UA Center Gives Students Supply-Chain Expertise

When Jim Crowell arrived at the University of Arkansas in 2001, the Walton College’s Supply Chain Management Research Center had nine companies on its board and had not broken even financially since its inception in 1996. Now, it has 22 companies and has operated in the black for the past three years.

In 2003, U.S. News & World Report ranked the program 15th out of 100 universities nationwide that offer similar academic programs.

The UA offers bachelors and masters degrees in business administration with a major in transportation and logistics management, which includes courses that concentrate heavily on supply-chain management.

“Transportation, logistics, supply-chain management: There’s a lot of overlap,” said Crowell, who is managing director of the SCMRC.

The UA created the SCMRC by renaming its Transportation Research Center. Crowell said it was a response to changes in the marketplace requiring students to have more logistics and supply-chain skills.

“In the past, transportation and distribution professionals, often referred to as logistics professionals, were responsible for securing low-cost transportation and warehousing options and ensuring materials and products arrived on time for their firm,” Crowell said. “Today’s logistician still considers these same factors, and much more. The focus is global and often includes a supply-chain made up of several firms and countries … The low-cost option today may not be the lowest transportation rate but the one that meets the needs of the supply chain.”

Using cereal for an example, Crowell said the supply chain includes everything from the wheat seed, through harvesting and food processing all the way to the consumer. Recycling the cardboard cereal box completes the chain.

“Supply chain includes logistics, but it also includes all the processes that make that happen,” he said.

Replenishment is a big part of the supply-chain picture. The Retail Industry Leaders Association recently began awarding replenishment certificates for professionals trained to do what Wal-Mart does so well — get products on store shelves before they sell out.

For the official definition, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals states on its Web site: “Supply-chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers and customers. In essence, supply-chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.”

That’s a mouthful.

Crowell is familiar with seeds. He came to the UA from Lake Valley Seed Co. in Boulder, Colo. Before that, he was with Coors Industries, the beer company, for 21 years. He worked for Coors in a variety of supply-chain jobs with his last position there being logistics manager for commodities.

“I literally did everything from walk the barley fields to set up in-store displays,” he said.

While in Denver, Crowell was also an adjunct professor for 15 years at the University of Colorado and eight years at Regis University. He has taught classes in marketing, transportation, distribution, international logistics and information systems.