Supply chain trailblazer recognized with hall of fame induction

Eugene Schneller is honored for advancing health care supply chain management at ASU and beyond.

Supply chain leadership meets recognition as Eugene Schneller, a prominent figure in health care supply chain management and an esteemed supply chain management professor at ASU, has been inducted into the Bellwether League Foundation's Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame. This prestigious honor, awarded to only the most influential and innovative leaders in the field, underscores Schneller’s decades-long commitment to advancing supply chain effectiveness and efficiency in the health care industry.

This award recognizes individuals identified as leaders and innovators advancing their industry through their contributions and performance. Schneller was chosen alongside five other inductees as honorees of the Bellwether Class of 2024; they have joined 143 previous honorees since the organization’s founding in 2007. In October, Schneller will accept the award at the 17th Annual Bellwether League Foundation Induction & Recognition Event (BLFIRE).

"It is great to be recognized by an amazing group of leaders in the health sector supply chain field," says Schneller, Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar. "Recognizing that I have added value — to the point of recognition — is very special."

The Bellwether League Foundation (BLF) advances health care supply chain excellence through its Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership Hall of Fame, which recognizes and honors professionals for their exemplary service and leadership across various career stages. Its hall of fame evaluates candidates for Bellwether Honorees, Future Famers, and Ammer Honorees, providing educational and professional development content through the Bellwether Leadership Forum and "Leaders & Luminaries" multimedia. BLF also supports philanthropic efforts, offering scholarships and grants to students and professionals in the supply chain field. Schneller describes this access to be extremely valuable and says, "Equally important has been the willingness by many of the Bellwether members to engage with our students and to provide case materials."

Schneller has been specifically recognized for being one of the leading vocal advocates of supply chain effectiveness and efficiency through his university-supported center, consortium, and foundational lecture series. Based on the recent global pandemic, he has conducted and presented comprehensive research on identifying, managing, and preventing supply chain disruptions. In addition to this, Schneller has explored strategies to improve operations within the federal Department of Defense.

Schneller joined ASU in 1985 and has been a part of the Dean's Council of 100 Distinguished Scholars since 2007. He has studied public and private health care procurement in the U.S. and abroad with a focus on design, integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness. Schneller’s research in these areas centered on Asia, South America, and Europe.

Before ASU, Professor Schneller’s academic roles were in diverse settings, including liberal arts, business, medicine, and public health. He has held positions in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, University of Colorado, Union College, Albany Medical College, Columbia University, and Duke University. He serves on the board of directors for the Health Administrators Forum in Arizona (1998-present) and the Network for Health Administration Education (1996-present). In addition, he is active on the Governor's Council on Telemedicine in Phoenix, (1997-present), and he is on the editorial review board for the Journal of Supply Chain Management (2005-present), Healthcare Briefings (2000-present), and Electronic Highway (1999-present).

W. P. Carey news caught up with Schneller to learn more about his achievements.

Question: Is there anyone you’d like to thank or acknowledge for their role in your success?

Answer: There are many people who have influenced my career as a sociologist and a professor in multiple settings (including a medical school, liberal arts college, school of public health, and now a business school). Noteworthy from a supply chain perspective is Jo Klein. Jo, who recently passed away, was a passionate advocate for the advancement of supply chain management in the health sector. Before retiring, Jo was a senior executive at Novation (now Vizient) who brought a demand for excellence to our work at ASU by supporting the Health Sector Supply Chain Research Consortium as well as the McKenna Foundation, which has brought luminaries in health policy to our campus. Most important was Jo’s demand for highly ethical practice and influencing the next generation of practitioners through graduate education. In addition, Jo was an inspiration for inclusive excellence in supply chain leadership. And of course, I should mention Larry Smeltzer, my early co-author and mentor who convinced me that supply chain was interesting — not just because supplies need to be seen as assets — but because it impacts the care of patients.

Q: What are you most excited about moving forward now that you’ve received this award?

A: My goal has been to infuse the best of supply chain management thinking and strategy into the health sector. I sit in a unique position — surrounded at ASU by many of the best supply chain scholars and clinical faculty — who are thinking about the evolution of supply chain management as a field. My goal is to support efforts to translate research into frameworks for practice. As the co-interim executive director at CAPS Research, I have a great platform to support this ambition. Notably, the work at CAPS brings thinking from many sectors to bear on the pressing supply chain issues,especially resilience and sustainability. I hope there will be greater cross-sector learning. My lingering goal is to write a piece on the sociology of the supply chain. It is a fascinating field that has not received sufficient attention as a field for inquiry. I hope there’s more to come.