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The Thomas and Joan Read Center for Distribution Research and Education, part of the Industrial Distribution Program at Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), recently offered short courses in El Salvador and Panama. A two-day short course, Customer Stratification & Pricing Optimization, was conducted in El Salvador and Panama in association with Texas A&M Former Students from El Salvador Foundation. The courses were attended by46participants in El Salvador and31participants in Panama.

The course was taught by Dr. F. Barry Lawrence and Dr. Esther Rodriguez-Silva. Lawrence is the Leonard & Valerie Bruce Chair Professor in Industrial Distribution and director of the Thomas & Joan Read Center for Distribution Research & Education. Rodriguez-Silva is a TEES assistant research professor.

Attendees included professionals and management representatives from large, medium and small national and multinational companies in these countries. Attending companies in El Salvador included C Imberton, Puma Energy, DIANA, Distribuidora Zablah, Distribuidora Nacional, Banco Davivienda, and Banco Agricola. Attending companies in Panama included Chevron Energy, Agencias Motta, Cable And Wireless Panama, Banco General, Credicorp, Petroleos Delta, Grupo Goly, and Industrias Express.

"Our partnership with the Industrial Distribution Program from Texas A&M has allowed us to bring excellence in education to Central America and Panama," said Felipe Torres, president of the Texas A&M Former Students from El Salvador Foundation. "We have impacted more than 350 executives over the past four years and will continue to do so in a much broader range in the years to come."

The Thomas and Joan Read Center’s professional development programs are designed to increase distributor’s competitive advantage and profitability. Read Center faculty and researchers focus on relevant and actionable education through proven methods and tools.

The Read Center’s educational programs are based on research consortia and applied industry projects in various lines of trade. The knowledge generated by these industry-funded consortia, projects and professional development programs enhances the undergraduate and graduate education by bringing real-world distribution problems, case studies, and examples to the curriculum.

For more information, please visit http://readcenter.tamu.edu