CSCMP Research

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) is widely recognized as a leader in cutting edge research to advance the supply chain management profession. The Research Strategies Committee undertakes the development of CSCMP’s research agenda and oversees many of the projects. Depending on the research initiative, research teams use original data collection (primary research), secondary sources, or survey methods—or more typically a combination—that add advance knowledge and provide value to today’s supply chain practitioner.

Research Strategies Committee (RSC)

The Research Strategies Committee (RSC) investigates, evaluates, and advises CSCMP’s Board of Directors on the need for, and feasibility of, undertaking research projects that will benefit the supply chain management profession. To provide the broad input necessary for research, committee and subcommittee members are selected from both the educator and practitioner communities. The RSC engages individuals to serve as project team members on various research initiatives.

Meet the RSC Committee Members

Current Research

Publications

CSCMP Hot Topics
CSCMP Hot Topics are written by leading experts in supply chain management and focus on newly emerging research from CSCMP or other organizations; hot trends and emerging industry insights; and/or journal articles that expose a new perspective or finding that has emerged as a critical issue. Hot Topics provide a quick way to keep up with a changing supply chain management industry and marketplace. Every issue is brief, and no more than 2-4 pages.

Journal of Business Logistics
Are you and your organization prepared for what’s on the horizon? Supply chain management professionals who read the Journal of Business Logistics (JBL) learn about upcoming research and in-depth studies on hot buttons in the industry. Articles in the Journal of Business Logistics are oftentimes collaborations between and among prominent academics, thought leaders, consultants, and practitioners.

Supply Chain XChange Magazine
CSCMP members receive complimentary subscriptions to CSCMP’s Supply Chain XChange, an award-winning magazine and a leading literary source for over 15,000 supply chain management professionals seeking unbiased and valuable industry information and insight. It has already been awarded a gold and silver medal for content and design by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

Supply Chain Management Process Standards
Supply Chain Management Process Standards is the first comprehensive reference guide containing general guidelines to help you self-assess your current processes. You’ll use these tools to identify process strengths and weaknesses…and be able to focus your attention on areas where improvement efforts will drive the most benefit. Topics include: Deliver, Enable, Make, Plan, and Return.

Supply Chain Management Talent Development
At a time when supply chain management is gaining stature within the organization, many organizations face a critical supply chain talent void due to years of headcount reduction, training budget cuts, and the retirement of highly skilled individuals. Supply chain leaders must address this talent gap by assembling a team of talented professionals with skills that are core to the organization’s supply chain management mission. This can be achieved through the ongoing strategic talent acquisition. This talent development series contains three publications: The Acquire Process, The Advance Process and The Develop Process.
 

Reports and Surveys

Digital Transformation in Supply Chain Planning: 2021
A new study by ToolsGroup, a global leader in supply chain planning software, and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) has found that only 3% of companies experienced no COVID-related business impact, and 42% of organizations say the pandemic has accelerated their digitization plans.


CSCMP’s Annual "State of Logistics Report®
The Annual “State of Logistics Report®”, authored by A.T. Kearney and presented by Penske Logistics, Report, has tracked and measured all costs associated with moving freight through the U.S. supply chain since 1988. Each year, the report presents an overview of the economy during the past year, the logistics industry’s key trends, and the total U.S. logistics costs for the previous year and lays out future and potential trends.

The "State of Logistics Report®" is complimentary to CSCMP members and is widely used by supply chain management and logistics professionals and organizations as the premier benchmark for US logistics activity.

State of Supply Chain Sustainability
The Annual State of Supply Chain Sustainability Report explores how supply chain sustainability (SCS) practices are being implemented globally and what that means for professionals, enterprises, industries, and the planet. The report is a collaboration between The MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP).

The "State of Logistics Report®" is complimentary to CSCMP members and is widely used by supply chain management and logistics professionals and organizations as the premier benchmark for US logistics activity.

EPIC Global Supply Chain Risk Assessment
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) is committed to both developing and arming supply chain professionals to be successful in their pursuit of excellence throughout their careers, as well as advancing our discipline and accomplishing CSCMP’s mission of a truly integrated, end-to-end supply chain. To that end, CSCMP has partnered with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s, Global Supply Chain Institute (GSCI) and IHS Markit to produce a tool that improves market intelligence, decision-making and risk mitigation efforts for supply chain professionals. The EPIC Global Supply Chain Readiness Index (EPIC) employs a data-driven approach that combines UT’s quantitative analysis with IHS Markit’s rich on-the-ground qualitative insights from more than 55 countries around the globe. This tool is designed to provide foundational and contemporary input to supply chain leaders to drive more informed decisions about how to best operate in these markets.

The EPIC Global Supply Chain Readiness Index report is built upon a book authored by a team of faculty from the University of Tennessee and ESSEC School of Management (Paris, France) entitled Global Supply Chains: Evaluating Regions on an An EPIC Framework. The EPIC framework originally introduced in the book provides a methodology and approach that enables firms to better assess different locations for global supply chain operations, including sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution. With data sets selected by UT and analysis provided by IHS Markit, the EPIC Report 2020 will update the previous work and give supply chain executive’s insight about the capabilities of supply chain globally.

Logistics 2030: Navigating a Disruptive Decade
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), Auburn University, NASSTRAC, and Agile Business Media have undertaken a multi-year study Logistics 2030: Navigating a Disruptive Decade.  In 2018, when the Logistics 2030 project began, little did we know that the following three years would be some of the most transformative for supply chains.  Market volatility caused by the pandemic, the subsequent economic downturn, and severe weather events have converged to cause enormous stress on all areas of the supply chain. 

One of our focus group participants said it best “Now everyone wants to go back to “normal” – how things used to be. But most of us don’t realize how the normal has changed – the future has changed.”  The year 2030 is getting closer. Over the next nine years, supply chain professionals will continue to encounter many challenges and rapid change. It is important to assess the strategies, requirements, and tools that will shape supply chains and drive success over the next decade.  

Our team of experts from Auburn University's Center for Supply Chain Innovation, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council (NASSTRAC), and AGiLE Business Media (publisher of DC Velocity & CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly), has undertaken a multi-year study of these future issues. 

The series includes:
Year 1: Freight Transportation, sponsored by TranzAct
Year 2: Warehousing and Distribution, sponsored by JLL and CenterPoint
Year 3: Strategic Sourcing and Inbound Logistics, sponsored by KPMG


Logistics Manager’s Index Report
The LMI® is calculated using a diffusion index, in which any reading above 50 percent indicates that logistics is expanding; a reading below 50 percent is indicative of a shrinking logistics industry. The score is a combination of components including inventory levels and costs, warehousing capacity, utilization, and prices, and transportation capacity, utilization, and prices

The LMI® is updated monthly. For any archived reports, please email a request to [email protected].

2023 Third-Party Logistics Study   
Started in 1996 by Dr. C. John Langley, a clinical professor of supply chain and information systems and director of development at the Center for Supply Chain Research™ at Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University, the Third-Party Logistics Study evaluates and documents the ways in which the global 3PL is constantly evolving.  To view previous 3PL Reports, please visit https://3PLStudy.com.

The 27th annual Third-Party Logistics Study reveals shippers and 3PLs are striving to rebalance supply chains and are going back-to-basics while ongoing disruption, strategic misalignments and labor challenges are straining 3PL-shipper relationships.

Young Professionals in Supply Chain Study
What do young professionals think about working in the supply chain field?  Why are they attracted to the business, and what are they looking for in a career?  These are questions leaders at the CSCMP and Penske Logistics set out to answer in the bi-annual Young Professionals Survey.  

The series includes:
2017 Report
2019 Report
2021 Report

Textbooks

Definitive Guide Textbook Series
Whether you're a practitioner or a student, these eight comprehensive guides provide the context and information needed to succeed. These tools can help you:

  • Understand all facets of supply chain management core areas.
  • Learn about current supply chain management challenges.
  • Discover ways to reduce costs and enhance supply chain performance.
  • Gain insight into emerging trends that will transform the way you manage the supply chain.

Textbooks editions include: Integrated Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, Manufacturing and Service Operations, Supply Management and Procurement, Transportation, Warehousing, and Supply Chain Best Practices

Leveraging Supply Chain Management to Drive Organization Success
This textbook serves a dual purpose. Academics can use it for coursework as a supply chain management textbook.  This text also serves as the SCPro™ Certification Study Materials. The textbook is authored by Ted Stank and Shay Scott of the University of Tennessee and features an interactive curriculum along with commentary and exercises taught by a diverse team of educators and supply chain professionals.

Research Classifications

CSCMP has historically categorized the research it produces in the following ways:

  • How To (or back to basics) research develops a structured approach or “model” to guide the logistics practitioner through the accomplishment of a significant logistics process or task.
  • Benchmark research provides data on the cost or effectiveness of some element—often cost and/or service performance levels by activity, or by activity within certain industries—associated with performing logistics functions.
  • State of the Art research reports on current conditions in some aspect of logistics.
  • Risk research examines conceptual topics that have very broad strategic implications. Risk research is leading edge, in which a significant contribution could very well be made in the area of problem definition, as well as in the specific research findings.
  • Targets of Opportunity research provides timely research on major world events that dramatically impact logistics, such as airline strikes, oil embargos, acts of God, and stock market crashes.

Research Submissions

Do you have a research project idea or full proposal that could benefit and add value for the CSCMP practitioner membership? Send your idea and contact information to the Research Strategies Committee via e-mail

The Research Strategies Committee reviews proposals and new project ideas at their quarterly meetings, as well as decides to launch RFIs and/or sole sourced research projects. We cannot promise that we will use unsolicited submission ideas, and submission of an idea or proposal does not give you "ownership" of the idea. All proposals will be evaluated based on merit.