Supply Chain Management

What is Supply Chain Management?

Competition in the 21st century is increasingly less about competing firms and more about competing supply chains. Companies who can have the right product, in the right place and the right time, enjoy a higher profitability than other firms who struggle with this concept. Firms work together within their supply chains to create a higher service level for both their end customers and the members of the supply chain while at the same time controlling costs. To do this, they must work together to coordinate the distribution of resources and synchronization of the flows of materials, cash and information throughout the chain from the supplier to the end user and back again.

Import managers, inventory managers, buyers, commodity managers, and export managers can expect high five-figure to low six-figure salaries with five to eight years of work experience.

Typical jobs in supply chain management include demand planning and inventory management, logistics management, procurement management, materials management, and supplier selection and management.

If you are interested in obtaining a deeper understanding of how supply chains work in a variety of industries, consider minoring in supply chain management or majoring in supply chain management. Taught through a marketing lens, the Supply Chain Management curriculum teaches the balance of managing both the demand for goods and services and the supply of goods and services.

The Elon Supply Chain Management Major

Elon’s curriculum enables students to be good stewards of ethical and sustainable business practices when sourcing and delivering goods and services. Courses include Operations and Supply Chain Management, Marketing Channels, Logistics and Distribution, and Supply Chain Management Performance. The focus reflects an integrated business approach aligned with marketing and finance objectives.

Elon students focusing in supply chain management will:

Gain a base knowledge of terminology and application of supply chain management.
Learn how to integrate decision making tools like Excel or SAS JMP software to supplement decision making.
Apply knowledge of terminology, concepts and decision making tools to common supply chain management cases.
Understand ethical and sustainable practices for sourcing product and services.

Supply Chain Management Degree Requirements & Courses

Supply Chain Management Resources

For more information about the Supply Chain Management Focus, contact Coleman Rich, chair of the Department of Marketing and International Business, at richcole@elon.edu.

Supply Chain Management Advisory Council Members

Ajay Bhardwaj

Management Consultant at Glen Raven Materials Solutions Group. Ajay is an accomplished executive in global supply chain planning, business transformation, & global logistics. He has forty years of leadership experience in the Consumer Durables industry, initiating and executing transformational changes, evolving operational structures, and making a positive impact on top-line and bottom-line growth.

His expertise includes Strategic Planning, Supply Chain Management, Project Planning, Manufacturing, Product Development, Cross-Functional Team Leadership, Leading with Vision, and Empowering People.

To reach Ajay Bhardwaj please email him at abhardwaj@glenraven.com

Jacob Cunningham

Advisory Director for PwC. Jacob specializes in SAPS/4HANA Transformations and Digital Supply Chain Solutions. He has over 20years of SAP transformation and digital supply chain planning, engineering design, and manufacturing transformation experience. His area of expertise is strategy development, process transformation, and SAP ERP technology implementations in the industrial products, chemicals, A&D, and government industries.

Specialties are Process Improvement, Certified Project Manager, Supply Chain Management, Six Sigma, Manufacturing, ERP, SAP, Lean Manufacturing, Strategy, and Business Analysis.

To reach Jacob Cunningham please email them at jacob.r.cunningham@pwc.com.

Lotte Fox

Business Fellow Lotte Fox ’24 is pursuing a B.S.B.A. in project management and supply chain management. She is also a collegiate athlete participating on Elon’s Division I women’s golf team. She is an Incoming Supply Associate at Mars Petcare.

Specialties are Communication, Strong Work Ethic, Team Leadership, Problem Solving, Time Management, and Organization Skills.

To reach Lotte Fox please email them at cfox13@elon.edu.

Angie Hitchings

Director Supply Chain Architecture at Qorvo, Inc. Angie’s specialties are Supply Chain Management, Cross-Functional Team Leadership, Semiconductors, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Process Improvement, Product Development, Inventory Management, Operations, and Team Building

To reach Angie Hitchings please email them at Angie.Hitchings@qorvo.com

Fred McClintock

Most recently Vice President of Bridgestone Americas and CIO & CISO for U.S. Tobacco Cooperative. Fred is a successful Information Technology business leader whose career started in Materials Management, Procurement and Supply Chain over 30 years ago with Mobil Oil. “I thrive in an environment where I can be strategic but also love getting my hands dirty and solving problems.” A background in implementing ERP, predominantly SAP, and leading global IT teams across many industries and geographies has made for an exciting career. Fred is really excited about the opportunity to work with the Supply Chain Management students and faculty at Elon and also network with industry peers from many disciplines. I look forward to learning a lot from all involved.

To reach Fred, please email him at fred.mcclintock@gmail.com or connect through LinkedIn.

Josh Quade

Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at GXO Logistics.

Specialties include Human Resources, Recruiting, Talent Acquisition, Sourcing, Employee Relations.

To reach Josh Quade please email them at josh.quade@gxo.com.

Cynthia Stanton

Cynthia Stanton is the North American Director of Supply Chain Operations for the Agricultural Products (AP) division of BASF. In this role, she has responsibility for all aspects of supply chain performance, including demand, supply and raw material planning, inventory and capacity planning, production scheduling, distribution planning, exports, logistics, warehousing and customer service. Before joining BASF in 2013, Cynthia spent 13 years in the semi-conductor industry where she held a variety of positions with increasing leadership across supply chain. Originally from upstate NY, she has a bachelor’s degree in international business and Operations Management from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an Executive MBA from UNC Chapel Hill.

Specialties are Semiconductors, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Manufacturing, MRP, Strategic Planning, Six Sigma, Project Management, Supply Chain Management, Continuous Improvement, and Lean Manufacturing

To reach Cynthia Stanton please email them at cfcarothers@gmail.com.

Radhika Tawade

Supply Chain Rotational Program NA Road Logistics Specialist at Dow. Radhika graduated Elon University in 2023, she double majored in Business Analytics and Supply Chain Management. Radhika was the Lead Student Ambassador for The Center for Organizational Analytics and also the Lead Student Ambassador for the Student Professional Development Center.

Specialties are Data Analytics, Programming, Working with People, Team Building, Microsoft Project, Managerial Accounting

To reach Radhika Tawade please email them at rtawade@elon.edu.

Britt Tolar

Plant Manager for Johnson Controls. Britt has extensive experience in lean manufacturing, engineering, program management, cost reduction and quality in steel and rubber processing. He has direct experience with Lean processes in Japan and the USA.

Specialties are Toyota Production Systems, Lean Manufacturing, Leadership, Improvement, Value Stream Mapping, Manufacturing Engineering, Process Improvement, Engineering Management.

To reach Britt Tolar please email them at britttolar@hotmail.com.

Craig Trumbo

Global Supply Chain Manager for Syngenta Professional Solutions. Craig is an energetic, resourceful, and results-oriented leader with diversified & entrepreneurial experience in End-to-End Global Supply Chain Management including Demand Management, ERP Implementation, Innovation, Strategic Sourcing, Merger & Acquisitions, Sales & Operations Planning, Manufacturing and 4PL Logistics.

Specialties are Sales and Operations Planning, Sourcing, Negotiations, Manufacturing Operations Leadership, Forecast and Demand Planning, Logistics, Salesforce, Six Sigma and Strategy.

To reach Craig Trumbo please email them at craig.trumbo@syngenta.com.

Ying Zhou

QC Lab Manager at Hallstar Company.

Specialties are Quality control, ISO 9001-2015, Lab Management, Global Technical Sourcing, Supply Chain Management, Product Development, Process Improvement, Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma.

To reach Ying Zhou please email her at yingzhou123@gmail.com.