LVMH sponsors Ecole Centrale Supply Chain chair

LVMH will support and actively participate in a Supply Chain management chair at the Ecole Centrale Paris engineering school through 2018, joining three other partner companies. Supply chain specialists from Louis Vuitton, Parfums Christian Dior, Guerlain, Sephora, Moët Hennessy will be involved in the different activities organized within the scope of the Chair. Here are five key takeaways regarding this partnership.

Train the talents of tomorrow

Through the Supply Chain Chair, LVMH becomes a partner in the Industrial Engineering curriculum at Ecole Centrale Paris. In conjunction with Carrefour, Safran and Sanofi, the LVMH Group will help train students in supply chain subjects. Supply chain is one of the most in demand specialized courses among the engineering students at the school. The students will benefit from the expertise of specialists at the partner companies and have an inside track to participate in research projects, concrete case studies and internships at the companies.

Dialogue with engineering students

Engineering skills are essential throughout the LVMH Group, from product design and development of new production technologies to sustainable production, IT systems and optimization of flows and inventory. LVMH’s commitment to building long-term relationships with talents is one of the factors that makes it a leader in the luxury industry, energizing innovation and excellence in products and execution.

Bridges between the world of academics and business

In addition to theoretical coursework, the Chair encourages applied research using actual case studies. The partnership aims to be a catalyst for collaboration between academia and industrial innovation, giving students and researchers at the school access to information and managers at LVMH Houses to inform their work. In return, LVMH brands will draw on the research to optimize aspects of their supply chain management.

A platform for industry dialogue

LVMH, Carrefour, Safran and Sanofi will take part in committees centered on key issues to share expertise and experience on various supply chain subjects. The committees will establish a list of core issues that the supply chain and logistics departments of all the companies must address. In 2015, staff from LVMH and participating Group companies will focus on the themes of “Supply Chain Performance” and “Agility & Resilience”.

Ongoing training for LVMH talents

Support for the Supply Chain Chair also offers a channel for in-service training of the managers and engineers from the LVMH Group, enabling them to apply the latest developments identified by academics to their work. For example, Ecole Centrale Paris has been involved in setting up the LVMH Supply Chain Academy, creating a course on supply chain challenges for leaders from outside this field.