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Published on November 21, 2007

Ruthi Phanomyong, director of Thammasat University's Logistics Re-search Centre, said many schools offered logistics courses, but they might not be turning out graduates who could serve the specific needs of industry.

"Logistics science has many details. I believe no one knows all about logistics," he told a seminar entitled "Brainstorm on Logistics", organised by the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (Thailand) together with the Logistic Clinic, a unit of the Federation of Thai Industries.

Schools should teach courses in accordance with their know-how and capacity, not fashion, Ruthi said.

The problem with Thailand's logistics industry is a lack of both knowledge and a common understanding of logistics among policy-makers, academic centres and logistics providers, he said.

This issue should be resolved immediately, be-cause the government recently signed an agreement with other Asean countries to launch a logistics master plan stipulating that signatories must open themselves to logistics, he said.

"If Thai businesses, especially SMEs, still lack logistics knowledge, we won't be able to compete with international logistics companies," he said.

Vithaya Suharitdamrong, an industrial-engineering lecturer at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok, said many educational centres offered logistics courses but without due preparation.

"To produce logistics staff to fit the specific demands of the industry, we should emphasise providing knowledge that is really useful and applicable in real situations," he said.

Thai Chamber of Com-merce vice chairman Dusit Nontanakorn said the next government should focus on developing the country's logistics and supply chains.

Watcharapong Thongrung

 The Nation