【Topic】Agile Operations and Supply Chain Management

【Speaker】 Biying Shou, Assistant Professor, Department of Management Sciences, City University of Hong Kong

【Time】 2008-3-6 16:30-18:00

【Venue】 453, Weilun Building

【Language】 Chinese

【Organizer】 Department of Management Science and Engineering, Tsinghua SEM

Abstract

With globalization and technology innovation, the world is fast changing. How should manufacturers and retailers deal with it? One key strategy is agile operations and supply chain management. In this talk we will discuss what agility is, what the main drivers for agility are, and how to achieve agility. Two examples will be provided. The first example studies workforce management and control in agile operations. In particular, we look at a stochastic production system featuring agile worker and automated machinery and we prove the structure of the optimal policy to achieve best performance. The second example discusses agile supply chain management for retailers with short-life-cycle products (such as fashionable goods). Interesting future research topics will also be discussed in the area of agile operations and supply chain management.

Biography

Dr. Biying Shou is an assistant professor at the Department of Management Sciences at City University of Hong Kong. She received the B.E degree in Management Information Systems from Tsinghua University in 2000, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University (USA) in 2002 and 2004,

respectively. Her main research interest lies in the area of operations and supply chain management.

Dr. Shou has various industry experiences with companies including General Motors, Motorola, and 4R Systems. She served as President of INFORMS Northwestern student chapter and as organizing committee member of the Managing Risk in an Uncertain World Symposium in Chicago.