In November 2009, Michigan State University received a grant of $202,500 for support to assess southeast Michigan’s supply chain assets in partnership with the Detroit Regional Chamber and Wayne State University.

Founded in 1855 in East Lansing, Michigan State University (MSU) is one of the largest public research universities in the United States, with more than 46,000 students and 3,000 faculty members. This project comes out of the Department of Supply Chain Management, which is within MSU’s Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. Essentially, the partnership between MSU and the Detroit Regional Chamber (DRC) is a result of MSU’s expertise in supply chain management and DRC’s expertise in global hub concepts. The organizations have been collaborating for several months to examine the viability of actively retooling and expanding the global transportation and logistics industry locally.

This project will be a six-month “opportunity assessment” effort to examine whether innovations to the global supply chain could promote lasting economic development and job growth for southeast Michigan. The six-month assessment phase will include four major pieces, namely:

• Preliminary Analysis and Assessment – Identification of location and supply chain strengths. Determining the capabilities and value proposition for individual industry sectors.
• Economic Evaluation and Opportunity Assessment – Examination of the economic potential and multipliers for the supply chain hub. Documentation of the assumptions and investments required to drive work. Identification and quantification of risk factors.
• Acquire Stakeholder Feedback – Designing and delivering three regional workshops for feedback, targeting both the public and private sectors. Gathering feedback and utilizing ideas in a final report. Documenting government policies required for success of hub.
• Finalize Documentation and Issue Report – The final report draft will be shared with the Michigan Supply Chain Development Commission for their input and then will be distributed with key public and private stakeholders to prepare for future phases of the project.

Once this assessment phase is complete, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Southeast Michigan Council of Government will help to design the resulting concepts, and ultimately build and implement the resulting programs or innovations in partnership with the DRC.

The MSU Supply Chain Management School is known internationally for the caliber of its faculty and work. The project allows NEI to seize upon this local resource for the betterment of southeast Michigan. The partnership with the DRC and WSU solidifies the local connection, and assures that the results of this assessment will be utilized in southeast Michigan. The results should better position of southeast Michigan to attract federal dollars for improvements and innovations to this industry. Already, 350,000 people in the region work in this sector. Well-targeted initiatives could increase these opportunities.

Key Metrics and Indicators

• Identified opportunities to advance businesses and jobs in the supply/logistics/global hub sector
• Identified strategies and leader organization to pursue a comprehensive strategy