Steve F. Tracey
Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Research, Center for Supply Chain Research
Department Center for Supply Chain Research
Office Address 488B Center for Supply Chain Research
Phone Number
814-867-5860
Email Address
sft1@psu.edu
Steve F. Tracey
Professor of Practice and Executive Director of the Center for Supply Chain Research, Center for Supply Chain Research
Department Center for Supply Chain Research
Office Address 488B Center for Supply Chain Research
Phone Number
814-867-5860
Email Address
sft1@psu.edu
Steve Tracey is both the Executive Director for the Center for Supply Chain Research® (CSCR®) and a Professor of Practice for the Supply Chain and Information Systems Department within the Smeal College of Business.
Professor Tracey has also served from 2017-2021 as the Executive Director for Penn State Executive Programs, also within Smeal, and has delivered award-winning open enrollment and customized executive education programs both in the classroom and most recently, through leading edge virtual platforms.
He is one of the founders of the Supply Chain Academy, a best-in-class portfolio of digital supply chain curriculum, offered through Penn State's partnership with CorpU (a subsidiary of Udemy for Business).
As a Professor of Practice of Supply Chain Management in the Supply Chain and Information Systems Department within Smeal, Tracey delivers curriculum reflecting his extensive background in both operations and finance to Penn State Smeal College of Business undergraduate and graduate students. He also connects with broad industry and public sector audiences through his teaching in Penn State Executive Programs and by representing CSCR at industry events and conferences.
He sits on both the management and leadership comittees for the Smeal College of Business and is a member of the Executive Committee for Strategic Procurement Transformation for the University.
Recently, he served as co-chair for the Health Resources Task Force, a group responsible for designing and implementing the University's testing and contact tracing response to the Covid-19 pandemic along with Dr. Kevin Black, Dean of the College of Medicine here at Penn State.
Tracey is also on the boards of StorytellerFx, Chainparency (innovative blockchain technologies), the Penn State Center for Medical Innovation (CMI), and the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR). He is also on the Advisory Council for DISCOVER (https://discover-org.us/) DISCOVER is a cross-industry organization that serves as a catalyst for the advancement of people of color in the supply chain.
Tracey has a diverse global background directing operations with full P&L responsibilities in more than 14 countries and is considered a commodity market expert in the Textile industry. Prior to joining Penn State Smeal, Tracey was the senior vice-president of Global Supply Chain at Standard Textile Company, the world's largest marketer and manufacturer of institutional textiles.
For well over three decades CSCR has successfully built a community of researchers and leading organizations in both the private and public sectors to further the supply chain discipline and provide the very best in research, executive education, symposia, and talent development. In Tracey's CSCR leadership role, he is responsible for the vision of one of Smeal's premier research centers as an ambassador and spokesperson for supply chain activities at Penn State. During his tenure as executive director, he has elevated CSCR's sponsor partnerships with both public and private sector organizations representing over $2.3T in private sector revenue. Through collaboration with the nationally top ranked Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems faculty within Smeal and CSCR Corporate Sponsors, Tracey promotes meaningful and progressive supply chain research for industry-specific application and defines research strategy and programs.
Tracey's teams at Standard Textile were responsible for the global sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, and logistics operations of the company. As a champion for developing talent and creating high performing teams, Tracey's group was instrumental in implementing forward-looking processes to manage Standard Textile's service levels and operations to world-class standards. His teams were consistently recognized as the best-in-class textile industry provider.
As an enterprise strategist, he designed and implemented the organizational structures needed for a high performance, integrated global supply chain and developed an elite leadership team for the company's rapidly expanding operations. For the time he was at Standard Textile, the company had a CAGR in excess of 12%.
Prior to joining Standard Textile, Tracey was the director of Materials and Distribution for American Tool Companies, Inc., a global market leader in the manufacture of hand tools and hand tool accessories.
Outside of his duties at Penn State he is on the Advisory Board of Chainparency, a subsidiary of the GoChain Foundation and on the Board of Directors of StorytellerFX. He was formerly on the Board of Directors of West Chester Protective Gear from 2011 until 2018, when the company was acquired by new ownership.
He is also an active member of AAASCM, and CSCMP, where he is on the research strategies committee.
He is a retired U.S. Army officer, serving from 1986 to 2002, both in active duty and reserve positions.
Expertise
Supply Chain Strategic Planning and Implementation
The intersection of Strategy and Technologies in the Supply Chain space with a focus on emerging tech (i.e. Blockchain).
Global Enterprise Leadership
Senior Executive Coaching and Development
Succession Planning
Distribution/Operations/Planning
Process Improvement/Efficiency - Lean Manufacturing, 5S+1
Process and Product Innovation
Current Research and recent publications:
Tracey, S., Ruamsook, K., Smith G. (2022, January) “Cultivating Relentless Supply Chain Agility: From Concept to Reality at IBM.” Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR), PGS 14-21
Tracey, S., Ruamsook, K. BLOCKCHAIN Fundamentals, and Enterprise Applications - Part I (2021, November)
Healthcare Supply, Distribution, and Inventory Systems (working paper).
Reusable Medical Device Supply Chains in a Pandemic Setting (working paper).
Tracey, S., Ruamsook, K., Smith G. (2021, August). The Spectrum of Supply Chain Agility.
Purdum, S., Tracey, S., Ruamsook, K. (2020, June). Exploring the Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Supply Chain Mobility – The Transport and Logistics Industry’s Balancing Act of Keeping People Safe and Goods Moving
Langley, L., Tracey, S., Owens, J., Ruamsook, K., (2018, August). The "Last Yard" - One Further Step in Making Sure that Customers' Needs are Met.
Ruamsook, K., Tracey, S., Bechtel, L., (2017, July). Technology Theme Identification and Application Assessment Framework across Multi-modal Logistics Sectors.
Langley, J., Tracey, S., (2017, June). Pennsylvania Proposal to Remove Sales and Use Tax Exemption on Commercial Warehousing and Storage Services.
Henderson, J., Thomas, J., Tracey, S. (2017, January). The Impact of Digital Technology on Healthcare Supply Chain.
Bechtel, L., Colgan, C., Ruamsook, K., Tracey, S. (2016, May 5). The MRO Revolution: Leaders, Evolvers, and Trailers.
Ruamsook, K., Tracey, S., (2015, December). The Natural Gas Supply Chain - Onshore Well-Site Processes and Freight Logistics
Ruamsook, K., Tracey, S., (2015, July). The Natural Gas Supply Chain - An Integrated Process Framework
Additonal Publications List
Faggella, D. (2017, May). IT Procurement for New and Emerging Technologies. Huffington Post.
Tracey, S. (2017, March 1). Got Best Practices in MRO Management. http://www.mypurchasingcenter.com/files/6314/8641/4472/MPC_podcast_Steve_Tracey.MP3
McCrea, B. (2017, January 12). Measuring Value of the Supply Chain Executive Education. http://www.scmr.com/article/measuring_value_of_the_supply_chain_executive_education
Burris Logistics Team. (2016, November 23). Supply Chain is a People Business. http://blog.burrislogistics.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/burris-food-logistics-magazine.pdf
Tracey, S. (2016, July 19). The Real Value of Supply Chain Certification. http://www.scmr.com/article/the_real_value_of_supply_chain_certification
Modern Materials Handling (2016, June 2). MRO Research: Leading, Evolving or Trailing? http://www.mmh.com/article/leading_evolving_or_trailing
Moore, D., Tracey, S. (2016, May 20). SDI Partner Perspective Series with Steve Tracey. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/partner-perspective-steve-tracey-christopher-moore
Bechtel, L., Colgan, C., Ruamsook, K., Tracey, S. (2016, May 5). The MRO Revolution: Leaders, Evolvers and Trailers. http://www.scmr.com/article/the_mro_revolution_leaders_evolvers_and_trailers
Maidenberg, M. (2016, March 03). Project44's co-founders think their startup will be a unicorn. Really. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160303/ISSUE01/160229849?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1
Todd, A., Tracey, S. (2016, February 05). Using Human Capital Strategies to Drive Supply Chain Excellence. http://www.sdcexec.com/article/12157059/using-human-capital-strategies-to-drive-supply-chain-excellence
McCrea, B. (2016, February 04). 4 Innovative Supply Chain Education Trends. http://www.scmr.com/article/4_innovative_supply_chain_education_trends
Elder, A. (2015, June 04). Penn State Smeal launches online boot camp to help close supply chain skills gap. http://news.smeal.psu.edu/news-archive/2015/penn-state-launches-online-boot-camp-to-help-close-supply-chain-skills-gap
Bowman, R. J. (2015, December 04). Virtual vs. Actual: The New Age of Supply-Chain Education. http://www.supplychainbrain.com/content/single-article-page/article/virtual-vs-actual-the-new-age-of-supply-chain-education/
Todd, A., Tracey, S. (2015, September 24). CorpU: Achieving End-to-End Supply Chain Performance. http://corpu.com/xchange/events/upcoming/achieving-end-end-supply-chain-performance/follow-up/
Page, P., Lorretta, C. (2015, August 11). Weaker Yuan to Change China's Supply Chain Math. http://www.wsj.com/articles/weaker-yuan-to-change-chinas-supply-chain-math-1439324479
Weaver, D. (2015, June 15). Closing the Talent Gap: Penn State University Creates Supply Chain Boot Camp. http://www.inventory-and-supplychain-blog.com/closing-the-talent-gap-penn-state-university-creates-supply-chain-boot-camp/
Leininger, K. (2015, January 21). Leading Healthcare Channel Management Software Company joins as Corporate Sponsor of World-Class Research and Education Organization. http://www.integrichain.com/integrichain-partners-with-penn-state-center-for-supply-chain-research/
Recent Speaking Engagements
Tracey, S. (2021, December) Speaker (main stage) at the Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Summit, Orlando, FL, December 2021 in a panel on Sustainability as a Driver for Digital Transformation.
Tracey. S., Sultemeier, C., et al (2017, July). Expeditionary Sustainment Superiority from Factory to Foxhole: Back to the Basics of Blocking and Tackling - The Association of the United States Army Institute of Land Warfare: Arlington, VA
Tracey, S. (2017, January). Got Best Practices in MRO Management? (S. Avery, Interviewer)
Tracey, S. & Sheehan, H. (2017). Managing Global Supply Chains - Developing Strategic Supply Chain Leaders. DSSCL. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S. (2017). Leadership in Managing Supply Chains. DSSCL. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S., Bechtel, L. (2017). Supply Chain Analytics. Supply Chain Leader's Forum. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S. (2016). Academia Perspective on Logistics. CLX Logistics. State College.
Tracey, S. (2016). Top Supply Chain Trends. Georgetown University.
Tracey, S., Bechtel, L. (2016). Keys to Successful Sales and Operations Planning. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S., Bechtel, L. (2016). Supply Chain Security and Risk. Supply Chain Leader's Forum. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S. (2016). Omni-Channel Distribution and Sustainable Procurement. W&RSETA. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S. (2016). Omni-Channel - The Days of Talking About It Are Over. Parcel Forum. Grapevine, TX.
Tracey, S. (2016). Global Supply Chain Trends. CLX Logistics 5th Annual Customer Conference. Philadelphia, PA
Tracey, S. (2016). Driving Supplier Innovation. Supply Chain Leader's Forum. State College: Pennsylvania State University.
Tracey, S., Bechtel, L. (2016, February 9). APICS - CPIM - A Professional Certification Comparison. State College, PA.
Expertise
Innovative supply-chain technologies
Global business activities
Metrics
Leadership
Education
MBA, Global Business, Duke University, 2008
MBA, Global Business, Duke University, 2008
BS, Finance (Economics / Accounting), The Pennsylvania State University, 1986
Courses Taught
SCM 301 – Sup Chn Mgt (3)
Management of logistics/supply chain processes. Not available to baccalaureate business students in Smeal. Not available to baccalaureate business students in Smeal.
SCM 450W – Design and Mgt Sc (3)
Strategic design and management of supply chains. SCM 450W Strategic Design and Management of Supply Chains (3) This course is about the strategic design and effective operation of supply chains. It will help prepare you for supply chain management positions in manufacturing, distributing, and other service firms including providers of logistics services. The course focuses on the definition, as well as the application, of a single logic that guides the management of all the supply chain activities. Information decision support systems, primarily computer-based, provide the foundation for this logic. Because the determination of inventory locations and the control of inventory levels play a key role in this logic, we spend considerable time on these subjects. The last section of the course covers ways to lead and organize people to manage cross-firm and cross-functional relationships effectively. After completing this course, students should have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to: -Articulate the process perspective and the total systems view of supply chain management, the impact of systems thinking on firm performance, and the nature of relationships supply chain networks. -Quantify the effect of strategic initiatives such as postponement and risk pooling on the financial performance of the firm, as well as on supply chain performance. -Use and apply selected quantitative tools useful in implementing supply chain strategies. -Explain the complex nature of human interaction needed to successfully introduce supply chain concepts in the firm.This is the prescribed capstone course for the Supply Chain and Information Systems major. It builds upon the fundamental supply chain knowledge, skills, and abilities developed in foundation and intermediate courses. Students must complete SCM 421 before taking this course. SCM 450W is a writing-intensive course. In addition to written assignments encompassing case studies, hands-on exercises, and examinations, student evaluations include oral presentations and class participation.
SCM 546 – Strat Procuremnt (2)
Development of procurement and supply management strategies to support synchronized supply chains.
SCIS 596 – Individual Studies (Variable)
Creative projects, including nonthesis research, that are supervised on an individual basis and which fall outside the scope of formal courses. A specific title may be used in each instance and will be entered on the student's transcript.
SCM 496 – Indep Studies (Variable)
Creative projects, including research and design, that are supervised on an individual basis and that fall outside the scope of formal courses.
SCM 404 – Dem Fulfil (3)
Analysis of demand fulfillment and the role of distribution operations management in the supply chain. SCM 404 Demand Fulfillment (3)This course introduces the student to how customer demand is managed and how subsequent orders are filled in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. Topics focus on the demand fulfillment process, which encompasses flows of goods, information, and funds from the moment a business receives an order from a customer until all requirements for the order are satisfied in full. These topics include: *role of demand management and distribution operations in the supply chain*transportation management*distribution center processes *inventory control and order management elements*facility costing and productivity analysis*strategic demand management and distribution operations issues in the supply chain.Both theoretical and quantitative perspectives will be offered on these topics. Additionally, each topic will be addressed from strategic and financial perspectives. After completing this course, students will have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to: *Explain the role of demand management in the supply chain*Explain the role of distribution operations in demand management*Determine the strategic and financial impacts of demand management and distribution operations management*Articulate the role of information systems in demand management and distribution operations management*Use quantitative techniques to analyze supply chain processes*Describe related system software. This is one of three prescribed foundation courses for the Supply Chain and Information Systems major for which SCM 301 Supply Chain Management is a prerequisite. This course also satisfies the prerequisite for SCM 421 Supply Chain Modeling and Analysis. Student evaluations are based on individual and group homework assignments and computer-lab exercises, as well as on at least three written examinations.
SC&IS 820 – Strategic Procurement
SCM 820: Strategic Procurement – Analysis, planning, and management of domestic and international procurement and supply activities. SCM 820 provides an overview of supply management in the supply chain context.
SCM 820 – Strategic Procurement (4)
Strategic planning for the source/buy process, including developing andmanaging supplier relationships, global issues, and e-procurement.