Abstract

Purpose: This study examines competence gaps as a structural constraint hindering retail and distribution systems' adaptation to digitalization and omnichannel models. Departing from a pedagogical perspective, it treats workforce competencies as an operational resource of these systems. Consequently, educational programs are analyzed not as a primary object of study, but as an institutional benchmark and proxy for interpreting competence demand within retail and distribution systems. Research design, data and methodology: The analysis uses vacancy data (approximately 1.2 thousand postings from the Penza regional market, 2024) for retail, logistics, and SCM occupations. Applying semantic text analysis and machine learning (NLP, clustering), skills were aggregated into competence profiles to identify misalignments between employer demand and institutional benchmarks from university programs. Results: Results show that modern systems rely on hybrid competence configurations combining digital, analytical, managerial, and customer-oriented components. These configurations are linked to inventory coordination, logistics responsiveness, and omnichannel service quality but remain poorly reflected in institutional benchmarks. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that vacancy-based labor market analytics can serve as a distribution-oriented diagnostic tool for identifying workforce-related coordination constraints. The proposed framework provides a data-driven basis for strengthening adaptive capacity in retail and distribution systems.