Competency requirements for logistics and supply chain positions: an assessment of the market demand

Purpose The global logistics and supply chain (LSC) market is experiencing rapid growth, and the Australian industry is following this trend. Given the implications of a potential shortage of LSC talent resulting from the introduction of innovative technologies and changes in the work environment, we aim to identify market demand signals for competencies in LSC positions. Design/methodology/approach Following a content analysis of 929 job advertisements, we analysed organisations' signals of competencies in three main LSC positions, namely manager, coordinator and “planner and analyst”. Findings The results show that the relative importance of competency requirements differs between LSC positions, although similar competencies are demanded across positions. The labour market also demands competencies in all four categories, such as academic and cognitive, personal, workplace, and technical, as well as both hard and soft skills. However, our findings indicate that there is a limited emphasis on technology-specific competency requirements, despite the significant technological advances in the LSC industry. Additionally, we identified clusters of co-demanded competencies across different positions. Originality/value Theoretically, this study develops a competency-based framework of LSC competencies, through which the findings offer a comprehensive signal about the requirements of LSC positions. Practically, our findings provide valuable insights for employers, job seekers and educational institutions to align their expectations with the market's signals on evolving competency requirements.