Research Interest

Spreadsheet as an exploratory modeling and decision-support tool
The spreadsheet is a common tool in the modern office, but however its power and flexibility are really unappreciated. While generally used for computational modeling, spreadsheets are really more potent and appropriate for exploratory modeling. I identify and exploit unique spreadsheet features not available in other platforms to enable its direct use by executives to discover and diagnose challenges at work and help propose actionable resolutions. This is to enable spreadsheet models to be developed and used properly as valuable organizational assets: depository of institutional knowledge, powerful decision-support systems, and workable systems prototypes.

Conceptual design of complex IT, service delivery, and manufacturing systems
Process research has been either in finding optimal solution to high-level monolithic conceptualizations (in operations management) or detailed business work processes design and evaluation (in information systems development). My interest, bridging these two extremes, is in looking at proper framing and decomposition of large real-world problems: hierarchical modeling of sub-problems with overlapping time horizons, linking constraints, feedback mechanisms, and incremental re-planning. This work is to find and justify good efficient heuristics and unconventional innovative approaches like market-based coordination methods, and their incorporation into actual operations systems. Areas addressed include capacity and technology planning, supply and demand matching, perishable and seasonal products management, and complex, large-scale supply chain services time-sensitive flexible coordination, with applications to shipping, port operations management and fourth-party logistics.

Applications of IT in manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, and other services
I am interested in the understanding what technology has to offer, and realistic evaluations of what works and don’t in the application of information technology for operations management, whether in manufacturing, distribution, or general services. The research is to discover where they can be appropriately applied, and how best to make use of available information to reduce cost and improve service performance. Increasing the challenge goes further beyond operational and tactical improvements, leveraging technology to create new business value propositions and innovative concepts like crossdocking operations, vendor-managed inventory, non-asset owning fourthparty logistics and direct sales businesses.