May 24, 2004, Monday
SECTION: SPECIAL REPORT2; Pg. 30
LENGTH: 2243 words
HEADLINE: Juggling act;
Logistics education is becoming broader and deeper to meet rising
standards
BYLINE: BY ALAN M. FIELD
BODY:
Your mission, should you accept it: Bring 1 million T-shirts from
Guangdong
province in China, all the way to the Port of Baltimore - within 15
weeks. You
will begin by deciding where to source those T-shirts. You will
evaluate local
Chinese partners not only on the basis of their productivity,
reliability and
pricing, but also their compliance with child labor laws or other
global
regulations. You will then negotiate land and ocean transportation
for those
shirts - from the factory in southern China through an appropriate
Chinese port,
and onto Baltimore - on time and within budget. You will also manage
and monitor
documentation for compliance with Chinese and U.S. regulations, and
meet
security standards everywhere along the route. Finally, you will
prepare for
surprises - a strike by dockworkers, piracy on the high seas,
officials
demanding payoffs and maybe even a typhoon sweeping across the South
Pacific. It
sounds like the job description for a high-paying, highly demanding
senior
position in global logistics. However, this exhausting list merely
outlines a
simulated, 15-week-long exercise undertaken by students at Fashion
Institute of
Technology's bachelor of science program in international trade and
marketing
for the fashion industries. To meet rising demands made on today's
global
logistics managers, the FIT program provides broad academic grounding
in such
disciplines as economics, cross-cultural studies and comparative
political
systems as well as highly focused practical training in the real-life
challenges
of working in the fashion industry.
Although the FIT program uniquely focuses on the needs of one
industry
sector, its demanding requirements reflect today's approach to
logistics
education. "These days, you need to understand all the pieces in
the puzzle:
regulatory (regimes), trade agreements (including market access),
licensing,
intellectual property, and so forth," said Donna Sharp,
executive director of
Pace University's World Trade Institute, which offers a 10-course
certificate
program in international trade management. "Even site selection
and economic
conditions are becoming part of the job. We used to just ship boxes;
we never
had to worry about those things."Although the FIT program
uniquely focuses on
the needs of one industry sector, its demanding requirements reflect
today's
approach to logistics education. "These days, you need to
understand all the
pieces in the puzzle: regulatory (regimes), trade agreements
(including market
access), licensing, intellectual property, and so forth," said
Donna Sharp,
executive director of Pace University's World Trade Institute, which
offers a
10-course certificate program in international trade management.
"Even site
selection and economic conditions are becoming part of the job. We
used to just
ship boxes; we never had to worry about those things."
Less than a generation ago, a career in logistics did not require
extensive
academic education, Sharp said. "Most people fell into logistics
one way or
another. It was not glamorous. It was back room. It did not require a
high level
of education or expertise. You could learn it on the job. Now,
however, you need
to be fairly educated to perform well."
Maria McIntyre, executive director of the Council of Logistics
Management,
agrees. "Before transportation rates were deregulated in 1979,
there was no such
career path as 'logistics manager.' There were traffic managers who
had books
they used to look up rates. There was no flexibility in that
job." When
established in 1963, McIntyre's organization was known as the
National Council
of Physical Distribution Management. Only in the mid-1980s did the
pre-eminent
group of executive training in this industry change its name,
reflecting the
sector's growing role and professionalism. "By then, the job
wasn't just about
distribution and traffic. It had evolved into 'logistics,' (a word)
that had a
more military connotation. The responsibilities were growing beyond
warehousing
into customer service, inventory, and so on."Maria McIntyre,
executive director
of the Council of Logistics Management, agrees. "Before
transportation rates
were deregulated in 1979, there was no such career path as 'logistics
manager.'
There were traffic managers who had books they used to look up rates.
There was
no flexibility in that job." When established in 1963,
McIntyre's organization
was known as the National Council of Physical Distribution
Management. Only in
the mid-1980s did the pre-eminent group of executive training in this
industry
change its name, reflecting the sector's growing role and
professionalism. "By
then, the job wasn't just about distribution and traffic. It had
evolved into
'logistics,' (a word) that had a more military connotation. The
responsibilities
were growing beyond warehousing into customer service, inventory, and
so on."
Now, after a wave of mergers and acquisitions "companies are
thinner, and the
responsibilities of logistics (managers) are broader," McIntyre
said. "Logistics
has grown to be more inclusive of the supply chain. We are now
managing more
activities, and with fewer people." Nowadays CLM's professional
membership
includes logistics professionals who are "knowledgeable about
sourcing,
procurement, product design, security, international planning,
finance and
accounting," McIntyre said. "It is much broader in terms of
key
responsibilities."Now, after a wave of mergers and acquisitions
"companies are
thinner, and the responsibilities of logistics (managers) are
broader," McIntyre
said. "Logistics has grown to be more inclusive of the supply
chain. We are now
managing more activities, and with fewer people." Nowadays CLM's
professional
membership includes logistics professionals who are
"knowledgeable about
sourcing, procurement, product design, security, international
planning, finance
and accounting," McIntyre said. "It is much broader in
terms of key
responsibilities."
Today's Web-based tools allow logistics managers to share current
data with
other departments, and play a role in shaping strategy - not just
managing the
flow of goods. "Logistics management has become more
strategic," Sharp said.
Gradually, the word has spread that logistics provides the key
competitive
advantage for many of today's most profitable companies. The huge
success of
Wal-Mart, Dell Computer and others is widely attributed to their
mastery of the
supply chain, not skill at product innovation.Today's Web-based tools
allow
logistics managers to share current data
"Lee Scott, at Wal-Mart, came up through the ranks as a
logistician," adding
further prestige to the career path, McIntyre noted. "Before,
logistics people
were off in left field, doing their own thing. Now they have an
important role.
For example, at ConAgra, the senior VP of integrated logistics now
reports to
the CEO."
No wonder logistics education is getting more academic and more
practical.
These days, logistics professionals "need to know enough about
other people's
jobs to ask them the right questions," Sharp said. "We give
people the
confidence to ask the right questions, and make things better."
Sharp's curriculum at the World Trade Institute aims to provide a
balance of
basic academic knowledge and specialized skills. The curriculum
consists of 10
courses, including five core subjects. "We had to be very
selective. The top 10
things people need," she said. Everyone takes the five core
courses - on
imports, exports, global logistics, trade finance and marketing and
sales. Many
students already have a degree, but they want to change their career
mid-stream.
"Some students are people with MBAs who want specific
skills," Sharp said.Sharp
's curriculum at the World Trade Institute aims to provide a balance
of basic
academic knowledge and specialized skills. The curriculum consists of
10
courses, including five core subjects. "We had to be very
selective. The top 10
things people need," she said. Everyone takes the five core
courses - on
imports, exports, global logistics, trade finance and marketing and
sales. Many
students already have a degree, but they want to change their career
mid-stream.
"Some students are people with MBAs who want specific
skills," Sharp said.
Patrick Yanez, the Chilean-born economist who heads the FIT
program, said it
focuses on preparing entry-level professionals for the rigors of a
long-term
career. "Our students deal with real situations. They have to
get real price
estimates. They learn about all types of containers. Some teams visit
ports.
None of us are academics, and we are not required to publish. All of
our
teachers are practicing professionals. It is not generic. Everything
is
contextualized to the fashion industry."Patrick Yanez, the
Chilean-born
economist who heads the FIT program, said it focuses on preparing
entry-level
professionals for the rigors of a long-term career. "Our
students deal with real
situations. They have to get real price estimates. They learn about
all types of
containers. Some teams visit ports. None of us are academics, and we
are not
required to publish. All of our teachers are practicing
professionals. It is not
generic. Everything is contextualized to the fashion industry."
Thanks to the Internet, students can collect a great deal of
information
online that used to be available only on-site. At FIT, that means
frequent
visits to Web sites with details that logistics managers visit
on-the-job. "They
can go to the Web site of the port and study the roads and the
regulations,"
Yanez said. "If the factory is 60 kilometers from the port, they
have to figure
out a way to bring the garments by railroad or road. They have to
find out the
wait time. It's a little like medical school, where you learn with
dead bodies."
Not perfect, but very useful, in other words.
Internships at local garment companies add to the practical
impact, Yanez
said. Students must spend at least 12 hours a week as interns for one
semester.
"Almost 50 percent of the interns are offered jobs," he
said. For example,
former interns are now international license coordinators at Donna
Karan and
Rampage Clothing. Moreover, FIT's advisory board brings together
industry
executives, customs officials, attorneys and other international trade
professionals to help students. "If a team is stuck, they can
call up a lawyer
or business owner," Yanez said. An advisory board "keeps
the curriculum up to
date. It keeps us on our toes."
Despite programs like FIT's, Sharp argues that "there is a
lag, and the
educational community has yet to respond" fully to the needs of
the logistics
sector. Although more U.S. business schools now offer logistics
courses, "there
are very few logistics degree programs." Moreover, many business
school deans
"still think of export-import as technical or vocational
training, even though
it has gone beyond that. 'Distribution' is still merely one chapter
in many
marketing textbooks. It is hard for higher education to know where to
put us,"
Sharp said.
A strong supporter of the FIT approach, Sharp argues that
logistics education
"needs to be a balance" between the academic and the
technical. Current academic
programs - including business schools - tend to be more practical,
while
vocational programs are becoming more academic, "blurring the
lines" between the
approaches. "A lot of MBAs have unrealistic expectations,"
she said. For all
their theoretical knowledge, these graduates lack the simple
entry-level skills
that many employers are looking for - including "how to fill out
a letter of
credit," Sharp said.
In the long run, she predicted, "Logistics will become an
outgrowth of
business schools. Logistics will merge with business schools."
In so doing,
logistics will follow in the path of other disciplines that were once
deemed too
practical or vocational for elite academic institutions - including
public
relations, marketing and advertising.
Equally important for the industry are the CLM's efforts to upgrade
professional standards by providing mid-career training to logistics
managers
and chief executives who cannot enroll in formal certificate or
degree programs.
To fill in the gaps of their education, many logistics professionals
enroll in
seminars that the CLM provides throughout the year. Over the next six
months,
for example, the CLM will provide two-day "Fundamentals of
Supply Chain
Management" seminars in Chicago (September), Atlanta (November)
and New Jersey
(January 2005). Its next annual conference, in Philadelphia in
October, will
involve 350 speakers covering 29 training tracks, over the course of
three-and-a-half days. "CEOs can use professional organizations
to train their
people relatively inexpensively and quickly," McIntyre said.
The nonprofit CLM also runs educational seminars that help chief
executives
understand how logistics works - and why it can be so important.
"In the early
'90s, many CEOs didn't truly understand the impact of
logistics," McIntyre said.
When those companies cut their logistics budget and staff, "they
learned quickly
that it was like cutting your nose off." For all that, some
chief executives
still don't "get" logistics. "That's why we provide
training for CEOs," McIntyre
said. "FedEx and UPS get it, but it's not just big companies
that get it; it's
not a question of size. Some small companies get it. It's thought
process."
In other words, it's a matter of education. y
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