As a nation emerged from WWII into the booming post-war economy, distributors helped build the future. An avalanche of new technologies together with pent-up consumer demands, derived from the war effort, were fueling economic change and growth. Distributors showed remarkable vision when they recognized that the growing economy, advancing technology, and increasing competition demanded a new talent for their organizations. A high-level education was needed to blend technology with business and produce graduates who handle complexity and technology, work with clients and suppliers, and manage the quickly expanding distributorships.

Clarkson University and Texas A&M initiated the first two ID programs in the fifties. Both programs became successful far beyond their original vision and continue to play a vital role in distribution. Now there are a dozen other thriving ID programs. With ID graduates exceeding 10,000, still there is a shortage!

So what have these distribution alums accomplished? The results during 14 years as director of the Clarkson program are simply stated: One-third own or have owned businesses; one-half earn graduate degrees; and 90 percent hold management responsibilities.

ID graduates remain among the most broadly prepared and aggressively recruited college graduates entering industry. Career flexibility and growth potential have lasting value for both parties.

Throughout the sixties, seventies, and eighties major companies like IBM, Hewlett Packard and General Electric aggressively recruited ID graduates; those companies needed breadth, were household names, offered career flexibility and competitive salaries.

The Fortune 500 companies had phenomenal success with ID recruits, therefore it must be acknowledged that distributors have understood what industry needed for a college education.

However, distribution grew in sophistication and in career opportunities. Distributors became much more effective in recruiting and retaining top talent because they offer preferred career opportunities.

Distributorships are now recognized as the best place for a new graduate to learn how to run an entire business; distributors offer experience, growth, flexibility, and reward like never before. One example is Applied Industrial Technologies. When they came to the Clarkson campus they wanted to hire our five best graduates. It is hard to out-recruit the Fortune 500 names, unless your company offers clear advantage. Applied did it.

We've heard the buzz about supply chains. As with prior initiatives like TQM and reduced cycle times, there are plenty of charlatans offering supply chain management services and consulting. But as with quality and the other initiatives, when the dust settles, supply chain integration and optimization will have a massive, positive impact on all of industry. Simply by making supply chains more efficient we can reduce the cost of goods an average of 10 percent. No wonder SCM has become all the rage, and is now a central component of distribution education everywhere.

Today industry is complex, fast paced, and has less margin for error — a ripe environment for engineered solutions. Uncertainty modeling, probabilistic risk/reward assessments, and feedback control systems are as applicable to inventory strategy as they are with circuits and flight control, given the challenges of speed, complexity, and risk.

The Distribution and Logistics Engineering (DLE) program at the University of Houston represents a commitment toward serving this need. Distribution education's role could be expanded. Why is engineering content important? For one thing, it provides new tools for understanding and optimizing supply chain performance. It not only teaches its graduates to solve problems at hand, it also conditions them to anticipate future challenges. This strategy is a great fit with industry and distribution.

Distributors hold a special status for their commitment to extending the reach of higher education for industry. After fifty years of success they still have the lead in nuturing new academic programs like DLE. After all, who understands competition and performance better than they?