Redefining Supply Chain Education: Advancing the Field for the Next Generation

Five years short of four decades since supply chain management emerged as a defining force in global business, familiar concerns and questions persist. Why do systems still remain fragmented, for example?

Last week, on the 15th of October 2025, we held a Stakeholders Forum on Redefining Supply Chain Education for a New World. The dialogue was reflective and grounded, exploring how Kenya and the rest of the world could bridge education, policy, and practice to nurture the next generation of supply chain leaders.

Five Voices That Matter in Strengthening Supply Chains for Meaningful Development
Let’s listen to the experts.

1. Policy and governance: Supply chain experts call for a holistic Supply Chain Act. Beyond the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, Kenya and other nations need integrated supply chain policies that align logistics, procurement, manufacturing, and trade under one coordinated framework. Fragmented oversight is an injustice to the field. It weakens accountability, blurs responsibility, and prevents supply chain from achieving its full mandate as a strategic lever of national development.
2. Local manufacturing and industrial depth: Local manufacturing is the engine for economic independence and the foundation of sustainable development. By deepening industrial capacity, Kenya can transform its supply chains to be engines of value creation, positioning itself as a manufacturing powerhouse.
3. Institutional recognition and academic reform: Remember where it all starts in academia. If we continue to integrate supply chain studies into other degrees rather than offering them as standalone programs, what message are we communicating? We urge industry to work closely with academia to position supply chain management as an independent field of study and equally to elevate supply chain functions to strategic levels within organizations. Experts argue that the value of supply chain as a field must be visible at all times, not only during a crisis, and this takes us back to the need for integrated national policy frameworks. A dedicated Supply Chain Act could provide the recognition and policy coordination long overdue. We also need more universities to position supply chain management as a standalone degree, reflecting its significance in national competitiveness and sustainable development.
4. Visibility of impact: Supply chains are often most visible when they fail, when ports congest, deliveries stall, or shelves empty. When they work, they fade into the background. This has continually kept the discipline out of strategic discourse.
5. Education and talent development: Experts call for programs that go beyond classroom theory, linking research, mentorship, and hands-on learning. Dedicated programs, professional mentorship, and collaboration with industry are essential to prepare leaders who can navigate complexity with insight, innovation, and integrity.

Remember, if the supply chain fails, the miles whether first or last fail, then the whole operation fails. Wondering where to find a modern supply chain degree that reflects this evolving reality? Explore the Licence en gestion de la chaîne d'approvisionnement et des opérations at Strathmore University Business School.

Article by Dr. Mary Aming’a