BGSU supply chain management program ranks in top 20

When it comes to supply chain management, BGSU is one of the best in the business.

That’s according to U.S. News & World Report, which ranks BGSU’s program in the College of Business Administration as 19th on the list of the leading undergraduate supply chain management and logistics programs nationwide.

The rankings, which appear in the magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges 2005” edition, are based on a survey of deans and senior faculty from undergraduate business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In addition to rating the quality of overall programs they are familiar with, the deans and faculty were asked to nominate the best programs in specialty areas, including supply chain management and logistics.

Supply chain management refers to “managing all the activities, material flows, and information required to create and to deliver products and services from raw materials to the final consumers,” said Dr. Janet Hartley, chair of BGSU’s Department of Management. It deals with how companies plan, make, purchase and deliver products and services, she explained.

Hartley attributes Bowling Green’s high rating to the accomplishments of alumni, quality of faculty teaching in the program and to the University’s Supply Chain Management Institute.

The institute was formed in 2000 by Chan K. Hahn, professor emeritus, “to help us build closer partnerships with industry,” said Hartley, who served as its director until last year, when Dr. Amelia Carr came to BGSU to take the position.
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Members of the institute in 2003-04 were Bechtel Power Corp., BP, Deere & Company, Eli Lilly, HP, GlaxoSmithKline, Honda of America Manufacturing, Marathon-Ashland Petroleum, Marathon Oil, Nordson Corp., Owens Corning, and Scientific Applications International Corp.

Member companies come to campus twice a year to meet with faculty and students, and the input from business is used to make sure the supply chain management program remains relevant, Hartley said.

Deere & Co., the farm and commercial equipment giant, has contributed actual projects that are used in student coursework, she explained, noting that the projects arose from Deere’s desire to engage students in improving purchasing processes and evaluating suppliers.

The institute also brings faculty members from other leading universities to Bowling Green as speakers, she noted, adding that the “ongoing, planned interaction” among students, faculty and business helps the program thrive.

Supply chain management was introduced at Bowling Green’s College of Business Administration in 1973 as a production/purchasing specialization. The curriculum was revised in 1998. About 60 students earn degrees in the program each year. Eighty percent of the graduates have completed at least one internship.

“Students gain practical experience through internships” as well as a theoretical base in the classroom, Hartley said, before they enter the workforce as buyers, planners and sourcing analysts.