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In an innovative partnership among the military, industry and academia, the
Kenan-Flagler Business School has been awarded $1.08 million from the U.S.
Department of Defense to develop a Center for Excellence in Logistics and
Technology (LOGTECH).
LOGTECH will address the imperative need of the military and civilian logistics
communities to share information about the rapid changes in logistics
practices.
Logistics is a term used widely in industry to describe the complex elements
involved in distributing products and materials around the globe. The
Department of Defense and commercial logistical organizations are confronting
many information-age challenges. LOGTECH will bring the two sectors together in
a dynamic partnership to focus on these areas:
* Exploration of cutting-edge research in logistics;
* Development of both a customized executive education and an advanced degree
program; and
* Creation of a forum and World Wide Web site for sharing alternative
strategies.
"This will bring civilian and military leaders together for
shoulder-to-shoulder exchange on innovative practices. The idea of logistics
came out of the military, but it is an area in which the private sector has
recently made extraordinary advances," said William T. Powell Jr., president of
the Foundation for Transportation, Trade and Commerce. "The private sector will
have an opportunity to share cutting-edge ways it has moved this process
along."
The Foundation for Transportation, Trade and Commerce will manage the
day-to-day activities of LOGTECH. The foundation, an affiliate of the business
school's Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, facilitates
research, graduate education programs and the management of state and
university projects in transportation, trade and commerce.
Kenan-Flagler's Executive Education program, which has been consistently ranked
among the best in the world, will develop two executive programs in logistics
and technology, one for senior management and one for operational-level
managers. Both programs will be held at the school's state-of-the-art Paul. J.
Rizzo Conference Center at Meadowmont, a new facility where executives come to
tackle strategic business issues.
Kenan-Flagler also will develop a customized executive master's of business
administration degree with a concentration in logistics and technology. In the
second year of study, MBA students will work on a consulting project focused on
a military-specific issue or challenge. The curriculum will emphasize the
impact of logistics across the areas studied, such as finance, management,
emerging technologies, operations and supply-chain management.
An annual Logistics and Technology Forum will promote discussion about emerging
issues in the field and develop strategies for significant challenges facing
the Department of Defense. A LOGTECH Web site will represent a one-stop
repository for best practices, research findings and educational products
related to logistics and technology in the civilian and military sectors.
Kenan-Flagler will partner with other academic and nonprofit institutions and
private industry to bring outstanding expertise to the program and develop case
studies of best practices. Additional LOGTECH team members include the Research
Triangle Institute and North Carolina A&T State University, both of which
have extensive experience in logistics; Burdeshaw Associates Ltd., a firm that
has completed a number of Department of Defense initiatives; and Logistics,
Engineering & Environmental Support Services Inc., a firm with extensive
experience in logistics support, analysis, transportation and distribution.
"The LOGTECH program will be a great value to both the Department of Defense
and the private sector by providing an educational platform to address common
challenges we face in logistics," said Robert G. Burton, director, Advanced
Support Concepts at The Boeing Co., which has signed on as a participant in the
program.
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