Supply Chain Executive Forum Examines the Growing Role of Logistics in Industry Industrial and Systems Engineering Perspectives

Supply Chain Executive Forum Examines the Growing Role of Logistics in Industry

Enterprise Systems: Industrial and Systems Engineering Perspectives

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THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE FOR ISyE AT GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Summing Up Spring 2003 and Looking

PUBLISHED BY Forward ISyE Georgia Institute of Technology Lionheart Publishing Inc. John Llewellyn, President by William B. Rouse

EDITORIAL Managing Editor Ruth Gregory This issue marks the completion of the first year of Engineering Enterprise. This ISyE / Georgia Tech year has featured special issues on education, security, and enterprise systems. Arti- Atlanta, GA 30332-0205 cles on these themes and others have highlighted initiatives by faculty, alumni, and Tel: (404) 385-2627 Fax: (404) 894-2301 other leaders from academia, industry, and government. [email protected] I have received quite a bit of feedback on Engineering Enterprise. Many alumni – Contributing Editor Sarah Banick and other folks also – have been very positive about the orientation and content of [email protected] the magazine. People also like the name, especially the term “enterprise.” My article in this issue outlines why an enterprise orientation makes great sense for our engi-

ART DIRECTION & PRODUCTION neering discipline. Art Director Alan Brubaker, ext. 218 Plans for the next year of Engineering Enterprise are well along. The Spring issue [email protected] will focus on Natural Systems. In this issue, we will consider what can be learned Publication Designer Donna Mazal, ext. 226 from nature that can guide the design and deployment of engineered systems. One [email protected] example will address how the new carpet in my office at Georgia Tech was designed on the basis of how nature designs floor covering in a forest. SALES & MARKETING The Summer issue will focus on Health Systems. Several of our faculty are lead- Advertising Sales Marvin Diamond, ext. 208 [email protected] ing research on improved clinical practices, consumer and medical decision making, health care informatics, quality assessment and management in health care, and evaluation of medical technologies. The articles in this issue will illustrate how our CIRCULATION Circulation Manager Maria Bennett, ext. 219 programs in these areas are thriving. [email protected] Knowledge Mining will be the focus of our Fall issue. This will include reviews of research on how best to address the increasing wealth of information available in ADVERTISING OFFICE corporate and transactions databases, as well as the immense flow of e-mail infor- LIONHEART PUBLISHING INC. mation. The issue will explore the nature of knowledge mining and how our statis- 506 Roswell Street, Ste. 220 Marietta, GA 30060, USA tics faculty are on the leading edge of these pursuits. (770) 431-0867 Our second year will conclude with a Winter issue on Supply Chain Manage- Fax: (770) 432-6969 ment. This will include a discussion of the emergence and maturation of this area E-mail: [email protected] over the past couple of decades. The formation, accomplishments, and future direc- tions of The Logistics Institute (TLI) will be reviewed. We will also feature inter- Engineering Enterprise is published quarterly by Lionheart Pub- views with several illustrious alumni whose companies are viewed as innovators in lishing Inc. and ISyE, Georgia Institute of Technology. Editorial contributions including manuscripts, news items, and letters to logistics and supply chain management. the editor are welcome. Unless stated otherwise, articles and You can see that we have quite a year planned for Engineering Enterprise. Our goal announcements reflect the opinions of the author or firm and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Engineering Enterprise, is to keep you apprised of leading-edge trends and developments in the many areas Lionheart Publishing Inc., ISyE, its advertisers, or sponsors. Yearly of Industrial and Systems Engineering. We will often highlight our own faculty, stu- subscriptions (four issues) are available for $18 (U.S.), $22 (Cana- dents, and alumni. In addition, as recent issues have exemplified, we intend to quite da & Mexico). Payable in U.S. funds. frequently showcase invention and innovation by others. Please let us know how you

Copyright © 2003 by Lionheart Publishing Inc. and ISyE. All rights reserved. No think we are doing. portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written William B. Rouse is the H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and Professor of the permission of the publisher. Printed in the USA. School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 1 2003

S TATE O F T HE S CHOOL

Moving Beyond Number One

Where do you go beyond number one? ISyE has held the think next year will be an additional five percent. That’s number one ranking in industrial/manufacturing engineering happening all over the country. The average major public for the past 12 years, according to U.S. News & World Report research university in the United States gets about 26 per- rankings. School Chair Bill Rouse, making his third annual “State cent of its support from its state, which is roughly what of the School” address, shared his ideas with alumni and friends Georgia Tech gets. The percentage is heading down.” at the October 2003 Alumni Assembly. The highlight was his • “Since DuPree College of Management moved to Technol- “virtual tour” of the School’s wide-ranging program areas and ogy Square, we now have two primary buildings – up until interests, the ISyE Portfolio (see side-bar below). this time we were in seven buildings. To give you a sense of scope, we have roughly 100 faculty/staff and 1,200 students. Below are additional highlights from Dr. Rouse’s presentation: We’ve recently gone through the process of moving 195 • “We’re fortunate in a tight economy to still be doing some Ph.D. students into offices, allocating people among space. modest hiring even though our budgets are very tight. The courtyard between these buildings and the instruc- Last year the Georgia state budget was decreased by five tional center is all ours now, so we’ve had our first party in percent, and this year will also be five percent, and they the courtyard. We got a big banner that said ‘ISyE’ on it.”

The ISyE Portfolio

Today’s ISyE has ambitious goals and an impressive Large-Scale Optimization Vision: Georgia Tech as the source of new industrial portfolio of talent and expertise to accomplish those goals. Opportunity: Large-scale problems in design, manu- logistics system design and control technologies, including School Chair Dr. Bill Rouse recently led the faculty through facturing, operations, finance, and medicine involve alloca- development of theory and methods, as well as realistically an exercise to determine the depth and breadth of ISyE’s tion of discrete resources, the optimization of which can complex demonstrations. expertise. The result is ISyE’s vision of strategic initiatives in yield substantial economic benefits. the following areas: Vision: Ongoing world-class research and education in Enterprise Systems stochastic optimization, mixed-integer programming, Opportunity: Continuous, radical change has become Logistics and Global Supply Chains dynamic programming, continuous (convex) optimization, the norm for enterprises ranging from distributed global cor- Opportunity: Globalization, integration, and accelera- global optimization, and simulation-based optimization porations to homeland security. Enterprise-oriented systems tion are shaping logistics innovation and enabling econom- applied in domains ranging from airline and marine opera- engineering can enable successfully addressing this challenge. ic growth and job creation by development, evaluation, and tions to medical systems. Vision: A process architecture including leadership, dissemination of best practices. core values, and enabling processes; supported by systems Vision: Leading-edge research and education in land, Manufacturing Systems engineering and statistical knowledge, methods, and tools sea, or air transportation and the supply chains of retail Opportunity: Creation of large-scale discrete flow sys- transformed to address total enterprise environments to and manufacturing firms, focusing on areas of globaliza- tems that are efficient, adaptable, robust, environmentally improve efficiency and effectiveness of enterprise operations tion, security, optimization, and increased productivity with benign, and sustainable using powerful tools for describing, and outcomes. fewer resources. analyzing, evaluating, and controlling. Human Systems Opportunity: Supporting human performance in socio- Economic ISyE Portfolio Strategy & Policy technical systems requires that system design embody an inte- Strategy • Economic Development • Sustainable Development grated understanding of human, organizational, environmental • Disease Control and technological propensities, abilities, and limitations. • Science & Technology Policy Vision: The Human Systems Institute provides intellec- Customer Management Supply Chain Mgt. tual focus, international visibility, and sustained support for • Revenue Management Enterprise • Air & Sea Cargo • Distribution Systems research in human integrated systems; human-computer Strategy • Reverse Logistics Transportation Systems • Vendor Managed Inventory •Operations Command Mgt. & Control • Trucking interaction; organizational simulation; enterprise systems; • Customer Relationship Mgt • Semiconductor Mfg. • Car Sharing and information management in transportation, logistics, • Airline Operations • Automobile Assembly manufacturing, healthcare, education, and defense. • Hospital Operations • Air Traffic Management Enterprise Supplier• Management. Materials Handling Operations • Just-In-Time• Warehousing Manufacturing Health Systems • Outsourcing & Procurement Opportunity: Advances in information, medical, and Enterprise• Auctions Info. Systems. • Enterprise• e-Commerce Transformation (B-B) biomedical knowledge, coupled with rising healthcare costs, inequities in access, aging populations, legacy information Enterprise • Enterprise Resource Planning • Product & Process Data Mgt. systems, and increased consumer expectations require new Infrastructure • Knowledge Management methods for effective design, analysis, management, and decision making for health care planning and delivery. Within Across Across Across Organizations Enterprises Market Economy

2 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu • “We’re in the beginning of the planning process for our new grow, and Bill Kessler of Lockheed Martin will continue building. We’d like to be in the new building, say five or six with us for a second year.” years from now. We’re trying to get it dovetailed into the • “The Executive Master’s in International Logistics has next campaign for the campus. One thing we’ve learned been very successful. We just enrolled our third class of 30 from the current building process at Technology Square, executives who typically average 16 years experience at the and it’s a principle we will apply: the probability of raising director or vice president- money for a new building is inversely proportional to its logistics level at companies all ISyE Facts 2003 current height. In other words, before you build it is the over the world. What’s interest- time to raise the money. We’ll need a mixture of alumni and ing about this program is that Student Body other gifts, along with state funding. If you do a mixture you we’ve had this weak economy 1042 Undergraduates can get ahead in the process – otherwise, relying solely on over the past few years, and state money can take you 20-25 years to get a building. We’ll this program is going strong. 274 Master’s students have more about that in the future.” This is the largest class yet.” 195 Ph.D. students • “We now have four Edenfield Executives. One has just • “One of our new initiatives is joined us, Nathan Kaufman, who is a senior vice president this magazine, Engineering in HealthCare Strategy at Superior Consulting Holdings Enterprise. It’s a quarterly, Degrees Granted Corp. Jeff Tew from General Motors is spending a year and we hope to go to about with us, and is actually helping us across campus, not just six times a year and double 289 B.I.E. with ISyE, but also with all of the automotive related work the current size. So give us 229 M.S. across campus. Ken Boff of the U.S. Air Force Research your feedback and give us Laboratory continues with us helping the systems area your news.” 20 Ph.D.

Vision: The Health Systems Research Center provides Vision: World-class research center in engineering sta- Homeland Security intellectual focus, international visibility, and sustained sup- tistics, experimental design, quality and reliability improve- Opportunity: The analysis, modeling, and design or port for research in biological and health systems with an ment, and total quality management; role model for robust and efficient stochastic-network systems in commu- emphasis on disease modeling, treatment, management, interactions and synergies between cutting-edge research nication, transport, and security is critical. Image and and control; modeling and analysis of delivery systems; and and immediate industrial applications. speech recognition, feature-extraction and information col- decision support technologies and methodologies for the lection, and synthesis techniques are essential to support creation, planning, and delivery of healthcare services. Knowledge Mining various security initiatives. Opportunity: Strategies and techniques to discover and Vision: Strong cross-disciplinary teams working togeth- Revenue Management extract hidden, useful, and non-trivial knowledge from large- er to make Georgia Tech a leading institute in security-relat- Opportunity: Applying economics/finance to enter- scale enterprise data through data mining, statistical mod- ed research, education, and outreach initiatives. Integrated prise systems involves multiple agents, markets, and com- eling, and simulation methods. systems engineering and mathematical science approach petitors, and provides many opportunities for optimizing Vision: Leading-edge data mining algorithms, activity provides world-class solutions. uncertain revenues, costs, and profits across operations monitoring, wavelet and multi-scale modeling, statistical and systems. design and modeling, ranking selection and variance reduc- Educational Technology Vision: Development of dynamic pricing, lead-time tion, simulation, graphics, and software development. Opportunity: The classroom of the future will be differ- strategies, supply chain coordination schemes, contract and ent from today, relying less on textbooks and lectures and incentive mechanisms, investment models, and decision Modeling and Simulation more on web-enabled educational tools. Top educational support tools. Opportunity: Large-scale efforts to reengineer programs will lead these developments. processes and transform enterprises often require huge Vision: To enable our graduates to succeed in enterprises Management of Uncertainty investments. Analysis, modeling, and simulation of such ini- of the future, we will create virtual industrial systems, i.e., com- Opportunity: Analyze and optimize performance met- tiatives enable well-informed investments. puting environments in which students will be able to experience rics such as throughput, profit, on-time delivery to improve Vision: Foster and enable cross-disciplinary R&D activ- and analyze a system in real-time and will be able to apply and efficiency and quality of life in domains such as semicon- ities and educational programs in modeling and simulation test their engineering skills to control that system. ductor manufacturing, yield management, healthcare deliv- across Georgia Tech and the broader community. ery, e-business on demand, and water resources. Workplace Communication Vision: Understand, quantify, and manage variability in Natural Systems and Sustainability Opportunity: Beyond having world-class engineering complex dynamic systems, such as manufacturing, com- Opportunity: Needs to assess and mitigate environ- knowledge and skills, Georgia Tech graduates should also munications, and service systems via probabilistic models mental impacts, optimize interventions in biological sys- have world-class communications skills to assure success and methods. tems, and glean design insights from nature and in the global professional marketplace. complex systems. Vision: An educationally oriented program that is Quality and Reliability Engineering Vision: Employ industrial and systems engineering based on unprecedented research in the workplace, Opportunity: Manufacturing, hi-tech, and service knowledge and skills to assess impacts upon the environ- enhances students’ communications skills, advances stu- industries are under constant pressure to continuously ment and biological systems. Apply concepts and methods dents’ abilities to continue learning communications skills improve products and processes. Innovative statistical from natural systems to human-made systems to assure effi- throughout their careers and is integrated with the stu- methods coupled with substantive knowledge are key to the ciency, usability, and sustainability; and yield environmen- dents’ programmatic coursework. acceleration of improvement. tal, health, and economic benefits.

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 3 TLI

Logistics, Supply Chain Systems, and Enterprise Transformation

By Chelsea (Chip) C. White III, ISyE Chaired Professor in Transportation and Logistics and Executive Director of TLI

In two other articles in this issue, Bill in-bound transportation providers, supportive with the aforementioned Rouse describes an exciting, newly which move auto parts from suppliers core activities of the School. Fur- emerging initiative, the enterprise sys- to assembly plants, with interest in thermore, the enterprise trans- tems initiative; and Bill Kessler presents acquiring first-tier suppliers and offer- formation initiative potentially an excellent example of how one large ing to move parts in-plant, directly to brings the ISyE faculty into closer aerospace firm went through an exten- the assembly line. contact with other disciplines and sive organizational transformation in Other examples of this transforma- helps to provide a context for response to a need for improved inter- tion are the growth of supply chain understanding the broader implica- nal coordination. The intent of this solutions and services at firms in the tions of our contributions. article is to address two related ques- transportation sector such as UPS, tions: How is this new initiative con- FedEx, J. B. Hunt, Schneider, and CNF. nected to some of the core activities Thus, firm level transformations occur- within ISyE, specifically, logistics, and ring in the manufacturing sector of the There are, of course, forces supply chain analysis and management economy are causing, and are likely to and their inextricably linked mathe- continue to cause, firm level transfor- that may not affect the matical and optimization-based under- mations within the service sector. pinnings; and how may the enterprise In response to these industry fundamental structure of the systems initiative be synergistic with level dynamics, the TLI and related these core activities? Let me begin with leadership have responded with two firm but will affect the design some background comments. initiatives: John Langley’s Supply I suspect that as the enterprise sys- Chain Executive Forum (SCEF), as and management of the tems initiative moves ahead, there will described in yet another article in be much interest in understanding the this issue, and John Vande Vate’s firm’s supply chains. exogenous forces that cause many, if Executive Master’s in International not all, firms in an industry to pursue Logistics (EMIL), where the “inter- similar transformations at roughly the national” in the latter initiative is same time. Examples of the impact of related to the forces supporting these industry level forces include the globalization, two of which are There are, of course, forces that may downsizing and outsourcing in durable improved communications and not affect the fundamental structure of goods manufacturing that has been improved freight transportation the firm but will affect the design and occurring in the last decade and the systems. Both initiatives represent management of the firm’s supply shift from vertically to virtually inte- an evolutionary expansion, with no chains. Examples include the growth of grated firms that occurred in the com- diminution, of the aforementioned a superior supplier base off-shore and puter industry in the mid-1980s. ISyE core activities. I might add that any new information technology that One may claim, as I do, that the TLI-Asia Pacific, headed up by for- creates a higher level of asset visibility in forces that are leading durable goods mer ISyE Chair John Jarvis in the supply chain. And the fundamental manufacturing to downsize and out- Singapore, provides us with oppor- tools and techniques used for analysis source are causing concomitant service tunities to better understand the are likely to be different from those industries, such as the freight trans- implications of doing business and used by disciplines outside of ISyE that portation industry, to become more designing, managing, and analyzing are involved with the enterprise trans- vertically integrated. Thus, as the auto supply chains in Asia Pacific. Both formation initiative. Thus, the core ISyE industry outsources its freight trans- SCEF and EMIL represent an effort activities in logistics and supply chain portation needs, transportation com- to segue toward the enterprise level analysis and management, and the panies, e.g., trucking, rail, and shipping, from that part of the firm responsi- underlying mathematical and opti- are expanding their core competency ble for transportation, logistics, and mization-based approaches to problem set to include logistics, and more supply chain analysis and manage- solving, will represent a distinct, com- recently, supply chain management and ment; and as such, a strong link plementary activity vis-à-vis the excit- design. In fact, in the auto assembly with the emerging enterprise sys- ing, new enterprise transformation industry, we are witnessing off-shore tems activity can be mutually initiative.

4 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu EMIL

Intel and EMIL Set The Stage For The Future Of Supply Chain Optimization

By Terri Herod, EMIL Managing Director

In a move that may transform how gives corporations access to future Intel The goal of the research is to create a companies address supply chain man- technology. This approach of staying means for testing diverse supply chain agement, Intel® Corporation has teamed one step ahead of its competitors has strategies and operational tactics under up with Georgia Tech’s EMIL program, made Intel one of the most innovative different scenarios in order to discover a master’s degree program that helps the and visionary corporations in the indus- which strategy is likely to achieve the world’s leading companies develop cre- try today. Applying this approach to sup- best performance. Eventually, the simu- ative, global logistics solutions by ply chain management, Intel is commit- lation methodology developed could be grooming their supply network execu- ted to keeping itself and its customers integrated with rough-cut analytic tools tives. The objective of this collaboration: “One Generation Ahead”in this arena as for faster analysis and decision-making. to create cutting edge supply chain mod- well. This recent grant and its associated “In the future, the simulation tools eling and simulation tools. research funding represent a critical step we develop will enable companies to Intel and EMIL have a strong rela- in fostering a quantum change in supply make solid, informed supply chain tionship that dates back to the program’s network optimization – made possible decisions in real-time,”said Dr. McGin- inception in 1999. Intel executives have through the advent of Intel’s faster pro- nis.“Instead of reacting to unexpected served on the EMIL Advisory Board and cessing technology. events with ‘back of the envelope’ sup- have sponsored executives as EMIL par- “By increasing the depth of the rela- ply chain adjustments, managers will ticipants since 2000.“Intel has chosen to tionship between EMIL and Intel, we be able to simply ‘plug in’ various alter- invest in EMIL because it helps us to are building new capabilities that will natives, run the distributed simulations have a world-class supply network and allow us to model our businesses as and choose the most effective, afford- to take full advantage of changes in the never before,”stated Jim Kellso, Manag- able option.” economy and respond quickly to any er of Supply Network Research at Intel and all opportunities,” said Cindie Corporation . “Georgia Tech excels in Kienitz, Worldwide transportation Man- the engineering and mathematical ager of Intel Corporation. expertise needed to analyze supply net- Now, Intel and EMIL are teaming to works while Intel offers the advanced support global supply chain innovation technology needed to make complex and state-of-the-art research. In October simulations possible.” 2003, the Intel © Innovation & Educa- The distributed simulation model- tion Program granted Georgia Tech’s ing approach under development with School of Industrial & Systems Engi- the Intel technology will enable com- neering (ISyE) $30,000 in computer panies to model and manage the hardware, including 3.06GHz Worksta- unpredictability of their supply chain tion 650s with Intel Xeon™ Processors, with greater ease, accuracy, and speed for use in the school’s ongoing distrib- than ever before. In this research uted supply chain research spearheaded effort, individual supply chain ele- by Dr. Leon McGinnis, Georgia Tech’s ments are represented via independent Eugine C. Gwaltney Chair in Manufac- simulation models capable of com- turing Systems. In tandem, EMIL’s Advi- municating with one another, much as sory Board approved funding through factories and warehouses communi- Subscribe to ORMS Today, the EMIL Scholars Program to support cate. They can then pass material to your source for faculty research on the same topic. By one another through transport sys- Operations Research and the combining Intel’s super-fast processors tems that are similarly modeled as Management Sciences. with Georgia Tech’s mathematical and independent simulations. These simu- engineering expertise, this collaborative lation models, while running on dif- Visit us on the web: effort will explore the newest frontier in ferent computers, communicate with www.orms-today.com supply chain solutions. one another over the internet using or call Maria Bennett: As an established industry leader, High Level Architecture (HLA), a soft- 770.431.0867, ext. 219 Intel has always pushed the envelop with ware infrastructure for support of dis- for more information its “One Generation Ahead”strategy that tributed simulations. www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 5 in the NEWS

NOTED ECONOMIST ROBERT BARRO Monetary Economics as well as the Jour- Alan Nager, BIE 1982, co-founder nal of Economic Growth. In addition, he of Operations Associates in Greenville, GIVES TENNENBAUM LECTURE is a regular columnist for Business Week South Carolina, has sold his firm to the and a frequent contributor to the Wall James N. Gray Company in Lexington, The United States economy is get- Street Journal. Kentucky. Nager will remain president ting stronger, and deficits aren’t neces- In 1996, Barro was appointed a of Operations Associates. The com- sarily a bad thing, Harvard professor member of the Academy Advisory bined firm will offer integrated process and well-known economist Robert J. Board of the Congressional Budget design, facility master planning, engi- Barro told students, faculty, and friends Office. He has been a research associate neering, and construction for manufac- gathered for the annual Tennenbaum at the National Bureau of Economic turing and distribution clients. Nager, Lecture in November. Research since 1978 and is a member of his wife Rhonda, and their two sons live While admittedly not the biggest fan the Mont Pelerin Society. He is a fellow in Greenville. of the Bush economic plan, Barro feels of the American Academy of Arts and Harold Reynolds, BIE 1982, has the growing strength of the U.S. econo- Sciences and the Econometric Society. been reappointed to the Georgia my is a positive long-term trend. Bar- He has also served as president of the State Board of Technical and Adult row is encouraged by the current Western Economic Association and Education by Governor Sonny Per- economic numbers and stock market vice president of the American Eco- due. Reynolds is chairman and chief activity, and told the audience that the nomic Association. executive officer of Citizens Union recent tax cuts and the war in Iraq are The Tennenbaum Lecture endow- Bank. He and his wife Lesley have contributing to the economic boost. ment was established in 1977 by two children, and the family resides One reason is war spending – Barro Michael E. Tennenbaum, BIE 1958, in Greensboro, Georgia. noted that, historically, each dollar of managing director of the Los-Angeles- Randy J. Thayer, MSIE 1980, has military spending raises real gross based investment firm Tennenbaum & been named plant manager of General domestic product by about 75 cents. As Co. The endowment allows ISyE to Motors’ future Lansing (Michigan) for the deficit, it’s a good way to “starve invite a prominent political economist Delta Township assembly plant. The the government of revenue and pro- to campus each year, with a goal to pro- plant is schedule to begin production mote spending restraint,”he says. vide the Georgia Tech community a in the fall of 2006. Thayer has been the Unfortunately, job growth has been better appreciation of the relationship plant manager of Lansing Fabrication lower than expected during this recov- between political decisions and the eco- for the GM Metal Fabricating Division ery. Barro describes this pattern as nomic consequences of these decisions since 2002. He began his career at GM “unusual,”and suggests that we may be for the U.S. economy. as a Purdue University co-op student witnessing long-term change in the in 1973. relationship between employment and the growth of the GDP. ALUMNI UPDATES Marriages Barro is the Robert C. Waggoner Pro- Lorianne Williamson, BIE 1999, fessor of Economics at Harvard Univer- Renee Butler,BIE 1996,MSOR 1999, married Reed Rawson on Septem- sity, as well as a senior fellow at the Ph.D. 2003, has joined the University of ber 27, 2003. Hoover Institution. Nominated numer- Central Florida in Orlando as an assistant ous times for the Nobel Prize in Eco- professor in the Industrial Engineering Births nomics, he is best known for his work and Management Systems Department. Brynn Runkle Conover, BIE on macroeconomics, monetary policy, Jennifer Cistola, BIE 1981, has been 1987, announces the birth of Erin and public debt, in particular his 1974 named vice president of CableLabs in Grater, born March 26, 2003, join- paper, “Are Government Bonds Net Louisville, Colorado. CableLabs is a ing sister Alyson. Conover is Wealth?” It is perhaps the most com- nonprofit “think tank” and certification president of Radical Logistics. The monly cited article on macroeconomics. testing lab for the cable industry. family resides in Athens, Georgia. Barro has written extensively on James C. Edenfield, BIE 1957, and macroeconomics. His books include Martin Neil Kogon, BIE 1962,have Faculty Determinants of Economic Growth: A been named to the World Congress John Langley Jr., ISyE professor Cross-Country Empirical Study (MIT Center Authority in Atlanta by Georgia and director of The Logistic Insti- Press, 1997), Macroeconomics (MIT Governor Sonny Perdue. Edenfield cur- tute’s Supply Chain Executive Press 1997), Getting It Right: Markets rently serves as president and chief Forum, has been named to the and Choices in a Free Society (MIT executive officer of American Software, board of directors of UTi World- Press, 1996), and as co-author, Eco- a company he co-founded. Kogon is wide, an international, non-asset nomic Growth (McGraw Hill, 1995). manager of Pull-a-Part, an Atlanta auto based supply chain management He is associate editor of the Journal of parts retailer. company.

6 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu Assistant Professor Joseph T. Wu has dling industry and material handling rial Handling Education. He served as been named a Distinguished Cancer Sci- and logistics education. He has worked co-organizer of the Material Handling entist by the Georgia Cancer Coalition. in areas related to material handling for Research Colloquium for more than a more than 30 years, mostly at Georgia decade, helping grow it to a successful Tech, where he is also associate director bi-annual international event. ISYE ALUMNI RECEIVE COE AWARDS of the Manufacturing Research Center, “Having worked in material han- and founding director of the Keck Vir- dling and related areas most of my The following ISyE alumni were tual Factory Lab. During this time his career, I understand what a special honored at the fall College of Engineer- work has had a tremendous impact on honor it is to receive the Reed-Apple ing Awards Banquet: the field of material handling. Award,” says McGinnis. “I knew Jim Lawrence K. Blystone, BIE 1980, McGinnis served as a program Apple Sr., and I have known or worked was named to the Academy of Distin- manager in the Material Handling with most of the previous award win- guished Engineering Alumni. Blystone Research Center at Georgia Tech for ten ners and think of them as the real super- is vice president of Electrical Products years. He has led numerous research stars of our field. At Georgia Tech, I’ve for GE Industrial Systems out of Rex- projects with direct benefits for the been blessed to be around students who ford, New York. material handling industry. His impact were destined to be stars, and colleagues Dana Bolstad, BIE 1991, MSMGT continues through the numerous Ph.D. who helped create an environment for 1995, was named to the Council of students who work in areas related to excellence. This award is really a testimo- Outstanding Young Engineering Alum- material handling, including many who nial to the strategy of always working ni. Bolstad is supervisor of the Facilities are professors at other universities. with people who are better than you.” and Technology division of Genentech, He has also been active in the indus- McGinnis received his bachelor’s in Inc. in San Francisco. try, as a past president and member of industrial engineering from Auburn James C. Edenfield, BIE 1957, was the College-Industry Council on Mate- University, and his master’s and Ph.D. named to the Hall of Fame. Edenfield is (continued on page 20) president and chief executive officer of American Software Inc., based in Atlanta. Simon Hafeitz, BIE 1977, was Tired of Resume Blasting and No Results? named to the Academy of Distin- guished Engineering Alumni. Hafeitz is In a recent study, candidates president of Desarrollo Bahai, located using High Impact Job Search™ in Panama City, Panama. received more than 5 Times as Peter Heffring, BIE 1982, as named Many Job Offers as those to the Academy of Distinguished Engi- using traditional resume and net- neering Alumni. Heffring is founder working techniques. and president of Ceres, based in Raleigh, North Carolina. James S. Thompson, BIE 1970, was Get High Impact Job Search™, named to the Academy of Distin- an Innovative, State-of-the-Art, guished Engineering Alumni. Thomp- Job Search Software System. son is president of Pacific Energy LLC; he resides in Great Fall, Virginia. Order High Impact Job Search™ Now for $199 Must use Marketing Code: EE63 MCGINNIS RECEIVES REED-APPLE AWARD IN MATERIAL HANDLING http://hijs.group56.com to order and view our streaming video. Dr. Leon McGinnis, ISyE Eugene C. Gwaltney Chair in Manufacturing Sys- tems, is the 2003 recipient of the Mate- Money Back Guarantee rial Handling Education Foundation’s prestigious Reed-Apple Award. McGinnis has a long and significant http://hijs.group56.com record of service with the material han-

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 7 SYSTEMSENTERPRISE Industrial and Systems Engineering Perspectives

By William B. Rouse, H. Milton and Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and Professor

Much of engineering is associated with design, devel- EVOLUTION OF ISyE opment, and deployment of tangible artifacts such as ISyE is the engineering discipline that deals with the whole airplanes, automobiles, bridges, buildings, chemical enterprise from an engineering perspective with engineering plants, computers, factories, networks, roads, ships, tele- methods and tools. Historically, our discipline focused on the visions, and trains. Some have argued that industrial and shop floor with stopwatches, clipboards, and methods engi- systems engineering (ISyE) suffers from the lack of a pri- neering. Our scope soon broadened to include manufacturing mary tangible artifact. This, they assert, makes it difficult processes. ISyE methods and tools expanded to consider man- to explain what we do, and how we add value to the econ- ufacturing systems in terms of elements of manufacturing omy and society. processes and relationships among these elements. This lack is suggested as one of the reasons that enter- More recently, our attention has broadened yet again to ing freshmen in engineering do not choose ISyE as often include logistics and supply chain management. This has led to as electrical or mechanical engineering. On the other focusing on processes both within and among production hand, many graduating seniors are in ISyE. Many of facilities, as well as upstream suppliers and downstream dis- Georgia Tech’s 12,000 ISyE graduates – roughly 25 per- tributors. The optimization of supply chains to minimize costs cent – have achieved top leadership positions (i.e., CEO, and maximize profits has yielded very impressive results. president, etc.) in their organizations. So, the lack of a An even broader view is now emerging: the whole tangible artifact, if that is the case, does not seem to hin- enterprise. Within a company, this often includes the end- der people’s careers. to-end value stream from, for instance, business capture, How do people achieve such notable success? After to product development, to manufacturing and assembly, talking with many hundreds of successful ISyE graduates, to product support, and finally infrastructure that it is clear what they do: they create and grow enterprises includes finance, IT, human resources, etc. ISyE is now using the concepts, principles, models, methods, and tools concerned with understanding how all of the elements of they gained from their ISyE education. The whole enter- an enterprise play together, as well as how this under- prise is the purview of these engineers. Their artifact is standing can be used to maximize value. the enterprise. Their focus is the breadth of things an However, even this broader view is too narrow. The enterprise does in pursuit of success, whether success is combined forces of networking and globalization are defined as corporate profits or delivery of public services. making the boundaries of enterprises much less crisp. For this reason, ISyE graduates are, by far, the most Telecommuting and outsourcing results in people often diverse set of engineering graduates in terms of indus- being in different times and places, while also becoming tries, positions, and career paths. partners rather than employees. Command and control

8 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu Enterprise Issues A set of fundamental questions underlies this portfolio of strategic and operational issues, as well as our empirical and axiomatic approaches to addressing these issues. An overarching issue is complexity. Systems with many elements, many interconnections, many attributes, and many stakeholders are common domains of study and application for ISyE. A typical goal is to understand and model enterprise systems with these characteristics. Another pervasive underlying issue is uncertainty. The current and future states of enterprise systems are usually uncertain, more so the further into the future one considers. Uncertainties can surround the nature, magnitude, and timing of relationships and variables. Identification of relationships (for example, competitive positions) and estimation of variables (for instance, market demands) are usually central con- cerns within enterprise systems endeavors. Yet another pervasive issue is control. In general, this con- cerns assuring that relationships and variables have desirable characteristics. More specifically, control includes allocation of resources and management of incentives and regulations. Opti- mization of control is sometimes possible. In many cases, control is limited to measurement and feedback as a basis for human monitoring and decision making. management is fading because there are fewer situations where this relationship makes sense. The broader enterprise includes the company, its suppliers and distributors, customers, other stakeholders in the eco- GAMS nomic and social environment, and perhaps even competitors. Resources, incentives, and regulations become the fabric of business, rather than who reports to whom. The private and OPTIMIZATION public sectors lose their crisp distinctions. Public policy influences important microeconomic decisions, with significant macroeconomic consequences. The General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) is a high-level modeling system ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS for mathematical programming problems. A major new initiative within ISyE is enterprise systems. It consists of a language compiler and a This initiative is focused on both looking at the enterprise as an stable of integrated high-performance overall system and understanding the nature of systems that support enterprises. We need to address both strategic and solvers. GAMS is tailored for complex, operational issues. Examples of strategic issues of interest large scale modeling applications, and include modeling uncertainties and risks associated with major allows you to build large maintainable strategic investments and large-scale transformation of enter- models that can be adapted quickly to new prise processes and cultures. Operational issues include, for instance, supply chain characterization and optimization, as situations. well as revenue management in highly volatile markets. ISyE approaches to such issues are empirically based while also being axiomatically oriented. Real world data and case GAMS Development Corporation studies are central, both as sources of insights and as means to evaluate ideas and results. The axiomatic orientation revolves 1217 Potomac Street, N.W. around the ISyE concepts, principles, models, methods, and Washington, D.C. 20007, USA tools that have long been our profession’s “bread and butter” Tel.: +1-202-342-0180 • Fax: +1-202-342-0181 and distinguish us from business schools. [email protected] • http://www.gams.com

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 9 ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS

There are, of course, many other similar topics. This list Agility is a pervasive enterprise goal: serves to provide the “flavor” of the possible impact of enterprise thinking on ISyE education. the ability to flexibly respond to and take RESEARCH AND EDUCATION advantage of opportunities and challenges. An enterprise orientation has important implications for research and education in ISyE. This research focuses on the nature of enterprises as systems. Of particular interest is how enterprises can and should be transformed to leverage technology-based inventions – both products and Another overarching issue is design. In the context of enter- processes – to create market innovations in private as well prise systems, design is concerned with value streams and their as public sectors. relationships with market characteristics, product design, sup- Key to such transformation is understanding the nature of ply chains, manufacturing processes, service delivery process- emerging enterprise technologies (i.e., collaborative tools, web es, etc. This focus on value streams dictates an enterprise-wide services, etc.) and assessing their implications for organiza- perspective. Narrower perspectives will inevitably result in tional practices and policies. Short-circuiting the often very “suboptimization,”whereby functions such as logistics or man- long adoption cycle for new technologies can provide strong ufacturing may be optimized to the detriment of the broader competitive advantages. On the other hand, only a minority of enterprise. technologies should be expedited into practice. Research also must address the behavioral and social Enterprise Goals aspects of enterprise transformation. Organizational change Agility is a pervasive enterprise goal: the ability to flexibly can be quite difficult, especially if management does not real- respond to and take advantage of opportunities and challenges. ize that it is an underlying issue. Research needs to focus on Security is an increasingly common goal, especially in the past the nature of organizational culture and how cultural change couple of years. A related goal is privacy, which may be chal- can best be fostered. Obvious components of this include lenged by security pursuits, e.g., sensing technologies as well as incentives, rewards, training, and education. Clarity of vision our being connected all the time, everywhere. Sustainability as – and sustained leadership commitment to it – is, of course, an a goal is concerned with minimizing consumption of non- overarching success factor. renewable resources and production of waste. All of the above need to be addressed with a portfolio of con- A central challenge for leaders is to design and manage agile, cepts, principles, methods, and tools of ISyE and a wide range of secure, and sustainable enterprises that create high value while other disciplines. ISyE, with its systems orientation, is the natur- not compromising privacy. To some extent, this challenge will al “integrator” of these diverse perspectives. ISyE’s methods and be addressed by new technologies developed by a myriad of tools for formal modeling of systems are essential elements of disciplines in science and engineering. However, the essence of in-depth understanding of enterprises in terms of such concepts this challenge is not technological. as responsiveness, stability, observability, and controllability. Understanding the nature of organizations – how they can Our great facility with modeling and simulation also plays change, and how they are inclined to change – is the key to cre- a central role. The ability to simulate organizational changes ating these types of enterprises. Much of the knowledge need- prior to committing to them is highly desirable. Also of great ed is coming from the behavioral and social sciences. From an interest is the ability to experience organizational changes, via engineering perspective, ISyE needs to create models, methods, organizational simulation, prior to proceeding with these and tools that can leverage the concepts and principles from changes. Beyond modeling, this requires innovative approach- these sciences. We need to translate basic knowledge into es to visualization and interaction. design practices. We also need to focus on the security of enterprises, in We also need to infuse these design practices into engineer- terms of physical, fiscal, and information security. This involves ing education. Topics that need to be integrated into the ISyE both understanding the nature of economic, social, political, curriculum include: and physical threats, and the ways in which countermeasures • Modeling and design of enterprise value streams, including interact with enterprise practices and processes. It also involves determination of how value flows can best be monetized recognizing and developing best practices for managing secu- • Design of incentives, rewards, and regulations or policies rity – rather than assuming a solution can be “installed.” (rather than organizational structure) This brief summary of selected research areas represents a • Information system design, including decision support, for rich set of potential Ph.D. dissertations, as well as grist for all stakeholders in the enterprises numerous Ph.D. seminars. It is also easy to see a wealth of M.S. • Financial modeling and optimization of portfolios of value projects or theses. The results of this breadth of research will, options, including consideration of the “exercisability” of over time, become integrated within B.S. education. We also see options numerous avenues for offerings in professional and executive

10 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu education. Finally, we expect to experience a steady flow of staff extent, be a transformational initiative for the academic members from our sponsors - including both private and pub- enterprise itself. Using desired enterprise impacts to drive lic sectors - who will serve as visiting researchers and degree initiatives, as well as tailoring faculty incentives to these candidates within this overall endeavor. drivers, will be novel in a university setting. If all goes well, it may be transformational indeed. ORGANIZATIONAL IMPLICATIONS The breadth of this vision of enterprise systems is difficult to CONCLUSIONS pursue within the confines of a single academic unit. Successful The “bottom line” is simple to state, but nevertheless pursuit of this vision will require strong multi-disciplinary col- difficult to accomplish – an ideal challenge for ISyE. laboration across academic units at school, college, and univer- Enterprise systems in ISyE are concerned with under- sity levels. Anyone who has been immersed in academia knows standing and managing the complexities associated with that such collaboration is not necessarily a natural act. large-scale private and public enterprises. This includes Success will require collaborators ranging from engineering characterizing and estimating uncertainties and risks. It and economics to architecture and art. Of course, not all ini- also includes optimization and control to allocate tiatives require all disciplines. Nevertheless, when the full spec- resources, monitor their deployment, and assess conse- trum of enterprise-level issues is considered, the range of quences. Above all, enterprise systems involves seeing and potential collaborators is quite large. addressing the system as a multi-disciplinary whole. The question of how to organize such diverse collaborations The benefits of this ISyE initiative will be broad and has led us to talk with a variety of people who have undertaken substantial. Our stakeholders include a wide range of pri- similarly broad initiatives. One lesson learned is to avoid over- vate and public enterprises, as well as the economy and organizing. The consensus is to create flexible, initiative-driven society more broadly. The benefits these stakeholders seek teams, making maximal use of concepts for virtual organiza- include high-value impacts on quality of life, including tions. The incentive and reward structures for these teams need economic, social, and physical security. Our profession to be crisply aligned with the visions for each initiative. has long focused on providing these benefits. Now we Interestingly, successful pursuit of this organizational have the opportunity to deliver these tangible and sub- model within an academic environment will, to a great stantial benefits to a wide range of constituencies.

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 11 COMPANY TRTRANSFORMATION:ANSFORMATION:

A CASE S TUDY OF L OCKHEED M ARTIN A ERONAUTICS C OMPANY

By William C. Kessler, Vice President, Advanced Enterprise Initiatives, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LM Aero); Edenfield Executive-in-Residence, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the journal LM Corporation’s consolidation of its three separate aeronau- Information • Knowledge • Systems Management, published by tics companies: Tactical Systems in Fort Worth, Texas; Aero- IOS Press, Amsterdam (Vol. 3,No. 1, 2002, pp. 5-14) nautical Systems in Marietta, Georgia; and the Skunk Works in Palmdale, California. The consolidation established a compa- Background ny with a single profit and loss statement (instead of three). Mr. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics The realities of the defense Hancock kicked-off the company transformation process in business in the post-cold war March 2000, at a two-day workshop in Fort Worth. Here are a Company (LM Aero) was estab- period converged for Lockheed few of the transformation relevant facts from that workshop: lished in January 2000 from three Martin Corporation in 1998-99. • Only the “senior leadership” of the new LM Aero was separate Lockheed Martin Corpo- In this time frame, the benefit of invited to participate. This represented about 40 percent ration aeronautics companies. The continuing defense industry of the combined senior leadership of the three legacy mergers and acquisitions was aeronautics companies. intent was to achieve one compa- questioned by the U.S. Justice • The president, Hancock, laid out the specific intents ny, one team, and one vision that is Department and by the U.S. and reasons for the transformation. The intents laid out built on the principles of customer Department of Defense. Addi- that day in March 2000, are exactly the same today… focus and financial soundness. tionally, business analysts were with no expectation that they will change in the next touting tech stocks and question- few years. This article describes: ing if any defense company • A full-up, structured “Concept of Operations” for the new • The intended “outcomes” would ever be able to perform LM Aero was presented. Ralph Heath, chief operating from the transformation efficiently and on a basis consis- officer for the new LM Aero, prepared and presented the • The company transformation tent with “expectations of the concept. The ability of the leadership to articulate how street.”Lockheed Martin Corpo- LM Aero would operate in the future (and why) has pro- approach ration’s stock price plummeted. vided a very important framework for transformation. • Status and highlights of the A primary strategy of growth This is discussed in more detail later. company transformation – by merger and acquisition was • A time span and schedule for the envisioned company two years into process replaced by a primary strategy of transformation was provided. The early focus was on the efficient and effective performance. “physical transformation” of three companies into one • Methodological challenges for The implications were significant. and the associated transformation of the organizations future large scale company In the winter of 1999, Dain needed to run the business. This is discussed in more transformation initiatives Hancock was named president detail later. of LM Aero. LM Aero was the • Visible and important roles of the president, CFO, COO,

12 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu and executive vice president for Programs made it clear to The Company Transformation Approach the entire leadership team that the top executives were all There are many excellent references (e.g. see References “on the same page” in their commitment to transforma- 2-7) related to the topic of enterprise transformation, often tion and the urgency. called corporate reengineering. All of these have been • Time was spent in small groups so that the LM Aero reviewed and all have influenced, in some way, the LM Aero leadership team, drawn from across the three sites, could transformation approach. get to know each other by discussing the LM Aero con- Figure 1 provides a summary of the input to and outcome cept of operations and the behaviors required to make of the LM Aero transformation. The outcome of the trans- LM Aero successful. formation is to be a company that operates to the clear outcome intents (Indents 1-3 at left) and a company that initially Transforming an Enterprise Starts with operates with a specified reduction in overhead and infra- Clearly Describing the Outcomes structure. Key enablers included: Our company transformation is centered on the following • Clear intents and requirements from the president specific intents: (“complete the physical transformation to one company Intent 1: Restructure into one company, LM Aero, with a in one year; and achieve our customer, workforce, busi- single vision and with exactly the right capabilities for the business, and process imperatives within 5 years”) ness of the new organization. • Commitment of the leadership team Intent 2: Deploy the LM Aero Concept of Operations that is driven by the principles of customer focus and Figure 2 illustrates the flexible transformation approach financial strength. being used. The overall transformation approach spans the 5- • Create focus by establishing a one-company strategy, 5- year imperatives, and yearly company objectives that align all the work in the company. • Meet or exceed our customers’ expectations • Perform on our commitments, each and every time • Demonstrate our operating values while achieving our objectives Intent 3: Establish an organizational structure that aligns with the efficient and effective conduct of work, assures clear accountability, and has no unneeded redundancies.

“The Concept of Operations…How We Run LM Aero” (Ref 1) is proving to be a very important tool in communicating the intents of our transformation and providing a framework for the change process. For example: • Communications – The concept of operations was first presented by Ralph Heath at the March 2000, transformation kick-off meeting to the leadership team. We then Figure 1 took members of the new leadership team to all of our sites to hold a series of “question and answer workshops” on the concept of operations. A “frequently asked questions” web site was established to provide the opportunity for employees to ask questions. The publication of Refer- ence 1 came nearly a year after we began the transformation, and the document was based on input from a series of focus group meetings. • Framework – The Concept of Operation is a “what and why” document and not a “how to” document. Taking this approach has provided an excellent way to keep leaders and managers focused on “what we are going to accomplish and why.”For example, the document provides our 5-year imperatives related to customers, workforce, business, and processes. These imperatives, in turn, drive the “how to” plans and the measures of progress and effectiveness. Figure 2 www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 13 COMPANY A CASE S TUDY OF L OCKHEED M ARTIN A ERONAUTICS C OMPANY TRANSFORMATION:

are designing our company-wide processes. The process architecture is a required enabler for LM Aero to become a process- centered company (Ref 7). Being process-centered will allow LM Aero to align operating capability with business requirements and to rapidly respond to intentional (and unexpected) changes. These two key characteristics – meeting our commitments and being responsive – are, in turn, central to achieving our LM Aero 5-year imperatives. The corresponding “deployment and execution process” currently centers, for example, on “activating” the enterprise process owners (these enterprise processes all cross multiple organizational boundaries), designing the top-level enterprise processes, converging existing legacy processes from the three legacy companies, linking the enterprise and legacy processes, and managing by the resultant enterprise processes. Addition- ally, we have a “pilot project” underway related to supply chain integration. This “pilot” is defining the new roles and responsi- Figure 3 bilities of suppliers in LM Aero as well as “piloting” the approach for deploying all of our enterprise processes. What about our near-term transformation intent:“complete the physical transformation to a single company in one year?” Figure 3 shows the organization transformation approach that was announced at the March 2000, kick-off workshop. The challenge was to move quickly to get the organizations in place to conduct the day-to-day business of the company. Speed was required, but the restructure needed to be done in a way that was consistent with the concept of operations and did not add significant barriers for the 5-year transformation process. We used an approach and terminology that was familiar to our employees: system requirements review (SRR), preliminary design review (PDR), and critical design review (CDR). The basic intent at each of these review milestones was as follows: • SRR: Understand the LM Aero concept of operations and use it to establish each organization’s individual concept Figure 4 of operations; document any boundary condition or issue that affects the organization’s ability to achieve its operat- year imperative period as detailed in our Concept of Opera- ing concept. tions. The actual transformation has two significant elements: • PDR: Resolve major issues; illustrate the top-level organi- 1. Architecture and Transformation Plan: This involves the zation design; define the roles and responsibilities of the overall transformation architecture and plan to achieve the organization leadership and management team; and pro- 5-year imperatives and the concept of operations. The plan vide specific response to company-level requirements for reflects our transformation approach and includes the management layers, numbers of managers per layer, and yearly priorities for transformation objectives deployment. three-company infrastructure reduction. 2. Deployment and Execution Process: The focus of this ele- • CDR: Provide plan (no more than 6 months) to began ment is achieving the changes required by the transforma- full-operation within the new organization design; identi- tion plan. In general, these change actions are deployed via fy any remaining open issues and plan for resolution. our yearly company objectives. Concrete changes and measures of effectiveness are deployed via this objectives This rapid organization physical transformation provided process. Additionally, we deploy, when appropriate, “pilot the foundation for the full LM Aero transformation process. projects” to gather information on the best procedures to The following items were found to be important to enabling use in deploying the next significant steps in the transfor- this physical transformation: mation plan. • Use of a structured organizational design process (SRR, PDR, CDR) that allowed interaction of the leadership team For example, within our “architecture and transformation and which rapidly converged to organizational designs plan” element we have set the baseline process architecture and consistent with the company concept of operations.

14 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu • Use of common templates so the same type of information was obtained from each “organizational designer.” • Participation by the entire leadership team to ensure human-centered issues and organizational interface boundary conditions could be quickly resolved with all points of view considered in the “organizational design meetings.” • A supporting organizational integration design team that maintained a design room and focused on the overall integrated company design. This assured that the result was an integrated design and not just a collection of indi- vidually designed parts.

Transformation Status, Results and Highlights Efforts involving enterprise transformation can lose focus if the process is allowed to extend for too long a period without providing visible results. Ralph Heath, the LM Aero COO, led Figure 5 the company transformation process for the president. Mr. Heath established concrete and measurable milestones for the tecture design work and transformation plan are continuous critical early phase of the transformation. The following repre- and will span the 5-year transformation process. However, the sent typical objectives measures: transformation plan is converted to specific and measurable • In three months, have the LM Aero top leadership in place one-year company objectives as illustrated by Figure 4. and reduce executive positions by more than 50 percent Figure 5 further illustrates highlights from the transforma- • By the end of the year (8 months), have the next three levels tion approach. The approach is very specific for the current of management in place and realize a 30 percent reduction year’s transformation objectives while all the while designing in company-wide overhead staff by end of year (8 months). the next steps (the next year’s company transformation objec- • By end of year, have new organizational designs in place tives) in concrete terms. and key positions filled. The highlights provided by Figure 5 reflect this incremental • By one-year point, have critical organization design issues approach: all resolved and declare the completion of the physical • Focus on today’s transformation objectives (left panel of transformation. At this juncture, turn full attention to figure) is accomplished by tracking specific yearly trans- performance in the new LM Aero. formation objective metrics. Overhead staff reduction; • The first year had, and each succeeding year has, specific inventory reduction; and reduction in plant, property, objectives for reduction of inventory, facilities, property, and equipment (PP&E) are examples of the objectives and equipment. and measures for 2001. • Designing and deploying the next steps in the transfor- Did we make any mistakes by pushing hard on organization mation plan are focused on the movement to a process- designs before the process architecture was fully defined? Yes, but centered company in this example (right hand panel) there are no detected organizational design flaws that are not from 2001. being “cleaned up” as the organizational designs continue evolving in concert with the process architecture, 5-year imper- The objectives for 2001 (left panel) were achieved in 2001 atives, and specific yearly objectives. On the other hand, wait- and the next step plans (right panel) were converted into con- ing until the process architecture was fully designed and vetted crete, measurable objectives for 2002. would have put the entire transformation initiative at risk. Most importantly, we must view transformation as being flex- Complex, Large Scale Transformations ible and continually adjusting to new information…while Require Better Tools and Methods keeping focused on the required outcomes (in our case, the LM Aero has long been designing and building com- concept of operations and our 5-year imperatives). plex aircraft and, as a result, we have a premier systems Were we finished at the one-year point? The physical trans- engineering capability. Due to this history, it should not formation was complete. However, the “social transformation” be a surprise that we took an approach to “designing and was just getting started and the critical elements of the process building” a new company that parallels what we knew architecture (consistent with the 5-year imperatives and con- about designing and building of new aircraft (Figure 6). cept of operations) were coming into a sharper focus. This is what we know best and the terms (like SRR, PDR, Figure 4 and 5 illustrate, with specific and real examples, and CDR) are already familiar within the company. In some highlights from the transformation approach. Our archi- fact, our yearly deployment of transformation objectives

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 15 COMPANY A CASE S TUDY OF L OCKHEED M ARTIN A ERONAUTICS C OMPANY TRANSFORMATION:

1. An occurrence of a “significant emotional event” that makes the commitment to transformation clear. 2. The absolute, unwavering, and sustained commitment of the enterprise leader and the leadership team to communicating, leading, and supporting the transformation.

What has been accomplished in two years of the LM Aero transformation would have been impossible without having these enablers in place. One lesson we learned (again): con- ducting a transformation is hard work and must be tempered by realistic expectations and led by committed, experienced leaders. It is very easy to “draw up the transformation plan on paper” but it is extremely difficult to realize the plan’s intent in actual practice. Why? Well, because human behaviors are involved in the process and the day-to-day business realities will challenge even the most “proactive” leadership as these Figure 6 realities compete for available time and other scarce resources. is very similar to an aircraft “block upgrade” approach or • Such large-scale transformations are difficult to achieve and what is now being called “spiral development.” costly. Initiation and investment should only be undertak- We started by defining the transformation outcomes for the en when the outcomes provide truly substantial benefit, e.g. new company. Next we focused on selecting and collecting the • Sharpened strategic focus tools and methods needed for designing the needed organiza- • Altering solution completeness required by the customer tional architecture and transformation plan. However, we came • Extending operating reach to suppliers, partners, and up empty when we looked in the “tool-box” for a version of customers systems engineering to use for “designing and building” an • Enhancing process capability for reliability and responsiveness enterprise or an organization. We found business “case studies,”lists of “best practices,” Keeping the company engaged during a multi-year trans- and many “special methods and tools” (balanced score cards, formation process is very difficult. Our current experienced- re-engineering, lean and Six Sigma, quality standards, maturi- based methodologies eventually get us through the lengthy ty models, etc.) process if the leadership is diligent and totally committed. But We did not find any systematic methods for “designing and the time span required via our current process and method- building” an enterprise to meet mission and design intents. ologies can place the transformation initiative at risk. One major barrier in establishing such a methodology is the Systematic methodologies for efficiently “designing, trans- inclusion of the qualitative aspects of all the people that com- forming and building” enterprises would be a most welcome prise the enterprise. A second barrier is that business research addition to companies and enterprises where continuous orga- seems to center on specific problems in an industrial sector, a nizational change and adaptation to external influences is now company, or a part of a company. When applying these case the “new normal” in business. studies and findings to a different company or enterprise, the result is often sub-optimized or not applicable. References Did we wait for new methods to be developed? No, of course not. Concept of Operations: How We Will Run LM Aero,Copyright We used our experience, our process architecture, and current lit- 2001, Lockheed Martin Corporation erature (Ref 2-7) to guide the transformation approach and pri- Womack, J.P. and Jones D.T. (1996) Lean Thinking: Banishing orities. However, having a proven and systematic methodology Waste and Creating Wealth in Your Corporation,New York: would, most likely, have saved time and would have improved Simon & Schuster. both our efficiency and effectiveness in the transformation. Hammer, M. (1997) Beyond Reengineering: How Processes-Cen- tered Organization is Changing Our Work and Our Lives, Summary HarperCollins. The LM Aero physical transformation from three compa- Murman, E., et al (2002) Lean Enterprise Value: Insights from MIT’s nies to one company was completed in one year. The transfor- Lean Aerospace Initiative, New York: Palgrave. mation plan to achieve the company 5-year imperatives and to Rouse, W.B. (2001) Essential Challenges of Strategic Management, fully operate to the LM Aero concept of operations (Ref 1) is in John Wiley & Sons. place and is well underway. Hammer, M. (2001) The Superefficient Company,Harvard Busi- The body of transformation literature and our own per- ness Review, 77(6); 108-118. sonal experiences indicate that two specific enablers are Pall, G.A. (1999) The Process-Centered Enterprise; The Power of required for successful large-scale transformations: Commitments, New York: St. Lucie Press.

16 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu Supply Chain Executive Forum Examines the Growing Role of Logistics in Industry

The challenges of today’s business environment have under- scored the need for expertise in supply chain management. Supply chain management (SCM) Whether looking for new and innovative ways to meet and exceed the needs of customers, or just trying to survive in the is becoming increasingly midst of changing business environments, companies are trying to achieve success through application of the principles of supply chain management. Dealing with flows of product, important every day. information, and capital both with and between business organizations, expertise in supply chain management is fast becoming recognized as a key to efficiency, effectiveness, and ment strategies that will succeed in leveraging the power differentiation. of supply chain management to achieve corporate objec- In response to this increasing emphasis, The Logistics tives and create maximum value for customers,” he says. Institute at Georgia Tech, positioned within the School of “If you look at the composition of the membership of our ISyE, has founded the Supply Chain Executive Forum SCEF, you can see people from all types of organizations that (SCEF), whose membership consists of a wide range of comprise today’s supply chains. You will find retailers, manu- senior supply chain executives from throughout the busi- facturers, material suppliers, component manufacturers, third ness world. Members of the SCEF include prominent party logistics companies, transportation companies, software retailers, manufacturers, software firms and technology and technology providers…essentially about any kind of com- providers, and providers of transportation and third pany you would find in a supply chain,”he continues.“And the party logistics services, as well as leading academics from underlying premise being if these companies convene in a uni- Georgia Tech and other major universities. The SCEF was versity setting, to collaborate on their thinking, that when they founded to promote and stimulate thought, dialogue, and leave the university they will go back to their day-to-day busi- action in the evolving field of supply chain management. ness life and stand a better chance of collaborating effectively Its goal is to identify new and compelling ways for supply and improving their supply chains.” chain executives to streamline operations to enhance “Supply chain management (SCM) is becoming increasing- profitability, integrate supply chain strategy with corpo- ly important every day,”says Langley.“SCM represents an inte- rate strategy, and grow professionally within and beyond gration of processes both within and between organizations that their current organizations. can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and effective- Dr. John Langley, Jr., SCEF director and professor of ness. In addition, a growing number of companies today are Supply Chain Management (SCM) at Georgia Tech, leads seeing ways to use the power of supply chain management to the Forum. “Georgia Tech has made this one of its major differentiate their product and service offerings from those of supply chain initiatives to establish a greater presence the competition.”Examples of this include companies such as with executive level individuals who have supply chain Dell Computer, The Home Depot, Philips Consumer Electron- responsibility – these are the people who are in the best ics, and Milliken & Company. In addition to leveraging the position to identify priorities for change and to imple- power of supply chain management to help drive company rev-

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 17 Supply Chain Executive Forum Examines the Growing Role of Logistics in Industry

enues – the “top” line – the competitive advantage that can be Rick Jackson, senior vice president of Limited Brands Logis- created through differentiation is significant.“For example, if tics, says his organization joined because of the Forum’s you are a retailer, and you are better at having product available emphasis on the retail channel.“The mix of retailers and third when and where your consumers want to buy it, your sales will party providers provides an opportunity for a good inter- go up,”he continues.“That sounds kind of simple, but effective change of ideas, and the format we utilize, presentation then logistics can actually increase your sales.” discussion, is a good learning environment,”Jackson says. Most of those attending the Forum lead logistics for their organizations, and Jackson believes that is the essential element in the group dynamics.“Senior level attendees are a key to making Effective supply chain management this work.” Bill Turner, vice president of Logistics and Customer Ser- can actually help differentiate retailers vice for Hershey Foods Corporation, agrees with Jackson.“The Supply Chain Executive Forum is a good place to ensure we are from their competitors. keeping pace as an organization on leading edge practices,” he says, “but it is also very important to be in touch with other senior executives from a networking perspective. The Forum “Effective supply chain management can actually help dif- provides the opportunity for establishing contacts that can be ferentiate retailers from their competitors”,says Langley.“It is further developed outside the meetings. Having someone like one thing to say that supply chain management helps to John Langley leading this initiative gives it immediate credibili- increase our company’s sales, but it is even more powerful to ty to attract the top corporate leadership and keep momentum.” say that one of the reasons our customers choose us is because Intel is another founding member of the Forum.“Intel is of our logistics capabilities. That raises the level of the playing serious about improvements in our supply network, and field, and with the information technologies companies are accordingly, we strive to find the best leading edge technologies, using today to improve their internal processes and their rela- approaches, and industry contacts,”says Jim Kellso, manager of tionships with their supply chain partners, they stand a much Supply Network Research for Intel Corporation.“Georgia Tech better chance of achieving those objectives.” is well recognized as a premier School of Industrial and Sys- There are currently 23 member companies in the Supply tems Engineering, and attracts many of the ‘best in class’ indus- Chain Executive Forum, and the original design for the SCEF trial sponsors. We find association with the ‘best in class’ is to have a total of approximately 30 leading organizations companies helps us find new approaches and techniques which from all walks of supply chain life. An objective of the Supply assist in improvements in our systems and processes.” Chain Executive Forum is to create an exclusive, “club” type SCEF held its first meeting in April 2003. The two-day dis- atmosphere, one that fosters a sharing of problems and per- cussion examined such areas as the “curse of complexity,”the spectives among people most capable of doing something benefits and drawbacks of technology, security, and issues sur- about it. Plans are for the SCEF to meet twice yearly, and ulti- rounding communication, collaboration, standardization, out- mately to have periodic meetings at member company head- sourcing, customer service, globalization, and maturation of quarters sites. Currently, the SCEF meets at the new Georgia the technology component. The meetings build in time for net- Tech Conference Center, located on the Georgia Tech campus working and small group discussions made up of participants in Technology Square. Each member company is also encour- from within similar industries. aged to bring one or two additional executives to each meeting. The group came together again in October 2003 to discuss This assists greatly in making sure that the benefits of mem- corporate success through supply chain management. Rick bership extend to a broader base of participants from the Jackson opened the event with a presentation on “What the member companies: to those who are most able to benefit CEO Wants from Logistics and Supply Chain Management.”It from the presentations, discussion, and dialogue that are part is about building brands, building capabilities, and building tal- of every meeting. ent, he says, adding that the supply chain will never be seen as Among the 21 founder members of the Georgia Tech Supply a glamorous department within an organization. Challenges Chain Executive Forum is Atlanta-based UPS. “The Forum is a facing supply chain executives include: great place for people who have common challenges to talk • clearly articulating the contribution of logistics manage- about issues that face them internally and externally,”says Joseph ment to a firm’s financial results, not only reducing costs, Pyne, senior vice president of UPS’s Supply Chain Group.“This but driving revenue is important today because a lot of companies are seeing supply • focusing on the ultimate customer and not just the next chain as a way to change the battleground. It’s a way to reduce customer in line costs and streamline the process,” he says. UPS’s supply chain • developing tools and methodologies for linking logistics to expertise spans the globe. “We’re among the thought leaders in corporate strategies, and design and implementation,”he says, adding that Forum mem- • recognizing that supply chain management can’t be one bers have interests in design and implementation, global trans- of this year’s top three objectives or initiatives for any portation, packaging, and warehouse management. corporation

18 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu Supply Chain Executive Forum Membership Fall 2003

“The bottom line is, a CEO is not going to adopt SCM as a can’t anticipate everything. But • Andersen Corporation strategy on their own. For us, it is a retrenching. We need to you can set the foundation for • BAX Global dream up a lexicon to excite the CEO,”says Jackson. good communication.” • Caterpillar Logistics Services Today’s supply chains are more complicated than those in The SCEF is a project of The • Hershey Foods Corporation the past; and Professor Kevin Hendricks of the University of Logistics Institute (TLI). TLI was • Intel Supply Network Group Western Ontario says today’s managers need to be prepared for established in 1992 in partnership • IKEA the inevitable glitches that come from the globalization of sup- with the National Science Founda- • Limited Brands Logistics Services ply chains, an increased reliance on outsourcing and partner- tion and more than 25 corporations • Manhattan Associates • Manugistics ships, single sourcing, little slack in the supply chain, and and governmental agencies known • Meridian IQ competition. Supply chain glitches affect both shareholder as Leaders in Logistics. TLI conducts • Milliken & Company value and profitability because they can lead to personnel in-depth research pertaining to new • Newell Rubbermaid turnover, negative publicity, excess inventory, and poor asset logistics concepts and processes • Oracle Corporation utilization. Hendricks’ analysis of average stock market returns while offering a comprehensive • Philips Consumer Electronics in relation to glitches shows that the type of event is not impor- logistics educational curriculum. • Recall Corporation tant; whether it is a development problem, a part shortage, or For more information, visit www. • Robert Bosch Corporation • Russell Athletic changes by customers, there is a loss of shareholder value.“It tli.gatech.edu. • Ryder doesn’t matter who is responsible for the event,” says Hen- For more information about • Schneider National dricks.“Your supplier or customer can do as much damage to membership in the Supply Chain • Transentric you as you can do yourself.” Executive Forum, contact John Lan- • Transplace “The unexpected will happen, so today’s supply chain gley at (404) 894-6523 or John.Lan- • UPS managers must be resilient,” says Roger Kallock, former [email protected]. Further infor- • Yellow Transportation Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Logistics and mation about the Georgia Tech Materiel Readiness and now chair, Chagrin Consulting Asso- Supply Chain Executive Forum is ciates. His term for it is “falling smartly.” Kallock says, “You available at www.tli.gatech.edu/scef.

www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 19 in the NEWS

(continued from page 7)

in industrial engineering from North Instead, Pritchett says she believes employees can monitor what is hap- Carolina State University. the nation needs to change the under- pening in the entire United States air The Reed-Apple Award was estab- lying operational concepts, economic travel system and accurately project the lished in 1981 as a permanent tribute to structures, and role of humans and consequences of certain actions. the memory of Drs. Ruddell Reed Jr. machines used in air transportation, “As daunting a task as that and James M. Apple, renowned mater- while maintaining a safety level unique sounds, such a system is necessary ial handling educators and innovators. to aviation. for the airlines to make appropriate It is presented to those nominees who The report committee concluded decisions that affect safety and per- have made an extraordinary, continu- that the government should institute a formance. Say weather in one area ing contribution to material handling focused national leadership for avia- begins to delay a few flights. If I’m and material handling education. Past tion, guided by a strategic vision that in charge of dispatching for an air- recipients include the late Dr. Paul will enable the airline industry to meet line, I can make certain changes that Eaton of ISyE, and Dr. John A. White, increased travel demand in the future. will help my aircraft minimize former Dean of Georgia Tech’s College “While capacity may not seem to be delays and schedule disruptions. But of Engineering and now Chancellor of a pressing issue today, as recently as the what helps me could create bottle- the University of Arkansas. summer of 2001 extremely high necks for other aspects of the overall demand for travel caused record delays system,” says Woods. at airports and dramatically lowered To make good decisions, he says, customer satisfaction,” says David dispatchers must be able to see the big FUTURE OF U.S. AIR TRANSPORTATION Woods, a member of the report com- picture, such as what is happening at IN PERIL, SAYS ISYE PROFESSOR mittee and a professor in industrial and the other airlines. The system must systems engineering at The Ohio State. then be able to adapt to maintain An ISyE professor, who helped He continues,“As painful as the pre- capacity. develop the findings of a recent Nation- sent economic situation is for the indus- The National Research Council is al Research Council report on the state try, the current travel slump provides part of the National Academies, which of air transportation in the U.S., says breathing room to step back and coor- also comprise the National Academy of the system is in danger, as is the nation’s dinate changes across the different parts Sciences, National Academy of Engi- dominance in world aviation. of the industry and government, before neering, and Institute of Medicine. The report, called “Securing the demand for air travel increases again.” They are private, nonprofit institutions Future of U.S. Air Transportation: A The report illustrated the need for that provide science, technology, and System in Peril,” was released in Sep- strategic coordination among the air- health policy advice under a congres- tember 2003 and looks at a broad lines, as well as all the other stakehold- sional charter. range of problems in the aviation ers in air transportation. Such strategic Pritchett and Woods’ colleagues on industry, from safety and security, to coordination will require new techno- the Council committee included the capacity of the air transportation ogy – specifically, computer networks researchers from the Massachusetts system, to consumer satisfaction. that coordinate decisions among the Institute of Technology and Texas Amy Pritchett, an associate profes- stakeholders. One of Pritchett and A&M University, as well as members of sor with a dual appointment at ISyE Woods’ areas of expertise – how people the military and the aviation industry. and the School of Aerospace Engineer- interact with computers to make deci- ing, was a member of the report com- sions in high-risk environments – will mittee. The group was charged with be critical in carrying out the commit- ISYE PROFESSOR NAMED TO NEW helping to plan the nation’s aviation tee’s recommendations. strategy for the next 50 years. Pritchett says, “Making the system SHUTTLE SAFETY ADVISORY PANEL “While the European Union, China, function as an efficient whole is a com- and India all have ambitious aerospace plex issue, especially when decisions ISyE professor Augustine Esogbue is agendas, the United States is falling will impact many different airlines and among nine safety, management, and behind, without a clear, long-term plan customers in ways that they may not engineering experts tapped by NASA to and without a broad base of basic have chosen for themselves. We cannot lead its Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel research to support long-term innova- do this without computers – but we (ASAP). All former members of the tion,” says Pritchett. “While air trans- can’t automate it completely, either. panel resigned in September 2003 after portation is a vital part of our growing Instead, we need to develop collabora- being criticized by the Columbia Shut- economy, the capacity of our air traffic tive, human-interactive technologies tle investigators and members of Con- control system is reaching fundamental that enable operating concepts that we gress for being ineffective. limits to growth. These limits can’t be haven’t even conceived of yet.” The new panel is expected to play an solved by technology alone, and there is Woods says computer systems will important role in the ongoing safety no one ‘silver bullet’ solution.” have to be designated so that airline assessment and review of the Space

20 engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 www.isye.gatech.edu Shuttle program as it prepares to return my IE skills in a management- “I also learned that we (IEs) can to flight. focused setting.” apply our skills in non-manufactur- Esogbue, who also serves as director Franco, a native of Bogotá, ing settings as well. I think it is of the Intelligent Systems and Controls Columbia, began his industrial important, as the United States has Laboratory, is one of only two mem- engineering studies at Los Andes partially shifted from a manufactur- bers selected to the panel who hold aca- University in Bogotá. The ing economy to a service economy, demic appointments. The rest were Columbian university places a heav- that we start using our skills across selected from the military and private ier focus on management, as all platforms and start being cre- industry. The U.S. Congress chartered opposed to production/manufac- ative,” he continues. the panel in 1967, after the tragic fire turing, so Franco transferred to “Finally, and most important of aboard Apollo I, to act as an indepen- West Virginia University in 1999. He all, I understand why Dr. (Jane) dent body advising NASA on the safety left for Atlanta in 2001, because Ammons used to tell us in class: ‘we of operations, facilities, and personnel. “Georgia Tech offers a very good don’t just want you to learn how to Esogbue has been at Georgia Tech undergraduate curriculum and we solve problems, but to learn how to since 1972. In 1976, he founded Geor- are number one in the nation.” think about them.’ And she was gia Tech’s chapter of the National Soci- At TWCC, he was assigned to the right. I was able to think about the ety of Black Engineers, and he now Strategy and Development (S&D) different problems that I faced at serves as its faculty advisory. His department. “As a long-term task I TWCC and from there generate research interests include dynamic pro- was in charge of researching com- possible scenarios. gramming, fuzzy sets, decision making petitors, maintaining the com- Franco is a well-rounded stu- and control in a fuzzy environment, petitors’ database, and publishing a dent, with a passion for sports, fun, and operations research with applica- bi-monthly newspaper on competi- and his family. In his childhood, he tions to socio-technical systems such as tors’ new technologies and ven- learned self-discipline through health care, water resource manage- tures,” says Franco. “I spent most of swimming and tennis. Now, he ment, and disaster control planning. my time helping my supervisors in prefers soccer, a regular pursuit. He As director of the Intelligent Systems different projects that would arise also admires the literary works of and Controls Laboratory, Esogbue is each semester. One could think of Albert Einstein and Leonardo Da currently investigating a hybrid the S&D department as a small Vinci. “I try to apply their thoughts approach to intelligent control via fuzzy consulting firm within TWCC. We in my personal life,” he says. sets, neural networks, and reinforce- would work together with all the At Georgia Tech, Franco has ment learning theories, as well as its strategic business units, helping received several scholarships, and he application to various large-scale non- them and guiding them with their is a member of The Helvetia Honor linear and uncertain dynamic systems. ideas and products.” Society, the National Society of Col- “My team was a problem solver legiate Scholars, Golden Key Honor group,” he continues. “We had to Society, and the Society of Hispanic deal with competitor threats; we Professional Engineers. STUDENT PROFILE had to figure out new revenue After completing his co-op assign- streams; we had to review and/or ment, Franco spent Fall Semester 2003 Nothing is Routine at The Weather Channel: enhance our current business mod- in France, studying at the Sorbonne and Student Co-op Assignment els; and we had to plan or forecast the American University of Paris, with The Weather Channel may not be technology trends in order to guide the goal of learning French, his third lan- the first place you think of as an indus- our management strategies.” guage (after Spanish and English). He trial engineering cooperative education He feels that the experience was will graduate Summer Semester 2004 assignment. But IE students and alum- different from that of other IE co-op and has plans to earn a master’s in Inter- ni have long recognized the diversity of programs. “In traditional co-op national Logistics at Tech. His long-term an industrial engineering degree. Now, assignments, students usually learn goals include an MBA from Harvard other industries are beginning to how to improve processes, how to before returning to Columbia to start his appreciate the IE experience. analyze and interpret data, and how own business. “I see myself operating Bernardo Franco, a 23-year-old to make wise decisions based on throughout Latin America and leverag- senior in ISyE, co-oped at The prior analysis,” explains Franco. ing new opportunities there,”he says.“I Weather Channel Companies “However, at our level, co-op stu- want to be able to generate employment (TWCC) from January 2002 to dents, we usually learn how to make and help my people, as I am conscious August 2003. The position was orig- operational decisions that become that not all Columbians have had the inally available only to management routine with experience. At TWCC, same opportunities I had.” majors, but Franco saw it as “the nothing was a routine as every pro- perfect opportunity for me to use ject was completely different.” www.isye.gatech.edu engineering ENTERPRISE  Winter 2003 21 ALUMNI NEWS

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