I have on several occasions written about the general lack of skills
among our recent graduates. Even MBAs
and other aspiring managers lack the requisite knowledge and skills needed for
corporate life. However, thanks to
opportunities available and some attempts from the HRD and Labour &
Employment ministers, there is one area where this trend is definitely
changing. This is in the field of Logistics & Supply Chain Management
(SCM). The Ministry of Labour and
Employment (MOLE) has come out with a number of vocational programmes to train
people at every level in the field of Logistics. Details of these skill development programmes
are available on the MOLE website.
Similarly, MBA programmes have started introducing Logistics as an
integral part of the courses that students have to undergo.
So, while professionals in many industries may have observed a notable
decline in skills amongst recent graduates, during the past couple of decades,
the opposite is true in the field of SCM.
I can safely ascertain that we’ve become a profession and a recognised one at that. Several universities are offering specialised
courses in these areas. This is the
trend world over. Globalisation of the
economy has become a reality that we can’t run away from. Technology has been upgraded and supply
chains have become very sophisticated.
Therefore, good quality SCM professionals are a necessity without which
no economy will survive.
In the past and to some extent in the present too, universities have not
been working in sync with industry. However,
in the field of Transportation and Logistics this trend is changing. The contribution to the world economy of
shipping, aviation, road & rail infrastructure and every other sector
related to the field of Logistics is tremendous. Without transportation there would be no
trade and most of the world’s populations would starve. Centres of production and consumption are no
longer close to each other. International
transportation infrastructure connects the two.
Without shipping, air and land transport services this would never have
been possible.
Food grains, fertilizers, cement, coal, ore and a host of products are
transported in bulk carriers; crude oil and other liquids as well as LPG &
LNG and several petroleum products – crude and finished – move in container
ships; container ships, ro-ro services, break-bulk, reefers, etc. – we can make
a long list of the kind of shipping services available. Without shipping the entire world economy
would collapse. Water is the most
economic mode of transporting most goods.
Only pipelines are cheaper for a single liquid or gaseous commodity
moving in very large quantities. Shipping
services also leave a much smaller carbon footprint compared to the mother
modes of transportation. Here again,
pipelines are the exception.
Air services also play a major role in international trade. Transportation of goods by air has reached
unimaginable proportions. Today the
world’s major passenger carriers earn a great deal of revenues from cargo, at
time exceeding passenger ticket revenues.
Several major airlines, e.g. Lufthansa, have hived off their cargo
divisions into wholly owned subsidiaries.
In addition, we have all-cargo airlines and integrators – cargo airlines offering door-to-door services for freight.
The variety and range of services that all these airlines offer are
numerous.
Airports, ports, truck & train terminals, courier service providers,
etc. all require top quality logistics professionals. Apart from these there are a range of
intermediaries like freight forwarders, customs brokers, shipping & air
cargo agents, etc. that need professionals.
Manufacturing and service undertakings too require logistics and SCM
professionals. So, the opportunities are
virtually unlimited.
In order to provide professionals to the industry at various levels and
sectors, we at SAMS have, for the last three years, successfully been training and
placing fresh graduates. We provide an
advanced and a post-graduate diploma in transportation and logistics. The PG programme includes a one-month
internship with reputed service providers.
The fact that all diploma holders from our previous batch of students
have been 100% places speaks a great deal about the quality of our training. Our aim is to provide as many trained
professionals as physically possible to the industry.
