Academics / Undergraduate Program / Client Project Challenge / ProjectNorthwestern University Logistics Assessment
Northwestern University’s Evanston campus processed over 250,000 packages during the 2023 Academic year, representing a 7% average increase from 2021 in package volume received by the four Evanston campus logistics hubs.
Figure 1: Monthly Volume of Packages
Packaged materials are foundational to the operations of NU’s academic and research units and they support Wildcats’ on-campus experience in Residence Halls. The volume of packages arriving on campus continues to steadily increase as NU community members complete more of their purchases online. To keep pace with existing logistics demand and to plan for future volume increases, Northwestern University Logistics and Residential Services recognized the need to complete an Assessment of their collective logistics programming. Two groups of NU students partnered with University Logistics and Residential Services for this project.
The first group consisted of two IEMS students, Gabe Drayton and Garrett Lee, and a CS student, Rui Wen. This project focused on data engineering. The goal of this group was to create a complete data set of all the packages delivered to campus. To do this, the team had to merge large data sets from FedEx, UPS, Northwestern logistics, and Amazon into one complete set. The data had all the normal issues: different formats, duplicate records, and incomplete data. The first group of students was presented with a challenging effort and they only had a few weeks before the second group of IEMS students would begin to work with the logistics dataset.
Gabe, Garrett, and Rui had to overcome the dual challenges of a complex data set and a short project timeline. For the success of the team, it was critical for Reggie Lee, Manager of University Logistics, to work closely with the students. Reggie was the project’s lead subject matter expert and his guidance and operational knowledge provided the business context for the data. After working with the first group of students for several weeks, Reggie had this to say about his experience, “The work the Northwestern student group performed was unbelievable. We provided them with raw data sets from various vendors and sources that required a lot of work to format. The students were engaged, focused, and communicated with our team every step of the way. The group met all our criteria and expectations. The project was a huge success and validated the value of Northwestern’s IMES students and it opened the door for future student projects.”
After the first group of students completed their data engineering effort, the second group of students from the IEMS Client Project Challenge (CPC) class tasked with completing a thorough analysis of the data set. This team was Tom Ratemo, Alejandra Bustamante, Jessica Lanin, Tyler Shannon, and Konyin Okubadejo.
The CPC team’s mission was to complete a series of analysis activities to answer open strategic questions around logistics operations, business resiliency, and long-term planning. The students used simulation software, programmed with actual NU Logistics data, to experiment with different operational conditions and projected package volumes. The students’ data experiments provided each administrative team with valuable strategic insights around staffing capacity at each location, deltas between package deliveries/collections and storage capacity, and opportunities to expand operations across campus to better support the NU community and strengthen operational resiliency.
Ben Kaplan, the Logistics Assessment’s Project Manager and Lead Sponsor said, “Tom, Alejandra, Jessica, Tyler, and Konyin were important contributors to this University initiative. Their industrial engineering background fostered strong technical abilities that expanded our operational insights and overall project deliverables. We are fortunate to have such talented young professionals in our community.” The student team’s analysis work will be used by the Logistics and Resident Services teams to plan further analysis activities and refine existing operations.
The CPC team’s support came at a crucial time for Carlos M. Gonzalez, Executive Director of Residential Services. The Residential Services team is completing long-term student housing planning activities. Carlos said, “This type of project reaffirms our department’s understanding and experience in this area of work. Importantly, it also gives us a deeper appreciation of trends, efficiency, and metrics to help inform future planning.”
Jim Konrad, Assistant Vice President, Purchasing, Payment, and Logistics, saw the need for a thorough review of Northwestern’s logistics programming. Jim’s teams experienced overlapping logistics challenges related to the pandemic: changes to building access, hybrid work and learning schedules, and an increase in e-commerce volume. The quickly evolving environment emphasized the criticality of better understanding Northwestern’s logistics programs. Jim reflected on the value the CPC Program provides to its clients, “We have spent a considerable amount of time assessing and improving the Purchasing and Payables component of the supply chain at Northwestern, it was time to do the same for logistics. The CPC team’s analysis will produce long term dividends for the Northwestern campus community and their work exemplifies Northwestern’s world-class academic instruction, collaborative environment, and mission to positively transform our world.”
As the leaders of Northwestern University’s Logistics Programming continue to adapt operations to rapid changes brought about by post-pandemic campus strategies and online consumer behaviors, strong cross-institutional partnerships will continue to play an important role at the University. The entire NU community thrives when administrative staff, faculty, and students tackle the next big challenge together.
The faculty advisors were Mengfan Xu and Diego Klabjan.