MRI: Acquisition of Major Components Required for Constructing Supply Chain Test-bed for Teaching, Research and Service

Southern Illinois University At Edwardsville, Edwardsville IL

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program award is to create a unique, multi-disciplinary and state-of-the-art supply chain test-bed in the School of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). This test-bed will provide faculty, technical experts, and students with valuable resources necessary to innovate solutions to manufacturing and supply chain problems. Specifically, the test-bed will be constructed in a way to represent various layers of supply chains such as suppliers, manufacturing facility, warehouses, and customer locations. Importantly, the test-bed will be designed in a generic manner to allow further technological advancements. It can also be configured to explore the impact of lean production in supply chain systems. The test-bed will be built in a real-life setting and SIUE Bookstore will be a primary retailer. A Web-server system will be used to enable online control and integration of information, production, and cash flows. If successful, the test-bed will expose SIUE students to state-of-the-art technology in supply chains and facilitate and encourage their career development in this field. By providing real-life applications in a flexible and generic environment, the test-bed will provide a significant tool to train researchers from local industries and to educate students from local universities in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The test-bed will also help attract local high school students and teachers to the summer internship programs offered by SIUE, referred to as Students and Teachers as Research Scientists. Once the physical test-bed is installed, exploratory research will produce preliminary results, which will subsequently be used for future research project proposals that will be submitted to various research agencies. The preliminary analyses and results will play a crucial role in further shaping up the quality, context, relevance, and credibility of the subsequent research proposals and programs at SIUE.