KNOWLEDGE management in the logistics sector. How to make it a reality?

tro país, que recoja a la población que se forma en las universidades y correspondiente a 170.000 estudiantes, no será posible con acciones o esfuerzos independientes al sistema educativo, estos tendrán costos muy altos e impactos fugaces; es necesario desarrollar esta relación universidad-empresa-estado-sociedad civil, para consolidar un ecosistema maduro, ágil, innovador y suficiente para los desafíos que deparan estas épocas inciertas y cambiantes.

El camino no es fácil ni rápido, pero sumamente necesario e inaplazable, ya que de lo contrario estaremos ad-portas de perder la hegemonía, liderazgo y competitividad de la logística en uno de los sectores que ha generado más empleos, ingresos y orgullo para nuestro país. La pregunta es, ¿estamos dispuestos a hacerlo?

BY: ADRIANA ANGARITA/ DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER OF SÉNECALAB

Panama has a logistics DNA that it has developed due to its geopolitical location and that positions it as one of the most important countries in the world in this area. The experience of having led this industry for many years, allows us to affirm that in our country we have the best trained and most specialized human capital in the area, because ultimately it is the people who develop an industry and learn how to make it better and better.

For this presence of our country in the world of logistics to be sustainable and for us to maintain this leadership, it is necessary to have a structured, orderly and permanent knowledge management, where the experience developed with innovation, research, updating and training is enhanced. academic, which complements and increases this development over the years, in relation to other countries.

However, this is an issue that we have not been able to strengthen in our country, with the characteristics that are required in practically none of the industries that we develop. There is a wide gap between the generators of knowledge and the developers of the industry, which not only affects the employability of young people, but also the generation of capacities that allow companies to respond to the challenges that are encountered every day in the world. sector.

In addition to this, our society is undergoing an accelerated transition process, which makes it volatile, unpredictable and overwhelming. We are witnessing profound changes in the way we communicate, market and develop all industries around the world. Post-pandemic technology has not only been widely accepted, but demanded by companies, practically changing their business models. The client today seeks the best and greatest facilities that can be provided, demanding from companies the development of new ways of offering their services.

This forces us to transcend the discussion of the challenge to act on the solution, especially seeing ourselves as part of it. The old routine of complaining and questioning the role that the actors part of the knowledge management system have stopped doing, does not contribute to progress towards a solution. Having been rector of two private universities in Panama, president of the Association of Private Universities of Panama, member of the National Self-Assessment Council on behalf of private companies, permanent advisor to the Network of Private Universities of Latin America, member of the Board of Directors of the CONEP and APEDE, I can confirm without fear of being wrong, that all the actors have the concern, will and intention to act on the solution.

That said, from my perspective, the way to carry it out is to establish genuine and egalitarian communication spaces, with the issues that concern, bother, weaken and even bother the parties, including both public and private universities in this conversation. The different types of management in the Universities facilitate or complicate aspects that make them complementary in terms of results. In the same way, from the productive sector, the disposition of union and business leaders must be maintained over time and with the same intensity to ensure that these agreements and trust with educational institutions are not only maintained but flourish, consolidating in all areas that can be developed together.

There is an aspect of the regulatory framework that limits private universities and that we must join efforts to change, in this joint objective of achieving greater updating in the classrooms (profile of faculty), better applied research and a permanent conversation with dedicated personnel to have punctual, measurable and efficient results. For this it will be very important to have allies in these legislative reviews such as CONEAUPA, which, with the presidency of the Ministry of Education, monitors the result in terms of quality of the universities as Institutions and of the programs they teach.

To achieve a transcendental change in the results in our country, which includes the population that is trained in universities and corresponding to 170,000 students, it will not be possible with actions or efforts independent of the educational system, these will have very high costs and fleeting impacts; It is necessary to develop this university-company-state-civil society relationship, to consolidate a mature, agile, innovative and sufficient ecosystem for the challenges that these uncertain and changing times bring.

The road is not easy or fast, but extremely necessary and urgent, since otherwise we will be on the verge of losing the hegemony, leadership and competitiveness of logistics in one of the sectors that has generated more jobs, income and pride for our country. The question is, are we willing to do it?