WPI launches supply chain management graduate program

File Photo Citing the growing industry, WPI is now offering a logistics supply chain program.

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By Zachary Comeau

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is introducing a master’s degree supply chain management program, as the industry is expected to grow to $19 billion in four years.

In a Monday press release announcing the launch of the program this fall, WPI references companies like Boeing and Amazon, the latter of which is seeking a city to host its second North American headquarters.

Worcester, Leominster, a coalition of Marlborough-area towns, Boston and other cities in the state along with hundreds of others in the country are trying to woo the internet commerce giant to come to their respective municipality.

The program, however, was conceived well before the Amazon hysteria, a WPI spokesperson said.

The 36-credit degree program can be completed on a part-time or full-time basis and includes an intensive analytical curriculum and a required consulting project in which students work on real-world problems and manufacture solutions and ideas for companies.

Two 12-credit, four-course graduate certificate programs are also available.

“WPI is launching its supply chain management program just as demand for professionals in the field is growing, the result of companies worldwide grappling with burgeoning logistics needs,” WPI said in press release. “Amazon.com, 3M, Estee Lauder, General Electric, and Boeing are among the many companies that are currently hiring supply chain managers.”

The release cites two analyst firms that say supply chain management is growing quickly, with it growing as much as 11 percent this year and on pace to exceed $19 billion by 2021.

Amy Zeng, assistant dean and interim department head of WPI’s Foisie Business School and director of the new program, said the program will cover every aspect of supply chain management, including analytics, leadership, technology, global perspective and social responsibility.

“Supply chain ties directly to a company’s bottom line—its profitability,” she said in the release.. “There may be thousands of ways to make the same product, but to be competitive and have acceptable prices you have to predict your needs, work with suppliers, factor in logistics, and so on. Our graduates will be prepared to do all that and more.”

Note: This story has been edited to remove a reference to a STEM designation for the program.