While dealing with delays and shortages has always been a part of supply chain management, the pace and severity of disruptions have escalated in the past decade. Mounting disturbances from a wave of natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic and trade conflicts have exposed deep vulnerabilities across global supply chains.
To prepare the next generation of supply chain leaders for the modern era of disruption, universities are rethinking and adapting their curriculums. In addition to the theory and fundamentals of supply chain management, many are incorporating a greater focus on risk-based decision-making, adaptability and resilience strategies.
Building resilience
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the approaches traditionally taught for mitigating “typical disruption” have become less effective, according to Adegoke Oke, chair of the department of supply chain management at Arizona State University. This has forced the university to change how it programs its curriculum.
With many companies taking action to enhance resiliency of late, ASU has brought disruption-related issues, resiliency focus and curriculum planning under one umbrella as part of its Supply Chain Resilience Initiative. The program conducts research and hosts workshops and biannual events with corporate partners and organizations to share ideas about the latest supply chain challenges and resilience strategies.
From there, faculty can revise their curriculum in fundamental supply chain courses to focus on resilience and risk management and how organizations can be adaptable to macroenvironmental shifts, Oke said.
At Marquette University, Marko Bastl, associate professor of supply chain management and director of the Center for Supply Chain Management, helped develop a standalone course that combines supply chain sustainability and resilience. The course covers critical practices such as achieving end-to-end visibility and mapping multi-tier supply chains.
Reevaluating concepts
More frequent supply chain disruptions have also led companies to reevaluate “just-in-time” concepts differently than they did pre-COVID, said Haozhe Chen, chair of the department of supply chain management at Iowa State University’s Ivy College of Business.
To provide real-world insights to students, ISU maintains a strong relationship with over two dozen companies, leveraging its supply chain forum and executive advisory board to keep its curriculum current and relevant.
Through these relationships, faculty members and professors learn how companies are approaching supply chain management so they can enhance their curriculum, Chen said.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has evolved its supply chain program, overhauling its curriculum in recent years with a greater focus on international supply chains. The aim is to better prepare students for the vagaries and complexities of doing business globally, said Tom Goldsby, the Dee and Jimmy Haslam chair of supply chain and David P. Perrot supply chain management faculty fellow.
“Given the rapid evolution in business and supply chains, you cannot be effective if you’re still teaching the same concepts in the same ways,” Goldsby said, noting that UT Knoxville has engaged in a dramatic overhaul of its supply chain management structure and curriculum.
UT Knoxville is also reaching beyond its student body to enhance supply chain management. For those in the field who do not have a specific degree tied to the industry, the university has introduced a new fast-track course for executives.
The program, dubbed the Supply Chain Management Planning Academy, is an eight-week program that offers managers and directors a survey of modern end-to-end supply chain planning to help them thrive in today’s world. For example, the course emphasizes that disruption and complexities mean traditional 30-day planning cycles don’t always work, Goldsby said.
