About the Author

John J. Coyle is currently director of corporate relations for the Center for Supply Chain Research and professor emeritus of logistics and supply chain management in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University. He holds a BS and MS from Penn State and earned his doctorate from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where he was a U.S. Steel Fellow. He joined the Penn State faculty in 1961 and attained the rank of full professor in 1967. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he has served in a number of administrative positions, including department head, assistant dean, senior associate dean, special assistant for strategic planning to the university president, and executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research. He also served as Penn States faculty representative to the NCAA for 30 years and to the Big Ten for 10 years. Dr. Coyle was the editor of the Journal of Business Logistics from 1990 to 1996. He has authored or coauthored 20 books or monographs and numerous articles in professional journals. He has received 14 awards at Penn State for teaching excellence and advising. In addition, he received the Council of Logistics Managements Distinguished Service Award in 1991; the Philadelphia Traffic Clubs Person of the Year Award in 2003; and the Eccles Medal from the International Society of Logistics for his contributions to the Department of Defense and the Lions Paw Medal from Penn State for Distinguished Service, both in 2004. Dr. Coyle currently serves on the boards of three logistics and supply chain service companies and on the Advisory Board of the NLDC and continues to be active in teaching in the Executive Education Programs at Penn State.

Robert Novack is an associate professor of supply chain management in the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems at Penn State University. From 1981 to 1984 he worked in operations management and planning for the Yellow Freight Corporation in Overland Park, Kansas, and from 1984 to 1986 he worked in planning and transportation at Drackett Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dr. Novacks numerous articles have been published in such publications as the Journal of Business Logistics, Transportation Journal, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management. He also is a coauthor of Creating Logistics Value: Themes for the Future. Active in the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, he has served as overall program chair for the annual conference, as a track chair, and as a session speaker as well as a member of numerous committees. Dr. Novack holds the CTL designation from AST&L and is a member of WERC. He earned a BS degree and an MBA in logistics from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in logistics from the University of Tennessee.

Brian Gibson is a professor of supply chain management and program coordinator for the Department of Aviation and Supply Chain Management at Auburn University. He served for five years on the faculty of Georgia Southern University as director of the Southern Center for Logistics and Intermodal Transportation, and he also has 10 years of experience as a logistics manager for two major retailers. An accomplished faculty member, Dr. Gibson has received multiple awards for outstanding teaching, research, and outreach?most notably the 2006 Auburn University Alumni Association Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award. He has coauthored more than 50 refereed and invited articles in the JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT, and other leading publications. He is actively engaged in executive education, seminar development, and consulting with leading organizations. Dr. Gibson serves in leadership roles for the Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals, the Distribution Business Management Association, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association. He earned a BSBA from Central Michigan University, an MBA from Wayne State University, and a Ph.D. in logistics and transportation from the University of Tennessee.

Edward J. Bardi is principal of Bardi Consulting and professor emeritus of business logistics at the University of Toledo. He also has served as acting dean and associate dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Toledo and has held faculty positions at Iowa State University. Dr. Bardi has published numerous articles dealing with business logistics, transportation management, carrier selection, economic development, and employee household goods movement in various journals, including TRANSPORTATION JOURNAL, JOURNAL OF BUSINESS LOGISTICS, HANDLING AND SHIPPING, BAYLOR BUSINESS REVIEW, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT, LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION REVIEW, and PERSONNEL JOURNAL. He also is co-author of SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: A LOGISTICS PERSPECTIVE, 8E. A popular seminar leader of domestic and global business logistics management development programs, Dr. Bardi has served as a consultant to numerous business and public agencies in the areas of business logistics, marketing, and economic development. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Penn State University, majoring in business logistics/transportation economics.