Emerging out of the endeavour made by GATT/WTO to promote international integration and globalisation of the economies of the world, during 1980s, logistics is a new industrial sub-sector developed and which enveloped the enterprises engaged in freight-forwarding, shipping, transportation, supply chain management and related activities. Today, this logistics sub-sector comprehends world over, billions of dollars in turnover and exceeding a million professionals as employees.
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Prof. J.A. Karunaratne
Dean, Faculty of Management
CINEC Campus |
Since about the same time, logistics was brought up to academic standards assuring its entry into the main subject curricular taught at universities and institutions of advance learning. Initially, this subject was taught at a few universities in the West. However, soon after, the subject spread into universities in countries with dynamic economies i.e. China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
It was only about five years back that logistics was introduced as an academic discipline at universities and institutions of higher education in Sri Lanka. Thus it should be correct to postulate that logistics as an academic discipline in Sri Lanka is still at its infancy.
Logistics refers to procurement, maintenance and transportation of material, personal and facilities and is thus concerned amongst enterprises that deal with haulage, shipping, sea transport, freight-forwarding and supply chain management and which belong to the category of dynamic enterprises.
Notwithstanding external stimuli received favouring proliferation of the subject in Sri Lanka, logistics gathered additional momentum in growth in consequence of the interest exerted by public sector authorities in continued adherence to open economic policies and resultant refurbishment of the internal and external structures of the economy through development, inter alia, of the motorway and super highway systems that links the different parts of the country together and the naval and aviation hubs that links Sri Lanka with the rest of the world. The endeavour to promote transhipment status of Sri Lanka is also significant in this context.
Thus, Sri Lanka has the potential to emerge not only as a country with fast growing economy but also as a significant regional player whose role is pivotal for vitalisation of the economies in the countries of the region. In this context, transhipment status of Sri Lanka is of major significance.
In a comparative sense, Sri Lanka is a small economy with limited potentials to realise economies of scale in most areas of industry. Thus, Sri Lanka's dependence on its external sector is most significant. However, the full effect of the opportunities offered by the external sector cannot be realised unless the logistics and transportation sub-sector has been promoted to its fullest potential. In this context that logistics sub-sector is of additional significance for Sri Lanka than for some countries in South and Southeast Asia.
Notwithstanding this situation in the market, there is a dearth in the supply of professionals with appropriate qualifications in the field of logistics in numbers that can satisfy the growth in demand. In fact, this is not a problem that concerns Sri Lanka only. Even those countries of East and Southeast Asia are suffering from this dilemma. It is for this reason that most professionals with qualifications in the field of logistics have been drained by enterprises from affluent countries, in particular to the countries of the West.
Consequently, there is growing interest amongst students the world over in securing education in logistics and related subjects. Students travel in search of universities and institutions of higher education where education in logistics can be secured. In this regard, the countries of the West have remained most favourable. However, since recently even the universities of China have become attractive amongst foreign students.
Sri Lanka has for a long period of time been a country that lost a considerable number of students, annually, who sought to travel abroad for their studies. However, since recently, there are foreign students who keep arriving in Sri Lanka in order to guarantee education in logistics. CINEC Campus of Malabe is one such that caters with education in logistics for Sri Lankans as well as foreign students.
Development along this like of entrepreneurship can perhaps leads to making Sri Lanka a hub in education. |
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