By SARA GIBONEY
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – The University of Nebraska at Kearney Supply Chain Management program has launched a business center to enhance students’ classroom learning experiences.
The “Center” employs students interested in pursuing a career in supply chain management.
“We want to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity,” said Greg Benson, supply chain management coordinator and assistant professor of marketing. “The business center is application based, so what students learn will reinforce what they’re learning in the classroom.”
UNK offers a supply chain management emphasis within the business administration major in the College of Business and Technology.
The program was established at the recommendation of business leaders from the distribution and transportation sectors to provide graduates with skills that add value in procurement, logistics, transportation and product management positions.
Professionals in the supply chain management field engage in planning, forecasting, purchasing, transportation, storage, distribution, and sales and customer service from the raw materials to the finished product.
The business center will give students internship preparatory training designed specifically for the responsibilities associated with supply chain management. This will allow students to learn more advanced supply chain management responsibilities during their internship experience.
A group of students are currently completing their internship training in the business center for a summer internship at GIX Logistics in Grand Island.
The business center also serves as a satellite office for businesses that identify specific students they would like to have carry out assigned activities.
Students working at the business center could provide project analysis services and other supply chain management services for businesses.
Offering students job opportunities in the supply chain management field as undergraduates could also help them obtain employment with those companies after graduation, Benson added.
UNK faculty are working to establish partnerships with businesses in Nebraska.
The business center will help generate a small amount of revenue for the supply chain management program. Businesses will be billed and students will be paid for their work, but there will be a $2 difference in what UNK pays the students and what they bill the companies. The revenue will help pay for Supply Chain Management Organization events and more. The Supply Chain Management Organization helps students develop leadership skills and network with professionals in their field.
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Source: Greg Benson, 308.865.8022, bensonge@unk.edu
Writer: Sara Giboney, 308.865.8529, giboneys2@unk.edu
