The supply chain industry faces a severe shortage of talent in a time when the demands on the profession have never been greater. Globalisation, uncertainty in the market, changes in demographics and the emergence of the supply chain as a strategic function are some of the factors that are driving the local and global skills shortage. 

The Department of Business Management at the University of Pretoria is a major contributor to supply chain skills development in South Africa by offering a progressive range of formal academic degrees and continuing education programmes in supply chain management and logistics.    

To this end the Department and Hellmann Worldwide Logistics South Africa initiated a partnership with the purpose of developing supply chain management talent by means of work-based projects, bursaries, vacation work opportunities and permanent employment for graduates. 

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is a logistics services company with its head office in Osnabrück, Germany.  The company has more than 300 offices located on five of the six inhabited continents. Services offered include air freight, contract logistics, customs brokerage, eCommerce, road freight, sea freight and sea-air logistics.

The two bursaries, amounting to R40 000 each, were awarded to Mr Frank Modeya, a second-year student in supply chain management, and Mr Evert de Goede, in his third year of supply chain management studies.  

The Department of Business Management values the partnership with Hellmann Worldwide Logistics in developing young talent for the job market.