{"id":475,"date":"2025-10-15T14:40:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/?p=475"},"modified":"2025-10-20T19:34:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T19:34:33","slug":"preparing-the-next-generation-of-supply-chain-leaders-one-forklift-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/2025\/10\/15\/preparing-the-next-generation-of-supply-chain-leaders-one-forklift-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing the Next Generation of Supply Chain Leaders \u2014 One Forklift at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Inside a bustling 30,000-square-foot warehouse in Plainfield, Indiana, Lacy School of Business students aren\u2019t just studying logistics \u2013 they\u2019re living it. Through a new agreement with the Vincennes University Logistics Training and Education Center <\/a>(VU LTEC), students in LSB\u2019s supply chain and operations program are gaining hands-on experience in a modern, fully functioning distribution center with the Butler Experiential Logistics Lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The facility features everything you\u2019d expect in a professional logistics environment: storage systems, racking, safety equipment, forklifts, power jacks, pick-to-light order fulfillment, truck loading docks, and even industrial robots and cobots (collaborative robots). It\u2019s an immersive space where students can move beyond theory to truly understand how products flow from supplier to customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProfessor Siegler<\/a> and I began working with the VU LTEC team in 2019,\u201d Matthew Caito<\/a>, a Lecturer in Operations Management, said. \u201cSince that time, we\u2019ve visited their facilities with a few students a couple of times each year, and we\u2019ve noted that students almost always leave excited and with a better understanding of operations and supply chains.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This collaboration between Butler and VU LTEC was designed to bridge the gap between classroom concepts and real-world logistics. By stepping into the warehouse, students learn to apply what they\u2019ve studied \u2013 inventory control, process optimization, warehouse safety, and supply chain technology \u2013 in a tangible, fast-paced setting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For LSB, it\u2019s another step in its commitment to experiential education \u2013 ensuring students graduate not only with knowledge but with the confidence to use it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important for us as faculty to really connect our students with the reality of industry beyond what we read in textbooks and discuss in class,\u201d Professor Caito said. \u201cThis program really brings to life the very concepts we discuss in class: the importance of safety, materials-handling equipment, work optimization, learning curves, and storage\/retrieval systems. And show me a student who doesn\u2019t want to share a picture of themselves driving a new forklift!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During their sessions at VU LTEC, students participate in a variety of simulations that reflect the complexity and collaboration of real-world logistics. They might manage an incoming shipment, fulfill orders using pick-to-light technology, or optimize warehouse layout for efficiency and safety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some exercises even include a competitive element \u2013 challenging students to meet accuracy goals, complete orders faster, or troubleshoot process errors as they go. Afterward, faculty debrief sessions help students reflect on what worked, what didn\u2019t, and how they\u2019d improve next time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur new program is designed to reinforce what we learn in the classroom and give students a greater sense of confidence when discussing what they\u2019re learning,\u201d he said. \u201cCalculating the return on investment for automation, walking through a working distribution center, loading pallets into racks, and seeing trailers secured for loading show students what it takes to design and operate a facility safely and effectively. We\u2019re also working to develop the soft skills these students will need to be impactful leaders in the decades to come.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new collaboration with VU LTEC is more than just a learning experience \u2013 it\u2019s a steppingstone toward career readiness. Students leave the warehouse with a deeper understanding of supply chain operations and the confidence to enter internships and jobs where they can make an immediate impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really enjoyed the experience. It provided me with a lot of insight into warehouse management and put our class discussions into perspective,\u201d Mindy Smith, an Economics and Supply Chain major, said. \u201cI was eager to try the equipment and pick-to-light system. My favorite part of the experience was the opportunity to operate the forklift. Overall, I felt like this lab was impactful and applicable to my ambitions as a supply chain major.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was definitely one of the coolest out-of-the-classroom experiences I’ve had at Butler so far,” Will Zander, a senior Finance and Entrepreneurship major, added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With logistics and supply chain management among the fastest-growing career fields in Indiana and across the country, this kind of hands-on training gives LSB students a competitive advantage. They\u2019re not only prepared to join the workforce \u2013 they\u2019re ready to lead it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inside a bustling 30,000-square-foot warehouse in Plainfield, Indiana, Lacy School of Business students aren\u2019t just studying logistics \u2013 they\u2019re living it. Through a new agreement with the Vincennes University Logistics Training and Education Center (VU LTEC), students in LSB\u2019s supply chain and operations program are gaining hands-on experience in a modern, fully functioning distribution center […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2812,"featured_media":476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-careers-connections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2812"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":491,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions\/491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/lacybusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}