Manpower Group’s Talent Shortage Survey Results 2011 highlighted that 45% of employers in the Asia Pacific region had difficulty filling jobs due to the lack of talent availability. In fact, at times there were no applicants at all. With such acute talent scarcity, organisations are now beginning to think beyond traditional approaches to hire, develop and retain their people.  

CEVA - A Case Study

CEVA is an integrated supply chain and logistics company. Its operating model – known as ‘asset light’ as CEVA does not own many assets such as planes and ships – is a key differentiator from its competitors. By going asset light, the organisation works with its partners to utilise their assets.

Because of this model, CEVA’s greatest asset is its people. From the Freight Management station manager to the technology sector specialist, it is people that will help CEVA achieve its vision of becoming the most admired company in the supply chain industry. Thus, experimenting beyond traditional recruitment methods – particularly in Asia – has become all the more critical.

One strategic initiative that CEVA embarked on was to forge alliances with academic institutions. The aim through these partnerships was to improve its ability to recruit a constant flow of high-calibre individuals and promote its employer branding in the highly talent-competitive logistics industry.  

Academic Alliance with SP Jain

Elsewhere in the talent ecosystem, S P Jain School of Global Management in Singapore was looking to establish mutually beneficial engagements with the business community. As part of its philosophy of creating global leaders through immersion in an international business environment, its curriculum design was moving beyond mere internships.

S P Jain approached this new curriculum by providing its MBA students with a deeper understanding of real business challenges through action learning projects with organisations. Its Industry Interface Projects initiative was driven by an academic, Professor Veena Jadhav.

S P Jain already had an existing relationship with CEVA through its Career Services department. Professor Veena leveraged this to approach CEVA with her proposal of the Industry Interface Projects initiative. She was aware that CEVA was open to new engagement models with academic institutions. She also worked out that S P Jain was a good value proposition for CEVA.

Firstly, it has in place a robust and structured programme in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management – the exact industry that CEVA is in. Secondly, S P Jain’s two campuses are based in Singapore and Dubai, both logistics hubs that can supply a steady stream of students to CEVA.

To speak more convincingly of S P Jain’s capabilities, Professor Veena brought along the Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Rajiv Aserkar to meet CEVA.  

Partnership is Built

CEVA’s leaders were keen to build this partnership but were understandably cautious about potential partners. Hence, the CEVA-S P Jain alliance began with two low-risk ‘research projects’, each helmed by a small group of three MBA students. The project scope was drawn up by CEVA, and the students were tasked to provide key insights on the logistics industry, such as trends, market sizing and competitive analysis.

With the successful completion of the research projects – validated through presentations to CEVA’s business lines – both parties were prepared to raise the stakes. CEVA-S P Jain next embarked on ‘consulting projects’, where through primary and secondary research, best-practice assessment and business modelling, S P Jain’s MBA students proposed an optimal roadmap for CEVA with regards to a particular business issue or market opportunity.  

Today

All this began almost two and a half years ago. Today, the benefits of the CEVA-S P Jain collaborative model are obvious. CEVA provides the opportunity to S P Jain’s MBA students to engage in live projects, and puts the action into classroom learning.

In return, S P Jain provides talent resources to take on CEVA’s logistics challenges, and put forth strategic recommendations and solutions. Instant access to tailor-made intelligence aside, CEVA also gains from first mover advantage in accessing the talent pool graduating from S P Jain. In fact, since 2011, CEVA has hired five S P Jain graduates who have all significantly contributed within their respective functions and countries.

In more recent times, the alliance has scaled new heights. For instance, S P Jain provided CEVA access to their MBA honours programme, and offered five 100% tuition-free scholarships. This gives CEVA the opportunity to award these scholarships to high-performing employees, preparing them for future leadership roles in CEVA, and in the process, serves as an incentive for them to stay with the organisation. In turn, CEVA granted S P Jain access to its senior management, for participation in the latter’s global research study on supply chain disruptions.

Tips for a Win-win Partnership

Below are five tips for successful alliances between corporates and academic institutions, referred to as ‘KEEPS’:

1. Know the key players in the ecosystem and short-list those that have complementary needs and value propositions.

2. Engage with a like-minded partner who wants to make it work. In part, the CEVA-S P Jain collaboration got off to a good start due to the pro-activeness and initiation of Professor Veena.

3. Establish trust, but in small steps. For instance, CEVA started by testing the partnership with two low-risk research projects. The proven business benefits of this phase engendered trust and excited the (risk) appetite for more.

4. Protect the interests of all parties. To ensure that CEVA had the brightest minds working on its projects, students had to apply and compete for positions on these projects. CEVA then handpicked its preferred students. On the other hand, the interests of S P Jain’s students were not neglected. A faculty sponsor was also assigned to ensure project feasibility within CEVA’s requirements. Furthermore, CEVA had to provide corporate mentors to personally coach the students and act as a sounding board.

5. Secure mutual benefits to set the stage for the next level of alliance. Always ensure that a win-win situation is clear, and capitalise on the mutual benefits to explore more opportunities for a sustained alliance.  

This article was first published in HQ Asia (Print) Issue 05 (2013).