Graduate students tackle supply chain challenges in the rapidly evolving drone industry

Last fall, 10 graduate students from the Darla Moore School of Business took on a groundbreaking project with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), analyzing global supply chains for unmanned aerial systems.

Guided by Moore School faculty Sjoerd Beugelsdijk and Marc van Essen, the students worked together to map the global supply chain for drones, develop a supplier database and establish more rigorous standards for the DoD.

The project gave Master of International Business students John Woodland, ’25, and Sebastian Heinz, ’25, the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge to a real-world challenge with significant implications.

“We were tasked with mapping global supply chains for the drone industry, identifying import and export policies relating to drone components, and building an understanding of drone components' global customer bases,” Woodland says.

Woodland said the scope of the project was daunting, but the team began by breaking drones into critical components to make the challenge more manageable.

“It was unclear where to begin on such a large project,” he says. “We started by breaking down drones into specific components through our own research and interviews with experts in the industry. From this list, we narrowed the scope of our analysis to eight critical components based on their functionality within the drone and their importance in the context of national security.”

As the team worked toward final deliverables, Heinz said he contributed to the project’s data collection and visualization efforts.

“My main task included extracting data regarding suppliers’ interconnections and designing the final recommendations to the Department of Defense,” Heinz says. “Aside from this, I also supported the design of the final recommendations to the DoD, including the slide deck and various data visualizations.”

To stay on track throughout the semester, the students met with their professors weekly as a class to present their research progress. In addition, they held separate team meetings each week to align their efforts and ensure everyone remained on the same page.

“At the end of the semester, we delivered several key materials, including a PowerPoint presentation, a Tableau dashboard mapping supply chain interconnectivity and a white paper outlining Russia’s methods for bypassing export restrictions,” Woodland says. “These recommendations were validated by industry experts, addressing gaps and the feasibility of their implementation.”

The research provided valuable insights for the Department of Defense.

“Our project offered both a high-level overview of the industry and a rich dataset of suppliers and their various tiers,” Heinz says.

The project also shed light on the complexities of global supply chains.

“Supply chain transparency is easier said than done, even in industries like defense,” Woodland says.

He noted that China’s control over rare natural resources and manufacturing capabilities drives U.S. dependence, even though domestic sourcing alternatives exist.

For Heinz, the experience highlighted the rapid growth and importance of the drone industry.

“I learned how prevalent drones are becoming — not just for photography but also for surveying, research and defense,” he says.

Beugelsdijk says the military now relies on drones.

“It is clear that drones have become key on the modern battlefield, too, as illustrated in Ukraine,” he says. “Not surprisingly, we also discussed the military aspects of drones in class. The project went way beyond the mapping of a supply chains only.”

Gaining an overarching view of drones and their increasing importance, Heinz and Woodland agree that the project helped them develop critical skills that will benefit their future careers.

“I developed skills in data collection, cleaning and leveraging to tell the story the data represents,” Woodland says.

Heinz says the skills their group learned are “essential in today’s global landscape.”

“This project taught me how to deal with ambiguity, conduct research effectively and present findings,” he says.

Beyond technical skills, the experience emphasized the importance of collaboration and adaptability.

“As an MIB student, it’s important to engage in global business outside the classroom to build a true international perspective,” Woodland says. “This project exemplified how political pressures influence sourcing decisions and supply chain resilience.”

The students expressed gratitude for the guidance of their professors and the support of the National Security Innovation Network.

“I cannot emphasize how much I appreciate the support of the two professors (Beugelsdijk and van Essen) in our project and the chemistry our team developed,” Woodland says.

The collaboration highlighted the talents of the Moore School’s MIB students and laid the foundation for future partnerships with the DoD, Beugelsdijk says.

“It is this kind of experiential learning that is both fun to do and critically important for student learning paths,” he says. “As professors, van Essen and I both learned from the Department of Defense’s use of drones as well.”

-Madeline Murch