Chennai: Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA) and TAKE Solutions Ltd. today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch a Centre of Excellence for Supply Chain Management (CoE).

"The scope is endless. The CoE will provide solutions that span a multitude of industries and will help organizations rapidly exploit opportunities in an ever altering condition. We have realized the potential for research in this area even two years back when we set up the Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management. I am happy that the new CoE will augment the existing Centre and will further help in bridging the knowledge gap in SCM area", Fr. Christie, Director, LIBA told NNE.

"As a company that is focused on Innovation and IP-led product development, the launch of a Centre of Excellence is the next logical step. We wish to increase collaboration with the Industry and Academia and this CoE will be a great platform to ideate, re-invent, learn and unlearn. We have had a long and fruitful association with LIBA and this MoU further strengthens our ties as we chart a new roadmap to learning." Mr. Sridharan Sivan, Managing Director, TAKE Solutions Ltd said.

Apart from various white papers, research articles and Managerial Development Programs (MDPs) that will emerge out of the COE, there will also be a Centre of Excellence Laboratory at the LIBA premises that will be jointly run by TAKE and LIBA.

The lab will help evolve best practices and advanced algorithms on the emerging supply chain challenges.

The COE will see the coming together of industry thought leaders, domain experts, academicians and technology partners in the SCM arena.

It will conduct research and analysis to produce cutting edge solutions to some of the most pressing problems and bottlenecks that leading organisatons face today.

Some of the research agenda includes ethical supply chain, extending Newsvendor models, unlocking the value of RFID, leveraging the value of information in closed and open loop supply chains, reverse SCM, and also will include contemporary topics such as inventory decision and policy development, time compression, demand amplification, supply chain design and integration, and international supply chain management.

LIBA, located in Chennai, India, is a premier B-School and a part of Loyola College Society. It is run by Jesuits renowned world over for its value based education.

Its flagship program, the Post Graduate Program in Business Management, is one of the most sought after program.