Terry Esper

Dr. Terry L. Esper is a Logistics and Supply Chain Management researcher, educator, and change agent.  He is on the faculty at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business, at the rank/title of Professor of Logistics. Esper’s research has been published in top-tier academic journals and industry outlets, and shared through academic conferences, symposiums, and roundtables. He regularly contributes his research-based insights to several media outlets, including Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC World News, CNBC, USA Today, Sirius XM Radio, several local newspapers, blogs, and podcasts, and he has a featured TedX Talk.  

Esper has previously served as the Oren Harris Endowed Chair of Logistics and Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management (SCM) at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business, Executive Director of the Walton College SCM Research Center, and was a SCM professor at the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business.

Dr. Esper is a member of the Ohio State University Faculty Council and University Senate. He also serves on various committees within the Department of Marketing and Logistics, and contributes to the Fisher College via a number of committee appointments and special project teams.

In addition to his full-time academic activities, Esper also serves as an adjunct faculty content expert for the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business CIMBA Italy Program. He also maintains global academic engagement, having served on faculty at the University of Verona (Italy), as a key faculty liaison with Universidad Santa Maria de Antigua (Panama) and ESSEC Business School (France), and as a faculty leader for study abroad programs to Panama.

Esper has published his research on strategic SCM topics in leading academic and managerial outlets. His work combines Logistics and Marketing concepts to investigate how firms can leverage supply chain and logistics operations to differentiate themselves in their competitive marketplaces. Topical themes of his research include studies on supply chain strategy, relationship management, customer service, online retail, leadership, and corporate culture.  Esper is also Senior Editor for the Journal of Business Logistics, and Associate Editor for the Journal of Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Esper leverages his research and experiential insights to engage in executive education, corporate training, and industry outreach. Esper is a member of Board of Directors of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), a global organization for supply chain executives and scholars. He serves as Chair of the CSCMP Academic Strategies Committee.  Esper is also a resident Educational Advisor to several companies in the pharmaceutical and personal care industry, to include Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Estee Lauder. He serves on the Board of Directors of CBUS Retail, a Columbus, OH-based retail industry think tank, and is on several academic Advisory Boards. Esper also speaks at corporate events around the world and does regular executive-level educational sessions and workshops through the Ohio State University Center for Operational Excellence, the Ohio State University Risk Institute, and the University of Arkansas SCM Research Center. These activities have allowed for regular educational engagements with companies such as Walmart, Procter & Gamble, JB Hunt, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Kellogg, Nationwide Insurance, Apple, Lowe’s, and the US Department of Defense.

Prior to his academic career, Esper worked for Hallmark Cards as a Transportation Manager and for the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department in their Research and Statewide Planning Divisions.