Radio Frequency Identification Centre : Sponsors/Associates : Cranfield Univeristy

Cranfield School of Management, located about 75 km north-west of London in the UK, is one of Europe's leading university management schools. It is part of Cranfield University, renowned for its high quality postgraduate teaching and research and its strong links to industry and business. Management education and development has been offered at Cranfield University since the late 1940s and the School of Management was formally set up in 1967.

The Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management (CLSCM) is Europe 's largest faculty specialising in the management of logistics and the supply chain.

They are internationally recognised as a major centre of excellence and provide a resource encompassing taught MSc programmes for graduates and managers, executive short courses, customised programmes, research and development capabilities and a continuing commitment to the dissemination of ideas and knowledge through publications and symposia.

"We've come to recognise that the way in which we serve the customer, the way in which we manage the pipeline is not only a major cost, but is also a significant opportunity to create value for customers. Many companies now acknowledge that logistics and the supply chain have got to be seamless; these are key issues in how we develop marketplace advantage." Professor Martin Christopher, Director CLSCM

Martin Christopher is Director of the Cranfield Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management and also the Marketing Group. As an author, Martin Christopher has written numerous books and articles and is on the editorial advisory board of a number of professional journals. He is co-editor of The International Journal of Logistics Management and his recent books have focused upon relationship marketing, logistics and supply chain. He has held appointments as Visiting Professor at the Universities of British Columbia, Canada, New South Wales, Australia and South Florida, USA. Professor Christopher is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and of the Institute of Logistics & Transport, on whose council he sits. In 1987 he was awarded the Sir Robert Lawrence medal of the Institute of Logistics & Transport for his contribution to the development of logistics education in Britain. He has worked as a consultant for major international companies in North America, Europe, the Far East and Australasia and is also a non-executive director of a number of companies.