Supply chains have come a long way since the first executive education programs were developed to help professionals manage the movement of goods from raw materials to end users. Much more complex and global in nature than they were, say, 20 years ago, today's supply chains revolve around the Web, are international in scope, and involve concepts like performance-based logistics.

Lucky for today's supply chain professionals, executive education has also evolved. Today, executive education encompasses a wider scope of subject matter, while also including more “real life” anecdotal information that supply chain managers can take back and use at their own companies. The offerings themselves include a mix of courses that are scheduled throughout the year at the various universities, online courses, and “customized” options designed for use at specific companies.

Some schools are developing more formal degree programs in the supply chain arena. The University of Tennessee, for example, is developing an “EMBA in Global Supply Chain Management,” degree program. Expected to launch in January 2010, the 12-month program will come on the heels of two new Department of Defense-focused options, “Performance-Based Services Acquisition” (PBSA) and “Performance-Based Logistics for 3PLs,” which the school will introduce later this year.

Walden University, which offers an MBA and PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, awards three semester credit hours for professionals who complete its Supply Chain Management course. The program is designed to give students an understanding of the definition and scope of supply chain management as well as an appreciation of the potential for businesses to improve bottom-line performance through an integrated, strategic approach to SCM. The institution uses LINKS Supply Chain Management Simulation to impart hands-on experience.

Simulation tools are gaining ground in the executive education arena. At Michigan State University, Supply Chain Professor David Closs says that the institution is currently developing such tools in hopes of creating “different types of global supply chain environments” for students to experience. “During the four-hour block, we may do 90 minutes of lecturing, and then 2-1/2 hours of letting students experience specific situations related to the supply chain,” says Closs.

Closs says that Michigan State began incorporating simulation exercises into its supply chain education after receiving requests from several senior executives from Dow and IBM. “They wanted to provide employees with experience in new environments,” says Closs. “That triggered us to create a global simulation tool that covers everything from fairly simple situations to complex environments.”

The option has been well received by students and their employers, says Closs. The students design and operate their supply chains for a term of four to 10 weeks. During that time, they make sourcing, production, allocation and pricing decisions that affect the overall supply chain. “Working individually or as teams,” he adds, “they can compare and contrast results and experiences to come up with the best possible solutions.”

Nothing has affected the supply chain—and supply chain education—quite as much as the global marketplace, and more specifically the breakdown of geographic barriers among the trading partners in different nations. A blessing and a curse for companies, the new global environment has opened doors to increased sales and sourcing options while at the same time further complicating the global supply chain process.

To help professionals deal with these changes, institutions have beefed up their programs to incorporate a more global scope. At Georgia Tech's Supply Chain and Logistics Institute, for example, Managing Director Harvey Donaldson says the school's most popular executive education offerings right now are those that deal with the global supply chain.

“Our curriculum has become far more global in scope,” says Donaldson, whose department recently revamped its program to include a new offering, Global Supply Chain Management, which is co-sponsored by the Counsel of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). “We operate in a global marketplace, which means executive education has to speak directly to global supply chain management.”

Other institutions have taken a similar stance. Chris Caplice, executive director of MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics and head of the MIT Masters of Engineering Program, says executive education students at MIT learn about the cultural differences, time lags and distance gaps that can now trip up even the most seasoned supply chain professionals.

“Managing those issues creates more uncertainty,” says Caplice. Recent issues with outsourced manufacturing in China, for example, have created the need for more in-depth education on the fine points of working with overseas suppliers who don't always follow manufacturing specifications. “For the standard supply chain,” Caplice says, “the global marketplace creates longer lead times, more variability and the need to adjust inventory accordingly.”

As new concepts are introduced to and used by supply chain professionals, leading executive education programs work to incorporate them into their offerings. At MIT, Caplice says more attention is being given to the S&OP process, or the matching of demand with supply. The process finds sales and marketing representatives—most of whom “think” differently than the typical supply chain professional—giving their perspectives on operational issues, and helping to alleviate problem areas within the supply chain.

Bric Wheeler of the University of Tennessee's executive education program notes that another concept being incorporated into today's supply chain programs is one that's driven largely by the Department of Defense (DoD): performance-based logistics. Developed a few years ago, the notion of incorporating specific goals and metrics to evaluate success is beginning to take root.

“This changes the way DoD and its vendors do business,” says Wheeler, who adds that about 250 students recently completed a concurrent session (led by a subject-matter expert) on the topic at his institution. “The idea of performance-based logistics is moving more and more into the commercial sector,” he observes, “and is forcing companies to learn additional information about their supply chains, how they make their money and how to implement this concept.”

Even as the supply chain becomes more complex in nature (and as executive education strives to keep pace) the demand for basic supply chain educational offerings still exists, particularly for new entrants into the field. “If someone finds themselves in a supply chain role for the first time, then the fundamentals are important,” says Caplice. “But for someone who is already well-versed in the basics, it's time to think beyond the box and build on those fundamentals.”

Michigan State's Closs also sees continued demand for basic supply chain education. “We're seeing a number of employees shifted to supply chain in terms of responsibility to round out their careers, and the most effective way to bring them up to speed is through week-long executive education curriculums,” he says.

The fundamentals can also help a professional who has been trained mainly in procurement, for example, and worked in the supply chain, but who needs more in-depth logistics training. “One of the biggest challenges senior managers cite is their struggle to take procurement professionals who may have had logistics experience in the past, but who need to reestablish their knowledge,” says Closs. “That's where getting back to basics can really provide value.”

When pondering what the future holds for supply chain executive education, Harvey Donaldson of Georgia Tech sees more Internet-based offerings being developed. Basically, it's a response to demand for such courses from companies that see the option as more affordable and viable than sending employees to classroom training. “We have a set of four online courses that are particularly popular with corporations,” says Donaldson, whose department is also developing various “hybrid” models that blend online courses with classroom study.

MIT's Caplice expects more courses to focus on people skills vs. technical skills, based on the fact that the former often tends to make or break the supply chain. “I don't know of any initiative that failed because the optimization didn't run, or because the simulation didn't converge,” Caplice explains. “It's people issues that kill projects.”

As supply chain education continues to morph to meet the needs of today's busy executives, Wheeler predicts an increase in the number of offerings at the nation's institutions. Competition among those schools that offer supply chain education will continue to increase, he adds, based on the growing demand in the global marketplace.

“We'll see a continued effort on the part of the schools to maintain uniqueness and stay ahead of the curve,” says Wheeler, who also expects to see more collaboration between universities that in the past looked at each other as competitors.

“More and more clients are saying that they don't want to deal with one university, but that they want broader perspectives provided by collaborating and sharing among the schools,” says Wheeler. “These companies are global in nature, and will in the future expect an even broader range of information from their educational offerings.”