“In today's marketplace, it is important for business leaders to be exposed to innovative ideas, technology, and trends through unbiased, third-person, balanced perspectives. That is exactly what the forums at the University of Tennessee deliver. They are about sharing ideas and successes with peer companies and supply-chain partners and are a valuable resource in gaining access to industry experts, cutting-edge research, as well as prospective future employees. The forums help validate assumptions and strengthen the business planning process. I have gained a tremendous amount from this association and recommend the forums highly.”

—Barry Dale; President and COO; Cendian Corporation

“The Supply Chain Strategy & Management Forum gives us unparalleled opportunities to network with and learn best practices from peer organizations, have access to accomplished graduates, and have priority access to research that can positively impact our company’s bottom line. UT recognizes the synergistic value of integrating supply chain concepts with customer value in achieving a competitive advantage. I highly recommend the forum for the tangible, financial benefits that it can provide.”

—Fran Mirmina; Director, Worldwide Customer and Distribution Services; Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.

“Our University of Tennessee forum membership has been a very cost-effective way for us to benchmark and learn about supply chain best practices. Our payback has been significant. We have interacted with diverse organizations outside of our supply line and tested our strategies against different perspectives. We have driven down costs, reduced inventory, and improved customer service. How much is due to forum membership? It is hard to say, but our forum involvement has allowed us to be grounded and more confident when implementing new ideas. When deciding which supply chain forum to attend, the University of Tennessee — with its superior reputation and faculty expertise —was, for us, the clear winner. Tennessee is a tremendous university that is distinctly one of the top supply chain schools in the country.”

“I would recommend UT's supply chain forum because of its unprecedented networking opportunities, cross-supply chain educational value, and access to top-rated students and cutting-edge research. UT is renowned for having one of the country's top-rated logistics and supply chain programs, and this is our preferred school for recruiting exceptional logistics professionals.”

“In these challenging economic times with increased emphasis on global supply chain issues, it is important to align with organizations who can help you differentiate your company's products and services from your competition. Milliken has forged a relationship with the University of Tennessee forums for this purpose.

The forums' fundamental benefit is benchmarking, although we are also exposed to the latest in research, breakthrough thinking, technology, and successful methodology; best-class practices from other participants; and virtually unlimited access to an extraordinary faculty and some of the most qualified candidates for recruitment. The forums have fostered a heightened level of awareness and education within our organization that has positively impacted many key metrics, and our learnings on a more statistical approach to forecasting have influenced our entire supply chain system.”

— Kathryn Anderson; Division Supply Chain Director; Milliken & Company

“The University of Tennessee forums offer an excellent means to benchmark and solve forecasting and supply chain problems. The forum offers peer interaction, staff education on best practices, and the availability of the latest research and development. An outstanding program.”

“Being on campus twice year will help us recruit talented employees. The value of that is hard to assess. One approach is to look at the cost of using a headhunter to recruit. The cost to us is at least $25,000 per person. So if we even recruit one person, we more than pay for the forum. We have actually hired three UT supply chain grads, and they are among our highest potential employees today.

Access to the UT professors and research through the forum will pay direct dividends. Tom Mentzer is one of the true stars in the field, with Ted Stank close behind. They are completing some research on best practices in supply chain and are willing to offer significant discounts to members to do assessments. Bottom line, this alone could pay for the forum membership.

We manage in Whirlpool's supply chain over $450 million in inventory and $350 million in operating cost. If we get only one idea that helps us save one-tenth of one percent, we pay for the forum membership. To date, we attribute a $30 million inventory saving to the work we have done with UT, and it is growing...that was a January, 2004 number. In addition, in 2003, we took over $15 million out of our operational cost. We attribute at least 10 percent, or $1.5 million, to ideas gained at UT. ”

“UT’s Supply Chain Strategy and Management Forum has developed the capability of delivering current industry trends and research, providing real-world perspectives on supply chain issues, and bringing to us actionable techniques that can be integrated into our business. It is shortsighted of a company to only look internally for ways to grow and position themselves, especially in an area as vital as the supply chain. Our ability in the forum to network across diverse industries and along the supply chain continuum is helping our company to better understand, identify with, and shape responses to vital issues confronting our supply chain partners.”

“Sponsorship of UT’s Integrated Value Chain Forums is a key component of LP’s supply chain management vision, which we believe will ultimately result in increased profitability, competitiveness, and customer satisfaction. UT offers a group of highly talented, visionary, and motivated thinkers who relate real-world problems within a real-world context. They recognize that supply chain management encompasses more than logistics or purchasing. They have a clear focus on the synergistic value of integrating traditional supply chain elements with fundamentals as crucial as sales forecasting and customer value.”

—Ashley C. Weisner; Director of Supply Chain Management; Louisiana-Pacific Corporation