The Drucker School of Management’s Center for Supply Chain & Logistics provides management education, training and research in the rapidly changing field of Supply Chain and Logistics. The Drucker School’s location in Claremont, at the edge of the Inland Empire, puts us at the nexus of the largest logistics network in the United States and uniquely positions us to play a prominent role in developing supply chain innovators and leaders.
Launched at the 2015 Southern California Supply Chain Summit, the Center is partnering with leaders of business, government, trade, and policy organizations to enhance the performance of supply chains globally and the economic performance of the region. Drucker School has since formed early industry partnerships with Toyota and Disney, companies that provide access to exciting new approaches to supply chain and logistics. The center is also organizing a research agenda and program that will provide insights into the business, policy, and economic dimensions of supply management.
The Drucker School accepts applications from creative individuals and future leaders willing to tackle a complicated and growing industry in an environment built around academically rigorous coursework, top industry mentors, and interdisciplinary research. Applicants may apply for an MA or MBA with an emphasis in Supply Chain & Logistics. Additionally, the Center offers a competitive fellowship to women earning an MBA with a focus in Supply Chain & Logistics and offers female mentors to guide them through their education and beyond.
Mission
The Drucker School of Management’s Center for Supply Chain & Logistics aims to develop and enhance effective leadership in the supply chain sector.
The Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management sits at the nexus of the largest logistics network in the United States. We are uniquely positioned to lead the southern California supply chain and logistics sectors, playing a prominent role in keeping northern California and rest of the country connected to the world. Evident from our vantage point are the challenges and opportunities of the supply chain that emerge from its complexity, dynamics, and scale. Part of the challenge is operational: how to make this complex network of production, transportation, and storage more efficient and effective. Part of the challenge is strategic: how to design a network that can anticipate and adapt to rising customer expectations, disruptive technologies, global developments and the advent of new business models. At the same time, due to its enormous footprint, the supply chain also has a significant impact on the well-being of society with a variety of attendant political and regulatory implications. The upside of addressing these challenges is the potential for a positive contribution to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit that is unparalleled in the other sectors of the economy.
Given the importance of these challenges/opportunities, our proximity to the Southern California distribution system, and the unique intellectual assets contained within the Drucker School of Management and Claremont Graduate University (CGU), we are stepping forward to have a stronger voice in these matters through the establishment of a Center for Supply Chain & Logistics.
The Center for Supply Chain & Logistics will be the leader in supply chain research, graduate education, and productive discourse in Southern California. The Center will partner with leaders of business, government, and nonprofit organizations to enhance the economic and social performance of supply chains both locally and globally.
Vision
- Be a conduit for the sharing of insights among practitioners and academics
- Benchmark best practices
- Conduct cutting-edge research in which objective answers are required
- Equip today’s and tomorrow’s leaders with the skills, tools, and frameworks for effective decision making in the supply chain context
The Center builds upon the strengths of the Drucker School with its innovative teaching, quality applied research, and transdisciplinary approach to problem-solving that draws upon the full resources of CGU.
Investing in Leaders of the 21st Century Supply Chain
The Center for Supply Chain & Logistics aims to develop and enhance effective leadership in the supply chain sector. The Center will achieve this by offering a rich mix of programs, forums, and courses that focus on the top issues facing supply chains and their constituent entities. To properly address these issues, supply chain leaders need certain skills and abilities that are common to all fields: foresight, self-management, communication of purpose, integration of diversity, systems thinking, etc. We teach those skills and abilities in our for-credit and executive education courses today and plan to do so in future supply chain offerings. However, we also believe that the complex nature of supply chains necessitates a multi-dimensional perspective and approach as depicted in the figure below.
Responsible Management recognizes the importance of the bottom line as a by-product of doing the right things right. This perspective draws heavily on the principles and values of Peter Drucker, which stress customer and employee focus, social responsibility, fostering innovation, and achieving financial results. Public policy shapes the supply chain environment and can be either an enabler or inhibitor of progress. Balanced Public Policy recognizes the co-existence of goals related to economic growth/jobs, sustainability, quality of life, health/safety, etc., and neglects none. Analytic & Technical Competence refers to the sophisticated use of data to make decisions and optimize performance: big data/data mining, location analytics/GIS, RFID, simulation, etc.
The supply chain will prosper to the extent that its leaders can (collectively) effectuate a high degree of overlap among these three circles. For example, the intersection of Responsible Management and Balanced Public Policy is very much about public-private collaboration. Although achieving that collaboration can be a difficult hurdle, there are success stories and road maps to follow. With respect to the overlaps of Analytic & Technical Competence and the other two circles, the question becomes: “What do the data say should be done?” Evidence-based decision making is well entrenched in the management fields and is the preferred approach in the policy realm as well.
Put figuratively, the primary aim of the Center is to enlarge and integrate the three circles in the supply chain context. To help accomplish that aim, the Center will partner closely with CGU’s School of Social Science, Policy & Evaluation, CGU’s Center for Information Systems & Technology, and the Center’s affiliated organizations.
Activity Portfolio
The activity portfolio of the Center is decidedly practice-oriented and is designed to build a knowledge base for effective action, promote dialogue among the relevant supply chain stakeholder groups, find solutions to specific problems, and increase the bench strength of leaders who can advance the sector and its economic and societal contribution.
Knowledge Creation
- Create and maintain a mechanism for environmental scanning that is capable of identifying emerging trends and technological developments that have the potential to reshape the supply chain industry.
- Hold an annual symposium of academics, supply chain professionals, government officials and not-for-profit executives to distill a set of publishable research priorities around the industry’s key challenges and opportunities.
- Provide thought leadership and direction on critical supply chain issues by conducting primary research, bench-marking studies, collecting case histories, and synthesizing prescriptive frameworks.
- Attract world-class talent to the Drucker School/CGU (in the roles of faculty, executives-in-residence, visiting fellows, speakers, etc.) with deep expertise in areas crucial to the supply chain industry.
Knowledge Sharing
- Disseminate results and insights through a variety of channels including reports, working papers, journal articles, books, blogs, webinars, news releases, special events, etc.
- In concert with affiliated organizations and sponsors, hold the premier supply chain conference in Southern California, featuring prominent experts, executives, policymakers, and organizations.
- Orchestrate customized think tanks and dialogue platforms that bring together thought leaders and senior executives for an in-depth exploration of specific issues.
- Build executive peer networks that provide a platform for an ongoing exchange of conceptual frameworks and practical solutions.
- Provide C-level briefings and strategic advisory services designed to contextualize insights from research and practice, thus providing tangible and actionable perspectives for transformational change initiatives.
- Establish a virtual platform that serves as a hub for a global community of supply chain stakeholders, including a blog, discussion boards, content channels, a case “library,” webinars, downloadable data, and more.
Creative Problem Solving
- Foster public-private collaboration on critical supply chain issues through facilitated forums and summits among leaders of the various stakeholder groups.
- For individual and consortia of member organizations, conduct applications-oriented research and consulting projects that are capable of providing proprietary information and recommendations as well as public record findings.
- Identify/develop/adapt software solutions that facilitate knowledge management, collaboration, and evidenced-based decision making in a supply chain context.
Education and Professional Development
- Provide a flow of master’s degree graduates who possess the requisite skills and knowledge to move the supply chain industry forward by virtue of their coursework, experiential learning opportunities, and internship experiences.
- Afford practicing supply chain professionals the chance to upgrade their skills and knowledge base through certificate and short-course programs delivered face-to-face and/or online.
- Offer both public and custom executive education programs (including seminars, workshops and learning expeditions) aimed at supply chain managers/directors who are poised to move into organizational leadership positions.
Women in Supply Chain
The Drucker Center for Supply Chain & Logistics, in partnership with Toyota, aims to meet the need for more women leaders in the supply chain with the Toyota Women of Achievement Scholars program.
This fellowship prepares women to be the next generation of supply chain leaders and managers by providing them with education in the latest trends, practices, and innovations in supply chain management and logistics. Scholars also benefit from formal mentor programs with other women leaders and career guidance to make the most of their degrees.
The Toyota Women of Achievement Scholars program thus aims to create the future of supply chain by empowering women to take the lead in this vital field.
Transportation and Infrastructure Management with Beijing Jiaotong University
The Drucker School and the Center for Supply Chain and Logistics is proud to partner with Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) on an innovative program to train future managers of transportation and infrastructure projects. This partnership launches in Spring 2019 and includes guest scholars from China teaching special courses at the Drucker School in Claremont. More details coming soon.