In 2002, Penn State University offered 10 executive education programs for supply chain leaders. By 2006, the university was hosting 33 such programs.

Penn State's surge of activity has not been unusual in the least. Observes Jake Barr, director of manufacturing, planning and logistics for Procter & Gamble: “There's been a significant increase in the availability of executive education programs over the last 10 years, and specifically over the last five years.”

The surge comprises increased activity in online learning, certification and in customized as well as open enrollment programs. Topics covered range from management of global supply chains and Lean principles to risk management and socially responsible supply chains. It reaches out around the world—participants traveling from their native countries to attend programs and more and more partnerships among learning institutions worldwide. It includes many more women than in years gone by. And as a rule, program participants come much more highly educated than before.

There's no mystery to the surge. “I think we are all recognizing the importance of supply chain management as part of the way that companies compete and create an advantage,” says Hau Lee, the Thoma Professor of Operations, Information, and Technology at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. “The cost of not managing your supply chain well can be huge, and executives are more and more aware of this.”

However, lengthening lists of available education programs don't mean that the needs of all supply chain leaders are now being met. Listen carefully to both executive educators and to supply chain chiefs themselves and you'll hear hints of disquiet—of something missing already or something that soon will fall short of the needs of the profession.

One prominent executive describes typical executive sessions this way: “In many cases we still have the little discussions: How did you improve your manufacturing or how did you organize your logistics routes? That's all great stuff, but we're all working these things. I'm more intrigued by what really changes the paradigm. That's what I look for.”

Confirms Joseph Cavinato, ISM Professor of Supply Chain Management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management: “The thought leaders today are just talking about what the next increment is. Most executive education is about tactical activities. It tends to be about how to get your 3PL processes right.” But Cavinato points out that there's a demand-side part to the problem: The supply chain leaders he often interviews are thinking only in terms of 12 to 20 financial quarters. “To them, 'strategic' means I have to get this supply chain module implemented by the second quarter of 2009,” he says.

At the same time, there are growing worries that the supply chain profession doesn't have the “talent pipeline” needed to match tomorrow's demands. In February this year, a corporate consortium—The Global Supply Chain Professional Development Committee comprising companies such as P&G, Intel, Boeing and IBM — announced an initiative to gather information on the state of supply chain management education and supply chain talent in the field. Teaming with AMR Research, the consortium is now fielding a detailed online poll to identify what sorts of supply chain-related skills are most useful to employers right now.

This article will explore some of the factors shaping executive education today. We will take a closer look at new moves in certification, trends in online education and the nature of increasingly popular customized programs. Finally, we will set out a few markers for where we expect executive education to go next.

Continue to: The State of the Classroom

In this article:

• Introduction
• The State of the Classroom
• Academia Under Pressure to Deliver
• Certification Gets Renewed Attention
• Online Education Finds Its Place
• More Interest in Customized Programs
• Continuing Challenges for Exec Ed