Capstone Project – MS in Supply Chain Management

Master's in Supply Chain Management student ready for his capstone project

Supply Chain graduate students build solutions for industry.

Our Master of Science in Supply Chain Management students assess, design and develop practical solutions for industry problems through capstone project during the fall, spring and summer semesters.

  • Do you have a strategic and/or operational project or challenge to address?
  • Do you want to be exposed to new ideas, trends and tools and learn how they may fit into your organization?
  • How about meeting and observing upcoming supply chain talent on the job?

A capstone project is:

  • A free service to companies that have no time or resources to work on supply chain problems.
  • A semester long collaboration between our graduate students and industry for designing SCM solutions.
  • Completed by a team of graduate students and faculty.

A capstone project has:

  • An adjustable scope defined company’s team.
  • A built-in data confidentiality management plan.
  • A flexible duration and calendar.
  • A dedicated faculty serving as a coach.
Duration and your time commitment per semester (project) for discussing with the team
Semester Duration Client Company Commitment
Spring/Fall 15 Weeks 20-30 hours

How It Works

  • Company assigns a Subject-Matter Expert (SME) to facilitate the project.
  • Company gains access to a team of four to six students. Only, the team lead will be the point of contact for the company SME.
  • The SME meets with the team on a weekly basis (about an hour; on-site face-to-face meetings preferred) to ensure students are on track in developing a solution.
  • The team may also schedule additional meetings with the SME to provide status updates, to seek answers to questions regarding the project, for site visits, and more.
  • Students are graded based on project deliverables and the SME’s assessment.

Confidential Project Deliverables

  • A 30-45-minute presentation on analysis, findings and recommendations.
  • A comprehensive final project report.

Benefits

  • Students obtain valuable practical experience and transferable skills.
  • Companies gain direct interaction with UT Dallas students and future professionals.
  • Everyone gains exposure to new strategies, concepts and solutions.
David R. Parks, PhD

David R. Parks, PhD

Capstone Project Instructor, Associate Professor of Practice

Email | (972) 883-5114 | JSOM 3.617

Sample Projects

Business Operations Performance

  • Supply chain value analysis
  • Operations process review
  • Cost reduction and service improvement strategies

Distribution and Transportation

  • Network optimization and transportation planning
  • Transportation risk management
  • Analysis of supply chain and distribution models
  • Freight cost and packaging option analysis

Inventory

  • Order fulfillment optimization
  • Process improvements for inventory management

Logistics

  • Sustainability initiatives and analysis
  • Scheduling optimization
  • Automate office activities through ERP techniques

Manufacturing

  • Manufacturing systems performance improvement
  • Material management projects

Purchasing, Sourcing and Procurement

  • Supplier sourcing
  • Capital purchasing process review
  • Supplier performance and recommendations
  • Spend analysis review
  • Services purchasing process review

Quality Assurance

  • Quality control performance improvement projects
  • Lean and Six Sigma and continual improvement methodologies

Supply and Demand Planning

  • Supply forecasting and planning projects
  • Capacity planning
  • Lead time predictability analysis

General Projects

  • Process flowcharts, controls, and recommendations
  • Evaluation of internal controls
  • Risk assessment analysis

Testimonials

Capstone Project Pic

The Capstone experience with UT- Dallas was amazing. We were impressed by the student’s dedication, focus, and energy to understand the scope and deliver the best results. The summary and presentation at the end of the project was simply stunning! The team brought analytics, automations, and shared what they learned through their experience. The Capstone is a win for the organization and for the students. I encourage any organization to utilize this opportunity.

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