Fall 2024 Supply Chain Scholarship Winners Highlight the Transformative Impact AI, Sensors, Drone Delivery, and Route Optimization will Have on the Future of Logistics
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Extensiv (formerly 3PL Central) — delivering omnichannel software solutions for warehouse, inventory, and order management — today announced the winners of its Fall 2024 Supply Chain Scholarship as well as its continued investment in growing industry talent with the opening of the Spring 2025 scholarship submission window. Extensiv designs its scholarship program to foster interest in the future of logistics for students in undergraduate and graduate supply chain management, logistics, and operations management programs.
“When nearly sixty-four (64%) of third-party logistics (3PLs) providers report that they plan to increase staffing in 2024, it demonstrates the need for investment in growing the skills of the logistics workforce, especially its future leaders,” said Aaron Stead, President at Extensiv. "Extensiv created this scholarship to encourage creative thinking and nurture new viewpoints, while also developing the skills the supply chain will need to evolve in the future. Brandon, Rena, Marissa, and Jaymee showed a keen understanding of the possibilities that new technologies can offer to change conventional logistics processes. We are proud to help them on their supply chain journey."
Since 2020, Extensiv has given over $23,000 to scholarship winners and finalists who have demonstrated innovation and creativity around advancements in warehousing or inventory management. Previous winners have advanced thinking around artificial intelligence (AI) in pricing demand forecasting models and the potential of augmented reality (AR) in the supply chain.
Scholarship Winners
This year's winner of the $2,500 Fall 2024 Supply Chain Scholarship is Brandon Norman from Mercer University, whose insightful essay on the future of supply chain management through the integration of AI and IoT technologies showcased a deep understanding of the industry's potential for growth and efficiency.
In his submission, Brandon concludes that artificial intelligence combined with sensors will likely be the most impactful advancement in global logistics for decades to come. "Obviously, there are numerous ways the supply chain can advance. Robots in warehouses can reduce the need for human workers to handle dangerous or repetitive tasks, for example. Small warehouses attached to stores allow customers to get online orders faster, right down the street. But underneath those innovations sit artificial intelligence and sensors. To truly change the way things get done in the supply chain, rapidly expanding AI and sensors is a must."
Joining Brandon in recognition are runners-up Rena Ben-Eliezer from West Virginia University, Marissa Panzetta and Jaymee McKelvey both from Duquesne University. Their nominations focused on the roles quantum route optimization, drone delivery, and autonomous vehicles can play in the supply chain, respectively.
Spring Scholarship Application Window Opens July 9, 2024
For those interested in the next Extensiv Supply Chain Scholarship round, the Fall 2024 semester application will open on July 9, 2024, and close on December 1, 2024. Applicants must be enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or MBA program in supply chain, logistics, or operations management.
To apply, students should submit their name, school, major, contact information, and a 1,000-word (maximum) essay on the next big advancement in supply chain management by December 1, 2024. Winners of the Spring 2025 Extensiv Supply Chain Scholarship will be notified before January 15, 2025.
To find out more information or to apply, please visit https://www.extensiv.com/supply-chain-scholarship. To read Brandon’s winning essay, go to https://www.extensiv.com/blog/ai-sensors-extensiv-scholarship-winner. In the coming weeks, other winning essays will be featured on the Extensiv blog.
About Extensiv
Extensiv, formerly 3PL Central, is a visionary technology leader focused on creating the future of omnichannel fulfillment. We partner with warehouse professionals and entrepreneurial brands to transform their fulfillment operations in the radically changing world of commerce and consumer expectations. Through our unrivaled network of more than 1,500 connected 3PLs and a suite of integrated, cloud-native warehouse management (WMS), order management (OMS), inventory management (IMS), and integration management software, we enable modern merchants and brands to fulfill demand anywhere with superior flexibility and scale without painful platform migrations as they grow. More than 25,000 logistics professionals and thousands of brands trust Extensiv every day to drive commerce at the pace that modern consumers expect. Learn more at www.extensiv.com.