What is the MIT Integrated Supply Chain Management (ISCM) Program?
The MIT Integrated Supply Chain Management (ISCM) Program is a consortium of non-competing companies. It was started in January 1995 by a group of faculty and staff from the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT CTL, where the program is currently managed. The ISCM Program aims to accelerate the implementation of supply chain management principles within the sponsor companies and to advance state-of-the-art supply chain management.
The ISCM Program enables sponsors to learn about cutting-edge and future supply chain practices in two key ways:
1. Facilitating the sharing and exchange of best practices among sponsors.
ISCM sponsors share their own best practices and develop a collective wisdom at ISCM events. The learnings are practical, reality based, and tested by real companies. By capturing learnings from each event in a knowledge summary, we enable sponsors to quickly share these new findings across their respective organizations.
The primary vehicles for facilitating the sharing and exchange are Quarterly Sponsor Collaboration Events. Each quarter, ISCM sponsors meet to share learnings and research findings, penetrate a specific set of supply chain issues, and select future event themes and topics. Each event respectively focuses on different aspects of improving how the supply chain integrates internally with various functional areas—including manufacturing, procurement, and planning and distribution—and externally with customers, suppliers, and partners.
Because sponsors are not competing companies, consulting companies, or software providers, the exchange tends to be open, honest, and practical.
2. Creating new supply chain knowledge through ISCM and MIT research projects (see our Current Agenda).
The ISCM Program funds research projects focused on creating knowledge for sustainable supply chain improvement. ISCM research projects explore unsolved supply chain problems, infusing new technologies with innovative approaches. The program also leverages existing supply chain research at MIT to bring new knowledge to sponsors. Research projects range in size and scope from detailed and company-specific to broad and cross-industry.
How does it work?
Through its structure as a consortium of non-competing companies from various industries, the ISCM Program works to:
1. Facilitate the sharing and exchange of best practices among sponsors at ISCM events.
At ISCM events, sponsors share their own best practices and develop a collective wisdom. Since ISCM sponsors design the events, the content is focused on their interests. Sponsor involvement is required, however, in order to identify themes and plans for events.
Because sponsors are not competing companies, consulting companies, or software providers, the exchange tends to be open, honest, and practical.
2. Create new supply chain knowledge through research projects.
The ISCM Program funds research projects selected by the sponsors—hence the work is focused on their interests. As noted for events, sponsor involvement is required in order to identify the issues to research and the projects of interest to sponsors.
Because the program exists to serve the consortium, we seek companies that want to actively engage in our work.
What are the key benefits?
We have found that the more involved our sponsors are in planning and engaging with us, the more value they will derive from the program. This includes being involved in event and research planning, as well as actively engaging in research projects—such as volunteering specific problems to examine within their respective organizations as a study site—and in using ISCM resources to find new ways to create value for sponsors.
How do I join?
Contact Jim Rice, jrice@mit.edu, to discuss how the ISCM can help your organization and help advance state-of-the-art supply chain management.
Key members of the team
Jim Rice
Deputy Director, MIT CTL
Director – MIT Integrated Supply Chain Management Program
jrice@mit.edu
617.258.8584