Logistics instructors will be the first to tell you that they aren't sitting on the sidelines when it comes to teaching the basics of information technology (IT). They can't afford to: IT has become too critical a part of the logistics function to ignore.

"Gone are the Ph.D.s who taught courses with notebooks full of yellowing pages," says Theodore Stank, associate professor of logistics and supply chain management at Michigan State University . "Old dogs are learning new tricks and teaching about warehousing management and transportation management systems."

The ties between logistics and information systems have become so close, in fact, that Georgia Southern University last year created a single department dedicated to information systems and logistics, reports Karl Manrodt, assistant professor in that combined Information Systems and Logistics Department in the university's College of Business Administration.

Clearly, educators agree that IT instruction creates a competitive edge for graduates of university-level logistics and supply chain programs. Yet such instruction presents challenges. How do programs find the proper balance between logistics and IT issues? How can universities bring multimillion-dollar software applications to students? How do instructors at all levels undergraduate, graduate, and executive certificate programs stay current in a field that changes continuously?

"Technology is a moving target," admits Jim Masters, executive director of the Masters of Engineering in Logistics program (MLOG) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). "We could build a curriculum around wireless technologies, for example. But no one knows exactly what that means or how it would change a year from now." Nonetheless, educators are forging ahead with programs aimed at getting aspiring logisticians up to speed in IT.

Robert C. Lieb, professor of supply chain management in the College of Business Administration at Boston's Northeastern University , says IT education for supply chain professionals has evolved tremendously in recent years. "It used to be enough to say, 'This box is a computer,'" Lieb says. "And before that we were punching out computer cards. Today, we concentrate on how you determine what information to generate and in what format. It's become a strategic issue."

To meet students' evolving technology needs, universities are striving to increase IT content in many logistics-related courses. A course on freight transportation management, for example, might include studies in technology as well as in labor relations, regulation, and competition. By the same token, some technology-oriented courses are becoming more broad-based. "Our WMS (warehouse management system) short course morphed into a logistics execution systems course covering WMS, TMS (transportation management systems), and labor," notes Harvey Donaldson, director of the Logistics Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology .

Schools also are offering IT-focused courses such as "Managing Information Resources," a required course in Northeastern University's graduate certificate program in supply chain management, and "Information Technology and Computer Models in Logistics," taught in the MLOG program at MIT. The MLOG program presents "real world problems" the kind of design and operational challenges that logisticians face day to day, says Masters. "We don't try to develop software engineers," he says. "But information technology can't be a 'black box' ... We're not teaching students how to write code but to know when they need new code. It's a process of identifying problems and solutions."

With information technology changing so quickly, how do schools keep faculty current on developments in IT and logistics? MIT, for one, encourages instructors to stay involved in private industry. Masters notes that MIT professors sit on corporate boards, manage enterprises, and create startup companies.

It's important for instructors to make sure that students are getting the latest information, too. Many logistics programs bring in guest speakers from private industry to provide students with an up-to-date perspective on a specific topic or application. "Every year we bring in a supply chain software vendor to demonstrate one of its packages," says Ted W. Bouras, director of the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.

Georgia Tech's Donaldson says that because many academics have a foot in both business and higher education, it's easy to get knowledgeable lecturers from private industry who can talk about supply chain and logistics applications. These industry leaders enjoy the personal relationships and dialogue that occur in a university setting, he adds.

At Northeastern University, the school does not merely bring industry to the students; it also sends the students out into industry. "Northeastern is unique because it is a co-op program," says Lieb. "During our five-year undergraduate program, students will work with companies such as Gillette, Tyco, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. They'll receive hands-on experience in implementing i2 or SAP (enterprise resource planning applications). They'll work with warehouse management software systems and transportation optimization programs."

Educators also must ensure that their students receive exposure to the latest applications, which can cost millions of dollars. One way to reduce the expense of owning and maintaining logistics-related applications, says Stank of Michigan State, is to partner with software vendors. Some have been willing to provide his department with tools for conducting interactive case studies. Under this type of arrangement, the college downloads applications via the Internet from the vendors' sites, Stank says. That way, the applications continue to reside on the vendor's server and the college is assured of updates without the traditional implementation concerns.

Although this firsthand experience is invaluable, educators are aware of the pitfalls of exposing students to a single vendor's solution. "There are risks to teaching a complete course on one specific supply chain software program," says Manrodt. "First, it takes a lot of time for the instructor to learn the program, time most instructors do not have. And what if the product tanks? Look at ASPs (application service providers) now it's a roll of the dice as to which will survive."

That's one reason why Michigan State does not teach a specific vendor's software process. "We want our students to understand the central concepts and techniques of the packages," says Stank.

Manrodt agrees that the goal should be to teach concepts, not how to use a specific software package. "It's safer to teach Access (the Microsoft database program)," he says. "... If you understand the thought process behind Access, then you can look at a process like freight consolidation and know how to do it. You won't even need Access; you can do it with a spreadsheet program or on paper," he explains.

Still, there is some value in getting into specifics, Donaldson believes. "[Students] need to 'get under the hood' and understand what makes one program different from another," he says. "For example, how is optimization different in the Manugistics and i2 programs?"

Donaldson says it's challenging for educators to serve students who represent the full spectrum of IT knowledge. At one level, there are logisticians who are looking for tools and technology to solve a problem, he says. Next, there are those who are familiar with the tools and are seeking the right product for their needs. Finally, there are the consultants, software engineers, corporate IT staff, and masters- and Ph.D.-level students who need to understand the technology thoroughly, he says. "They are searching for algorithms buried deep within a program."

It's impossible to serve all students with a single course, but there are solutions. "We target the middle ground," says Donaldson. "So those who want to know about the algorithm may sit through a session to have a few minutes to spend in a one-on-one discussion with the instructor."

Even with all of the recent advances in technology, educators caution, information technology cannot replace logistics know-how. "In spite of technology, our most popular course continues to be 'Warehouse Layout and Material Handling.' We offer it three times a year and it consistently attracts 50 to 65 people," Donaldson says. "We could offer it more often and I am confident we would fill those classes." Employers understand that IT abilities are only part of a complete package, adds Manrodt. "Both written and verbal communications are fundamental on the job."

Nonetheless, that combination of logistics know-how and IT expertise is apparently becoming increasingly attractive to employers. Bouras says the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management looks for candidates with excellent IT skills. "In the past two years, we have been making a conscious effort to find students who have declared a major in Information Systems but have prior work experience somewhere within the supply chain," he explains. "We discuss career goals with these candidates. If their goals match what our employers are looking for, we make the pitch to have them consider a double major in information systems and supply chain management. Needless to say, we look for those students to do quite well in the job market."

Educators say the proof of their programs' success is the fact that graduates have moved on to positions in industry that they would not have landed without both IT and logistics instruction. Students who are proficient in both logistics and technology impress employers, including the top levels of management. "One guest lecturer, a corporate executive, told me he had a better discussion with our students than he does with his own board of directors," says Northeastern's Lieb. "He explained that our students know more than his board members do."