Susan Purdum

Susan B. Purdum is a faculty instructor in supply chain management in the Smeal College of Business for Penn State University.

Prior to her move into full-time instruction, Ms. Purdum served Penn State’s Center for Supply Chain Research for 12 years. Her most recent position was Administrative Director and Sr. Research Assistant where she worked on applied research, corporate outreach, executive education, and benchmarking. Her research included work for the Supply Chain Council, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, IBM, Lockheed Martin, and U.S. Marine Corps. Her executive education engagements included DuPont, US Navy, Pfizer, Defense Logistics Agency, ExxonMobil, U.S. Postal Service, Parker Hannifin, The Gap, Air Force Medical Logistics, and others.

Sue has co-authored case studies and research publications on behalf of CSCR. She has also consulted for a number of firms and, in 2007, was selected as a faculty intern and Sr. Management Consultant for IBM’s Global Business Services Public Sector Practice in Washington DC.

Prior to Penn State, Ms. Purdum worked 20 years in industry for Avery Dennison Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, and The Hershey Company. She held managerial positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, manufacturing, new business development, and customer logistics.

Sue has a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State and an MBA from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is a member of CSCMP, APICS, and WERC. She has been faculty advisor for several non-profit projects including work for Marine Corps Toys for Tots, Girl Scouts of America, and Medi-Send Corporation. She has also served as an alumna volunteer for Penn State’s College of Engineering.