Leveraging Academic Partnerships to Improve Logistics at Nonprofit Organizations

• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Author: James R. Kroes,Andrew S. Manikas,Thomas F. Gattiker
• Date: 01 March 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21246

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N M  L, vol. 27, no. 3, Spring 2017 © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/nml.21246

Journal sponsored by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.

Correspondence to: James R. Kroes, Boise State University, College of Business and Economics, 1910 University Drive,

Boise, ID 83725. E-mail: jimkroes@boisestate.edu.

Leveraging Academic Partnerships

to Improve Logistics at Nonprofi t

Organizations

Andrew S. Manikas ,1 James R. Kroes , 2  omas F. Gattiker 2

1 University of Louisville , 2 Boise State University

This article presents the results of a partnership between a nonprofit organization and a

team of academic researchers that developed a low-cost spreadsheet-based tool that allows

organizations to effectively schedule vehicle operations. Specifically, the tool (1) handles

the real-world constraints present in moderately complex logistics environments; and (2)

uses general computing hardware and software that is already deployed in most organiza-

tions, thereby rendering the solution radically low cost (effectively free). We deployed this

tool to a humanitarian organization, the Idaho Foodbank, which realized a substantial

improvement in its fleet efficiency and a corresponding reduction in route-planning time.

The methodology used to manage this collaboration with academia can be leveraged by

other nonprofit organizations attempting to overcome the financial barriers that commonly

prevent budget-constrained organizations from accessing advanced technologies.

Keywords: nonprofit , management , efficiency , technolog y

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FACE a variety of barriers that impede the adoption of

advanced technological tools (Eisinger 2002 ). Primarily, advanced technologies are often expen-

sive, complicated to utilize, and difficult to customize to meet firms’ unique needs (Thomas

and Kopczak 2005 ). Because nonprofit firms typically operate with extremely limited financial

margins (Shearer and Carpentier 2015 ), organizations that can overcome these barriers and

optimize their operations through the employment of advanced technologies stand to benefit

greatly. To overcome these barriers, nonprofit firms might attempt to raise funds via donations

to pay for commercial technologies, or they may solicit technology donations directly from

commercial firms (Corder 2001 ). Alternatively, nonprofit organizations have increasingly col-

laborated with other nonprofit organizations to leverage the pooled resources of the combined

organizations (AbouAssi, Makhlouf, and Whalen 2016 ). A less common collaborative approach

is to partner with academic researchers willing to donate their time and skills to develop a

technological solution. Although commercial firms and academic partners may both have

expertise in applying advanced technologies to problems, an academic partner, without profit

motivations, might provide access to advanced technologies at a lower cost. This article details