In August 2023, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Global Supply Chain Institute announced the launching of the Transportation and Logistics Collaborative (TLC), a close collaboration with the Center for Transportation Research and Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs to understand how transportation systems, policies, and industry interact in the United States and around the world.
One year in, the collaborative, which includes faculty members from the Department of Supply Chain Management, has made progress on significant projects with private sector companies, U.S. government agencies, and universities.
“Our strategic goal from Day 1 has been to continue the tradition of transportation and logistics leadership that’s always been a Haslam College standard,” said Yemisi Bolumole, Ryder Professor and the newly named director of the collaborative. “The TLC is a place where organizations and scholars come together to innovate on transportation and logistics issues, with the goal of working together to identify solutions for today’s supply chains.”
Bolumole, who previously led the transportation and logistics flagship program at the University of North Florida, coordinated the TLC’s efforts in its inaugural year, seeking projects with partner firms, universities, government agencies, research institutes, and professional organizations.
“Yemisi is the ideal leader to take the helm,” said John Bell, department head for supply chain management at the Haslam College of Business and a founding member of the TLC. “Her expertise and commitment are unmatched. From the second that the collaborative was announced, she set to amplify its impact through innovative research addressing real and critical industry challenges.”
Alongside Bolumole, UT professors Don Maier, a maritime logistics expert, and Jeff Trombly, a career transportation analyst, planner, and researcher, have risen to critical roles in the TLC. Maier is an advisory board member of the International Association of Maritime Port Executives (IAMPE) and the Containerization & Intermodal Institute; Trombly was named executive director of the Airport Ground Transportation Association (AGTA) in 2023.
In the short time that the TLC has been in operation, each of these critical faculty members has undertaken challenging projects with leading government and corporate organizations and have produced exceptional results.
Current and ongoing projects for the TLC during the 2024-25 academic year include:
- A large-scale driver data collection study in partnership with the University of Central Arkansas, the University of Turin in Italy, and several national truck carriers within the Alliance for Driver Safety and Security (The Trucking Alliance). The TLC is working with partners to inform existing and upcoming policy from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration regarding hair and urine testing for truck drivers.
- A reimagined total landed costs analysis for a U.S. Class I railroad partner of the Collaborative. This research offers a more robust evaluation model for reshoring business relationships out of Asia.
- A reshoring and facility location optimization project with a GSCI partner company investigating new location models for facility optimization based on macroeconomics and demand and supply flows.
- A grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) for Maier, Bolumole, and Trombly to explore the potential use of the Tennessee inland waterway system for interstate freight transportation.
Each project has engaged one or more lead faculty members within the SCM department, as well as multiple external stakeholders.
With a significant pipeline of projects coming online in the next year, Bolumole hopes to spend some of that time establishing an Advisory Board consisting of companies that are currently members of the Supply Chain Forum. The department also recently welcomed a new faculty member, Andrew Balthrop, previously of the University of Arkansas.
“The vision of the TLC is to become a flagship research incubator for cutting edge, innovative, and practical logistics research addressing critical challenges for tomorrow’s supply chains,” Bolumole said. “As a collaborative, we seek partnerships with all transportation and logistics experts, from industry, universities, and government agencies, working together to address the challenges facing this sector today.”
The TLC is a sister collaborative to the Advanced Supply Chain Collaborative (ASCC), which partners U.T. faculty with industry professionals to explore advanced concepts in supply chain management.
Read industry research from GSCI in logistics and transportation.
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Brian Canever, [email protected]
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