Phillip Coles

Phillip Coles has an undergraduate degree from The Pennsylvania State University, an MBA in Supply Chain Management from Lehigh University and an MS in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.

In addition to his formal education, he also studied lean and continuous improvement at The Kaizen Institute, the Manufacturer''s Resource Center and the Toyota Supplier Support Center.

Before joining Lehigh, Professor Coles taught various business courses at Syracuse University, Alvernia University, and the Cornell Summer College. He has over 30 years of industry experience, including as Vice President of Strategic Management, Project Manager and Kaizen Facilitator in charge of the continuous improvement program at a multi-million dollar produce company. In this role, he was able to visit several leading manufacturing companies such as Dell Computer and Toyota Motor Company to learn about their supply chains.

He also runs a consulting firm where he has assisted companies to increase efficiencies through improved plant layouts and balancing of assembly lines, in addition to aiding green-fields startups and company expansions.

Educaion

• The Pennsylvania State University, B.S.
• Lehigh University, M.B.A., Supply Chain Management
• Cornell University, M.S., Applied Economics and Management

Research Interests

• Supply Chain Management
• Operations
• Continuous Improvement
• Employee Incentive Systems
• Finding Beneficial Uses for Waste Materials