One of the great privileges of serving as department head for the supply chain management program at the Haslam College of Business is having a front-row seat to the remarkable research being carried out by our faculty and doctoral students. Day after day, this community is developing innovative supply chain solutions and generating insights that influence both scholarship and practice—work that deserves far greater visibility than academic journals alone can provide.
Over decades of committed effort, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has built a global reputation for excellence in applied empirical research. In 2026, the SCM Journal List ranked our faculty No. 1 in the nation for empirical supply chain research—the 12th consecutive year that Haslam has placed in the top five of that ranking. These distinctions reflect the quality, rigor, and real-world relevance of the work being done every day in our program.
At the same time, those rankings tell only part of our story. They cannot fully capture the creativity of our faculty, the collaborative culture of our department, the mentorship provided to our doctoral students, or the many ways our research helps organizations make better decisions and address complex real-world challenges. That is exactly the gap this quarterly edition of the Tennessee on Supply Chain Management newsletter is designed to fill.
Each issue, beginning with this inaugural edition, will feature accessible summaries of recently published studies, research insights, and the faculty and partners behind them, presented in a format that invites readers into conversations that too often remain within the university’s walls. We believe academic research has its greatest impact when it reaches beyond those walls and hope this newsletter serves as a bridge between our research community and the broader world we seek to influence.
That bridge is sustained, in no small part, by a remarkable network of partners. We are grateful to our more than 70 Global Supply Chain Institute partner companies, our valued professional affiliates—the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), and the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives (IAMPE)—and the many organizations partnering with us through our Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative and Transportation and Logistics Collaborative, all of whom are essential to ensuring that our research reaches the people and organizations who can put it to work.
Much of what distinguishes the UT SCM program comes together at our Supply Chain Forum, the biannual gathering where industry leaders, faculty, students, and partners convene to learn, network, and put research into practice. We are pleased to share that registration is now open for the Fall 2026 Supply Chain Forum, taking place November 10–12. This year’s agenda features moderated panels led by several of our senior research and practice faculty, as well as a research lightning round with presentations from Professors John Patrick Paraskevas, Seongkyoon Jeong, and Justin Kistler—a fitting complement to the research stories you will find in this newsletter.
We hope the content of this edition provides meaningful insight into the ideas and discoveries shaping our discipline. More than that, we hope the stories inspire a deeper appreciation for the role that rigorous, applied research plays in advancing knowledge and addressing the challenges facing organizations, supply chains, and society today.
Thank you for reading, and welcome to our research community.
Yemisi Bolumole, Ryder Professor of Supply Chain Management and Department Head, Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Contact
