Center for Supply Chain Management Established at Pitt

PITTSBURGH—The logistical challenges of manufacturing and transporting goods will be the focus of the new Center for Supply Chain Management established at the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration with support from Pittsburgh-based logistics provider GENCO.

The new center will be dedicated to the study of critical issues relating to global supply chain management, an increasingly important field that adopts an end-to-end view of the product life cycle: from design and procurement through processing and distribution to recycling and reuse. The cross-disciplinary center will draw on complementary topics from across the school and the university.

“The new center will support the school’s strategic initiatives and will provide a forum for exchanging cutting-edge ideas between Pitt faculty and industry professionals. Students will benefit from an expanded set of programs and greater opportunities for developing networks with the industry. I am excited by the launch of the new center at Pitt and for the potential it holds,” says interim director Prakash Mirchandani, a Katz professor of business administration in the business analytics and operations faculty area.

Dean John T. Delaney selected Mirchandani, who has decades of experience as both a scholar and industry consultant in supply chain management, to serve as the interim director of the center. A search for a permanent director will begin later this year.

The new center will provide student and faculty interactions with industry representatives, oversee student experience-based learning activities in supply chain management courses, and generate intellectual leadership in this area at Katz. Designed as an interdisciplinary unit, the center will bring together faculty in fields such as operations, information technology, strategy, accounting, and engineering. The interdisciplinary nature of the center is designed to leverage the synergistic role that these fields play in modern supply chains.

In the global marketplace, the planning, execution, and monitoring of supply chains requires cooperation between a range of areas such as sourcing, procurement and distribution, information technology, sustainability, risk management, and strategic supplier and customer management.

“GENCO is very pleased to support the formation of the Center for Supply Chain Management at the University of Pittsburgh. The center will be a strong resource for the region’s economic development, as supply chain is a critical business component for many companies. Additionally, the center will be a significant resource for companies, students, and academics for many years to come,” said Herb Shear, executive chairman of GENCO and a University of Pittsburgh trustee.

In order to support the activities of the center, the school will create a Supply Chain Management Industry Council composed of member companies with strong interests in supply chain management and a genuine concern for the future enhancement of the field. Members of the council will have the first option to review supply chain management research and studies facilitated by the center and have enhanced opportunities to engage with supply chain management students from Pitt in experience-based learning projects, internships, employment options, and cooperative education programs.

Katz plans to hire a tenure-stream faculty member to produce high-quality research in the field of supply chain management and to cultivate connections with industry aimed at supporting the center, facilitating new research, and generating opportunities for students, faculty, and others at Pitt.

The center builds upon existing supply chain management resources at the Katz Graduate School of Business and undergraduate College of Business Administration (CBA). Katz offers a certificate program in Global Supply Chain Management as part of its Master of Business Administration degree program, while CBA offers a supply chain management major and supply chain management certificate within its Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree program. Supply chain management also forms an integral component of Executive Education programs at Katz.

In addition to the Center for Supply Chain Management, the Katz School and CBA are home to five centers for specialized knowledge: the David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership, Center for Executive Education, Center for Health and Care Work, International Business Center, and Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business (Katz) and College of Business Administration (CBA) provide a high-quality, career-oriented business education for graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh. Building on Pittsburgh’s tradition of reinvention and business excellence, Pitt has constantly evolved its market-driven business education programs for more than 100 years based on global business demands. Through innovative, entrepreneurial degree programs focused on experience-based learning, Katz and CBA position graduates to immediately add value to any business.

GENCO is the recognized leader in product lifecycle and reverse logistics solutions designed to maximize value and reduce costs. GENCO operates 140 value-added warehouse locations comprising 38 million square feet and manages $1.5 billion in freight annually throughout North America. GENCO's diverse range of customers includes many Fortune 500 companies in the technology, consumer, and industrial, retail, and health care markets and the federal government. GENCO's complete range of product lifecycle services include inbound logistics; warehousing and distribution; fulfillment; contract packaging and managed transportation; systems integration; returns processing and disposition; test, repair, refurbishment; product liquidation; and recycling.

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