EMIL

EMIL Research Fellowships to Break New Ground in International Logistics

By Terri Herod, EMIL Managing Director

Georgia Tech's EMIL (Executive Master's in International Logistics) program launched its newly created EMIL Fellows program in November 2003. The EMIL Advisory Board named seven doctoral students from the School of Industrial & Systems Engineering as the first recipients of EMIL research fellowships. The EMIL Fellows were selected based on their abilities to both support the EMIL curriculum and industry-initiated research projects.

EMIL is a master's degree program that helps the world's leading companies develop creative, global logistics solutions by grooming their supply chain executives. Over the years, EMIL has collaborated with many industry leaders. Now, with the EMIL Fellows program, Georgia Tech continues this collaboration by integrating EMIL's industry focused, real world problem solving program and its more traditional graduate programs. Specifically, the Fellows program allows doctoral students to interface with and impact the real world of global logistics by engaging in research that has immediate business relevance. At the same time, it provides EMIL with the intellectual "horsepower" of the world's brightest, up-and-coming researchers to advance the EMIL curriculum and the supply chain field overall.

The EMIL Fellows program is designed to enhance the EMIL program in one of three areas. First, the Fellows can provide analytical support for one of the EMIL Global Supply Chain Projects. To participate in EMIL, class members must complete an 18-month, global supply chain project, handpicked by their sponsoring organization. Through the Fellows program, Georgia Tech now provides additional resources to increase the analytical strength of these global project solutions. Secondly, the Fellows can participate in EMIL Infrastructure Projects that enhance EMIL course content and are compatible with Ph.D-level research. Some examples include the development of an Internet-based supply chain game and the improvement of returns management algorithms and practices. Lastly, EMIL Fellows can address EMIL Research Projects by examining supply chain problems that are of common interest to both Georgia Tech faculty and EMIL sponsor companies.

EMIL FELLOWS ANNOUNCED
Recipients of the 2003-2004 EMIL Fellowships, their project areas and advisors are:
EMIL Fellow	Faculty Advisor	Topic
Gorkem Bedir Turkey	Dr. Jane Ammons	The Future of Returns Management
Ralph Mueller Germany	Dr. Christos Alexopoulos	Internet-based Supply Chain Game
Nan Li China	Dr. Leon McGinnis	Distributed Supply Chain Model (Intel Corporation)
Jinpyo Lee China	Dr. Amy Ward Dr. Anton Kleyweg	Contract Manufacturing Study (BAX Global)
Ni Wang China	Dr. J.C. Lu	China Logistics Study
Melda Ormeci Turkey	Dr. John Vande Vate	Variability in the Supply Chain
Deniz Dogan Turkey	Dr. Mo Bazaraa	General Motors Global Supply Chain Project

Spotlight:
The Future of Returns Management

EMIL Fellow: Gorkem Bedir
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jane Ammons

Reverse logistics is a growing concern for most corporations with an estimate of $137 billion spent annually worldwide. Although much research has already been focused in this area, Gorkem Bedir and Dr. Jane Ammons look to launch seminal research on the less understood topic of returns management, which ranges from 3 to 50 percent of all U.S. shipments, depending on the industry.

Bedir's initial research will explore current returns management approaches with an eye to developing industry recommendations for future best practices. Furthermore, Bedir expects to form a research col-laboration team consisting of industry partners and Georgia Tech faculty to develop analytical models that will improve insight and understanding of the returns management process. Companies interested in participating on the research team should contact Terri Herod, EMIL Managing Director at [email protected]