Major transformations in supply chain management: Is the French higher education system deficient in its training offer?
authors
keywords
- France
- Higher education
- Industrial systems
- Reshoring
- Supply chain
document type
COMMabstract
Following two major external shocks (the Covid-19 health crisis and the Russian-Ukrainian geopolitical crisis), virulent debates have been launched in the community of management practitioners and researchers on the future of Western economic systems. One of the most recurrent themes of confrontation concerns the appropriateness of relocating industrial activities, after decades of massive relocation, particularly to low-cost labor countries. Paradoxically, the impact of reshoring strategy on the functioning of supply chains remains little discussed, as if “stewardship had to follow”. However, reshoring means taking the opposite side of logistical architectures that have proven their efficiency for decades, and it would be clumsy to think that it will be easy to set up local supply chains to replace global supply chains. Do the specialization courses in logistics and supply chain management (SCM) in French universities give enough space to these major transformations and their impacts? The example of recent technology bachelor’s degrees, in particular the technology bachelor’s degree in marketing, underlines that a significant knowledge deficit among students could have serious consequences on the competitiveness of French companies in the coming years.
