Joseph Sandor
Hoagland-Metzler Endowed Professor of Practice in Supply Management
MBA: University of Chicago Expertise includes cost prevention/reduction, team building, strategic supplier alliance formation, systems development, logistics optimization, shared services and consolidated procurement.
Since I joined the Broad School’s Supply Chain Management Department in March 2006, I’ve been able to really appreciate all that this academic unit has brought to the business of logistics, operations management and procurement over the years. For instance, my esteemed colleague John Hoagland, professor emeritus of the Broad School for whom my endowed professorship was named, was the first to teach a course in “physical distribution.” Dean Emeritus Don Bowersox wrote the first logistics textbook. Everyone in this growing field owes them a debt of gratitude. They elevated the profession to what it is today and continue as icons to drive continuous improvement and visibility.
Company connections:
a holistic approach to the supply chain
My job is to bring a renewed focus to informing and disseminating our department’s pertinent work to the supply chain management world. I’m making connections with companies and finding untapped areas of research, education and innovation. My goal is to help ensure that what we do in supply chain management at the Broad School is relevant, grounded and feasible with active participation from the end users – both students and industry. There’s a high demand for our “product,” and I see an opportunity to increase our visibility.
Over the past six years, I’ve helped companies, such as Harley Davidson, Rolls-Royce, Delphi, Electrolux, Deere, Whirlpool, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, the U.S. Air Force and others, make smart supply management decisions. Prior to consulting, I spent 15 years with the Sara Lee Corporation and was responsible for $12 billion in annual purchases.
I also spent some time teaching executives at the University of Chicago (which I also plan to do here at the Broad School) and I was able to share my insights regarding the future of the industry with emerging executive talent. In fact, one of my former students helped to create a software tool that quickly and easily recognizes cost-reduction opportunities in a design configuration – and did this based on my observation that such a tool would be useful in the corporate world. Now it’s commercially available and companies use it to build cost control into their products.
When such a tool has a clear impact on business, it’s obvious that the supply chain field will continue to gain importance. Firms are more narrowly defining core competencies, buying more while making less and focusing energy with key suppliers for various goods and services. With the introduction of chief supply chain management officers, skill sets in this area need to increase dramatically. Company organizational charts are reflecting the new focus in this field, and there are increased expectations.
We plan to address this issue going forward with a holistic approach to teaching and research that integrates operations, logistics and purchasing. Both traditional and executive education must support a curriculum that balances all three of these disciplines. More and more, industry is breaking down the silos between these areas of learning, and we can enhance our competitive advantage by similarly integrating supply management to create well-rounded students and research. The Broad School invented this discipline. I plan to help this school stay on the leading edge.
Marketing and Supply Chain Management
2005-06 Academic Year
Research
Tomas Hult, professor, received a grant from the Institute of International Public Policy (IIPP) and the United Negro College Fund for his Faculty Development and Study Abroad Program for Faculty from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
David Closs, The John H. McConnell Chair in Business Administration, received a three-year grant for the Assessment and Benchmarking of Food Supply Chains from the Department of Homeland Security. The grant involves three projects, the largest of which focuses on food supply chain security and assessment. Closs is the Principal Investigator of this project, along with individuals from the Broad School, the Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice and Gateway Systems.
Steven A. Melnyk, professor, was awarded a grant from IBM for his “Toward a Resilient Organization” research project.
New Faculty
Blake Ashdown
Professor of Practice
Mike Lobbestael
Professor of Practice
Joseph Sandor
Hoagland-Metzler Endowed Professor of Practice
Enrollment
| Undergraduate | |
| Marketing | 905 |
| Supply Chain Management | 502 |
| Master’s | |
| Logistics | 17 |
| Manufacturing and Innovation 6 | |
| Doctoral | |
| Logistics | 4 |
| Marketing | 16 |
| Operations and Sourcing Management | 12 |