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This topic was a part of Fellowship thesis at CRIMM/IISWBM CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN MATERIALS MANAGEMENT (CRIMM). Which has been set up jointly between the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta (ISWBM).the first management institute of India, (setup in 1953) and IIMM, Calcutta. CRIMM is one of the research centre and only one in Asia under International Federation of Purchasing and Materials Management (IFPMM) Vienna. The other three being. "European Centre for Research in Purchasing & Supply", Vienna, Austria. "Centre for Advanced Purchasing Studies", Arizona, USA. "Centre for Advanced Purchasing Studies for Africa", Johannesburg, South Africa.

There is a co-operation agreement between all the four Research Centers of the world. jaswantchopra@yahoo.co.in

SKILLS & TRAITS COMBINATION FOR SCM PROFESSIONALS

Every job require certain skill set which are combination of individuals personality traits, the cultural values and the background , education and training .The high expectations from the SCM professionals today call for certain Personal qualities which will strongly influence his personality and thus his Work. A few are identified after the personal discussions with the professionals and readings the articles of renowned supply chain professionals. - Integrity An essential precondition for a SCM today is his integrity, which will manifest itself in a strictly ethical way of thinking and working. This applies particularly to giving absolute priority to treating bidders, customers, suppliers and Colleagues objectively, equally and fairly.
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- Intelligence Only an intelligent person who is capable of comprehending complex contexts quickly and who can subsequently make targeted decisions is suitable for the SCM profession. - Positive Thinking In any walk of life, positive thinking comes from a positive perception of the world as well as a positive attitude. This is important for being able to tackle problems actively and with a positive approach, so as to develop suitable solutions and surmount any difficulties that may arise in the process. - Logical and analytical aptitude Logical thinking is one of the foundations of modern economics. It is the prerequisite for the required power of judgment. In addition to the necessary aptitude for logical, i.e. consequent thinking, the SCM professional also needs analytical skills as a basis for taking decisions. - Entrepreneurial capabilities and target-oriented approaches The development of the profit-oriented function of SCM calls for entrepreneurial capabilities and target-oriented approaches. This applies particularly when decisions have to be made whether to build a product inhouse or to outsource, - Dedication Being involved in production and the value-added process, the SCM Professional in his function has to fulfill important tasks in his company. It is therefore crucial that he has a sense of corporate identity and is dedicated to his work & his dedication would be rewarded. - Talent to conduct negotiations The SCM professional has to conduct many negotiations. To be able to lead a successful negotiation, he needs some fundamental skills and knowledge such as: Technical/specialist knowledge; the ability to present ones own
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point of view clearly; factual and objective argumentation; different ways of reacting to suggestions of Ones counterpart; the ability to refute arguments; understanding and staying power; power of persuasion; creativity; the ability to accept a compromise as well as the determination to make decisions. - Receptivity and adaptability An important prerequisite for receptivity is the ability and willingness to listen. Fast economic and technological changes in all corporate sectors call for a high degree of adaptability. An aptitude to recognize and understand new technologies, markets and products is a prerequisite for the swift adjustments which are vital for the success and future survival of a company - Communication and presentation skills For successful operations in the modern business world it is often decisive how well a person presents himself or his topic. The corresponding skills should therefore be familiar tools for the SCM professional. - Power of persuasion The SCM professional must be capable of persuading and convincing people (his colleagues, superiors, suppliers, etc) of his sound opinion. - Flexibility Both in general conversations and business negotiations a certain level of flexibility without giving up ones objectives can be advantageous. - Ability to reach a compromise It is often necessary to negotiate a compromise to complete difficult business transactions. A good compromise offers both parties a fair share of the success, without having to give up ones position completely. - Strength and determination to make decisions

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Working in todays business environment often calls for fast and clear decisions which may have to be made at short notice. This requires special strengths and determination. - Team skills For handling modern purchasing processes as well as ensuring optimum cooperation and motivation of both in-house staff and outside suppliers, the SCM professional needs team building and team working skills to be applied throughout the value-added chain - Leadership qualities Companies expect from their SCM professionals to be capable of leading their colleagues and staff, and also to have the ability to establish long -term supplier relationships and lasting networks. - Creativity New markets, products and suppliers as well as the need to resolve complex Problems call for a certain level of creativity in the SCM professionals thinking and approaches. Creative new ideas may lead to promising results where traditional practical thinking possibly might not succeed.
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES USED The Profile of the Purchasing Function and its Future Challenges (Nov. 2002) Author: Dr. Josef VLCEK Secretary General of ERPS European Center for Research in Purchasing and supply Vienna, Austria

METHODOLOGY A survey questionnaire (Annexed below) was mailed to several professionals at various levels in SCM function working in variety of industry like Energy, IT, Pharmaceutical, Engineering, Process etc to know their comments about the skill sets. The hard copies of questionnaire were also circulated personally at IIMM Ahmedabad, s seminars to obtain wider response. The questionnaire was also mailed to several HRD professionals to understand the how the recruiters think. The results so obtained were tabulated as per (Appendix-1) attached. The summary of the survey result is as under:

Survey results Survey results on skill-sets were divided into four categories as under The questionnaire was mailed to aprox 200 professionals Reply was received from 47 respondents as follows:

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Departmental Heads Middle managers SCM executives HRD Managers

5 13 18 11

Departmental Heads: Since this category is influential in decision making on selection, career advancement of professionals in the function and is a link between management and the SCM professionals so their opinion is important in overall direction setting. As we can see from table average rating for the most important factor they have chosen is 9.2 for ethical conduct followed by intelligence (8.8), attitude (8.8) and analytical skills (8.8) .Least they have chosen is experience with an average of 5.4. Middle Managers : Middle Managers as are in the middle of skill set muddle have not opined very differently from the HOD ,s They have also found ethical conduct at top with average rating of 8.5 followed by intelligence (8.1), attitude (8.0) and analytical skills (8.0) and knowledge (8.0). They have given better weightage to experience (7.2) SCM Executives: They have given top score to intelligence (8.5) followed closely by ethical conduct (8.4). Other factors found important are analytical & dedication with 7.8 each. they have

HRD Managers: HRD professionals are looking for intelligence factor (8.7) as most wanted followed by analytical (8.5). They have given fewer score to dedication (6.4), flexible (6.5) and creative (6.6). Overall averages are higher for intelligence, Ethical values & being analytical and are lower for pay driven and experience. The analysis of survey is given in

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