Smeal College of Business

PepsiCo, Penn State Executive and Professional Programs awarded Gold

A collaboration between PepsiCo and Penn State Executive and Professional Programs, the executive education division of the Smeal College of Business, was recently awarded gold in the Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards. Credit: Smeal College of Business. All Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In collaboration with Penn State Executive and Professional Programs (PSEP), the executive education division of the Smeal College of Business, and Udemy, PepsiCo was recently awarded gold in the Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards in recognition of a partnership program built around supply chain agility.

The award was presented to PepsiCo in the ‘Best Hybrid Learning Program’ category for an entry titled, ‘Unlocking End to End Supply Chain Agility.’  Brandon Hall Group, the awarding entity, is a professional development company offering data, research, insights and certification to global learning and talent executives and organizations. The awards recognize top organizations that have successfully developed and deployed programs, strategies and systems that have achieved measurable results.

Stemming from a collaborative effort between PepsiCo and PSEP, the award-winning curriculum was focused on the ways an agile supply chain gives organizations a competitive advantage as it relates to organic growth for the organization.

The program, part of a suite of hybrid learning courses offered by the Smeal College of Business, was meticulously planned and strategically built to explore the different dimensions of agility and demonstrate how flexibility and responsiveness play a role in achieving agility. With support from the Center for Supply Chain Research (CSCR), the program’s content was largely based on research done by Steve Tracey, professor of practice in supply chain management and the former executive director for CSCR; Kusumal Ruamsook, an assistant research professor for CSCR; and Galen Smith, former digital supply chain transformation leader at IBM.

PepsiCo is a decade-long partner of Udemy, an online learning and teaching marketplace, and CSCR’s Supply Chain Leadership Academy, a virtual platform for organizations to engage their supply chain leaders, build skills and address challenges collaboratively. Academy courses are designed to develop technical strengths, tactical execution and strategic leadership via focused ‘sprints’ that explore and understand strategic initiatives at scale. The curriculum, developed by faculty experts from Smeal’s top-ranked supply chain program, provides an end-to-end perspective and methods to improve performance for strategic advantage.

About the Center for Supply Chain Research

For over three decades, CSCR has successfully built a community of researchers and leading organizations in both the private and public sectors to advance the supply chain discipline with impactful research, innovation, and world-class knowledge. Supply chain organizations who support CSCR receive access to Supply Chain Leadership Academy twice per month, in addition to a portfolio of professional development courses and events, talent management, and networking opportunities. Learn more about corporate support for CSCR.

About Penn State Executive and Professional Programs

Penn State Executive and Professional Programs is the executive education and corporate learning division of the Smeal College of Business at Penn State. Serving the development needs of the world's leading corporations since 1954, PSEP is committed to helping organizations develop leaders who know how to deliver results. Learn more about PSEP.

Last Updated October 3, 2024

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