LITSLAB
The Transportation and Logistics Flagship Program at the University of North Florida has long been recognized for its high quality programs and importance to Northeast Florida and our nation. In its commitment to continue providing high quality education, the Transportation and Logistics Flagship Program has recently inaugurated the opening of its state of the arts Logistics Information Technology Solutions Laboratory (LITSLAB).
As the world economies become more interconnected, the challenge to find skilled workers who are knowledgeable in information systems that allow the flow of global commerce is very high. The Transportation and Logistics Flagship program prepares its students to meet this challenge at its LITSLAB.
A recent regional survey conducted by the University of North Florida and published in the CSCMP Supply Chain Comment, reveal that “supply chain managers must have the necessary skills to exploit the highly intelligent IT-enabled supply chain” (Source: CSCMP Supply Chain Comment TechKnowledge, Bolumole, Yemisi and David Cantor, November/December 2008, pg.16.) In response, the Transportation and Logistics Flagship Program received funding from the university as part of the Flagship designation to create a logistics IT solution lab to address those needs.
The creation of LITSLAB will enable transportation and logistics students at the University of North Florida to develop the necessary skills to create, acquire process, analyze, and act on the information to become efficient managers in the global interconnected economy. In addition, Information Technology has a natural strategic fit with Northeast Florida businesses as employment related to the logistics industry in Jacksonville continues to grow, due in part to the arrival of Asian shippers Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd.
The program's ongoing membership in the Oracle Academy as well as the SAP University Alliances Community, allows our currently enrolled students in the Transportation and Logistics Flagship Program access to the entire Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) suite, including logistics and supply chain management modules. In addition, the relationship between the UNF T&L program and multicorporate partners have enabled further access to other technological tools such as network optimization technologies, transportation routing and scheduling tools, logistics model systems, warehouse optimization technologies, and much more. All of these technologies allow end to end support for the supply chain at the regional, national, and international level.