Logistics and Operations Management

Research focus

The Peer review has evaluated this group as Average

This research area deals with the design and management of source-make-deliver processes in industrial and service companies, taking both an intra-company perspective and an inter-company (or supply chain) perspective. The general aim is to investigate, conceptualize, and develop new management approaches, modelling and solving techniques, methodologies and information support systems. Issues are addressed at the strategic, tactical and operational level, taking into consideration technical, managerial and organizational issues at the same time. The research activity includes different types of researches: - surveys and observatories aiming at describing the dynamics of adoption of the operations and supply chain practices in different industries (e.g. the “Observatories” line of research in the e-Supply Chain and the luxury supply chain areas, the Lean Production centre of excellence, the Six Sigma Club); - the adaptation and tailoring of existing techniques and methodologies to new application areas (e.g. the application of operations management techniques, originally developed in the manufacturing field, to the service sector); - the development of innovative design and management techniques and methodologies (e.g. new value assessment techniques, process and ROI models to assess RFId-based projects, operations management models for the service sector). In terms of scope, there are both researches focused on specific industries (e.g. fast moving consumer goods, healthcare, building, luxury) or specific types of companies (e.g. SMEs versus large corporations) and general-purpose researches (typically on horizontal themes such as the role of ICTs on operations and supply chain management, value-assessment methodologies, lean manufacturing, etc.). As for the contents, the researches focus on one or more of the following topics: ? Distribution network design, with specific reference to the assessment of different types of distribution networks - which differ in terms of length and width, make or buy decisions, transport modes, etc. - in various industries, with the aim of providing both benchmark frameworks and design methodologies. ? Supply chain planning, with emphasis on the development of new algorithms (for demand, inventory and production planning), the creation of value trough the integration of the entire process (from demand to supply planning) and the assessment of the value of supply chain planning improvement projects. ? Supply chain integration and collaboration, both in terms of execution (digitalization of the inter-company order-to-payment cycle) and in terms of planning (vendor managed inventory, collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment) and design (complexity management), developing both the new integrated supply chain process models and the implementation roadmaps. 38 ? Warehouse and transportation management, including both the development of new methodologies (picking, transportation routing, etc.) and of comparative frameworks for different systems (automated warehouses versus traditional warehouses, road versus rail transportation modes, etc.). ? Operations and supply chain improvement, ranging from the development of supply chain performance measurement systems to the design of new methodologies for the operations efficiency improvement and the value assessment of operations and supply chain projects. ? ICT-enabled supply chain management, with an overarching consideration of the ICTs (supply chain management software, Radio Frequency Identification, Mobile and Wireless Technologies, Business-to-Business, eProcurement, etc.) and a specific insight on the change in supply chain processes and the value accruing from the adoption of these technologies. ? Reverse logistics, considering both the product traceability (especially for food and drugs) and the collection of packaging (primary, secondary and tertiary) and products (defective, unsold, deteriorated, dismissed) from the field, especially focusing on the network design and the product design for reverse logistics and disassembly. ? Service management, which is addressed in two parallel directions: (1) the service offering of manufacturing companies (e.g. after sales service) with the analysis of the hurdles and opportunities to manage an integrated offer; (2) the development of specific operations management approaches, methodologies and techniques for the service sector. ? Lean operations and lean supply chain, both for manufacturing and service organisations, with a broad view, ranging from the identification and reduction of the adoption barriers, to the analysis of the organisational impact of the operations, to the development of order release models to level workload, to the extension of the lean approach to service companies. ? Operations/Production Strategy, with a twofold focus: (1) the strategic impact of the main operations-related choices and managerial approaches on corporate strategy; (2) the development of models to assess the value accruing from the adoption of the typical operations strategy levers (production capacity, automation level, vertical integration, etc.).

Departments

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Gestionale (DIG)

Professors

Full Professors
Brandolese Armando
Garetti Marco
Marchet Gino
Portioli Staudacher Alberto
Pozzetti Alessandro
Ruggeri Remigio
Sianesi Andrea
Wegner Renato
Associate Professors
Cigolini Roberto
Perego Alessandro
Taisch Marco
Assistant Professors Brun Alessandro
Caridi Maria
Corti Donatella
Melacini Marco
Miragliotta Giovanni