John Kent

Director | Supply Chain China Initiatives, Department of Supply Chain Management, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas

Clinical Professor | Department of Supply Chain Management, Sam M. Walton College or Business, University of Arkansas

John L. Kent is the director of Supply Chain China Initiatives and a clinical professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. In addition to teaching supply chain courses in Fayetteville, his responsibilities include multiple supply chain research projects and cooperative academic programs throughout China.

Dr. Kent received his PhD in logistics and transportation from The University of Tennessee, an MBA in international management from the University of Dallas and a BS in computer science from Henderson State University. He has over 10 years of industry experience in various modes of transportation.

Dr. Kent’s industry experience included the development and implementation of information systems at Burlington Northern Motor Carriers, CSX Transportation Intermodal and Sea-Land Service. While at Sea-Land, he was responsible for the implementation of inland transportation systems in North America, Europe, Japan and China. He recently led a volunteer temporary China-to-USA personal protective equipment supply chain project which procured more than $1 million dollars of supplies for three hospital systems.

Dr. Kent’s first trip to China was in 1992 with Sea-Land Service, and his most recent trip was in November 2019 to attend a kick-off meeting for phase II of a Supply Chain Food Safety project funded by the Walmart Foundation.

Dr. Kent’s research has been published in the Journal of Business Logistics, Transportation Journal and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management.