Rutgers Business School Faculty Member Wins Bright Idea Award in Operations Management and Decision Sciences
October 28, 2009
Dr. Lei Lei , Chair and Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management and Marketing Sciences , and Director, Rutgers Center for Supply Chain Management, will be awarded the Bright Idea Award in Operations Management and Decision Sciences for two of her research papers on November 6, 2009. The Bright Idea Award, sponsored by the Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University and the NJPRO Foundation, gives recognition to the intellectual capital that is available within New Jersey. The papers by Dr. Lei, entitled “Scheduling vessels and container-yard operations with conflicting objectives” and “A zero-inventory production and distribution problem with a fixed customer sequence,” were identified as among the top 10 manuscripts from more than 130 publications. Both papers are aimed at reducing lead times while minimizing investments in time and cost. However, while the first paper focuses on reduction of the time to market for products that are produced internationally and shipped to different ports through multiple containers, the second paper focuses on integrated and coordinated customer delivery and service. Dr. Lei worked with co-researchers including Endre Boros , Professor of Operations Research, Yao Zhao , Associate ProfessorSupply Chain Management & Marketing Sciences and Hun Zhong on one paper to design a framework and formula which can help to minimize lead time and costs, making the process less stressful for global organizations and shipping companies alike. On the other paper, Dr. Lei worked with Ronald Armstrong , Professor and Vice Chair Department of Management Science & Information Systems, and Su Gao to develop a process that would enable manufacturers to minimize inventory and provide make-to-order options to their customers. “The primary motivation for writing both papers was the need to meet practical business requirements by providing effective decision support and tools that support business activities,” said Dr. Lei. “Companies with global operations face tremendous time and cost pressures when shipping their products to other countries. Recognizing these issues, by speaking to shipping companies, we attempted to use our ability, knowledge and expertise to design a methodology that will provide solutions to these concerns and pressures, and make businesses close to optimal.”Dr. Lei has also been instrumental in developing the Supply Chain Management program at Rutgers Business School. The program was recently recognized as a top-15 program in a report issued by AMR Research Inc. which assessed leading U.S.-based university supply chain programs in 2009. The Supply Chain Management and Marketing Sciences department contributes to the overall RBS goal of delivering the business, science, and technology credentials among students as demanded by leading corporate employers. Please visit business.rutgers.edu for more information.Media Contact: Daniel Stoll, 973-353-5879Department: Communications and Marketing1 Washington ParkNewark, NJ 07102Written by Richie Mehta, MBA 2010
