Smart supply chain management in business education: Reflection on the pandemics

Abstract

Smart supply chain management (SSCM) has recently attracted significant attention from both industry and academia, particularly in light of the COVID pandemic. This article reviews current literature on information and integration, process automation, advanced analytics, and related business curriculum in SSCM. Our survey results demonstrate a concerning lack of adoption of SSCM in business curriculum and reveal several major challenges faced by educators when teaching SSCM, including a scarcity of available teaching resources, a need for cross-disciplinary knowledge, and a lack of industry experience among students. These findings lead to our exploration of SSCM application in various supply chain and operations functions (e.g., product design, sourcing and procurement, production, quality management, warehouse management and distribution, delivery, and supply chain risk management) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on our analysis, we conclude by offering several recommendations for promoting SSCM in business education.