Dept: Supply Chain and Information Systems
Keywords: Closed-loop supply chains, Reverse logistics, Supply forecasting, Empirical research methods, Value of information sharing
Research Interests
My research thus far has focused on two areas: 1) supply management for reusable products and 2)survey research methods for supply chain management. Both of these areas are critical insupply chain management research. The first area has high relevancy to sustainability practices, while the second area has implications for how supply chain management research can effectively contribute to practice. Specific details about my research in each area are provided below.
Supply management for reusable products
There is a growing focus on sustainability in corporate objectives. A sustainable operation is an important driver for increased profitability and effective management. The focus of my research in this area is on the management of the supply of reusable products (i.e., cores) for sustainable operations. Specifically, my research has focused on the acquisition of cores from third parties (e.g., core brokers and salvage operators) in a remanufacturing environment. Remanufacturing operations often have multiple sources of cores. The primary and least expensive source of cores is product returns from the customer due to end-of-use. Secondary sources of cores are third -party suppliers of cores. Planning core acquisition activities is difficult because of the uncertainty in the quantity and quality of cores from the primary and secondary sources. Two major research issues which have captivated my interest in this area are: (1) Forecasting methods used for planning acquisition quantities (2) Sourcing relationships for implementing an acquisition plan. I have applied statistical (e.g., Bayesian modelling) and optimization approaches to addressing these two issues. I have also conducted a survey of north American automotive parts remanufacturers to delve deeper into the practical issues faced by such companies in utilizing third-party vendors extensively for their supply of cores.
Outside of the above two research issues, I have been investigating another factor that is often critical to the success of a sourcing relationship- information sharing. In particular, how the sharing of delivery progress information by suppliers of reuse material can be effectively used to decrease supply chain costs and reduce the risk of production delays.
Survey research methods for supply chain management
My other research interest is in the area of survey research methods. In particular, I have been investigating ways to improve non-response bias assessment in supply chain management research. An analysis of the statistical power of tests for non-response bias, in leading journals in operations management and logistics, indicated that some of these tests suffered from very low statistical power. By considering the concepts of individual and complete statistical power I was able to provide tailored recommendations for how to conduct tests for non-response bias in logistics and operations management research. I incorporated my analyses and findings, into two papers which were published in Decision Sciences and the International Journal for Physical Distribution and Logistics Management (IJPDLM). I am currently investigating appropriate ways of using survey sampling weights in supply chain management research involving dyads.
Email: tclottey at iastate.edu, Phone: 4-8198