Scholarship & Research

Bird's eye view of University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus.

The Department of Supply Chain Management at the Haslam College of Business is a parent organization of the Global Supply Chain Institute. Its faculty members are among the most renowned scholars in the world. Their research propels the field forward and provides unparalleled insight for UT students and corporate partners.

Every year, our top faculty members shape supply chain best practices, highlighting the latest trends and staying ahead of challenges. Their research productivity led to the Supply Chain Management Journal List ranking UT No.4 for publications in top publications, such as the Journal of Supply Chain Management, Journal of Business Logistics, and Journal of Operations Management.

“The professors at UT really set themselves apart. Not only are they constantly in contact with industry professionals in supply chain and throughout the C-suite, which allows them to stay relevant, but they also take the time to care and develop relationships with them so you can continue talking with them (which I do, by the way) even long after graduation.”

– Barbara Melvin, Chief Operating Officer, South Carolina Ports Authority

Retailers that make it harder to return stuff face backlash from their customers

December 16, 2024

In 2018, L.L. Bean ended its century-old “lifetime” return policy, limiting returns to one year after purchase and requiring receipts. The demise of this popular policy sparked backlash, with several customers filing lawsuits. It also inspired my team of operations management researchers to study how customers respond when retailers make their return policies more strict. Our key finding: Whether they often or rarely return products they’ve purchased, consumers object unless those retailers explain why.

A female truck driver in the cab of her vehicle.

UT Research Finds Female Truckers More Likely to Comply with Safety Regulations

November 6, 2024

The research co-authored by Alex Scott found that male drivers were 13.2 percent more likely to have received a major unsafe driving violation.

See and Be Seen: Is There a Business Case for Supply Chain Transparency?

January 29, 2023

Companies’ desires to achieve greater supervision and control over their supply chains are heightened in the post-pandemic business environment, and are understandable when one considers the business disruptions that have occurred. Whether driven by internal needs for increased control, by customer directives, or by the need to become compliant with emerging regulations, companies are aggressively seeking ways to achieve higher levels of visibility, traceability, and transparency for materials and finished goods, as well as the actors that facilitate their movement through supply chains.

Person working at desk with calculators and laptops

Cost Avoidance: Not Everything That Counts Is Counted

August 31, 2021

The purchasing department holds the keys to organizational spending — in some industries, it accounts for more than 80 percent of the cost of sales. Purchasing meets its metrics by cutting costs, commonly recognized as spending less for an item this year than last. But purchasing also makes a significant contribution through cost avoidance, which means making a concerted effort to pay less for something than you would have otherwise, or to avoid an expense altogether.

A Logistics Logjam Is Coming – Are We Ready?

February 5, 2021

Two irresistible forces soon will crash together in the Western world: the e-commerce boom and the accelerating population shift to urban areas. When these two trends collide, they’ll create a challenge that United States and European logistics systems currently can’t handle.

Purchasing’s Hidden Dilemma: Conflicted Role in New Product Development Costing

January 29, 2021

Organizations that want to remain competitive make controlling costs and growing profit margins top priorities.

Can Supply Chain Integrity Predict Sustainability?

August 26, 2020

Led by values-driven millennial consumers, the market is putting considerable pressure on companies to be ethically responsible, part of the increasing focus on companies’ environmental, social and financial performance.

Medical supplies in a box carried by two people wearing white coats and globes

Breaking the Chain: GPO Changes and Hospital Supply Cost Efficiency

July 10, 2020

Procuring, transporting and storing medical supplies and devices can account for up to 40 percent of a hospital’s total operating expenses.

Crowdsourcing Last Mile Delivery: Strategic Implications and Future Research Directions

April 20, 2020

From the moment the first online consumer put an item in a shopping cart and clicked “buy now,” supply chain management has been scrambling to adapt its distribution strategies to fit the new reality.

Leveraging the Digital Supply Chain

April 17, 2020

Digital technology is poised to revolutionize supply chain management in the coming years.

Toward a Digitally Dominant Paradigm for 21st Century Supply Chain Scholarship

February 18, 2020

Many observers foresee dramatic upheaval on the short-term horizon for supply chain management (if the Harvard Business Review article “The Death of Supply Chain Management” is any indication) as traditional management is transformed by seamlessly interconnected digital information networks. Supply chain research, however, has thus far not adapted to accommodate the accelerating pace of change

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