Hossein Baharmand

The volatility of demand, the imbalance between supply and demand, and disruptions are all factors that affect supply chains and call for a high level of resilience and agility. Supply Chain managers, therefore, need decision-making support systems that would enable them to make the most optimal trade-off decision from an integrated perspective (sustainable/fair vs. efficient/lean vs. agile/resilient/effective). Building on foundations in computer science and operation management, I research the development of decision support systems and the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to address trade-offs in (i) routing/location/allocation; (ii) planning/scheduling; (iii) coordination and process orchestration; and (iv) performance evaluation. I also investigate how emerging ICTs such as blockchain, AI, and IoT can help to accomplish the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. Areas of application include commercial and humanitarian supply chains.

Methodologically, I have experience and expertise in using qualitative methods (e.g., structured/semi-structured interviews, surveys, field observation, and content analysis) as well as quantitative methods (e.g., questionnaires, multi-criteria/attribute decision analysis, multi-objective programming, and Monte Carlo Simulation).