Operations

Multinational companies, entrepreneurs, and management consulting firms will increasingly recruit individuals with the competencies required to identify, develop and analyze sources of value-added in global supply chains. According to Jeff Berg, Director, PRTM: "Vanguard companies are exploiting supply chain thinking and technologies to enhance their competitive position.

They are shifting to more responsive and cost-efficient channels, seamlessly integrating their key customers and partners into their supply chains, and reorganizing themselves to optimize their product, capital, and information flows. Anecdotal and ad-hoc decision-making won't get the job done in the competitive landscape of the future.

Just as supply chain innovators such as Wal-Mart and Dell computer have carved out their place at the table using supply chain strategies, new players will emerge with supply chain optimizing technologies. These players will not only be `technology´ companies, such as Amazon.com, they will include well-established players in automotive, chemicals, packaged goods, and retail. In fact, the companies who can remove excess costs and assets from their supply chains and improve their delivery and responsiveness will be the darlings of Wall Street and their customers, in the next few years."

The Kenan-Flagler global supply chain management concentration focuses on:

• The development of robust global supply chain strategies in manufacturing and services
• The fundamentals of supply chain management, from product development to manufacturing to distribution to retailing to customer management.
• Understanding the economic and other trade-offs in optimizing internal processes, systems, and resources for the enterprise
• Cost-modeling and decision-aiding tools for "what if" scenario planning for designing and evaluating supply chain elements.
• Building enterprise information systems from suppliers' suppliers to the customers' customers.
• Transfer and use of advanced technologies in manufacturing and services across global supply chain elements.
• Supply chain integration and support of e-business activities

Global supply chain management focuses on the operational and strategic process of the entire network of business that transform inputs (e.g., raw materials and information) into value-added finished products and services for end customers. Notably, global supply chain managers integrate, leverage, and monitor the continual flow of information among all supply chain entities in both manufacturing and service businesses. Usually the activities in early stages of the supply chain are manufacturing-oriented (e.g., weaving fabric or building airplanes) and the latter stages are service-oriented (e.g., retailing apparel, logistics or managing an airline). However, service processes often occur at the interfaces between firms in the supply chain to coordinate information flows from customers, and service businesses have their own unique supply chain characteristics. Thus, a fundamental understanding of both manufacturing and service operations is vital to this concentration. We believe the business leaders of the future will be those that can best use supply chain excellence as a strategic competitive asset.