Logistics and Operations Management

Head of Section: Prof. Mohamed Naim
Tel: +44(0) 29 2087 4635
Fax: +44(0) 29 2087 4301
Email: NaimMM@Cardiff.ac.uk

The Logistics and Operations Management Section is an interdisciplinary group of academics, with backgrounds in economics, engineering, geography, law, management and psychology, who aim to advance academic and practical knowledge in the totality of logistics and operations management by addressing the issues of:

• Factors (processes, people, technology, finance)
• Flows (material, information, resources, cash)
• Levels (policy, strategy, tactics, execution)
• Modes (air, sea, road, rail)
• Nodes (manufacturing, ports, retailing)
• Scale (units, dyads, triads, chains, networks)

We are also extending our portfolio of research to include aspect of service operations such as in public services, such as healthcare and government, and the 'servitisation' of products.

We are one of the largest groupings of academic staff in this subject area internationally and we are highly active in terms of research output, postgraduate teaching, and postgraduate research. The combination of skills on offer makes the Section an attractive location for students to pursue their doctoral studies over a wide range of specialist areas. A number of Research Groups and Units are to be found within the Section and while these provide a focal point for academics and students with similar research interests they also provide opportunities for cross-fertilization of ideas and the promotion of synergies. This has been encapsulated in our strategic research themes.

Our research and teaching is highly relevant to practice, with advice on activities coming from a highly active Advisory Group.

Our Vision

We aim to be the world's leading interdisciplinary teams of academics in advancing knowledge, theory and practice in logistics and operations management. New strategic research themes

1. Fit supply chain (coordinated by Jon Gosling and Barry Evans)
2. Factories of the future (coordinated by Dr. Pauline Found)
3. Smart logistics (coordinated by Dr. Yingli Wang)
4. Service operations paradigms (coordinated by Dr. Sharon Williams)
5. Advanced Methods (coordinated by Dr. Stephen Disney)
6. Learning to Learn (coordinated by Dr. Robert Mason)

Research Groups and Centres

The Logistics & Operations Management Section is home to the following research groups and centres:

• Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Systems at Cardiff
• Centre for Automotive Industry Research
• Lean Enterprise Research Centre
• Logistics Systems Dynamics Group
• Transport and Shipping Research Group

Awards and Distinctions

Shingo Prize

Dr Pauline Found was a recent recipient of the Shingo Prize. Cogent Power wanted to better compete in a global marketplace and this required being able to outperform low-cost economies. Dr Pauline Found from Cardiff Business School developed a business model with Cogent for sustainable improvement when implementing the principles of Lean Thinking

James Cooper Memorial Cup

Yingli Wang, lecturer in the Logistics and Operations Management section, has been awarded the prestigious James Cooper Memorial Cup by the Logistics Research Network committee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (UK) for 2009.

The award, which has been presented annually since 2000, is for PhD research that makes an original contribution to the field and is directly relevant to the management of logistics and distribution.

ARCOM Best Paper Award

Jon Gosling, co-authoring with Mohamed Naim, Paola Sassi, Bob Lark and Laura Purvis, won the best paper for the 2008 ARCOM conference . The paper explores the role of a supply chain intervention sub-system in ensuring building adaptability.

Dissemination

Members of this section publish regularly in academic journals, give papers at conferences, write books, and teach a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Examples of journals in which their research work has appeared are:

• European Journal of Operational Research
• International Journal of Logistics Management
• International Journal of Logistics, Research and Application
• International Journal of Operations & Production Management
• International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management
• International Journal Production Economics
• International Journal Production Research
• Maritime Economics and Logistics
• Maritime Policy and Management
• OMEGA; International Journal of Management Science
• Production Planning and Control
• Supply Chain Management; an International Journal
• Transport Research - Part E: Logistics and Transport Review and Marine Policy