Laurier SBE wins award for supply chain management

WATERLOO, ON-Wilfrid Laurier University’s school of business and economics (SBE) has become the first educational institution to receive the Oracle/SCL Innovation Award from Supply Chain & Logistics Canada (SCL).

The award recognizes supply chain management innovators who have demonstrated vision and strategic thinking in the field of supply chain and logistics. This is the first time that this award has been given to a university instead of an individual industry professional.

“The Oracle/SCL Innovation Award acknowledges Laurier’s commitment to being a leader in education and research for supply chain management,” said Scott Carson, the dean of SBE. “Our supply chain management concentration provides high-quality education for students and working supply chain professionals, and responds to market demands for a research resource in supply chain management, e-commerce and information technology for the business community.”

Supply chain management (SCM) refers to the management of materials, information and funds across the entire supply chain, from suppliers, through manufacturing and distribution, to the final customer.

While some universities offer certain facets of SCM education, SBE offers a comprehensive concentration in supply chain and logistics at the undergraduate and graduate levels. SCM will be one of the areas of concentration in a new doctoral program slated to begin this September.

In the SCM concentration, students learn about the role of logistics within an organization and how the logistics function can be integrated within a supply chain involving multiple interacting organizations.

“Laurier’s highly respected school of business and economics has been exemplary in living up to its promise to the supply chain community in providing innovative and responsive programming for undergraduate, master’s and, in the near future, doctoral candidates,” said David Long, president of SCL Canada. “It has made a significant dent in what was a gaping hole in supply chain management training at the university level in Canada.”

SBE’s executive education division, the Laurier Institute, has partnered with SCL Canada to offer professional SCM programs to leading companies in the industry. The executive education program focuses on the four pillars of SCM: inventory, transportation, facilities and technology.

As well, Laurier recently approved a new SCM research centre. The centre will facilitate SCM research, studies and proposal development. It will also publish in journals and newsletters. Focused on both theoretical and applied research, the centre will bring together academics and professionals in seminars and conferences to mobilize knowledge from cutting edge developments in SCM.

Faculty members on Laurier’s SCM team have advanced degrees as well as research and consulting experience in management science, transportation economics, operations management, purchasing, materials management, logistics and marketing. Members engage in both theoretical and applied research. They receive support through research grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).