Supply Chain Management and Development of Competencies: The Learning Logistics Concept and Applications

Supply Chain Forum An International Journal Vol. 2 N°2 2001 www.supplychain-forum.com Organizational competitiveness now lies in better mastery of a set of core competencies generated by the manipulation of resources stored in the organization’s reservoir of knowledge. These resources may be internal or located in commercial partner organizations. It therefore seemed natural to combine resource-based theories with integrated logistics and supply chain management practices to produce a preliminary model. Our reflections led us to the conclusion that supply chain integration could result in a convergence of resources towards a limited number of beneficiaries, to the detriment of others. To reduce the risk of cannibalization and dilution of core competencies, managers must make full use of the knowledge available to them. This means 1) identifying and locating the organization’s own knowledge, 2) targeting the knowledge that can be shared without risk of losing strategic know-how, 3) making it available as required, while ensuring that it is not given free of charge, and 4) locating information held by external partners that is needed to strengthen a competitive position. Supply Chain Management and Development of Competencies: The Learning Logistics Concept and Applications