Dr. John T. (Tom) Mentzer is the Harry J. and Vivienne R. Bruce Chair of Excellence in Business in the Department of Marketing and Logistics at the University of Tennessee. He has written more than 180 papers and articles, which have appeared in leading publications including the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Macro Marketing, Industrial Marketing Management, and the Columbia Journal of World Business. He has authored or co-authored seven books including Essentials of Supply Chain Management and Sales Forecasting Management.He was awarded the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Marketing Teacher Award in 2001. He was formerly President, and is presently Chair of the Board of Governors, of the Academy of Marketing Science, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Academy of Marketing Science - a distinction granted to less than 40 scholars worldwide. Dr. Mentzer was the 2004 recipient of the Council of Logistics Management Distinguished Service Award. He has served as a consultant for over 100 corporations and government agencies. His research has focused on the contribution of sales and operations planning, sales forecasting, marketing and logistics to customer satisfaction and strategic advantage in supply chains; the application of computer decision models to marketing, logistics, and forecasting; and the management of the sales forecasting function.