Supply Chain Location Analysis Using Smartphones: An Experiential Exercise in the Airline Industry

Abstract

Supply chain management courses often cover location analysis as a crucial subject. Contextualizing and effectively teaching these methods presents challenges, particularly for learners with limited work experience. To tackle this issue, we present an experiential exercise utilizing real-world data from the airline industry. With this exercise, we aim to familiarize learners with location analysis and decision-making processes while utilizing a load-distance approximation of the center of gravity and factor rating methods to prepare a recommendation for a strategic location decision. Learners utilize smartphones to pinpoint the geographical locations of airline hubs. This hands-on approach promotes a practical understanding of the contextual factors that can make these methods useful and fosters retention through collaborative learning and critical thinking. Furthermore, it is a simple and reproducible method that is adaptable to diverse teaching modalities and levels of learner familiarity with analytical techniques, rendering it widely applicable in supply chain management education.