Supply Chain Frontiers Issue #18. Read all articles in this issue
Supply chain professionals are climbing the corporate ladder and taking top leadership positions. In recognition of this trend, the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL) has expanded its management and leadership curriculum with the creation of the Supply Chain Innovations and Leadership Series (SCILS).
SCILS is embedded in the Center’s two masters programs in supply chain management: MLOG (Master of Engineering in Logistics Program based in Cambridge, MA) and ZLOG (Master of Engineering in Logistics & Supply Chain Management based in Zaragoza, Spain). The four-week term brings together the students from both programs for one week in Spain and three weeks at MIT. Program directors Chris Caplice (MLOG) and Jarrod Goentzel (ZLOG) introduced the series last year in order to provide their students with a practical perspective on real-world and leadership issues.
This year, the programs recruited a greater number of senior supply chain executives from a variety of Fortune 500 companies to come speak to and interact with the students. “The idea is to prepare our students with not only the high-level analytical skills needed to solve supply chain problems, but the management abilities necessary to implement those solutions within their companies,” said Dr. Caplice.
This year’s speakers will cover topics ranging from creating a “leadership culture” to implementing a customer-focused supply chain strategy to addressing the challenges of a global supply chain.
Featured speakers include:
- Raymond A. Archer III, Vice President of Americas Manufacturing, Dell
- Alex Niemeyer, Principal, McKinsey & Company
- Mark Jamison, VP Customer Supply Chain, Kimberly-Clark Corporation
- Simon Osborn, Vice President, Logistics, 7-11
- Robert Cantow, Vice President of Supply Chain Operations, Boston Scientific Corporation
- Waheed Zaman - Sr. Vice President Global Supply Chain & Procurement, Chiquita
- David Friedson - Director, Supply Chain Innovation, Chiquita
- Ted Schaefer, Director-Global Logistics Design, Rohm and Haas Company
- Roger Bloemen, Vice President Supply Chain, Solutia, Inc.
In addition to the impressive line-up of speakers, MLOG and ZLOG students will be given tours of the GM Opel manufacturing plant, Inditex – Zara’s parent company, PLAZA – Europe’s largest logistics park, Gillette’s Razorblade plant, and EMC’s manufacturing facility. Also included in the four-week series is the Supply Chain Challenge, where students team up to manage an international high-tech supply chain and compete with the other teams in a virtual marketplace.
“With a nine-month degree program, every day counts. In the fall semester, our students learn the basic theory and tools for logistics and supply chain analysis. Now it’s time to provide them with a more practical perspective – and teach them how to put those theories to work, which is exactly what this leadership series is all about. Then next semester, they’ll be ready to delve into the more strategic side of supply chain,” said ZLOG Director Jarrod Goentzel.
The Supply Chain Innovation and Leadership series runs from January 8 through February 2, 2007.
The MLOG and ZLOG programs are still accepting applications. For more information about MLOG, contact Chris Caplice or visit th MLOG web site ; for ZLOG, contact Jarrod Goentzel (goentzel@mit.edu) or visit the ZLOG web site.