Your next and best employee may be fresh out of a cap and gown.
It may very well be the most mysterious segment of the business world to many job seekers, yet it touches every segment of business in some way. It's industrial distribution, and too few people understand it or know it exists. This fact may have come to light for you if you do any of the hiring for your company. Finding well-trained and qualified personnel has become one of the top concerns for wholesale distributors and the fact so few people know or understand what you do doesn't make it any easier.
One place to turn for the type of individual you seek is the next crop of college graduates. The only hitch is that few universities offer programs in industrial distribution. Out of more than 1,400 universities across the U.S. and its possessions, less than two dozen offer any kind of industrial distribution track. Fewer still offer a complete curriculum and degree in the science. This small number of established wholesale-distribution programs in colleges and universities, plus dynamics within the industry itself, have created an acute shortage of trained professionals throughout the industry.
Why are these programs important?
Because of the increasing sophistication of the distribution industry, electrical distributors get into all sorts of marketing and management activities that they did not have to worry about in the past, like database marketing, automated warehouses and the computerization of every facet of the business. Years ago, in simpler times, distributors were usually very small companies, very entrepreneurial and privately held. While that is still true to a fairly high extent, it's changing rapidly. Distribution itself has become much more complex. There are technology issues, supply-chain issues, marketing issues-all requiring management by knowledgeable personnel. Gary Buffington, executive vice president of the Industrial Distribution Association (IDA), Atlanta, Ga., says this is a reflection of consolidation within distribution.
"As larger corporate entities develop with a need for more management of distribution centers and large national distribution operations, there has become a need for more people with knowledge from the outset," he explains. "There's not time to train people from the ground up the way you did in the old days when you had a single distribution entity with an owner-manager that may have had several family members involved in it. It reflects the changing nature of distribution away from the entrepreneurial model to a more corporate model."
Unfortunately, colleges and universities are not doing a very good job of keeping up with the demand for graduates who can move into these distribution management roles. As a result, some distributors are taking proactive steps to change the situation, making important endowments to colleges and universities specifically to initiate industrial distribution programs.
David Grainger, senior chairman of the board of W.W. Grainger, Inc., Lincolnshire, Ill., and president of the Grainger Foundation, made a generous gift to establish the Grainger Center for Distribution Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The gift was made to recognize the increasing importance of the field and "the industry's growing need for managers with advanced education in this area."
Cheryl Thompson-Draper, chairman of the board of Warren Electric Co., Houston, Texas, and her family have long supported both Texas A&M and the University of Houston because, according to Thompson-Draper it helps develop people who stay in this industry. "It helps develop students who have engineering savvy who can communicate better with my customers," she says. "They're a sharper and more talented group of individuals."
Independent Electric Supply, Inc., San Carlos, Calif., made a large endowment to the University of Southern California to establish an Industrial Distribution program there. Richard Hurd, the company's president, says they felt they needed a program locally for producing professionals for the electrical distribution industry. "We were familiar with the one at Texas A&M and had, in fact, hired a number of its graduates," he says. "But they always wanted to go back to Texas. We often find this is a problem in California because the cost of living here is so high. And USC happens to be my alma mater."
United Purchasing Affiliates (UPA), Sanford, Fla., a national trade group of electrical, plumbing, HVAC and industrial distributors is providing seed money to establish an associate's degree in Wholesale Distribution Technology at Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Many distributors also are working actively with universities to expand and improve the programs that do exist. Charles Collat, chairman and chief executive officer of Mayer Electric Supply Co., Inc., Birmingham, Ala., headed up a distributor group that spent an entire summer working with the University of Alabama-Birmingham to revise its industrial distribution program so it would more closely meet industry needs.
What's being taught?
Industrial distribution programs are as varied as the universities where they reside. Some are more business focused, some are more engineering focused. Some concentrate only on one branch of distribution such as logistics. IDA's Buffington believes the strongest programs blend the disciplines together, because distribution is a blend of disciplines in terms of business and engineering.
"Students can draw from engineering courses to help them understand the products and the processes that distribution impacts," he says. "Then there's the business side that has to be addressed from sales and marketing, financial management and those kinds of areas."
Collat agrees. "We're talking about a $3 trillion industry, and yet you just don't have people who understand that there's a mixture of both business and science," he says. "People who distribute sandpaper need to know a little bit about what causes sandpaper to be sandpaper; or with lighting, they have to know a little about how to illuminate a room, and about foot-candle levels and light patterns. This is not normally taught in business school. Engineers, on the other hand, need a little something on selling; they need a little something on how to run a business. What causes profit? How do you get your salary paid?"
Some schools do offer programs where the courses are very evenly split between the engineering and science side and the business and management side, but most schools have a bias one way or the other. One way to quickly determine which way the bias leans is to look at where the program falls within the university system. If it's housed in the College of Business, the program's main focus probably won't be engineering or technology.
What are the latest trends in coursework?
One of the key areas of change seems to be a renewed emphasis on supply-chain management and logistics. It's all the rage, according to Kathy Newton, Purdue University's Industrial Distribution program coordinator. "When I was an undergraduate of the program at Texas A&M, there were no logistics courses at all," she says. "In fact, the only place I could get it was taking an electives class called physical distribution over in the marketing department. And it wasn't pure logistics."
Logistics carries so much weight in today's industrial distribution world that Georgia Tech's Logistics Institute is setting up two new master's programs: an executive master's degree in International Logistics, and a master's degree in International Logistics sponsored in partnership with the National University of Singapore. The second degree is part of the Logistics Institute's program in the new Logistics Institute Asia Pacific.
The study of the Total Quality Management process is not quite as popular as in the past, although, Newton says, ISO-9000 standards are being covered. She also has noted that human resource management has come around again. She says there was a period at Texas A&M where they dropped a lot of HR from the program, then put some back in. "Here, we struggle with the same thing, trying to figure out what courses to drop as others are added," she says. "You have to figure out where to draw the line. You can't get rid of the HR things and the communications skills. In distribution you have to have those."
Technologies such as electronic commerce are only beginning to be included in most industrial distribution programs. Buffington thinks the jury is still out as to the future role of electronic commerce. "There are many who think it may replace a lot of distribution's functions, and those who think it will really just be an enhancement," he says. "The schools may be having a little difficulty because no one really quite knows yet where electronic commerce via the Internet is going to fit into distribution's future."
Who are the students and how are they recruited into ID programs?
Industrial distribution really tends to be an unknown program at the high school level. Mark Cornett, Director of the Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management program at Clarkson University in Pottsdam, N.Y. says this is evidenced by the fact that they bring 20, 30 or 40 freshman into the program, but yet they'll graduate 70, 80 or 90 students out of the program each year. "We get an enormous number of internal transfers who find out about the program once they're here," he explains. "They are transfers primarily from the school of engineering." Laughing, he explains that it's the "extroverted engineers" that transfer, "the ones that want to get out and make things happen and do the deals."
UAB's Jay Smith says their ID students are not the traditional 17- or 18-year-olds. Their average age is about 25 or 26, and they are often students who didn't initially go to college. Most of them are working full- or part-time. "Many of our students work for electrical manufacturers such as Square D, Cutler Hammer, Westinghouse, or General Electric," he says. "Some of our students are certified code electricians. The ones enrolled in this program consider getting this degree part of their job."
Smith says UAB is also trying to attract high-school students with annual career days. Plus, the university has a minority high-school program, called Leadership Expo, which is funded by General Electric Co. "GE provides a cash stipend while they're in the program for the week, and it also provides them a scholarship here at UAB should they decide to come here."
In recruiting ID students at Purdue, Newton makes a big point of the fact that it's a combination of business subjects and technology, and the students seem to like that. Clarkson's Cornett says students are very interested in technology. "That's why they came to the engineering school to begin with. They like the excitement and challenge associated with technology." He adds that these students want to be involved in a hands-on way. "They are very much leadership-oriented, so they're looking for opportunities to lead a group or open a branch, to be entrepreneurial so they can demonstrate their leadership abilities."
What can you expect from these graduates?
The consensus is that ID graduates are going to be very good at learning fast, wherever they're put in a distributorship. Buffington says a distributor can ex pect a fairly immediate return on his investment in these people, much more quickly than a hire from a non-distribution program. "The person already has an understanding of distribution," he says. "Most of the programs have given him an understanding of customer processes that distributors sell into. I've had distributors tell me that a person from one of those programs probably has a two- to three-year edge on someone coming in from another program, so you greatly reduce the training time required to make the person a productive, contributing employee."
Independent Electric Supply's Richard Hurd says these graduates have better interpersonal skills. "They're able to meet people better, and they have more confidence, just from completing a college degree," he explains. "Plus, the college graduate is used to digging something out of a book. In our business they dig it out of a catalog."
Another plus, according to Hurd, is that these graduates don't expect to be president the next day. They understand the distribution business and how it works. "Entry into this business is at a low level, because the people coming into it don't know enough to contribute very much," he says. "So what we need are capable people who can come in and learn this stuff in a hurry, instead of taking five years to learn it by starting in the warehouse. The graduates start in the warehouse, too, but they are put into a very structured program. They demand it; they want to know what the next step is, how to get out of this and into the next phase. In other words, how long before I'm making the big bucks?" Hurd also believes these are people who are in the industry for the long haul. "Most of these students are fairly well dedicated to distribution, or they would have dropped out before they got to graduation."
What about internships?
Since nobody outside of the distribution industry really knows what industrial distribution is, internships are important to introduce the student to the realities of the industry. "This is a shirt-sleeves business," says Hurd. "A student should find this out early so he doesn't waste his time and money, and so we don't waste our time by hiring a graduate who then discovers this isn't really what he had in mind."
This is also an opportunity for the distributor to look at potential new-hires and say, do they show up on time? Are they team players? Have they got the right attitude?
Newton thinks a lot of distributors don't use students wisely. "I hear this from students and from companies that aren't prepared the first time they use a student as a summer intern," she says. "I think the biggest disappointment for a lot of students just being thrown into the warehouse and treated like an entry-level worker. Nobody's thought about how to use them wisely."
For example, she says many of these students have bar-code expertise that could be used in any distributorship tomorrow. "If a distributor is trying to get a project like cycle-counting off the ground, these students are going to at least have the basics and would be able to help them with projects like that," she says. "They wouldn't be able to lead those projects, but they could help them."
Hurd says Independent Electric Supply moves its interns through all areas of the distributorship, from driving trucks and working out in the warehouse to doing quotations and working with the finance people in the credit department. They get a chance to observe electrical distribution, and they get a chance to observe Independent Electric Supply. "We put these kids out there in some difficult circumstances," he says. "They're fresh out of the university, working with the people in the warehouse who are thinking, 'Here I am working in the warehouse and there he is, and he's going to zip right past me.' It's a situation that's a little bit emotionally charged, or can be. This is one of the major things I try to observe when we have these interns. How do they cope with this? Are they able to be out there with the people in the warehouse, work with them and earn the respect of those people?"
Distributors should prepare interns by letting them know in advance what they'll be doing during the internship. Tell interns what kind of training will be provided, who they will report to, and most importantly, what will be expected of them in their job.
What are the big questions and answers?
Before making the decision to hire, distributors should look at how the student would fit into their company's culture. A good way to do this is to allow the student to meet as many people in the company as possible, feel the environment and see what the value systems are of the leaders, managers and owners. Make sure the student's values match up with the values of the organization. Think about attitude. Look at the academic record and the student's extracurricular activities.
Find out what the student's goals are and determine if they fit industrial distribution. Another thing to ask is where the student wants to live. Is he or she willing to move for relocation to a remote branch? Does the student eventually want to end up in a different state?
By the same token, distributors should be able to answer some questions, too, such as what opportunities are there for me? What training programs do you have? What opportunities for advancement are there? And be prepared to talk about money.
"Most people don't like to talk about money, but for most of these young students, money translates into things," says Alabama-Birmingham's Smith. "When they go and spend a day with a manufacturer's rep or a distributor salesperson, the thing they come back and talk about is the nice car they were driving or the fine house they live in. Talking about being the owner of General Electric doesn't translate."
Be prepared to pay top dollar for these graduates. Every school queried reported 100% placement of its graduates. These students take jobs in technical sales, materials management, inventory control, purchasing and operations, and even in information technology jobs. Students are being recruited by distributors, manufacturers, third-party providers, consulting firms and manufacturers' rep agencies. There are not enough graduates for all the jobs available. The entry-level salaries these graduates command range from $26,000 a year to more than $55,000 per year, depending on the graduate's area of expertise and experience. The payoff is that he or she will be able to hit the ground running, producing a return on investment in months rather than years. Not a bad deal, considering the scarcity of qualified workers.
To find a graduate best suited to your company's needs, contact the person designated in our university listing for more complete information on that school's education programs and for recruitment assistance.
Central Washington University Industrial & Engineering Technology Ellensburg, Wash. 98926-7463
Phone: 509-963-3001 Web site: www.cwu.edu Contact: Tim Yoxtheimer Chairman, Industrial & Engineering Technology Department
Curriculum The Industrial Technology program includes materials and manufacturing processes, principles of distribution, concepts of industrial management and human relations. Other related classes cover skills needed to cope with typical technical, managerial and production problems.
Co-op program A paid three-month internship or six-month co-op program with a distributor or manufacturer is a graduation requirement for students with no field experience.
Clarkson University School of Engineering Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management Program Potsdam, N.Y. 13699-5740
Phone: 315-268-6571 Web site: www.clarkson.edu Contact: Mark Cornett Director, Interdisciplinary Engineering and Management
Curriculum Established 1954 as the Industrial Distribution Program, the name was changed to more closely reflect the focus of the curriculum. Required courses include manufacturing processes, mechanics, electrical science, thermodynamics and fluid sciences, corporate finance, information systems, marketing, strategic planning and statistics.
Co-op program A co-op/work study program is available, but it's not a requirement for graduation.
East Carolina University School of Industry and Technology Department of Industrial Technology Greenville, N.C. 27858
Phone: 252-328-2323 Web site: www.ecu.edu Contact: Dr. Jim Toppen Industrial Distribution Program Coordinator
Curriculum The curriculum includes a balanced combination of courses in industrial technology, industrial distribution, accounting, marketing and sales, technical communications and computer science.
Co-op program An industrial distribution professional internship is required in this program.
Eastern Michigan University College of Technology Interdisciplinary Technology Department Industrial Distribution Program Ypsilanti, Mich. 48197
Phone: 734-487-1161 Web site: www.emich.edu Contact: John Boyless Program Coordinator, Industrial Distribution
Curriculum The program includes studies in industrial distribution, business, communications, data processing, engineering, human relations and technology. Specific courses include Profit Strategies in Distribution, marketing, management, industrial technology, Relationships in Wholesaling, Inventory Strategies in Distribution, Wholesale Account Development and Quality Planning in Distribution.
Co-op program All students must participate in a cooperative work/study experience of 400 to 600 hours with a company involved in industrial distribution in Michigan or Northern Ohio.
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering School of Industrial and Systems Engineering Atlanta, Ga.
Phone: 404-894-2303 Web site: www.gatech.edu Contact: Dr. John Jarvis Industrial and Systems Engineering Chairman
Curriculum No specific industrial distribution track. The undergraduate degree conferred is a B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering, but includes some distribution-related courses such as Introduction to Supply Chain Modeling (Logistics or Manufacturing and Warehousing). The graduate degree offers a specialty in Logistics. Courses include Manufacturing Systems, Warehousing Systems, Transportation and Supply Chain Systems, Case Studies in Logistics/Manufacturing and Topics in Logistics.
Co-ops and internships It is optional and not specific to nor focused on any specialty in the field.
Gannon University Industrial Distribution Program University Square Erie, Pa. 16541-0001
Phone: 814-871-7730 Web Site: www.gannon.edu Contact: Michael J. Messina Director, Industrial Distribution Program
Curriculum This private, Roman Catholic institution has designed a program around a liberal studies core with requirements to complete courses in engineering, mathematics, physics, computers, and business. Also, the program requires all students to complete a variety of industrial distribution course offerings.
Co-ops and internships Actual working experience is available to students for university credits as either a co-op or internship arrangement, but it is not required for graduation.
Kirkwood Community College Wholesale Distribution Technology Program Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Phone: 319-398-5517 or 319-398-5590 Web site: www.kirkwood.cc.ia.us Contact: Joe Collins Dean
Curriculum This two-year program is scheduled to be available by the fall of 2000. The curriculum will draw from existing offerings as well as newly created courses that have specific application for wholesale distribution such as counter sales, inventory management, warehouse management and administration.
Co-op program A program is not yet established.
Mississippi State University College of Education Department of Technology and Education Mississippi State, Miss.
Phone: 601-325-2281 Web site: www.msstate.edu Contact: Dr. Stan Lightner Program Coordinator
Curriculum The Industrial Technology program offers three options: Industrial Distribution, Management and Manufacturing, and an industrial option in Trade and Technical Studies. There are courses in planning, communication and leadership (management skills); engineering-related classes that include math, science and design; and classes that provide a broad understanding o f manufacturing and industrial processes.
Co-op program Call for information.
Moorhead State University College of Business and Technology Department of Technology Industrial Distribution Program Moorhead, Minn. 56563
Phone: 218-236-2466 Web site: www.moorhead.msus.edu Contact: Dr. Wade T. Swenson Program Coordinator
Curriculum Program courses provide technical knowledge on industrial products and distribution, plus business and management skills applicable to inside and outside sales, inventory management, purchasing and operations. Technical courses are selected from engineering, industrial management and construction management programs.
Co-op program Optional, however a three-month or six-month internship is strongly recommended for all Industrial Distribution majors.
Purdue University School of Technology Industrial Technology Department Industrial Distribution Program West Lafayette, Ind. 47907-1416
Phone: 765-494-6080 or 765-494-1101 Web site: www.purdue.edu Contact: Kathy Newton Coordinator, Industrial Distribution Program
Curriculum The industrial distribution option covers wholesale, retail, or industrial distribution. Supply-chain management is the focus of the curriculum. Classes include Electricity Fundamentals, Elements of Distribution, Industrial Safety, Automated Manufacturing Processes or Automated Manufacturing, Introduction to Statistical Quality, Technical Sales in Industrial Distribution, Warehouse Management and Inventory Control, Logistics and Financial Transactions in Distribution.
Co-op program The school offers an intern and co-op work experience program, but it's not a requirement for graduation.
Texas A&M University College of Engineering Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution College Station, Texas 77843-3367
Phone: 409-845-4984 Web site: www.tamu.edu Web site for Industrial Distribution program: entcweb.tamu.edu/idis Contact: Dan Jennings Industrial Distribution program coordinator
Curriculum One-third of the classes are directly related to industrial distribution and supply chain management, including logistics, purchasing and materials management, sales and sales management. Specific courses in distribution include Computer Applications in Distribution, Manufacturer Distributor Relations, Distributor Operations and Financial Management, The Quality Process for Distributors, and Distributor Customer Base Management.
Co-op program Not required for graduation, but the school has an extensive internship, co-op and employment program.
Ohio State University Fisher College of Business Business Logistics Program Columbus, Ohio 43210
Phone: 614-292-5761 Web Site: www.ohio-state.edu Contact: Dr. Martha C. Cooper Professor of Logistics
Curriculum This curriculum has a strong business emphasis. Logistics majors take specialized courses in warehousing, transportation economics, logistics system design, evaluation, inventory management, supply-chain management and operations management. Operations and Logistics Management is offered at the Master's level.
Co-op program The university conducts a very aggressive co-op/internship program, but it is not a requirement of graduation.
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Business Industrial Distribution Program Birmingham, Ala. 35294-4460
Phone: 205-934-8989 Web Site: www.uab.edu Contact: Dr. Jay A. Smith, Jr. Ben S. Weil Eminent Scholar of Industrial Distribution
Curriculum The program includes 45 hours of industrial distribution core courses, including seven engineering courses specifically tailored for industrial distribution students; four industrial distribution management courses, including an on-site practicum hosted by a distribution firm; and four courses of suggested electives emphasizing quality management and professional sales practices.
Co-op program Program includes co-op study programs, including summer internships and part-time work. All students are required to complete an on-site practicum in their senior year.
University of Houston College of Technology Department of Human Development and Consumer Sciences Industrial Distribution Program Houston, Texas 77204
Phone: 713-743-4100 Web site: www.uh.edu Contact: Dr. Bob Fritz Industrial Distribution Coordinator
Curriculum The degree earned is a B.S. with an Industrial Distribution major. Programs include Industrial Supervision, Occupational Technology and Industrial Studies, and Information Systems Technology. A master's degree in Occupational Technology with an Industrial Distribution concentration will be offered in the fall 1999 curriculum. These degrees include studies in manufacturing, communications, computer processes, fiscal records, industrial sales, distribution technology, warehousing, logistics, electronics, statistics, purchasing, and various aspects of industrial distribution.
Co-op program Available but not a graduation requirement.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Commerce and Business Administration Industrial Distribution Management Program Urbana, Ill. 61801
Phone: 217-265-0794 or 217-333-4240 Web site: www.uiuc.edu Contact: Dr. William Qualls Program Coordinator
Curriculum There are three areas of study offered: Construction Management, Industrial Distribution and Telecommunications Management. Required courses include Marketing Research, Logistics Management, Marketing to Business and Government, Purchasing and Materials Management, Information Technology, Management of Manufacturing, and Engineering Graphics.
Co-op program An internship or practicum must be served at a distributorship or a manufacturer who sells through distributors, and a co-op assignment (a two-semester senior seminar) must be completed before graduation.
University of Nebraska at Kearney College of Business and Technology Industrial Technology Department Kearney, Neb. 68849
Phone: 308-865-8287 Web site: www.unk.edu Contact: Dr. Donald Envick Coordinator of Industrial Distribution Program
Curriculum The program includes a technical core of electrical/electronic, fluid power, mechanical, and thermal systems, plus course work in production, manufacturing materials and processes, construction and engineering graphics communications, training systems, and telecommunications methods and equipment. The management core includes industrial distribution management, manufacturer/distributor relations, sales territory management, branch and account management, leadership and OSHA regulations.
Co-op program There is a 12-semester-hour internship requirement. The student must work 40 clock-hours for every 1 semester-hour credit received (480-hour internship).
University of Southern California School of Business Administration Distribution Management Program Department of Marketing Los Angeles, Calif. 90089-1421
Phone: 213-740-4050 Web site: www.usc.edu Contact: Natasha Krywcun Administrative Director
Curriculum The program is interdisciplinary in nature, utilizing courses in marketing channels, personal selling, and operations management. The program also has an advisory council composed of business leaders in the distribution field, providing guidance and expertise as well as serving as a legitimacy check in the relevance of policies and practices.
Co-op program A two-month, paid summer internship with a distribution firm is required between the students' junior and senior year.
University of Texas at Tyler Department of Technology Industrial Distribution Program Tyler, Texas 75799
Phone: 903-566-7310 Web site: www.uttyl.edu Contact: Dr. John Faybac Advisor, Industrial Distribution Program
Curriculum Includes studies in business, technology, and industrial distribution. The business emphasis is on marketing/selling, finance and management. The technology areas focus on the broad understanding of industrial and manufacturing processes, distribution and computer technologies. The Industrial Distribution option stresses required skills in purchasing, selling, installing, servicing, storing, and transporting industrial products. Most courses are evening classes.
Co-op program Internship and co-op program optional but highly recommended.
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business Grainger Center for Distribution Management Madison, Wis. 53706-1397
Phone: 608-262-8912 Web site: www.wisc.edu Contact: John R. Nevin Director
Curriculum Distribution Management is offered in an M.S. or an M.B.A. degree. Programs concentrate on the entire supply chain by integrating courses in areas of marketing, production, operations, and logistics strategy. Additional applied courses in quality management, information systems, and statistics complete the total quality management framework. A seminar exploring contemporary issues in distribution management is also required.
Co-op program None Required, however summer internships are strongly encouraged.
University of Wisconsin-Stout College of Technology, Engineering and Management Industrial Technology Department Menomonie, Wis. 54751
Phone: 715-232-2257 Web site: www.uwstout.edu Contact: Joe Maglio Industrial Distribution Concentration Coordinator
Curriculum Cencentrations in the idustrial technology program include Industrial Distribution, Manufacturing Management, Product Development, Quality Technology, Facilities Management and Technical Communications. Course groupings cover basic technology classes and professional studies including an Industrial Enterprise practicum, production operations management, occupational safety, quality, manufacturing processes, logistics, industrial distribution, and production inventory control.
Co-op program An internship, work co-op or field experience is required for graduation.
Western Carolina University College of Applied Sciences Industrial and Engineering Technology Department Cullowhee, N.C. 28723
Phone: 828-227-2158 Web site: www.wcu.edu Contact: Dale Pounds Program Coordinator
Curriculum The Industrial Distribution program includes courses in industrial distribution organization, product management and inventory control, and a required industrial distribution seminar. Other courses include Industrial Safety, Electricity, Electronics, Engineering Graphics, Manufacturing Materials and Processes, Quality Control, Principles of Marketing, Professional Selling, Marketing Management and International Marketing.
Co-op program Though strongly encouraged, an internship or co-op work is not required of Industrial Distribution majors.