Smeal Students Study SCM in Italy

Over the summer, 23 Penn State Smeal College of Business students spent six weeks in Florence, Italy, studying supply chain and management from an Italian perspective. The students studied with Norm Aggon, assistant department chair and instructor in operations and supply chain management and Ron Johnson, senior instructor in management and organization.

The course was called, “Extreme Global Makeover: Integrating Supply Chain Applications, Managerial Skills, and Italian Culture for Personal Success.” The course provided students an opportunity to visit four different Italian companies and learn to assess their manufacturing operations in terms of supply chain management and sustainability.

The four companies students visited included hand-blown glass company IVV, confectioner Perugina, textile manufacturer Lanificio Luigi Ricceri Sli, and world-famous luxury sports car maker Ferrari.

Aggon and Johnson prepared the students for visiting these manufacturing plants by learning how to use a new set of auditing tools. One tool was based on the supply chain SCOR model (learning to assess operations) with the other based on auditing best practices in sustainability.

At each company, students applied these tools by touring the facilities and talking with managers to understand the way the company functions and how Italian business differ from that in America.

“Extreme Global Makeover: Integrating Supply Chain Applications, Managerial Skills, and Italian Culture for Personal Success” is one of several faculty-led summer programs offered by Smeal. These programs provide students the opportunity to take unique classes in an international setting with Smeal professors. Classes focus on foundational concepts through a global lens.

regions: Philadelphia

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