MRI: Acquisition of Major Components Required for Constructing Supply Chain Test-bed for Teaching, Research and Service

这一重大研究仪器(MRI)项目奖的目标是在南伊利诺伊大学爱德华兹维尔(SIUE)工程学院创建一个独特的、多学科的和最先进的供应链试验台。这个试验台将为教师、技术专家和学生提供必要的宝贵资源，以创新制造和供应链问题的解决方案。具体地说，试验台将以一种方式来表示供应链的各个层，如供应商、制造设施、仓库和客户位置。重要的是，试验台将以通用的方式设计，以实现进一步的技术进步。它还可以被配置为探索精益生产在供应链系统中的影响。试验台将建在现实生活中，SIUE书店将成为主要零售商。网络服务器系统将用于实现信息、生产和资金流的在线控制和集成。如果成功，该试验台将使SIUE学生接触到供应链中最先进的技术，并促进和鼓励他们在该领域的职业发展。通过在灵活和通用的环境中提供现实生活中的应用程序，试验台将提供一个重要的工具，用于培训来自当地行业的研究人员，并教育圣路易斯大都市区当地大学的学生。试验台还将有助于吸引当地高中生和教师参加由SIUE提供的暑期实习项目，即学生和教师作为研究科学家。一旦安装了物理试验台，探索性研究将产生初步结果，这些结果将随后用于未来的研究项目提案，这些项目提案将提交给各个研究机构。初步的分析和结果将在进一步形成SIUE后续研究提案和计划的质量、背景、相关性和可信度方面发挥关键作用。

The objective of this Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program award is to create a unique, multi-disciplinary and state-of-the-art supply chain test-bed in the School of Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). This test-bed will provide faculty, technical experts, and students with valuable resources necessary to innovate solutions to manufacturing and supply chain problems. Specifically, the test-bed will be constructed in a way to represent various layers of supply chains such as suppliers, manufacturing facility, warehouses, and customer locations. Importantly, the test-bed will be designed in a generic manner to allow further technological advancements. It can also be configured to explore the impact of lean production in supply chain systems. The test-bed will be built in a real-life setting and SIUE Bookstore will be a primary retailer. A Web-server system will be used to enable online control and integration of information, production, and cash flows.If successful, the test-bed will expose SIUE students to state-of-the-art technology in supply chains and facilitate and encourage their career development in this field. By providing real-life applications in a flexible and generic environment, the test-bed will provide a significant tool to train researchers from local industries and to educate students from local universities in the St. Louis metropolitan area. The test-bed will also help attract local high school students and teachers to the summer internship programs offered by SIUE, referred to as Students and Teachers as Research Scientists. Once the physical test-bed is installed, exploratory research will produce preliminary results, which will subsequently be used for future research project proposals that will be submitted to various research agencies. The preliminary analyses and results will play a crucial role in further shaping up the quality, context, relevance, and credibility of the subsequent research proposals and programs at SIUE.