Colleges see importance of supply chain management

We've all likely been stumped at one time or another by the question, "What did you have for dinner last night?" But these days, the more interesting question might be, "How did you have dinner last night?"

What was your link in the supply chain? Up until fairly recently, the answer would have been the local grocery store or eating out at your favorite restaurant. But now, the answer also could be a meal prep service like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron, where each ingredient in a meal is sourced, measured, perfectly packaged and sent to your door.

It could be a delivery enterprise like Peapod or Instacart, or an ordering service like GrubHub or Uber Eats.

Today's supply chain dynamics have become truly, well, dynamic - and they promise to become only more so.

U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods; advances in technology, from assembly line robots to artificially intelligent learning machines; the demands of e-commerce as more people order more things online and retailers develop new delivery channels - all are having a tremendous impact on the flow of information, products and cash between suppliers, producers and customers.

These shifts and rapid developments mean the tasks of managing the supply chain have become more complex than ever. What knowledge and skills do managers need to design and plan supply chains that ensure quality, safety, flexibility and efficiency?

Institutions of higher education need to prepare tomorrow's leadership to excel at strategic thinking and high-level analytic and technological capabilities.

As the first and longest-running program of its kind in the Chicago area, the Elmhurst College's master's degree in supply chain management prepares students for this changing world by focusing on problem solving, cutting-edge methodologies and the analytical skills that set up future managers for agility and innovation.

In addition to analytics, the Elmhurst program emphasizes the on-the-ground concerns of production and operations, marketing and customer relations, warehouse, inventory, packaging, transportation and the technology that brings it all together. Students graduate with expertise across all the functional areas of business, so they can collaboratively create solutions with colleagues throughout an organization.

Opportunities along supply chain

It's important to bear in mind that many different areas comprise the supply chain. According to a June 2018 article in Harvard Business Review, the U.S. supply chain contains 37 percent of all U.S. jobs - some 44 million Americans. Successful managers must be taught to see the big picture that spans fields and functions so that they can manage the entire life cycle of a product.

Students in the Elmhurst master's program in supply chain management (MSCM) are business professionals who have been in the workplace for at least three years. So students learn from and are supported by a cross-sector network of teachers and peers who connect them with employers across Chicagoland - one of the world's greatest transportation and logistics hubs.

The Elmhurst program, which can be completed in 21 months, prepares graduates for such in-demand positions as management analyst, industrial engineer, industrial production manager, operations research analyst, quality control inspector and cost estimator.

MSCM students also are eligible to apply for the MBA Option, a one-year program that leads to the Master of Business Administration with a specialization in supply chain management. This degree prepares graduates for well-rewarded careers: The median salary for a director of supply chain management, according to payscale.com, is $ 118,469.

Now more than ever, industries and businesses, regardless of size, require oversight and management of how their products or services are sourced, acquired and delivered. Graduates of programs like Elmhurst's are well-positioned to seize these opportunities - and thrive in the new business environment.

• Roby Thomas is a professor of business at Elmhurst College, program director of Elmhurst's Graduate Program in Supply Chain Management, and director of the Supply Chain Think Tank. For more information about this program, call (630) 617-3400 or email admit@elmhurst.edu.