Integrating Analytics Competencies with Operations and Supply Chain Functional Excellence at the University of South Carolina

Sanjay L. Ahire () and Mark Ferguson ()
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Sanjay L. Ahire: Department of Management Science, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
Mark Ferguson: Department of Management Science, Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208

Interfaces, 2025, vol. 55, issue 3, 179-194

Abstract: The Management Science Department at the Darla Moore School of Business (the University of South Carolina) is the winner of the prestigious 2024 INFORMS UPS Smith Prize. Along with the contemporary offerings in business analytics, our focus on functional excellence in the operations and supply chain domain represents a novel approach to producing analytics-savvy business graduates. In this article, we describe the architecture of the two programs and highlight the academic-industry collaboration innovations that have by their nature and scale led to unprecedented career outcomes for our graduates and benefited our industry partners in multiple ways. We offer details on the design and execution of specific initiatives and hope that more programs will replicate this difficult but effective model to produce graduates with the ability to use analytics as a means for better organizational performance rather than an end unto itself.

Keywords: Smith Prize; analytics; operations and supply chain; experiential learning; academic-industry collaboration; Lean Six-Sigma (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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