Chicago Booth Launches GEP Center for Supply Chain Innovation and Applied Technologies

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business will establish the GEP Center for Supply Chain Innovation and Applied Technologies, which will bring together scholarship in the burgeoning field of supply chain management and leverage the rising impact of agentic AI and data to improve the world’s value chains. This new center has been made possible by a generous commitment from GEP, a leading AI-native procurement and supply chain firm. It is Chicago Booth’s thirteenth research center.

The GEP Center will be housed within Booth’s operations management area. The group’s world-renowned faculty study how disruptions and financial shocks propagate through global supply chain networks, how firms can build resilience through rerouting and flexible network design, and how optimization can improve real-time demand fulfillment, inventory management, and the matching of supply and demand. Increasingly, this research harnesses machine learning and AI to turn data into better operational decisions. 

The center will advance and promote research and education focused on supply chains, seeking to establish and foster connections among faculty, students, and industry leaders. It will support the development of innovative curricula and explore how emerging technologies are reshaping supply chain practices and operations management. The center will help apply knowledge from Booth’s leading scholars to address supply chain challenges and accelerate advancements in the field.

“At this moment, there is a profound opportunity for Chicago Booth to foster critical research and drive impact in the supply chain field,” said Madhav Rajan, Steven S. Wymer Dean. “Our vision is for the GEP Center to become known as the preeminent knowledge hub in this space and to connect our faculty’s research with applications in the real world.”

The link between Chicago Booth and GEP began more than 30 years ago—with three of the company’s cofounders—Subhash Makhija, MBA ’96, Roopa Gandhi Makhija, MBA ’96, and Jagadish Turimella, MBA ’97, earning their MBAs from the school. The insights they received from faculty members, and the connections they made from their time at Booth, offered them valuable support in setting up GEP. In particular, Subhash and Roopa have often credited Harry L. Davis, Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management Emeritus, Steven Neil Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the late Professor Emeritus Marvin Zonis for having a significant impact on their time as students and in founding GEP. 

“The world’s supply chains—essential to every business and every economy—are undergoing an industrial revolution. AI, data, and new technologies are helping organizations build far more resilient, sustainable, autonomous, and efficient global value chains. We’re proud to establish this center with Chicago Booth because there is no institution better able to combine data, rigorous research, and quantum computing to advance supply chain innovation for the benefit of businesses and society,” said Subhash.

Now nearly 30 years old, GEP is dedicated to helping enterprises harness the power of AI, data, and data digital technology to stay ahead in the ever-changing economy. Through AI-driven solutions, the company enables businesses to operate with greater efficiency and effectiveness, gain competitive advantage, and maximize both business and shareholder value. With Subhash as CEO, GEP partners with Fortune 500 and Global 2000 enterprises across industries to build high-performing, resilient, and sustainable supply chains.

Subhash is a member of the Council on Chicago Booth, and Roopa serves on the Council for the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Makhija family has continued to be strong supporters of the school, giving generously to the Booth Annual Fund and to the Polsky Center.

The operations management faculty at Chicago Booth has generated a range of research with global impact—from healthcare analytics to operational issues in the criminal justice system. The GEP Center will position the faculty to do even more, strengthening the school’s leadership in this sphere.

John R. Birge, Hobart W. Williams Distinguished Service Professor of Operations Management, has been appointed as the inaugural faculty director of the GEP Center for Supply Chain Innovation and Applied Technologies.

In reflecting on the possibilities that the center will create, Birge observed, “GEP’s support in creating this center will expand the reach of our faculty’s research into the future evolution of supply chains and the novel technologies that will drive value creation. Our foundational focus on rigorous evidence-based analysis with practical relevance makes Chicago Booth an ideal place for this work. I am truly excited to be part of this new chapter for our field.”