Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective

John J. Coyle is Professor Emeritus of Logistics and Supply Chain Management in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University. He holds a B.S. and M.S. from Penn State and earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where he was a U.S. Steel Fellow. He joined the Penn State faculty in 1961 and attained the rank of full professor in 1967. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he has served in a number of administrative positions, including Department Head, Assistant Dean, Senior Associate Dean, Special Assistant for Strategic Planning to the university president, and Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Research. He also served as Penn State’s faculty representative to the NCAA for 30 years and to the Big Ten for 10 years. Dr. Coyle was the editor of the Journal of Business Logistics from 1990 to 1996. He has authored or co-authored 25 books or monographs and 38 articles in academic and professional journals. He has received 14 awards at Penn State for teaching and/or advising. In addition, he received the Council of Logistics Management’s Distinguished Service Award in 1991, the Philadelphia Traffic Club’s Person of the Year Award in 2003, the 2004 Eccles Medal from the International Society of Logistics for his contributions to the Department of Defense and the 2004 Lion’s Paw Medal from Penn State for Distinguished Service. Dr. Coyle currently serves on the board of a logistics and supply chain service company.

C. John Langley Jr. is Clinical Professor of Supply Chain Management in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University and also serves as Director of Development in the Center for Supply Chain Research. Previously, he served as the John H. Dove Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Tennessee and the SCL Professor of Supply Chain Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Langley is a former president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and a recipient of the Council’s Distinguished Service Award. He has been recognized by the American Society of Transportation and Logistics as an honorary distinguished logistics professional for his long-term contributions and continuing commitment to the transportation logistics community. He is also a recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award from Penn State’s Business Logistics Program. Dr. Langley received his B.S. degree in mathematics, M.B.A. in finance, and Ph.D. in business logistics, all from Penn State University. Dr. Langley has co-authored several leading books, including SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: A LOGISTICS PERSPECTIVE. Also, he is lead author of the annual Third Party Logistics Study and recently completed the 2020 24th Annual 3PL Study. His research publications have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Business Logistics, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, International Journal of Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management Review, and Land Economics. Dr. Langley serves on the boards of directors for Forward Air Corporation and Averitt Express, Inc., and he previously served on the boards of directors of UTi Worldwide, Inc., Landair Transportation, Inc., and Metasys, Inc.

Robert Novack is an Associate Professor of Business Logistics in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems at Penn State University. From 1979 to 1981 he worked in operations management and planning for the Yellow Freight Corporation in Overland Park, Kansas, and from 1981 to 1984 he worked in planning and transportation at Drackett Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Novack’s numerous articles have been published in such publications as the Journal of Business Logistics, Transportation Journal, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management. Dr. Novack has also co-authored TRANSPORTATION: A SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE, and SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: A LOGISTICS PERSPECTIVE. Active in the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, he has served as overall program chair for the annual conference, functioned as a track chair, and served as a session speaker as well as participated as a member of numerous committees. Dr. Novack holds the CTL designation from AST&L and is a member of WERC. He earned his B.S. degree and an M.B.A. in logistics from Penn State University and his Ph.D. in logistics from the University of Tennessee.

Brian J. Gibson is Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Innovation and the Wilson Family Professor of Supply Chain Management at Auburn University. Previously, he served on the faculty of Georgia Southern University and as a logistics manager for two major retailers. He has received multiple awards for outstanding teaching, research, and outreach. Dr. Gibson’s research has been published in the Journal of Business Logistics, International Journal of Logistics Management, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management Review, Supply Chain Quarterly, and other leading publications. He is co-author of TRANSPORTATION: A SUPPLY CHAIN PERSPECTIVE, author of the electronic textbook SUPPLY CHAIN ESSENTIALS, and serves as lead researcher for the multi-year Logistics 2030 project and the annual State of the Retail Supply Chain Report. Dr. Gibson serves as Chair Elect for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals board of directors and as academic liaison for the Retail Industry Leaders Association’s Supply Chain Leaders Council. He previously served as education advisor for the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council. Dr. Gibson earned a B.S. from Central Michigan University, an M.B.A. from Wayne State University, and a Ph.D. in logistics and transportation from the University of Tennessee.