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 terri.herod@isye.gatech.edu.

As output, Bedir will develop a report on returns management best practices and opportunities, available to all EMIL sponsors and participating companies. She will also formulate a case study for use in EMIL's Reverse "Green" Logistics course taught during the program's European Residence.

Spotlight:
Contract Manufacturing

EMIL Fellow: Jinpyo Lee
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Amy Ward
and Dr. Anton Kleywegt

Jinpyo Lee's planned study of Contract Manufacturing, sponsored jointly by EMIL and BAX Global, is an example of a proposal in the EMIL Research Projects category. Lee's research will take an unbiased look at the Contract Manufacturing (CM) industry and its relationships with third-party logistics providers (3PLs), now and in the future. In addition, the study will shed light on the factors impacting the expectations that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have for CMs and 3PLs with an eye to defining effective strategic relations between the two groups.

Spotlight:
China Logistics Study

EMIL Fellow: Ni Wang
Faculty Advisor: Dr. J.C. Lu

Another key EMIL Scholar's project is aimed at gleaning vital information about the logistics environment of one of the fastest growing and most challenging markets in the world: China. With an annual economic growth rate topping 10%, the importance of this unique market to businesses worldwide is tremendous. Ni Wang's China Logistics Study is an Infrastructure Project designed to provide U.S. corporations with a reference for starting new logistics business ventures in China. It will include an overview of federal governmental organizations that impact logistics corporations, as well as provincial and municipal governmental structures. The study will also detail procedures and documents required to operate in China, outlining steps that a start-up third-party logistics provider must follow when entering the Chinese marketplace as its example. Finally Ni Wang's research will provide predictions of the changing role of government involvement in the logistics environment of China. The initial study will focus on one logistics services company located in one province as the basis for creating a research model that can be applied throughout China in future EMIL research studies. The wealth of information gained from this project will serve as an invaluable resource for EMIL sponsors, and enhance the EMIL curriculum during the Asia Residences.

The EMIL Fellows program has been welcomed enthusiastically by both industry and academia, according to EMIL Executive Director Dr. John Vande Vate. "As students at the premier school for Industrial & Systems Engineering, these doctoral candidates are some of the smartest people in the world," said Vande Vate. "With the EMIL Fellows program, we can now offer them funding for vital research, while tapping their brainpower to build the EMIL program curriculum and advance industry's knowledge base."



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