Center for Value Chain Research
Lehigh University’s Center for Value Chain Research (CVCR) was established in 2002 by S. David Wu, then ISE Department Chair, and Susan Sherer, Kenan Professor of Information Technology Management in the College of Business and Economics (CBE). Lawrence Snyder, Ph.D., Assistant Professor within the ISE department, assumed Dr. Wu’s role as co-executive-director when Dr. Wu became Dean of RCEAS in January, 2005.
The CVCR’s objective is to foster collaboration with industry on research projects that focus on planning and development of value chains. A value chain is a network that creates customer value, increases profitability, and/or reduces costs, often comprising multiple firms in complex relationships and diverse activities within a single firm. The term “value chain” has broader connotations than the more familiar term “supply chain” in that it encompasses all phases in a firm’s planning hierarchy, from strategy (overall business direction, core competencies) to planning and development (portfolio management, partnership development) to execution (sales and marketing, post-sale support, distribution and logistics—the typical domain of supply chain management). In today’s business environment, shrinking product lifecycles, pressure to reduce product development cycle times, growing international competition, and new technology make decisions during all phases critical.
The CVCR is jointly sponsored by RCEAS and CBE, and this inter-college collaboration provides a unique, multidisciplinary approach to value chain research, integrating analytical and quantitative engineering approaches with process-driven and field-based business research. The CVCR’s member companies include Agere, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard, Air Products, BOC Gases, General Motors, and IBM. We are continually seeking new member companies, particularly in the high-value manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries, where we believe that our expertise in planning and development can add significant value to companies.
Faculty members from both colleges have performed research sponsored by our member firms, and this research has generated journal articles, conference presentations, and research grants from federal agencies. The Center is proud of this research and is looking toward its next development phase, in which it will become a leading source for knowledge about value chain planning and development, targeted at both academic and industry audiences.
The Center’s broad focus on the value chain as a whole, in contrast to the more narrow focus taken by academic research centers at other universities, positions it well to become such a knowledge repository. To that end, the Center will sponsor an annual industry–university workshop, conduct a series of seminars at Lehigh and on-site at our member firms, award research prizes for graduate and undergraduate research, and launch a series of publications on its web site, including research papers, technical reports, and white papers. Dr. Sherer and Dr. Snyder are currently investigating avenues for raising seed money for this initiative and hope to begin this second phase within the next year.
They are very happy to serve as co-executive-directors of the CVCR and are excited about the prospects for the Center’s short- and long-term future. If you would like more information about the CVCR, please contact Professor Larry Snyder at larry.snyder@lehigh.edu, or visit the CVCR web site at www.lehigh.edu/~inchain.
