While tools and IT are important, smart logistics starts with thoroughly trained logisticians.
By Henry Canaday, MLF Correspondent
As supply chains extend across the world, older platforms are kept
in service longer and life cycle costs grow ever larger in tight defense
budgets, lean logistics becomes critical to keeping adequate forces in
the field. And while tools and IT are important, smart logistics starts
with thoroughly trained logisticians.
Fortunately, education in logistics and supply chains is expanding, both generally and for military specialists. Programs are available
both for initial logistics training and for the continuing education
that keeps practitioners up to speed in a rapidly changing field.
These courses can be given in classroom or online. They encompass the basics: warehousing, transportation, distribution, planning
and so forth. But increasingly, courses also address IT systems and the
latest forecasting techniques. And military logistics must also pay close
attention to the contract negotiations that secure private collaboration
and the regulations under which defense planners must operate.
Bill Kobren, director of the Logistics and Sustainment Center
of the Learning Capabilities Integration Center, said the Defense
Acquisition University (DAU) is uniquely positioned to provide DoD
logisticians with training and support. “Our faculty members are experienced practitioners across the system life cycle, having extensive military, civilian and industry acquisition, sustainment and operational
experience.” DAU’s curriculum was developed in consultation with
policymakers at the Pentagon, and DAU works closely with all military
services, defense agencies and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Kobren emphasized that DAU trains life cycle logisticians, not
those who specialize in supply, maintenance or transportation
duties. The university trains almost 19,000 of these logisticians of
the defense acquisition workforce, as well as logisticians in other
functional communities. In fiscal year 2014, DAU reported 182,000
course completions, including online and resident courses. Military
students accounted for 13 percent, 81 percent were civilian defense
and 6 percent were from industry. In addition, 673,000 continuous
learning modules were completed online.
Kobren explained that life cycle logistics means planning, developing, implementing and overseeing comprehensive, affordable and
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effective support strategies. These life cycle logisticians ensure systems are designed, maintained and modified to reduce operating and
sustainment costs and minimize necessary logistics support.
DAU uses the Defense Department’s field competency requirements and integrates training in an acquisition learning model with
three elements. Foundational learning is done in classrooms and
by Web-based distance learning. Workflow learning uses Web-based
knowledge sharing tools such as communities of practice, ACQuipedia and performance support. Performance learning involves direct
engagement through mission assistance, team training, individual
qualification and mission workshops.
DAU has 13 training courses—five in the classroom and eight
conducted by distance learning. These include Earned Value and
Acquisition Management, Facilities Engineering, Auditing and Business, Cost Estimating, Financial Management and several courses in
Contract Management. One of the classroom courses is post-Level III
LOG 365 executive training for defense product support managers.
There are two major Web-based communities of practice, including
a performance-based logistics community. Thirteen DAU courses
have received graduate or undergraduate credit from the American
Council on Education. Another five will be evaluated later this year.
DAU offers 53 Web-based continuous learning modules, plus 92
ACQuipedia articles. Support tools include more than 420 government and industry tools and data repositories.
In addition to LOG 365, DAU recently introduced a LOG 215
Technical Data Management Web course. It will soon revise LOG 200,
Product Support Strategy, LOG 204, Configuration Management and
LOG 235, Performance-Based Logistics, all Web courses.
The University of Texas at Dallas introduced professional certificate programs in supply chain management, product lifecycle
management and lean six sigma in 2003. Initially the programs were
short certificate programs but since 2010 the school has integrated
them as a Graduate Certificate in Product Lifecycle and Supply Chain
Management and students can continue to complete a MS in Supply
Chain Management or MBA. Students also have the option to do the
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professional certificates. Their Center for Intelligent Supply Networks
(C4iSN) helps companies effectively grow and nurture their human
capital investment
The process of delivering goods and services better, faster and
cheaper sounds simple but can sometimes be unpredictable and lead
to shortages or surpluses. Over the past two decades, the supply chain
journey has evolved through a number of distinct phases along with
a shift in power from suppliers to customers. Over the course of this
evolution, supply chain professionals have expanded their perspective
and philosophy from an inventory-centric view to an order-centric
view to a product-centric view today.
“Today’s organization needs people who understand the big picture, know their role in the supply chain, are trained to solve problems, analyze data, be more quantitatively skilled and willing to learn
and adopt the latest technologies,” said Divakar Rajamani from the
University of Texas at Dallas
“We have students from military background participate in our
program,” said Rajamani. “However, most of the students in my
program, even those from military are all seeking a job in the civilian
sector. If there are customer specific learning objectives, we develop
and deliver custom modules in the program to suit the student mix in
the class.” As an example, Rajamani noted that they will invite guest
speakers from Army and Air Force Exchange Service based on topics
of interest.
Ultimately, our focus is on people said Rajamani. “Whether it
is about getting closer to your customers, creating new products,
improving existing processes or implementing technology enablers,
people are ultimately at the center of every initiative. Yet, compared to
the billions spent on advanced technologies and process reengineering, investment in employee education is significantly lagging. This
has to change because business cannot realize its maximum value
potential without closing this knowledge gap.”
The American Military University offers accredited bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in both Transportation and Logistics Management
(TLM) and Reverse Logistics Management (RLM), explained Associate
Vice President Brian Muys.
TLM programs are designed for military transportation logisticians, transportation personnel or related specialists and government
or corporate specialists working in the same fields. Stacey Little, TLM
program director, said students integrate theory, strategy, economic
principles and best practices of TLM and apply these principles to
real-world scenarios and activities. Bachelor-degree students can
choose from three concentrations: general, reverse logistics and air
cargo. Master-degree candidates can choose general, reverse logistics
or maritime-engineering management.
Reverse logisticians plan, execute and control efficient return of
products from point of consumption to point of origin to recapture
value or properly dispose of excess. The university’s RLM programs
are accredited by the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and
Programs, the only RLM program so recognized.
Program Director Robert Lee Gordon said RLM teaches students
the theory and practice of reverse logistics management in the military, as well as in civilian businesses. “It offers extensive courses in
reverse logistics management to expose military and civilian reverse
logisticians to different methodologies.”
Muys would not say how many students take AMU’s logistics
courses, but noted that business and management students such as
logisticians collectively represent more than 25 percent of the university’s total enrollment of more than 100,000 students worldwide.
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And economy-wide, this is a very attractive field. Transportation
and logistics management is the second largest employment sector
in the U.S. Muys’s university places students in a variety of organizations, including the Defense Department, the Federal Aviation
Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and
private firms like UPS, Wal-Mart, DHL, Goodyear, Amazon and various airlines.
The Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute offers
logistics degree programs and concentrations at the bachelor, masters and doctorate levels in the College of Engineering and College
of Business, explained Managing Director Tim Brown. The institute
also has non-degree certificate programs and short courses in supply chains and logistics for military personnel.
“We are launching eight new online courses in supply-chain
fundamentals, tied to new national supply-chain certifications that
the Department of Labor has sponsored,” Brown said. “Military personnel are a primary audience for the new programs, which include
warehousing, supply-chain principles, customer service, transportation, inventory and procurement.” Professional education programs
are open-enrollment with no admission requirements. Certificate
programs do have entry requirements.
Brown stressed his institute’s 70 years of experience in logistics education, which started with warehousing. The school has
particular niches in warehouse and distribution center operations
and analysis and in lean supply chains. He also stated that “we are
the only school that offers the new certification courses as online
courses, self-paced, so students can start at any time and complete
them over six months.” The institute’s overall logistics program
is now the largest in the U.S. Georgia Tech will launch its Supply
Chain Project Management Certificate program in autumn 2015.
The institute has about 400 students in its degree programs and
1,300 in its certificate programs. Brown estimates that 10 percent
of certificate students are in the military.
The Florida Institute of Technology offers a bachelor’s degree
in logistics management and master’s degrees in logistics management and management of humanitarian and disaster relief. Spokesman Andy McIlwraith said all programs are offered at various off-site
FIT locations and online.
Core courses for FIT degrees depend on the program of study,
and some of the most common are: managerial statistics, systems
and logistics support management, logistics policy, inventory control and management, cost and economic analysis, supply-chain
management and distribution management. MacIlwraith emphasized these courses are taught by professors with experience in the
field, and FIT has a long tradition of educating military professionals
in logistics.
Webster University offers several undergraduate and graduate
degrees with logistics content. But the Master of Arts in Procurement and Acquisitions Management is by far Webster’s most popular degree program for military logisticians, according to Michael
Callan, a retired Air Force brigadier general and now associate vice
president for Military and Government Programs. “We also have
seen a growing demand growing for our certificates in Government
Contracting and Program Management,” he added.
Webster’s graduate program in procurement and acquisitions
encourages students to examine the legal framework of acquisition
contracts and translate need assessments into operating methodologies. Classes also cover the competitive and financial environment
of price proposals using cost and price analysis and investment
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return. “Procurement-management professionals find value in the
program’s focus on physical distribution management, warehouse
management and layout, transportation and customer service,”
Callan said.
Webster’s graduate certificate in government contracting is
designed for contracting practitioners new to government contracting who want to enhance their skills in acquisition management. The
school’s management certificate is designed to equip students with
theoretical concepts and practical skills.
Callan said Webster understands military students require flexibility. Its Master in Procurement and Acquisitions management and
certificate programs are available online. Under a partnership with
DAU, Webster provides classes for defense workers in acquisitions,
technology and logistics. “Students are offered specialized courses
in contracting, acquisitions management, pricing, negotiations and
procurement law,” Callan noted. These certificate courses are equivalent to certain DAU courses and meet requirements of the Defense
Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act.
Webster is excited about its new Program Management Certificate
and continues to work with DAU to evaluate DoD’s demand for logistics, acquisition and program management courses.
North Dakota State University offers a Master of Managerial
Logistics degree online for military officers and defense civilians.
The program addresses all 12 elements of the National Logistics
Curriculum and is listed in Army Pamphlet 600-3 for Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management.
Denver Tolliver, director of Transportation and Logistics Programs at NDSU, said the program provides knowledge needed for
global logistics and supply chains and stresses coordinated actions
in complex emergencies. The curriculum is built around supplychain and logistics courses of 17 credit hours, plus courses on
logistic technologies and operations. A total of 35 credits must be
completed in courses such as logistics, enterprise resource planning, crisis management, supply chain planning, technology and
transportation security.
NDSU incorporates the latest research and technologies into
its courses. Case studies are updated with new examples from both
private industry and the military. Technology courses incorporate
the latest advances in data collection and analysis, communications,
RFID, remote sensing and asset tracking. The instructor in enterprise
resource management has SAP ERP certification. The course emphasizes business process analysis for alignment with ERP systems and
familiarization with organization assessment and change management tools for ERP implementation.
“Graduates tell us they approach problems differently with an
enhanced ability to synthesize data for informed decision-making,”
Tolliver noted. He stressed that NDSU is a veteran- and militaryfriendly university that offers in-state tuition to veterans, reservists
and active-duty military.
The Institute for Defense and Business offers a number of logistics
programs for military, government and private managers. Its core
program is the Center of Excellence in Logistics and Technology,
LOGTECH, at the University of North Carolina. IDB also offers Log21
for early-career logisticians and a Life Cycle Executive Leadership
Program to help manage life cycle costs. Its MedLog21 provides
supply-chain skills for medical logisticians, and its LogMBA is a twoyear program offered in partnership with two top business schools.
President and retired Army Major General Jim Hodge said the
independent IDB can cultivate the most relevant, custom-designed
curriculum by selecting the best faculty from schools across the
country. According to Hodge, “IDB works to incorporate business
acumen into its courses while offering students a joint perspective on
current military challenges.”
IDB’s Depot and Arsenal Executive Development Program provides live value-stream analyses on-site for production challenges in
industrial operations of defense and private organizations. And IDB
has developed extensive relationships with more than 70 corporations, which support IDB with instruction and residencies.
In 2016, IDB will offer a Military Transition Program to ease the
transition between military and civilian careers. O
For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan
at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories
at www.mlf-kmi.com.
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