Supply Chain Frontiers issue #13. Read all articles in this issue.
When implementing change do not assume that your loudest critics are the ones most likely to derail your plans; quieter, relatively passive opponents represent a more serious threat. Tom Carpenter, Vice President of Transportation at International Paper, gave this advice to almost 50 students from the MIT Master of Engineering in Logistics (MLOG) program and Zaragoza Masters in Logistics & Supply Chain Management (ZLOG) program, during a month-long leadership series this January. The new series will now be offered annually to students.
The MLOG and ZLOG programs are constantly evolving to reflect changing industry demands, and the new study series is designed to meet the growing need for leadership and global management skills. It has three main goals: to expose students to real-world supply chains, offer more education on leadership, and combine theory with practice in a special “capstone” project. “These improvements are right in line with our basic philosophy, which is to give students the technical and managerial skills they need to compete in a global business environment,” said Chris Caplice, MLOG Executive Director.
More than 20 companies from the U.S. and Europe participated, which gave students down-in-the-trenches insights into how complex supply chains are managed. There were on-site visits to distribution centers operated by Boston Scientific and Zara (inditex), outings to the Port of Barcelona and the Plaza Logistics Park in Spain, and a visit to the GM/Opel manufacturing plant in Zaragoza, Spain.
In addition, a number of experts gave their time to explain how the latest supply chain management methods are being used. Todd Dodson, Director Global Logistics Improvement, Cummins, gave a two-day workshop on implementing Lean and Six Sigma techniques within a logistics organization. Using a real case example, the students broke into teams, debated the problem, and applied problem-solving techniques.
To provide the students with leadership education, prominent practitioners delivered a series of keynote presentations. Ray Archer, Vice President, Americas Manufacturing, Dell, discussed the differences between leadership and management. He illustrated how empowering each team member and creating a shared culture can dramatically increase a team's success. Ezequiel Szafir, Director of Planning, Nike Europe, explained that to be successful, managers need to "work the correlations and the corridors." In other words, they need to take account of “softer” elements, such as the impact on individuals, as well as hard-edged technical considerations. Rene van der Hulst, VP Supply Chain Networks Europe, Lucent Technologies, presented a case study on how the unprecedented decline in the communications network equipment market provided a burning platform for radical organizational change at Lucent. The company develops leaders by teaching different skills at the transition points from Individual Contributor to Team, Organization, and eventually Enterprise Leader.
The “capstone” project that tied practice and theory together was a game that simulated supply chain decision-making processes. Each student team took charge of an international high-technology manufacturing firm and competed with the other teams in a virtual marketplace. The teams had to manage several business elements including product development, forecasting, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, sales, service, information technology, and market research. A large part of the time was spent with team members outside class managing the fictional firm. Class sessions and meetings with the "CEO" connected the game experiences with supply chain management concepts. “The students realized how various supply chain strategies can be successful and how important it is to maintain strategic focus in the midst of a dynamic marketplace,” said Jarrod Goentzel, Executive Director, MIT-Zaragoza International Logistics Program.
And there was a real-world pay off for the teams - more than two-dozen companies recruited MLOG and ZLOG students during the January 2006 series.
The MLOG and ZLOG programs are now accepting applications for the next academic year. For information on MLOG contact Chris Caplice. Information on the ZLOG program based in Spain is available from Jarrod Goentzel.