WVU Industrial Extension joins national effort to establish a supply chain intelligence network

Director of operations for WVU’s Industrial Extension, Staci Miller.

Supply chain intelligence is a growing field that is increasingly important for businesses looking to improve efficiency and profitability and the Industrial Extension program at West Virginia University has joined the efforts to establish a national supply chain optimization intelligence network. 

Story by Olivia Howard, GA Multimedia Specialist
Photos by Paige Nesbit, Director of Marketing

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

As part of the cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology through the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, WVU Industrial Extension has been awarded an additional $400,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce to participate in this national effort.  

This award will provide many opportunities for WVU’s Industrial Extension moving forward, including the ability to conduct large scale outreach and education on the benefits of market expansion into critical domestic supply chains with the Department of Defense and original equipment manufacturers who are looking to use local and regional suppliers.   

“There has never been a more critical time to focus on growing small manufacturing in the United States,” said Staci Miller, director of operations for WVU’s Industrial Extension. “It is paramount to sustain products and services that we rely on every single day.” 

Through expansion of consulting service offerings and collaboration on supplier scouting opportunities with other Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, the Industrial Extension program continues to be a go-to resource for connecting manufacturers in West Virginia. 

“This funding will provide our team with a platform to showcase the capabilities of West Virginia manufacturing within the state and beyond our borders,” Miller explained. 

For over thirty years, the WVU Industrial Extension program, housed in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, has supported over a thousand manufacturers statewide. As one of 51 centers in the United States participating in a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, it is their mission to strengthen, empower and grow manufacturing in West Virginia. 

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