Auburn business professor earns international distinction

Glenn Richey recognized for work that has shaped academic thought and industry practice in supply chain management field

Glenn Richey, a Harbert Eminent Scholar at Auburn University, was named a Distinguished Fellow by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the premier global professional association for supply chain executive-level leaders, academic research and industry standards.

The CSCMP Distinguished Fellows program recognizes an exceptional group of academic leaders who have made outstanding, sustained contributions to the supply chain management field through research, teaching, and service to the organization’s community. Richey received the honor at the organization’s annual conference on Oct. 4.

"The Harbert College of Business is proud of Dr. Richey, whose work has shaped academic thought and industry practice," said Jennifer Mueller-Phillips, Harbert dean. "He is a valued colleague who is passionate about developing the next generation of supply chain leaders both at Auburn and around the world. I am so pleased to see his work recognized."

In addition to being named a CSCMP Fellow, Richey was recognized as the 2026 Research Giant at the Bowersox Doctoral Symposium, a research, mentorship and networking event for select Ph.D. candidates and leading scholars prior to the CSCMP conference.

“The Research Giant award has been received by a small number of true pioneers in our field and recognizes Glenn’s contribution to scholarship and Ph.D. student mentorship,” said Department of Supply Chain Management Chair David Dobrzykowski. “Individually these honors are remarkable. Collectively, they place Glenn in very ‘rare air’ among the preeminent scholars in the supply chain management field.”

“The people who selected me for the awards are all my peers and are people I highly respect, which makes it especially meaningful,” said Richey. “Over time, I’ve tried to work hard and do things that matter.”

Influential research

Richey has authored more than 120 research papers since earning his Ph.D. in supply chain management and marketing from the University of Oklahoma in 2003. Some of his most impactful work has focused on supply chain technology, responsiveness and strategic decision making.

On the technology front, Richey and his research colleagues published a foundational paper for logistics and supply chain scholars that explained how artificial intelligence (AI) relates to specific supply chain decisions and processes.

The paper, which came out shortly after ChatGPT was released, viewed AI as an organizational and human challenge, rather than just a new technology, and it directed research toward governance, ethics, human judgment, implementation and performance consequences.

“This roadmap has helped establish a more disciplined research agenda for examining how AI changes supply chain work, decision authority and competitive capability,” Richey said.

In other groundbreaking work, Richey and his colleagues positioned responsiveness as a foundational explanation for how supply chains survive, adjust and compete under changing circumstances. Their paper moved the field beyond merely reacting quickly to disruptions, geopolitical uncertainty, technological change and shifting stakeholder expectations but instead advocated for responding more appropriately, at the right level and at the right time.

Another study described the real mechanisms behind supply chain integration — and it’s not simply because firms share information or use compatible technologies.

“Integration depends on how firms govern relationships, allocate authority, manage dependence and develop trust,” said Richey, noting that the paper helped establish governance as a central theoretical issue in supply chain management rather than a secondary feature of buyer and supplier relationships.

Richey’s research influence extends beyond the supply chain management field. He has advanced international business by explaining how firms organize, learn and respond across global supply chains; he has connected supply chain capabilities directly to core marketing outcomes; and he has demonstrated that sustainability creates value when companies embed it within their capabilities, relationships and decision processes rather than treating it as a compliance exercise.

Serving the supply chain community

In addition to his own groundbreaking studies, Richey has helped shape the field’s research direction by serving as chief editor of several journals, including the Journal of Business Logistics (JBL).

“As co-chief editor of the Journal of Business Logistics, Glenn did extensive international travel promoting both the journal and CSCMP,” said Iowa State Emerita Professor Patricia Daugherty, a 2023 CSCMP Distinguished Fellow. “[His] efforts were successful in creating a broader base of global involvement — attracting a much-expanded pool of potential authors and reviewers for JBL.” 

In all, Richey has traveled to 35 countries across seven continents teaching and mentoring the next generation of supply chain leaders, as well as conducting research.

“All my experiences and connections with different companies around the world definitely make it back into my teaching,” said Richey, who teaches an executive MBA international business course at Auburn. “I’ve benefitted a lot from [the travel], so I keep doing it as outreach and service, and it motivates my research.”

Richey has received several teaching and research honors, including a Harbert College outstanding teaching award, the University of Alabama’s top teaching award in 2012, the 2013 S. Tamer Cavusgil Award, and the 2011 Bernard J. LaLonde Best Paper Award. The Cavusgil Award recognizes the Journal of International Marketing article that makes the most significant contribution to the advancement and practice of international marketing management. The LaLonde Award recognizes the most valuable paper published in the Journal of Business Logistics.

Media outlets — CNBC, Business Insider and Supply Chain Dive, to name a few — have sought Richey’s expertise on the impact that tariffs, labor strikes and natural- and man-made disasters have on supply chains and the economy. During the pandemic, Richey provided expert testimony on the topic of price gouging before a congressional committee. He has also served as an expert witness in court cases involving home building and food products.

He began his career working in industry, where he held management positions at Scott Paper Co. and Genuine Parts Company’s S.P. Richards Division.  

About the award presentation and CSCMP

Richey was honored with both awards at ceremonies associated with CSCMP’s academic symposium and annual conference the first week of October in Nashville. CSCMP is the preeminent global association for the field with its 10,000 members representing industries such as consulting, demand planning, finance, logistics and transportation, manufacturing operations, purchasing and procurement, real estate, sales and marketing, technology, third-party logistics services and warehousing.

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Learn more about Glenn Richey's career and accomplishments