Spotlight
Business: Supply Chain Expert
| USF College of Business
Jim Stock is the Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing in the USF College of Business.
Photo by Aimee Blodgett | USF News
What happens when a supply chain isn't working? According to USF's Jim Stock, the answer is not much. Which is a big problem when it comes to business.
Stock, who was recently honored with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals' Distinguished Service Award, is an expert in supply chains, logistics and everything it takes to get products from point A to point B.
Every product, whether it is a blouse or a seat belt fastener used at a manufacturing firm, starts out as raw material, Stock explains. "Materials have to flow to suppliers, manufacturers and ultimately to the customer" he says. "This flow, or function, is what supply chains are all about."
The award, which is the highest honor an individual can receive for achievements in the industry, isn't the only award Stock recently received. The marketing professor spent several days in Turkey in October, where he received the Special Lifetime Logistics Service Award from Yasar University and the 9th International Logistics and Supply Chain Congress for his outstanding research, achievement and continuous contributions to the field.
"Supply chains aren't boring," adds Stock, who acknowledges that the term often conjures up images of complicated flowcharts and diagrams. "It is a key business function."
And if the supply chain isn't working, not much happens.