Stakeholders integration in higher education: Supply chain approach

Supply chain management principles have emerged in the last decade as a strategic option to meet new challenges in global business environment. Viewing business environment as part of a chain, starting from raw material suppliers to end customers passing by producers, is at the heart of supply-chain management. Many management principles have emerged for better planning and controlling this chain to the benefit of all parties involved. This paper explores the implications of supply-chain management principles on higher education. First, a supply-chain view of higher education is described and its environment is analysed for the possibility of adopting supply-chain principles. Features that might be catalysts or hurdles towards these principles are identified. Second, a framework for supply-chain coordination and integration in higher education that takes into consideration these features are developed. Finally, existing practices that address supply-chain in higher education are identified and some new practices representing a natural extension of supply-chain management practices are suggested. A potential case study for implementing these concepts is presented.