The Executive Masters in International Logistics & Supply Chain Strategy (EMIL-SCS) class of 2011, completed its fifth and final residence, May 15 - 26 in Louisville, KY, Columbus, OH, and Atlanta, GA, and they graduated with a Master’s in International Logistics on August 5, 2011.

This residence focused on manufacturing, logistics infrastructure in the Americas, and NAFTA-US-Mexico trade agreements.  The students began the first week in Louisville, KY with a two-day course taught by Dr. Mark Spearman, founder, president, and chief executive officer of Factory Physics, Inc.  The course covered Factory Physics, Inc.’s techniques within the four walls of manufacturing with the objective of removing constraints, improving throughput, and improving productivity. 

On day-two, the class visited UPS Worldport Hub for a discussion with UPS-SCS.  The class took an operations tour and reviewed a case study on end of runway fulfillment.  Additionally, UPS-SCS presented an overview on their global service capabilities.  Once that portion ended, the class began a tour of UPS Worldport HUB.  Worldport serves all major, domestic, and international hubs, and tours can only take place between 12:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. to view and understand the operational footprint of an integrated carrier-forwarder involved in the domestic and international movement of small package, parcel, hundred weight, palletized heavyweight and ground freight.   

From Louisville, the class boarded a bus to Columbus, Ohio.  There they toured Limited Brands and participated in a site visit and supply chain discussion on DC operations (in, out, returns), labor and service management, benchmarking metrics, and an overview on their DTC delivery network. 

EMIL-SCS alumna Maria Rey (MS IL 2002), executive director of the Latin American Logistics Center, provided two half-days of instruction.  On her first day of instruction, Rey provided a close look into the Mexican consumer, current geopolitical issues influencing and shaping logistics and supply chain management in Mexico, the current economic climate in Mexico with special attention on near-shoring and the migration of manufacturing back into Mexico, Mexico’s role in Central and South America, and risks and promises of doing business in Mexico.  On day two, Rey discussed the scope, implemented areas, and pending issues of the NAFTA Agreement. She also reviewed the benefits of Maquiladoras and the challenges within cross-border supply chains. 

Prior to leaving Columbus, the class toured Longaberger Craft Company, discussing their product portfolio, sourcing strategies for raw materials, manufacturing and production, distribution, direct to consumer channel, and transportation and logistics strategies.  The class also visited with Rickenbacker Inland Port to view an Inland Intermodal Facility utilizing air, rail, and truck modes of transportation combined with foreign trade zone, distribution, and warehousing operations.

The class then returned to the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta to present their global projects to the EMIL-SCS staff and advisory board, and complete the final course work of the program. In lieu of a traditional master's thesis, the student executives participate in a team based global supply chain project.  Participants are encouraged to tackle projects with a minimum impact of $1,000,000.  The projects give students an opportunity to gain knowledge through the EMIL-SCS academic curriculum garnered over the 18 month program and apply those resources to a critical supply chain concern specific to their sponsoring companies.    

With coursework ongoing through their presentations, the students received instruction from Shijie Deng, associate professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), who provided the students with a general introduction into the concepts of risk management in the financial and operational aspects of logistics and supply chain management.  Jim Kellso, supply chain strategist with Intel Corporation and former EMIL-SCS advisory board chair, gave a presentation on supply chain innovation, optimization/customer alignment, and transformation. John Campi, managing partner with Genesis Management Group LLC, presented global sourcing strategies to mitigate and reduce risk in the supply chain. Lee Marston, a research fellow, with the Information Systems Research Centre at the Cranfield University School of Management, gave a review of supply chain technology, highlighting how to build IT/SCM organizational capability, IT-enabled SCM innovation, and the future of logistics and SCM technology.

The last two site visits for the class were to Ciba Vision and Norfolk Southern.  At Ciba Vision, they were given an overview and presentation of the pharmaceutical industry and manufacturing optical lenses.  Specifically, they discussed manufacturing and research, FDA compliance and regulations, and distribution and fulfillment.  The class also went on a manufacturing tour.  Lastly, at  Norfolk Southern Intermodal yard in Austell, Georgia, the class learned about intermodal trends in the U.S., Cofc versus Tofc volume, interchange agreements with UPSP-BNSF, involvement with development of railroad in emerging markets, capacity and volume constraint issues, capital investment plans for relief efforts, security concerns, and green-sustainability initiatives that are currently underway.

Congratulations EMIL-SCS class of 2011.  The EMIL-SCS program and ISyE are extremely proud of the newest group of alumni and excited about their future, as well as the continued networking and partnership opportunities with both the alumni and their sponsoring companies. 

For more about the EMIL-SCS program, visit their website at http://www.emil.gatech.edu/.