Operations & supply chain management
Our interest in operations & supply chain management covers a wide range of topics, including:
- operations strategy
- service operations management
- innovation in operations
- new technology for operations
- healthcare operations management
- project management
- performance measurement
- enterprise resource planning
- logistics optimisation
- supply chain risk modelling
We work closely with a range of both private and public sector organisations, applying theory to real-world problems.
Our current work
- Innovation in supply networks in NHS Scotland
- Beyond performance measurement: contribution measurement
- Supply chain risk management
PhD opportunities
Academic staff active in this area may be available to supervise PhDs on the above topics.
Dr Robert Van der Meer
Robert has a broad research interest in operations strategy, innovation in operations and the implementation of new technology, such as automation and robotics.
He's currently working on a range of innovation projects in the National Health Service in Scotland, including methods to improve patient flow. He uses a multi-methodology approach to research, which may involve both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Robert is interested in practical research into project management. Working with Ann Hou he also has an interest in the effective implementation of modern ERP systems.
Dr Kerem Akartunali, Dr Ashwin Arulselvan
Members of the optimisation group are interested in developing theory and solution methods for challenging optimisation problems stemming from various applications that include transportation and logistics eg developing routing strategies for urban delivery companies or planning freight transportation on railways.
Topics that Kerem is currently working on include:
- network design for healthcare distribution systems
- extended formulations and valid inequalities for lot-sizing in remanufacturing
- production planning in manufacturing
- offshore windfarm installation logistics optimisation
Ashwin has been working on a number of network optimisation problems inherent in telecommunication networks and evacuation modelling for disasters or big events. More recently, he's also been working on developing algorithms for production planning problems stemming from the remanufacturing sector.
Professor Lesley Walls & Professor John Quigley
Lesley and John are interested in statistical and applied probability modelling for support decision making under uncertainty. Together they're currently working on a large research project in the area of supply chain risk modelling.
