Supply chain management is an increasingly popular discipline in the U.S.
The authoritative publication Bloomberg published interesting data for the transport segment. This year, the number of applications for the introduction of a course – supply chain management – at universities and business schools in the U.S. has increased significantly. The program of such disciplines is regularly modernized in accordance with the development of the sphere, and the approaches have changed considerably in recent years.
In just a few years, the global marketplace has experienced many upheavals. The pandemic and the interruption of communication, the accident on the Suez Canal, which paralyzed the entire terminal for several days, and other factors have demonstrated that there are serious problems in the usual logistics operations, which require changes. Therefore, many educational institutions that train specialists for the transport sector began to think about modernizing the training material. In turn, students appreciated the prospects of the segment, and among them the number of those wishing to study supply chain management increased. For example, Harvard Business School, Smyla Business College and a number of other renowned institutions of higher education have announced changes to their logistics courses. In this way professors want to prepare future specialists for crises and teach them how to overcome them, based on the experience of today’s problems.
The Harvard School notes that for a long time approaches in logistics were not revised, this industry rather worked as a matter of course. But the pandemic and the trials that followed forced the world to look at the industry differently and modernize it.
Although the pandemic and the blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given caused enormous damage to the transport market, it also brought positive aspects. Many students realized how important logistics management is, that it is a highly sought-after and promising field. And if previously students paid more attention to courses on finance and marketing, then last year there was a significant shift of interest towards logistics and related disciplines. A prime example is the Smyla School of Business, where 400 students have chosen the supply chain management program, an increase of 130 over last year.
Such interest in the course has led faculty members to develop new instructional materials now. These programs will be based on practical hikes and examples – dealing with the effects of a pandemic for large companies, optimizing internal operations to reduce risk, and more.
In addition to building chains, the instructors are paying special attention to the problems seen in outdated approaches to inventory and inventory management. The issue of the location of production facilities in Asian countries, its weaknesses and strengths, is also considered important.
