KNOXVILLE—J. Paul Dittmann, executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Business Administration, was one of fifteen individuals honored as an industry “Rainmaker” by DC Velocity, a leading magazine that caters to logistics managers and executives.
Each summer, DC Velocity honors a group of influential people, referred to as Rainmakers, from various areas of supply chain management for their lasting contributions to the supply chain management profession. This year’s Rainmakers include academics, practitioners, military logisticians, consultants, and vendors.
Dittmann is the sixth faculty Rainmaker from the college. Preceding him were Ted Stank, Bruce Chair of Excellence; Alex Miller, Stokely Chair in Management and associate dean; the late J. Tom Mentzer; Chad Autry; and Kate Vitasek.
“We believe having six Rainmakers is unprecedented in the U.S.,” said Stank. “This achievement illustrates the talent of our faculty and the caliber of our marketing and logistics program.”
Dittmann joined the college in 2005 after a long career with Whirlpool Corp. He progressed through Whirlpool’s ranks, eventually becoming vice president of supply chain strategy for projects and systems. In this position, he was responsible for developing and implementing the company’s supply chain strategy and overseeing customer service projects. In 2010, he co-authored The New Supply Chain Agenda, published by Harvard Business Press, with Mentzer and Reuben Slone, executive vice president of OfficeMax.
In the July 2011 issue of DC Velocity, Dittmann spoke about the need for companies to develop a long-term supply chain strategy. During the recent recession, many companies were just trying to survive.
“Our experience indicates that less than 20 percent of companies have an up-to-date, documented multi-year supply chain strategy,” said Dittmann. “We believe all firms need a current roadmap extending at least three years into the future that drives a set of initiatives to achieve supply chain excellence.”
For more than thirty-five years, UT Knoxville has been top-ranked in global supply chain expertise, garnering rankings in publications such as U.S. News and World Report, Supply Chain Management Review, and Transportation Journal.
“The Global Supply Chain Institute offers an extensive range of supply chain programs, both degree and non-degree, a vast international network of industry and university partnerships, unparalleled faculty expertise, and global impact,” said Dittmann. “This provides unsurpassed networking and benchmarking opportunities for our corporate partners and grounds our cutting-edge research.”
To learn more about the institute, please visit http://GlobalSupplyChainInstitute.utk.edu.
For a complete list of DC Velocity’s 2011 Rainmakers, please visit http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20110701rainmakers/.
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C O N T A C T :
Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, craines1@utk.edu)