Integrated Supply Management: The Basis for Professional Development

Purchasing and materials management has undergone dramatic changes in the last few decades—moving from a reactive activity to a strategic one, contributing to a firm's competitive success. The skills and competencies required by professionals in the past are not the same as those required today, nor will today's be sufficient in the future. However, the skills and competencies needed today provide a starting point from which to project those that will be needed in the twenty‐first century. This study reports on the skills and competencies that were identified by purchasing and materials management executives in 23 major industrial corporations. Their perspective should be beneficial in identifying specific areas to emphasize in university purchasing and materials management curricula and in company training programs. The results of this study are not revolutionary, but evolutionary, in nature and hold several implications for purchasing and materials management educators.