Verda Blythe

“The Grainger Center's unique administrative structure provides students with direct access to faculty and staff for academic and career counseling throughout their MBA experience.”

VERDA BLYTHE
Director,
Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management
Wisconsin School of Business

Undergraduate Specialization

A specialization in supply chain management is available to all undergraduate students enrolled in the School of Business. Students can add this specialization to their current business major. To complete the supply chain management specialization, students take six required courses and one of three electives. Students learn to think about the supply chain in an integrated business framework both in and out of the classroom from our faculty and applied learning program.

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Required Courses

  • Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management
    MKT/OTM 421 Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management is the foundational course in the specialization curriculum. The course provides students with an understanding of the linkage of key business functions and how effective supply chain management can improve performance and provide competitive advantage. Learning activities are a combination of lecture, case studies, and guest speakers from multiple industries. The course also includes a web-based simulation project, where student teams compete in managing a high-tech company’s supply chain.
  • Procurement and Supply Management
  • Production Planning and Control
  • Marketing Channels
  • Logistics Management
  • Supply Chain Business Process Strategies

Electives

  • Marketing Research
  • Retail Management
  • Operations Research I

Jobs and Earnings

Students who are enrolled in the supply chain management specialization consistently earn higher salaries in their internships and full-time employment than students who are not in the specialization. The average full-time salary offered to the class of 2008 was over $48,000. Some of the companies that offered students full-time and internship opportunities include:

  • AT&T
  • Best Buy Company
  • Discover Financial Services
  • Ford Motor Company
  • General Mills
  • Harley-Davidson Motor Company
  • Intuit
  • Kimberly-Clark Corporation
  • Kohler Company
  • Kohl’s Department Stores
  • Kraft Foods Oscar Mayer
  • Lowes
  • Macy's
  • Miller Brewing Company
  • Nestle USA
  • Procter & Gamble
  • Sears Holding Corporation
  • Target Corporation

Personalized Experience with a Close-knit, Fun Community

The Grainger Center provides each student with personalized career advising. Students are connected—directly and personally—with an extensive network of industry executives, alumni, corporate partners, and faculty. Students in the supply chain management specialization have the unique opportunity to receive guidance from this network throughout the program.

Scholarship Opportunities

A number of scholarships are available to students in the supply chain management specialization.

During her junior year, Lindsay Olthafer (BBA December 2007) received the 2007 R. Gene Richter Scholarship. This prestigious national award is affiliated with the Institute for Supply Management and is given to a very select group of students each year. Lindsay received $5,000; an invitation to the 2007 ISM Annual International Conference in Las Vegas; and a senior-level executive mentor for her senior year (Greg Shoemaker, chief procurement officer with Hewlett-Packard). Gene Richter was a legendary executive who helped transform IBM's supply chain and founded IBM's supply chain leadership development program.

Network with Industry Leaders

In addition to its extensive employer network, an Executive Advisory Board links the Center to industry, keeping the program at the forefront of business knowledge. Each year, three students are chosen to represent the supply chain specialization at the annual Executive Advisory Board meeting. Students make short, formal presentations to the board and have the opportunity to network with high-level supply chain leaders. Some of the companies represented on the board include BASF, Cisco, Genzyme, W. W. Grainger, Inc., Harley-Davidson Motor Company, IBM, Johnson Controls, Motorola, and Procter & Gamble.

The Center encourages interested students to talk with Director Verda Blythe about the requirements for adding a supply chain management specialization to their major. Call Verda at 608.262.1941 or email her at vblythe@bus.wisc.edu.

100% Placement

Supply chain management talent is in high demand, as the Center's placement record of 100% placement for summer internships and full-time employment reflects. Our graduates achieve quickly and notably. Average starting salaries are consistently the highest among peer schools, ranging from $80,000 to $110,000.

Close Community

Supply chain management students have the best of two worlds--the resources of a large, world-class university and hands-on, personalized attention made possible by the in-depth resources offered by the Grainger Center. The Center provides each student with personalized career and academic advising.  Students are connected--directly and personally--with an extensive network of industry executives, alumni, corporate partners, and faculty. Students receive personalized guidance from this network throughout their time in the Wisconsin MBA.

Industry Partnerships

The Grainger Center has deep ties to industry. Its extensive network of corporate partners provides real-world perspective that enhances the curriculum and applied learning program and provides invaluable career guidance to students. The Executive Advisory Board is comprised of senior executives at leading firms renowned for supply chain management excellence.

Integrated Learning Environment

The curriculum is cross-functional, applied, and collaborative, allowing students to learn about supply chain management in an integrated business framework from renowned faculty with expertise in supply chain management and other business disciplines.