Considering Supply Chain Management's Professional Identity: The Beautiful Discipline (Or, 'We Don't Cure Cancer, But We Do Make a Big Difference').

In recent months, we have participated in various discussions on the future of logistics and supply chain management ( SCM). As the newest business discipline, it is not surprising that SCM is going through growing pains and seeking to chart its future course and define a meaningful destiny. Considering professional identity-that is, who are we and what do we do-is a natural part of maturation. As JBL exists to help construct the discipline's identity, we address SCM's value-creation competence as a source of identity construction. As we explain, SCM's economic and social contributions are not just noteworthy but remarkable. Modern SCM makes a difference to the people of the world, driving economic growth and raising living standards. Truly, it is a good time to be a supply chain professional. Much research, however, needs to be conducted if we are to fulfill SCM's value-creation promise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]