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Purdue Mitch Daniels School of Business logo
The Bruce White Undergraduate Institute

Driving Digital Transformation

New course fuses data-driven consulting and AI to prepare future supply chain leaders

11-05-2025

In today's data-driven landscape, the ability to transform operational information into actionable insights and leverage artificial intelligence (AI) has become the critical differentiator in supply chain leadership.

Purdue’s Mitch Daniels School of Business addresses this need through MGMT 46900: Supply Chain & Operations Analytics Consulting, a pioneering 3-credit experiential learning course that transforms the classroom into a professional consulting environment where students solve real business challenges using data-driven methodologies and AI technologies.

Designed by Lewis B. Cullman Rising Star Professor Zhan Pang, a faculty member in the Department of Supply Chain and Operations Management, the course integrates live capstone consulting projects with expert-led workshops through a comprehensive four-pillar framework designed to develop the next generation of digital supply chain leaders who are equipped with both technical expertise and professional experience.

Bridging academia and industry

  1. Capstone Consulting Projects immerse student teams in actual business challenges with corporate partners including Wabash, Corteva and Rolls-Royce. Current projects focus on "Logistics Mode Optimization" and "Demand Forecasting and Planning for Strategic Material," with students receiving direct mentorship from eight Wabash managers.
  2. The Consulting Academy, delivered through the Supply Chain AI Consulting Workshop Series, features industry experts from Amazon, KPMG and EY teaching essential consulting skills — from AI implementation to stakeholder management in supply chain contexts.

These experiential components are strengthened by two supporting pillars:

  1. Alumni & Industry Networking provides direct mentorship from seasoned professionals at organizations including IBM, Amazon and Huntsman, creating continuous feedback loops between academic learning and industry applications.
  2. Consultant Credentialing — In a unique cross-campus collaboration, students have the opportunity to earn a Supply Chain AI Consultant credential from Purdue’s Data Science Consulting Service, providing a further recognition of their expertise in addition to the course credit.

“Students develop the capability to diagnose operational challenges and implement AI-driven solutions, while companies benefit from fresh perspectives on their digital transformation initiatives.”

Zhan Pang Lewis B. Cullman Rising Star Professor

"Our students engage with genuine business challenges, not hypothetical case studies," Pang says. "The four-pillar framework ensures they develop practical experience, professional capabilities, mentor relationships and formal credentials that collectively position them for leadership in the digital supply chain transformation."

The course emphasizes hands-on application of data analytics and AI technologies. Students learn to analyze core supply chain processes, including Procure-to-Pay, Plan-to-Produce, and Order-to-Cash, identifying operational bottlenecks through process mining techniques and developing AI-enhanced solutions. They use tools such as Power BI for automating data structuring and visualization and digital twin simulations to optimize logistics networks. Students also explore generative AI tools for agentic process automation and strategic sourcing analysis.

"This integrated approach creates immediate value for both students and corporate partners; it’s a win-win education model," Pang says. "Students develop the capability to diagnose operational challenges and implement AI-driven solutions, while companies benefit from fresh perspectives on their digital transformation initiatives."

Preparing tomorrow’s leaders

Inspired by Purdue’s Transformative Education 2.0, the new consulting course reflects the Mitch Daniels School of Business’s commitment to developing leaders through experiential learning and tech integration so they can thrive in the rapidly evolving landscape of global supply chain management — where data analytics and AI are pivotal to operational excellence and strategic decision-making.

Purdue’s business school prepares students to lead with data-driven insight, strategic thinking and a global mindset through its rigorous, experiential learning environment and close collaboration with the university’s renowned STEM disciplines.