Dr. Tom Gattiker, Professor of Supply Chain Management, is teaching a new course, SCM 420 “Creating Sustainable Goods and Services” this semester. He would love to have some non-business students who are interested in the material and has asked us to this information with students who may find it appealing. He will waive the prerequisite for students who are genuinely interested and who have demonstrated that they can do basic mathematics and quantitative analysis.
About the course
Environmental and social performance is imperative for successful businesses today. The supply chain is the key to unlocking improvements in product/service innovation, energy efficiency, community health, and economic equity, along with superior economic returns. In fact, sustainable supply chain management has been termed the next industrial revolution.
When done right, sustainability increases brand differentiation, reduces costs, and increases resilience.
We will learn about numerous tools for increasing sustainability throughout the supply chain and throughout the lifecycle of products and services.  These tools include greenhouse gas footprints, green design (DfE), industrial ecology, fair trade, and many others. We will be doing a number of engaging projects, and we will also involve numerous speakers from within the University and the world outside.
Prerequisites are SCM366 or IE minor; however, it is likely that many students will have picked up the required skills in other course work so students without SCM366/IE should check with the professor if they are interested in enrolling this Fall.
Generally, there will be one in-person class session per week focused on hands-on activities, plus one session’s worth of independent asynchronous content. In-person sessions: Tues or Thurs 9:00-10:15 in MBEB
Your instructor
Dr. Tom Gattiker, is a Professor of Supply Chain Management. Before obtaining his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia (2000), he held a variety of industry positions in operations and inventory management, most recently at Rockwell Automation/Reliance Electric.. His research appears in leading journals including the Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Supply Chain Management, Journal of Business Logistics and MIS Quarterly. He is a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt who enjoys consulting with community non-profits.  He loves to spend time in the outdoors with family and friends.