Donald J. Bowersox
Donald J. Bowersox was an American professor at Michigan State University who co-wrote one of the first logistics textbooks in 1961 and helped found the professional body that became CSCMP.
What they did and why it matters
Bowersox helped make logistics an academic field and a profession, which is why supply chain degrees and certifications exist today. His 1961 book, Physical Distribution Management, treated transport, warehousing, and inventory as one system to be managed together. In 1963 he helped found the National Council of Physical Distribution Management, the forerunner of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. Many logistics managers trained on his later textbooks, and the idea that warehousing and transportation should be planned together for total cost runs through modern 3PL and network design.
Related people
Sources
- Supply chain pioneer Donald Bowersox dies (MSU Today) msutoday.msu.edu
- Supply Chain Logistics Management, Bowersox (McGraw Hill) mheducation.com