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The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the similarities and differences of occupational identity among logistics managers, controllers and specialists.

After a thorough review of the literature, the authors opted for desk research and content analysis of job advertisements for these three occupations as the major research method, focusing on a sample of 60 Polish and German advertisements.

The analysis of these data confirmed that the three occupations have their own identity (although there is a certain closeness between controllers and managers), but, from a holistic perspective of logistics management considering current trends in logistics, these three occupations should be integrated as a whole.

This has been the first paper comparing ads focused on logistics professionals in two relevant European economies in terms of logistics development: Poland and Germany.

This paper aims to identify the occupational profiles of a logistics and a supply chain (SC) controller, both promising SC professions, examining the required competences and tasks undertaken while taking into account current trends in supply chain management and its wider dimensions.

The study used a content analysis based on job advertisements for the position of logistics controller and SC controller. The collected material allowed the construction of an occupational competence mix model in the style of Cheetham and Chivers for the logistics and SC controller, and the identification of the level of competence of both professions, using the model proposed by Czapla. In addition, the analysis of the data was supplemented by use of the Anova test and a radar chart.

The SC and logistics controllers have a high degree of similarity in both the meta and core competences areas. Similarities also occur in the case of the analysed groups of tasks undertaken by these professions. Tasks in the areas of “definition” and “maintaining” prevail. The SC controller and the logistics controller are considered “engaged inspirers” because they have reached this level of professional competence. Both these professions can ensure an effective, sustainable and transparent SC through direct cooperation with the SC manager and/or logistics manager.

This study uses a content analysis based on job advertisements addressed to the German market. These job advertisements are standardized, and therefore, provide only a general outline of the competences and tasks of the SC and logistics controllers.

The study provides information to practitioners by identifying the competences and tasks assigned to the SC and logistics controllers that are needed to improve the efficiency and transparency of the SC and its management. The research is an incentive for people involved in education to adapt changes in curricula in the business (accounting, controlling and logistics) and engineering (related to logistics) fields of study by creating courses based on SC controlling or/and logistics controlling.

The study shows the current, necessary changes for SC professionals (e.g. the appointment of a SC controller and/or logistics controller) resulting from changes in business and the challenges for SC management (e.g. transparency and sustainability).

The purpose of this study is to identify specific qualifications and competences required within the field of logistics and supply chain management from the perspective of lifelong learning and hierarchical level. It also reveals a hierarchy level-specific job profile for logistics and supply chain management jobs based on the European Framework for Key Competences and the German Federal Employment Agency.

A review of the literature on competences and skills in the field of logistics is combined with an analysis of 832 job postings by means of content analyses and thematic mapping.

The academic literature discusses more than 280 skills and competences related to the job profile of logistics and supply chain managers. The majority of these skills represent social skills. Analyses of job postings show significant differences in the required portfolio of skills and competences depending on the hierarchical level of the position. Contrary to the literature, job postings include more cognitive competences and meta-competences than social skills.

The first contribution of this research is that competences were examined from the perspective of lifelong learning, revealing how this is applied in the field of logistics. The second is that this conceptual framework can be utilised to compare skills and competences between different hierarchical levels. The third contribution refers to identifying a set of skills and competences different to what had been presented in the literature.

Information technology has been among the foremost topics within the logistics literature of recent years. However, there has been little empirical evidence relating logistics information system (LIS) capabilities to logistics competence. Seeks to close this gap in the research, identify particular LIS capabilities that contribute most to logistics competence, and develop an understanding of the relationship between LIS development strategy and logistics competence. A review of the LIS literature identifies relevant issues. The research findings suggest four conclusions: world class firms perceive both their logistics operating and planning systems as highly capable; internally controlled characteristics generally receive higher evaluations than criteria requiring external co‐ordination; overall logistics competence is primarily influenced by logistics operating timeliness, usage driven formatting, and flexibility; and LIS development strategy does not significantly influence performance evaluations.

To succeed in an uncertain environment, firms must respond to changing customer needs, and logistics flexibility is an important part of the response. This paper defines logistics flexibility, creates a framework to understand it, and shows how it relates to customer satisfaction.

The study uses a large sample survey (n=273) from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers to develop valid and reliable instruments to measure logistics flexibility and to test the relationships among the variables using structural equation modeling.

The results indicate strong, positive, and direct relationships between flexible logistics competence and capability, and between flexible logistics capability and customer satisfaction.

The dependent and independent variables were measured through a single respondent, which may introduce common‐method bias. The respondents were manufacturing executives, which provides only a single perspective.

The dichotomy of flexible logistics competence and capability can help managers differentiate between the elements of logistics flexibility that are critical to customers from the elements that support these capabilities. Standing alone, flexible competence may not be sufficient to build a sustainable competitive edge.

The paper organizes literature on logistics flexibility and classifies it according to competence and capability theory. It describes a framework to explore the relationships among flexible competence, flexible capability, and customer satisfaction.

The Logistics Performance Index (LPI), published by the World Bank, is a key measure of national-level logistics performance. It comprises six indicators: customs, infrastructure, international shipments, service quality, timeliness, and tracking and tracing. The objective of this study is to explore temporal dependencies among the six LPI indicators while operationalizing the World Bank’s LPI framework in terms of mapping the input indicators (customs, infrastructure, and service quality) to the outcome indicators (international shipments representing cost, timeliness, and tracking and tracing representing reliability).

A Bayesian Belief Network (BBN)-based methodology was adopted to effectively map temporal dependencies among variables in a probabilistic network setting. Using forward and backward propagation features of BBN inferencing, critical variables were also identified. A BBN model was developed using the World Bank’s LPI datasets for 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2023, covering the six LPI indicators for 118 countries.

The prediction accuracy of the model is 88.1%. Strong dependencies are found across the six LPI indicators over time. The forward propagation analysis of the model reveals that “logistics competence and quality” is the most critical input indicator that can influence all three outcome indicators over time. The backward propagation analysis indicates that “customs” is the most critical indicator for improving the performance on the “international shipments” indicator, whereas “logistics competence and quality” can significantly improve the performance on the “timeliness” and “tracking and tracing” indicators. The sensitivity analysis of the model reveals that “logistics competence and quality” and “infrastructure” are the key indicators that can influence the results across the three outcome indicators. These findings provide useful insights to researchers regarding the importance of exploring the temporal modeling of dependencies among the LPI indicators. Moreover, policymakers can use these findings to help their countries target specific input indicators to improve country-level logistics performance.

This paper contributes to the literature on logistics management by exploring the temporal dependencies among the six LPI indicators for 118 countries over the last 14 years. Moreover, this paper proposes and operationalizes a data-driven BBN modeling approach in this unique context.

The present paper aims to discuss the concept of competence from a multicultural perspective, for organisational success. It argues that models that view competence as a sum of competencies for management development within organisations could benefit from a multicultural perspective that put those competencies within the context of cultural sensitivity and understanding, so as to promote a trustworthy organisational environment crucial for any institutional change for competitive edge. It analyses theoretical approaches to the concept of competence in organisations, focusing particularly on those that take into account multicultural concerns and the need for building trust within organisational environments. It then addresses the meanings of competence as understood by executives acting in some organizations in Brazil, depicting emphases and silences in those discourses, as well as implications for logistics and management decision in a multicultural perspective.

This paper aims to develop a qualitative risk model to empirically identify the important outsourcing risks of logistical functions using the data of Taiwanese retail chains.

Transaction cost theory (TCT) and resourced based view (RBV) were combined to develop risk events. Analytical hierarchy process was used for risk calibration. Valid data from 75 outsourcer chains and 41 in‐house chains were collected through a three‐stage survey. Outsourcers were further clustered by risk perception using Wards' and K‐mean clustering and examined by an ANOVA. Results of outsourcers and in‐house chains were compared using nonparametric Spearman rank correlation test.

The risk perception increases as the number of functions outsourced increases. Risks related to transaction costs and strategic resources were both significant. Of the three main risks identified, asset risk and competence risk are more serious concerns than relationship risk. The values of information risk and loss of control account for the bulk of asset risk, while those of poor competence leverage and poor competence in supporting customer service comprise competence risk. Finally, in terms of risk priority, in‐house chains showed no significant difference from outsourcers.

Interrelationships between risk events were limited to avoid complication. Also, due to the sample limit, the risks calibrated may be more associated with outsourcing execution than outsourcing building/abandoning.

The risk structure developed herein can be used as a systematic checklist for outsourcing decision‐making. The qualitative results may provide specific indications for further risk analysis and future risk control.

The study fills a gap in the literature, where prior work has seldom used empirical research to compare how well TCT and the RBV predict logistics outsourcing risk, in particular for the distribution side of the supply chain.

This study aims to investigate the extent to which psychological factors and the agency of decision-makers drive outsourcing decisions. Arguments based on transaction cost economics, the core competence approach and the theory of planned behavior are used to explain logistics outsourcing.

The literature was reviewed to identify constructs that are antecedents of logistics outsourcing intentions, and corresponding measures were developed. The data were gathered through a survey of supply chain professionals in Finnish manufacturing companies. A measurement model was reviewed to ensure reliability and validity and converted into a structural model for analysis. The analysis was based on partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling.

Supply chain managers objectively consider the characteristics of their organization's logistics identified in previous research as requiring assessment during the outsourcing process. However, and surprisingly, they also tend to rely on behavioral subjective factors such as positive attitudes, encouraging subjective norms and competence. Moreover, it seems that firms do not outsource logistics activities despite the high strategic importance of the function, but because of it.

The constructed model is limited to the constructs chosen to represent drivers of logistics outsourcing. Further application with more samples would improve its reliability.

The factors proposed here with respect to assets and the capabilities of third-party partners could facilitate decision-making related to logistics outsourcing.

The findings emphasize the role of behavioral factors in the procurement function and therefore enhance the understanding of behavioral supply chain management.

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.

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.

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.

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.