The Elevation Centre at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut, will launch a new center centred around supply chain resilience after entering into a Memorandum of Understanding – MOU – with i5 Services, the operator of the CONNEX Marketplace digital platform.
The MOU is designed to create the Supply Chain Resiliency Hub in US, a national resource to help US manufacturers to better locate suppliers, manage risk and build resilient supply chains.
This partnership will enable the Supply Chain Resiliency Hub in US to bring together the CONNEX Marketplace, a new online platform managed by i5 Services, with the academic expertise and student engagement of the university.
The hub will help manufacturers across the country and throughout sectors who are interested in increasing local sourcing, reshoring production and improving supply chain strategies.
The hub is due to open in two month’s time with pilot evaluations to be rolled out soon after.
In the fourth month of the hub, manufacturers will get full access to the digital tools and supplier databases along with resiliency services.
According to Jens Frederiksen, president, University of New Haven, “The Supply Chain Resiliency Hub will help prepare the next generation of supply chain and logistics professionals while delivering tangible value to the industries that drive the US economy. This hub is exactly the kind of industry-academic collaboration that allows our students to work on real challenges while giving manufacturers the expertise and tools to build more resilient operations. We are thrilled to partner with i5 Services to make this vision a reality.”
The collaboration will also provide University of New Haven students with regular chances to participate in industry-related internships, applied research and practical projects. The experiences are designed to connect academic learning with the requirements of manufacturing businesses, fulfilling The Elevation Centre’s goal to strengthen relationships between education and industry.
Says Alan Davis, the president of i5 Services, “Our partnership with the University of New Haven gives us a powerful on-the-ground presence to deliver real solutions – combining CONNEX Marketplace’s technology with world-class academic talent to help manufacturers discover suppliers, reduce risk, and compete more effectively.”
Interestingly, the three-year MOU also details strategies for commissions on manufacturer referrals as well as consulting work via the hub and joint efforts to seek research funding and professional growth involving manufacturing along with supply chain resilience.
