chain, but analytics is the differentiator,” Ferguson says. Machine learning also needs to be part of an ideal supply chain curriculum today, says Sachin Modi, chair of the department of marketing and supply chain management and professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University. Managers often need to make decisions in uncertain environments, but now they’ll have large amounts of data they can evaluate. Those who are adept in machine learning tend to be better able to identify which data to leverage to improve their decision-making. MANUFACTURING CONCEPTS FOR SERVICE INDUSTRIES As the United States moves toward a service economy, with sectors like healthcare and education gaining prominence, supply chain education has to keep pace. Some of the supply chain insight gained from traditional manufacturing is now being applied in the service sector. For instance, determining how many appointments to leave open for patients who need immediate access to their family doctor or general practitioner can draw from the calculations used to make inventory management decisions. “Manufacturing concepts are informing best practices in healthcare and other services,” says Amy David, clinical assistant professor of management in the supply chain and operations management program at Purdue University. A student team from the University of Pittsburgh worked closely with client executives to examine how a pharmaceutical distributor could respond to rapid growth and increasing industry complexity. The team developed and evaluated five different strategic changes to the distribution system. Based on an analysis of primary and secondary data, the team recommended a hybrid distribution model and a new ordering platform. These shifts led to substantial estimated cost savings and a low payback period, Mirchandani says.
Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana, offers a post-graduate program in digital supply chain management. This program is curated to help students understand the competitive marketplace in today’s globally networked economy.
Supply chain education, like many organizations, is also incorporating a greater focus on resilience and risk management, prompted largely by the disruptions of the past few years. Similarly, growing awareness of sustainability and fair labor practices has prompted supply chain educators to also consider these elements of the supply chain. Along with changes in curriculum, the ways in which education is delivered is shifting. To promote lifelong learning and allow more individuals to “upskill” even if they’re unable to enroll in traditional graduate programs, more schools offer shorter courses and certificate programs, some of which can be used toward graduate degrees. And while virtual learning is unlikely to become the only option, particularly in undergraduate programs, it appears here to stay. FOCUS ON RISKAND ANALYTICS While the topics of risk and resilience have long been included in supply chain education, they’re now being formalized in supply chain classes, says Joseph R. Huscroft, Jr., Ph.D. and chair of the department of marketing and supply chain management at
North Carolina A&T State University. Students might assess whether to boost the number of vendors supplying certain components or to add a second vendor that’s closer to their operations. Rather than an overwhelming focus on driving down costs—often the case until recently—they’re considering more variables as they make decisions. Historically, many programs trained students to look at functions as a set of processes that could be improved, perhaps through disciplines such as Lean or Six Sigma, says Mark Ferguson, senior associate dean of academics and research and professor of management science at the University of South Carolina. That’s shifting, with less focus on boosting the efficiency of specific tasks within a warehouse or manufacturing plant, and greater emphasis on data analytics, as well as on harnessing large, disparate data sets to gain insight. The University of South Carolina has made a major effort over the past six to seven years to dramatically increase the number of courses that focus on data analytics. For example, it introduced a new graduate program in data analytics. “Employers still want functional expertise, like marketing or supply
48 Inbound Logistics • February 2022
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