toend. Research suggests that an effectively managedsupply chain with the right talent and humanresources behind it can become a source ofcompetitive advantage that enhances supply chainperformance (Ellinger and Ellinger, 2013; Kim andHan, 2012; Schuler, Jackson, and Tarique, 2011).Such findings align with the Resource-based View(RBV) that is the theoretical basis under which anorganization assesses the importance of variousresources (e.g., processes, information, skills) thatwhen managed effectively can enhance capabilitiesthereby resulting in greater competitiveness.(Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1984; Wright, Snell, andDunford, 2001). Organizations must be responsivein SCM talent management by developing strategies(Leon and Uddin, 2016) and taking appropriatesteps (e.g., needs assessment, job analysis) toensure that they have appropriately skilled people inplace to facilitate high performance (Gibson et al2013). Consequently, researchers and practitionershave increased the amount of attention directed attalent management in recent years (Ariss, Cascio,and Paauwe, 2014; Ellinger and Ellinger, 2013;Gibson et al SCQ, 2015; Langley et al 2015; Leonand Uddin, 2016). Understanding requisitefoundational elements is important in order tofacilitate even the most rudimentary talentmanagement program, but ideally to achieve asustainable talent pipeline. Thus, this studyexamines critical logistics skills as perceived bylogistics professionals.

Talent ManagementTalent can be summarized as the amount ofexperience, knowledge, skills, and abilities that ispossessed and practiced by each employee in anorganization. Talent management involves thevarious processes for identifying roles,responsibilities, and requisite skills, and establishinga pool of professionals to employ in each position.

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It includes efforts to attract, onboard, develop,retain, and replace talent, in order to achieve topperformance (Collings and Mellahi, 2009). Gibsonet al. (2013) explore talent management and suggestthat talent forecasts, roles, responsibilities, andcritical capabilities and skills be established, as thesefoundational activities ensure that subsequentacquisition activities (onboarding, mentoring, andtraining) are focused on organizational needsnecessary for an effective talent managementprogram. Assessing needs and identifying requisiteskills is an essential starting point.

Supply Chain SkillsThe logistics literature does include a stream ofresearch dedicated to talent, primarily focused onskills importance and identification. For example,the Council of Logistics Management (now theCouncil of Supply Chain ManagementProfessionals) put forth a comprehensive study onthis topic called The Growth and Development ofLogistics Personnel (1999) that was primarilyfocused on using auditing gap analysis to identifyskill deficiency and subsequent development plans.

Gibson and Cook (2001) collected data frominterviews and surveys of executives and mid-levelmanagers from 40 of the top 100 3PL firms thatshowed various skills that were important to entrylevel management positions. These includedproblem solving, oral communication, planning/organizing, ability to learn, decision making,teamwork, relationship management, creativethinking, written communication, and analytical(logistics analysis). This research was replicatedand updated in (Cook, Gibson and Williams, 2009).The replicated research identified and highlighted theimportance of leadership characteristics and abilitiesfor SCM personnel.

Gammelgaard and Larson (2001) utilized relevantliterature (e.g., Murphy and Poist, 1991) andexecutive interviews to derive forty-five basic skillsto include in their research on the importance oflogistics skills and competencies. The skills werecategorized into three primary factors: interpersonal/managerial basic skills, quantitative/technologicalskills, and logistics core skills (p. 40). Teamwork,

problem solving, listening, and communicatingtopped the list of highly important skills for logisticsmanagers. Gammelgaard and Larson suggestedfurther research that captures organizationalsituations within an industry.

Myers, Griffith, Daugherty, and Lusch (2004)surveyed entry-level and mid-level logistics andsupply chain professionals to assess perceivedrelationships between 16 skills and jobperformance. The results suggest organizationsshould work to develop talent in four broad skillareas: social, decision-making, problem-solving, andtime-management. The skills categories weresignificant predictors of job performance, whileexperience and education were not statisticallysignificant. These authors further recommendedfuture research that investigates how to identifycritical skills.

In a longitudinal study that spanned more than adecade, Murphy and Poist (2007) updated theircomprehensive Business-Logistics-Management(BLM) framework, which is composed of morethan 80 skills, and examined the relative importanceof each skill in senior-level logistics positions.Supply chain management and transportation andlogistics business are important in senior-levelpositions, as are customer service, inventorymanagement, motivating others, integrity, andcommunication. Managerial skills were found to bemore important that other skills. They concludedthat “logisticians should be managers first and alogistician second” (p. 423). Results indicate thatessential or requisite skills can change over time.

Thai (2012) surveyed logistics executives inAustralian firms using a shortened version of theBLM framework and found personal integrity,problem-solving, relationships, cost control, andplanning to be among the top-ranking skills basedon perceived importance now and in the future. Allthree skill groups in the BLM framework (Business,Logistics, and Management) were equallyimportant. Research by Wu et al (2013) suggestthat it is important for global supply chain personnelto possess communication, financial analysis,customer relationship management, and people

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skills. Ellinger and Ellinger (2013) put forward asummarized list of requisite skills for supply chainmanagers that includes problem solving,communication, leadership, global orientation,change management, and coaching, which weredrawn from four studies (i.e., Christopher, 2012;Cotrill, 2010; Fawcett et al, 2010; Slone et al,2010).

In summary, the majority of studies in the logisticsliterature focus on the importance of each skill,where researchers aim to list or categorize itemsbased largely on importance, as perceived byindustry professionals, academics, or students. Thebody of work in this area falls short of examiningskills in a greater context that ventures beyondcurrent importance to include additionalcircumstance, such as current skill capabilities,future skill importance (skill forecasting) and currentskill availability, when assessing skill needs foreffective talent management.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ANDMETHODOLOGY

Research Questions/PurposeWhile it is imperative for an organization to knowwhat skills are important for logistics and supplychain positions, it is equally crucial for organizationsto understand its current internal skill capabilitiesand the current external skill availability in the labormarket as this could dictate the most strategic andappropriate response, whether it means externallyacquiring talent or internally developing talent. Thus,this research aims to answer three major questions:

1) What skills are currently important forlogistics and supply chain managementprofessionals (i.e., at time of completing survey)Current Interest (CI) and in the future (i.e.,beyond five years from today) Future Interest(FI)?

2) What skills are perceived as CurrentCapabilities (CC) within the firm or areCurrently Available (CA) in today’s labormarket?

3) What skills are needed most consideringCurrent Capabilities (CC), Current Importance(CI) and Future Importance (FI), and CurrentAvailability (CA) in today’s labor market?

The following analysis and assessment identifiesskills that are critical to logistics talent managementbased on the perceived importance (CI and FI)now and in the future. The research looks at theskills that employees need to possess and by thedegree to which these skills are current capabilities(CC) internal to the firm and by the degree to whichthere is current availability (CA) external to the firmin the labor market for a given skill.

Methods

The present research used mixed methods toexplore logistics skills. The study utilized a literaturereview, expert interviews, and an onlinequestionnaire to provide added sources of data thanwhat is ordinarily obtained using a single method.The first step involved a review of previous literatureto frame the research question on skills. Thesecond step included a series of focus groups andtelephone interviews with logistics and humanresources professionals with previous involvement intalent acquisition. The third step refined the findingsfrom the previous actions into a questionnaire foronline distribution. The primary areas of interestwere to measure Current Importance (CI), FutureImportance (FI), Current Capability (CC), andCurrent Availability (CA) of skills. A self-reportquestionnaire was selected to obtain the perceivedimportance that professionals in logistics place onselect skills, for example. The resulting questionsand corresponding responses were compiled into anonline survey, which was pre-tested and refined forclarity and flow, then administered using Qualtricssoftware over a six-week period. Survey resultswere subjected to a series of analyses using means,standard deviations, t-tests, standardized z scores,and rankings.

Measures

The decision as to which skills to include in thisstudy for each respondent to rate CurrentImportance (CI), Future Importance (FI), Current

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Capability (CC), and Current Availability (CA) wasinformed by previous skills research (e.g., Gibsonand Cook, 2001) and expert input from interviews.Recent research has demonstrated a need forlogistics to possess both “hard” (technical) and“soft” (behavioral) skills to meet the challenges incomplex supply chains (Christopher, 2012; Cottrill,2010). Thus, a parsimonious mix of hard and softskills was included in the present study as shown inTable 1. Input from a small group of logisticsresearchers helped finalize the questionnaire thatresulted in 19 single-item measures used as arepresentative range of hard and soft skills to beexamined in this exploratory study.

Respondents were asked to assess importance aswell as the current capability and current availabilityof each skill listed in Table 1. Current Capability(CC) is the extent to which a professional perceivesthat the firm in which he or she works currently hasan internal competency in a given skill. Current

Importance (CI) is the degree to which aprofessional perceives that a specified skill isimportant to logistics and supply chainprofessional(s) to be successful working in thecurrent business environment. Future Importance(FI) is the degree to which a professional perceivesthat a specified skill is likely to be important tologistics professional(s) to be successful working inthe future business environment. CurrentAvailability (CA) is the extent to which aprofessional perceives that a given skill is availablein the current labor market. All items were assessedon a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (not important, nointernal capability, or very low availability) to 5 (veryimportant, high internal capability or very highavailability).

Sample

The pool of potential study participants was derivedfrom the Council of Supply Chain ManagementProfessionals membership list and logistics alumni

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contact lists from two universities in the UnitedStates. Given the focus of the research, the listswere culled to ensure that only individuals workingin logistics industry roles would participate in thesurvey. Hence, educators, students, retirees, andprofessionals outside the SCM discipline wereexcluded. An electronic survey link was emailed toapproximately 3,100 U.S. SCM professionals. inthe targeted segment. Email reminders were senttwo weeks after the original survey release date.

The email campaign generated 358 total responses.However, not all respondents answered all thequestions regarding skill importance (now and in thefuture), internal skill capabilities, and labor marketavailability of skill required for this analysis. Aftereliminating responses that skipped any of the

questions regarding each of the 19 skills, theremaining 176 responses were analyzed in light ofthe three research questions.

RESEARCH RESULTS

Demographic and FirmographicsThe respondents represented a diverse group offirms within the supply chain and in their ownpersonal backgrounds as exhibited in Table 2. Onaverage, the respondents yielded over 16 years ofsupply chain related experience. When asked aboutknowledge of talent management, respondentsindicated a high-level, exceeding four on a five-pointscale (1=Not knowledgeable at all; 5=Veryknowledgeable).

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A number of analyses were conducted to explorethe study’s three major research questions. First, ameans analysis involving several individual t-testswas performed to identify, describe, and rank thecurrent importance (CI) of each skill and a repeatedmeasures means analysis was conducted to identifyand rank the future importance (FI) of each skill andto test if a significant difference exists between CIand FI skill ratings, followed by a paired within-subjects t-test to test for a significant difference inratings to determine if significant movement exists inthe mean score rankings. Second, a meansclassification process was utilized to describe andcategorize CC and CA ratings. Third, a final analysisof means was conducted using z scores andweighted factors that accounted for currentcapabilities (CC), current importance (CI) andfuture importance (FI), and current availability (CA)of skills in today’s labor market. Means weretransformed into corresponding z scores tostandardize the CC, CI, FI, and CA data that weremeasured using different Likert scale anchors sothey could be combined into composite scores.

Analysis 1: Current and Future ImportanceRatings and Ranking Comparisons

Mean scores were calculated for each of the 19items and individual paired t-tests were performedfor each pair of means to test differences betweenthe importance ratings and to identify the skillranking. At the 95% confidence level, significantdifferences were found between 73% of the pairstested (124/171), as shown in Appendix A, withinsignificant differences occurring mostly betweenitems that are next to or immediately succeeding oneanother in rank.

Insert Appendix A Here (Was Table 6 Originally)

Perceptions of the importance of logisticsprofessionals (business) skills and perspectives onranking, which are shown in Table 3, indicate thatsome of the more important skills needed today, inorder of importance, are: 1) Problem-Solving, 2)Communication, 3) Analytical Skills, 4) Ability toLearn Quickly, and 5) Decision Making. Whereas,some of the important skills identified for the future

are: 1) Communication, 2) Problem Solving, 3)Analytical Skills, 4) Ability to Learn Quickly, and 5)Leadership.

To evaluate the Current Importance (CI) and FutureImportance (FI) ratings of the skills and the overallskillsets, a paired within-subjects (repeatedmeasures) t-test was performed on the data. Thisanalysis was conducted in order to betterunderstand skills important today in comparison toskills important for the future. The within-subjectstest is beneficial because it helps to understand if askillset is likely to become more or less important asdeemed by the sample and whether or not adifference exists in the overall importance ratings ofthe skillsets. The overall importance rating washigher for the future skillset than for the skillset thatwas perceived as important today, as indicated by astatistically significant t-test, t(18) = 2.765, p < .05.This finding indicates that significant differences existin importance ratings between the two periods (i.e.,today versus in the future) that was not likely due tochance. The significant difference suggests thatthere were not only significant rating changes in theindividual skills but also significant rank changes as aresult of the rating changes that occurred within theanalyzed skillset (i.e., the list of select skills). Thewithin-subjects test has more power or a betterlikelihood to detect effects when effects existbecause variation due to individual differences iseliminated in the paired within subjects design.

A post-hoc Wilcoxon rank sum test was used toanalyze the resulting rankings (1 to 19) of the 19skills in each skillset and confirmed a significantdifference, p < .05, exists between the ranks ofcurrent and future importance of skills. Many of thetop skills that are currently viewed as mostimportant today remain nearly unchanged for what isdeemed to be important skills for tomorrow or inthe future. Some of the most notable differenceswere in Leadership which leaped three (3) positionsto take the fifth spot, while Decision Makingdropped to eighth, with both skills still showingabove average importance. Another noticeabledifference was Relationships moved up three (3)positions to the seventh spot. Interestingly, the least

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important skills in the given skillset, from bothcurrent and future perspectives, were FinancialAnalysis, Technical Capability, and Negotiation.

Analysis 2: Current Capability and Current

Availability Categorization (Classification)

A subsequent inquiry aimed to measure CurrentCapability (CC) and Current Availability (CA) togain perspective on existing internal competenciesreflected in the CC measures and on externalaccessibility of skill reflected in the CA measures.Table 4 lists the mean ratings perceived for the CCand CA for each skill and are categorized as high(above) or low (below) the grand means of 3.450and 3.201 for CC and CA, respectively. Resultsshow less than half of the included skills received LL(low-low) classification for having low CC and lowCA, which indicates a scarcity for the given skills.Interestingly, many of the skills that were perceivedas highly important were rated HH (high-high) forhaving high CC and high CA, which indicates apotential surplus for these skills. Leadership,however, was classified as LL and falls in the top tenfor Current Importance (CI) skills and in the top fivefor Future Importance (FI) skills. Firms may judgetheir internal talent as capable in several skills and

not capable in other skills, then discover that anumber of the same skills may or may not beavailable in the labor market to fill any deficiencies.Thus, it appears useful to measure CC and CA togain a broader view on potential skill shortages andpotential skill surpluses by assessing what firms haveinternally and what firms believe is availableexternally.

While it is useful to measure and classify CC andCA, as it contrasts what resources a firm hasinternally and what resources are availableexternally, only assessing CC and CA may fall shortof distinguishing how critical a resulting skill shortageor skill surplus in supply really is without factoring insome weight for importance of a skill to providemore precision in assessing overall skill needs. Forexample, a firm might express concern wheneverthey find a sizeable skill gap from having low CC(capability) and low CA (availability). However, theconcern could be moot if it is discovered that aparticular skill is perceived as having low CurrentImportance (CI), low Future Importance (FI), orboth. A firm would likely face a similar paradoxwhen making talent management decisions basedsolely on skill importance, as a highly important skillmay be prevalent internally as a current capability

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and widely accessible in terms of CA in the labormarket, thus presenting less reason for concerngiven the forecasted skill surplus in periods of highor low demand. It follows that conducting a moreextensive skill needs assessment using a compositemeasure index, which gives weight to importance,capability, and availability, would likely be moreinformative in the planning and acquisition process inforecasting talent in terms of supply and demand.

Analysis 3: Importance, Capability, andAvailability

Composite Index and Skills Forecast

An exploratory effort was made to understand ifassessing importance alone can fall short of trulyunderstanding skill needs. Thus, further analysis wasconducted to determine the skills needed most whenconsidering multiple factors, specifically currentcapabilities (CC), current importance (CI) andfuture importance (FI), and current availability (CA)in today’s labor market. The practice ofconcurrently analyzing factors, such as importanceand performance, has been around for decades(e.g., Martilla and James, 1977). A number ofresearchers in logistics and supply chainmanagement (e.g., Garver, 2003; Lambert andSharma, 1990; Lorentz et al., 2013) havedemonstrated the utility and practicality of analyzingcritical attributes, such as customer satisfaction and

employee skills, using multiple factors, specificallyimportance and performance. A similar technique isdeployed here with CC, CI, FI, and CA in order tocreate a logistics skill needs assessment (SNA)index to rate and rank the skills in the study.

This analysis takes a comparable approach to theperformance-importance method found in literaturebut utilizes the normalized z scores for importance(CI and FI), capability (CC), and availability (CA).Means were transformed into corresponding zscores to standardize the CC, CI, FI, and CA databecause the items were measured using differentLikert scale anchors. The transformation allows thestandardized scores to be combined into compositescores. In addition, initial capability and availabilityscores measured on Likert scales were reversecoded before being standardized so original lowscores (low capability, low availability) weretransformed as higher coefficients. Next, each zscore was multiplied by an assigned weight of 0.250that is the same (equal) for each of the four factorsused for this study (e.g., CI for S1 = 0.387 z scorex 0.250 weight = 0.097 CI factor score). Theseparate factor scores for CI, CC, CA, and FI arethen added to produce an overall skills needsassessment (SNA) index rating for the skill (e.g.,SNA Index Rating for S14 Big Picture = 0.033 +0.080 + 0.092 + 0.019 = 0.225; Index Rating forS1 Analytical Skill = 0.097 + 0.077 + -0.056 + -

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0.036 = 0.082). The scenario examined for thisstudy includes multiple factors that aim to determineneeded skills in logistics and SCM. Skill rankingsfrom the scenario are also compared to the initialone dimensional rankings by current skill importancealone to determine if significant differences existbetween the rankings by each method. Results aredisplayed in Table 5.

The analysis follows previous research onimportance (e.g., Garver, 2003; Lorentz et al.,2013) but assigns equal weight of 0.250 to each ofthe four factors: CI (is it important now), CC (dowe have it now), CA (can we get it), and FI (is itimportant for the future). Equality is assumedbecause respondents were not asked to estimate aweight for each factor. The results shown in Table 5reveal that some of the top skills needed today,

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based on the composite of weighted z scores forCI, CC, CA, and FI are: 1) Big Picture, 2)Leadership, 3) Change Management, and 4)Communication. When ranking by importanceaverages alone, Big Picture, Leadership, andChange Management fall much further down the listin the 9th, 8th, and 12th positions, respectively. AWilcoxon rank sum test confirmed a significantdifference, p < .05, exists between the ranks ofcurrent skill importance and the index ranks ofneeded skills, suggesting significant rank changes ordifferences exist. The most significant change wasChange Management moved up nine positions totake the third spot in the ranking of skills.Leadership moved up six positions to second, whileBig Picture moved up eight positions to assume firstplace as the most needed skill in the given skillset.The index method resulted in other significantdifferences in rankings, particularly the ability towork in teams, which was relegated from the 6th

position to the 18th position in the overall ranking ofthe 19 different skills for logistics and supply chainmanagement.

CONCLUSIONS

Discussion and ImplicationsFrom a theoretical perspective, this researchsupports Barney’s (1991) Resource-based View(RBV) theory, as it demonstrates the skills that areimportant to an organization. Skills must beassessed in terms of availability to make sure criticalskills are abundant in an organization or readilyacquirable to form the capabilities to achieve highperformance and competitive advantage.

From a practitioner perspective, this study showsthat compared to earlier studies of important skillsfor supply chain management and logisticsprofessionals, a different set of skills are mostimportant now. Specifically, big picture, leadership,and change management skills made significantmoves to become the most important. Similar toMurphy and Poist (2007), soft managerial skillsemerged as being more important than other hardskills. What remains the same, however, are severalskills that are corroborated as consistently important

as revealed by this study and past research (e.g.,Gibson and Cook, 2001), where Communication,Problem Solving, and Decision Making approachthe top of many lists.

Results from this research suggest that skill needsassessments should be conducted regularly asneeded skills may change over time. This study alsosuggests that routine assessments look not only atskill importance but also at internal skill capabilitiesand external skill availability of requisite job skills todetermine the skills that are critically needed to meetcurrent and future job demands of logisticsprofessionals. Leadership, for example, was ratedas having low internal capability and low externalavailability, which indicates that a greater challengewill likely exist when it comes to filling or satisfyingthe demand for this explicitly important skill fromcurrent sources of supply. Practitioners can use theskills needs assessment method with a comparableindex to run scenarios specific to their ownorganization, i.e., using equal or different weights foreach factor included in the framework, to produceskill forecasts and to plan for improved talentacquisition.

Organizations with low skills must make it astrategic priority to acquire and develop essentialskills to improve performance (Slone et al, 2013).However, with limited external availability for certainskills, employers may have no choice but to “build”an internal bench than to spend additional effortlooking to “buy” what they need (Myers et al,2004). To develop skills, organizations can instituteformal training, education, mentoring, or jobrotations, for example, that are shown to beimpactful in meeting hiring and development needsthat in turn enhance performance (Aguinis andKraiger, 2009). In addition, organizations couldbenefit from having improved selection methods(e.g., better defined job postings) so the propertalent is available at time of hire versus after a periodof internal development (Gibson et al, 2013;Williams et al, 2011). Improving talent fit in a givenrole is beneficial to keeping logistics employeessatisfied in their role or career (Goffnett et al, 2012).Ellinger and Ellinger (2013) suggest a number of HR

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interventions that can improve specific skill sets,such as Team Leadership.

From an academic perspective, educators can bebetter informed of changing demands and work tosupport industry needs by helping to produce talentwho possess essential skills. Curriculum shouldcover important and essential skills, particularlythose that are critical with low current capabilities oravailability in industry. Skills can be introducedthrough cases, lectures, quizzes, tours, etc. Inaddition, educators can provide greater skillsawareness and competency development byexposing students to stimulating group work andspecial projects (Pyne, Dinwoodie, and Roe, 2007;Yi, 2012). This can also be accomplished throughsupply chain simulations and logistics casecompetitions, student organization activities involvingreal-world projects, professional developmentevents (e.g. career fairs, facility tours, industrycertifications) and community service. Educatorscould develop a service-learning project opportunitywith a non-profit organization that requires studentsto use needed or essential skills, such as changemanagement and problem solving, to enhancelearning and develop professional skills whileproviding supply chain solutions (Goffnett et al,2012; Yi, 2012).

Limitations, and Future ResearchThis exploratory research suggests that the supplychain profession needs leaders – today! Theindustry needs transformational leaders who see theBig Picture, can inspire with Leadership character tomotivate others toward common goals, identify andmanage needed Change, while exercising clearCommunication to aid in Problem-Solving andAnalytics that inform Decision Making for success.

This study, however, had a number of limitations.First, a convenience sample of logistics alumni wasused in this research, thus the generalizability of thestudy may be narrow. Future research thatinvestigates a larger or more representative sampleshould be completed to extend the body of skillsresearch. For instance, it would be interesting tosee what skill sets are important in other SCMrelated functions, such as purchasing or production

control. Second, this study encompassed a broadset of skills that may or may not be applicable toevery function or level in logistics and supply chainmanagement. A third limitation is the inherentchallenge with accuracy that surrounds practicallyevery method used to forecast something. Onetruism is forecasts are always wrong (Wallace,2006). A fourth limitation may be present in thesingle-item measures for each skill. Future researchmight explore the specific structure of each skill toidentify items that may offer greater characterizationand accuracy in measuring the variables used in thestudy and to enhance reliability and validity of eachskill domain. For example, the “technical capability”variable is likely to have multiple dimensions to itthat may better describe the skill and allowimproved assessment of criticality using a skill needsassessment (incl. importance, capability, availability).For example, “technical capability: could includedimensions related to everything from modeling, toExcel skills, to an understanding of engineeringdrawings depending on the job function. Likewise,research on “relationships” show that relationshipskill can include or be demonstrated by items suchas amount of interaction, information sharing, andcooperation (Boles, Brashear, Bellenger andBarksdale, 2000), and research has also shown thatrelationships and communication, specificallyinformation exchange, are strong predictors of buyersatisfaction with supplier performance (Graca, Barryand Doney, 2015).

Additional research that explores essential KSAsnot only at various levels in the organizationalhierarchy but also in terms of workforcedifferentiation (Huselid and Becker, 2011) thatexamines key employee segments (Dries and DeGieter, 2014; Gibson and Cook, 2003), specificallyhigh performing groups that exist are needed withinan organization, given their potential to have apositive impact on performance (Collings andMellahi, 2009; Myers et al, 2004; Zheng, Garrick,Atkinson-Palombo, McCahill, and Marshall, 2013).For example, previous studies in the sales segmentshow that top sales people possess strong “peopleskills” such as communication and relationshipbuilding (Rich and Smith, 2000), which in turn canimpact performance (Graca, Barry and Doney,

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2015). Research that examines the skills needed bysales people who work in logistics for freightbrokerages would provide greater understanding ofthe skills needed in both the Sales and logisticsfields. What specific type of supply chain logisticsskills are needed at each hierarchical level fromentry level to executive level? When important skillsare not available, how do organizations respond tofill gaps and needs?

As SCM truly is a multi-disciplinary function, it islikely that the human resource activities to supportlogistics, and many other SCM functions, mayprovide unique challenges that call for much neededfuture research. Skills needs assessment and talentmanagement in SCM related jobs require additionalresearch (Leon and Uddin, 2016). While recentliterature shows no consensus as to the specificskills that are most important for supply chain andlogistics professionals, this trend suggests thatindustry needs change over time. Thus, furtherresearch might take a longitudinal view to evaluateskill requirements at each hierarchical level inlogistics careers to determine the changes ordifferences in what is essential to each role overtime.

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BIOGRAPHIES

Sean P. Goffnett is an Associate Professor of Logistics and Marketing at Central Michigan University,sean.goffnett@cmich.edu. He received his Ph.D. from Eastern Michigan University, a Master of Science inEngineering Management from Western Michigan University, a Master of Human Resources and LaborRelations from Michigan State University, and a Master Certificate in Supply Chain Management andLogistics from Michigan State University. His research interests include supply chain relationships, talentmanagement, humanitarian logistics, and process improvement.

Zachary Williams is Professor of Logistics and Marketing and A Jerry and Felicia Campbell EndowedProfessor for Research at Central Michigan University, willi1zs@cmich.edu. He received his Ph.D. inmarketing, with focus on supply chain management, from Mississippi State University. His research interestsare focused on three areas: Supply chain security and disaster response; customer satisfaction andsegmentation with logistics services; and the growth and development of logistics professionals.

Brian J. Gibson is Professor of Supply Chain Management at Auburn University,brian.gibson@auburn.edu. He received a Ph.D. in Logistics and Transportation from the University ofTennessee. His primary research interests are in the area of supply chain training & development,performance analysis, and retail logistics.

Michael S. Garver is Professor of Marketing at Central Michigan University, garve1ms@cmich.edu. Heearned his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dr. Garver stays active with the businesscommunity through speaking, consulting, and conducting best practice research. His interests include usingleading edge methods for research in marketing and logistics.

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