David Frederick Ross

A recognized Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) industry expert, I began my career in manufacturing and distribution. During this time, I held corporate and operations roles at McMaster-Carr Supply Company and Illinois Tool Works. For the past twenty-two years I have been in the ERP industry working at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), SSA, DataWorks, Intentia, and Lawson Software. Of those years, eight were spent in ERP solutions consulting. For the past twelve years I have focused on ERP/SCM education program management, internal professional development, e-learning tools development, and education program administration. Currently I am Senior Manager – Professional Development for APICS – The Association for Operations Management.

I hold a PhD degree from the University of Chicago. I am an active member of APICS and was an instructor for many years in the Chicago APICS Chapter CPIM certification education program. I have been a frequent speaker at a variety of industry conferences such as APICS, Microsoft, BrainStorm, Beverage Technology, Logistics & Supply Chain Summit, and others, and am a sought after expert by industry media and analysts. My comments have appeared in such sources as CNN Money, the Boston Globe, DC Velocity, Manufacturing Business Technology, The Manufacturer, In MFG, and Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management. I am also an Adjunct Professor of operations and supply chain management at Elmhurst College and currently hold the position of Lecturer of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where I teach supply chain management.

I have published many articles and white papers. I have published five books in logistics and supply chain management. My first book, Distribution Planning and Control (Spencer, 1996), is used by many universities in their logistics and supply chain management curriculums and is a foundation book for APICS’s Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) programs. A second edition was published in January 2004 and is on APICS’s “best seller” list. My second book, Competing Through Supply Chain Management (Spencer, 1998) was one of the first critical texts on the science of supply chain management. My third book, Introduction to e-Supply Chain Management (CRC Press, 2003) merged the concepts of e-business and supply chain management. This book has been adopted as a cornerstone text for APICS’s Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program. My fourth book, The Intimate Supply Chain: Leveraging the Supply Chain to Manage the Customer Experience (CRC Press, June, 2008), explores how supply chains can be constructed to provide total value to the customer. Finally, my most recent book, Introduction to Supply Chain Management Technologies is in the hands of the publisher (CRC Press) and will be released later this year.