Program
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Keynote speakers
Prof. Kannan Govindan
Director of CSOSRC, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources, Division of Research and Innovation
Professor Kannan Govindan is currently a Director of Center for Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain Resilience with the University of Adelaide, Australia and Chair Professor with University of Southern Denmark, Denmark. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher in ‘Engineering’ for five years in a row (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022) by Thomson-Reuters/Clarivate Analytics. He has published more than 400 international journal articles (with 52400+ citations and an h-index of 122) in leading journals such as Nature, European Journal of Operational Research, Omega, Decision Sciences, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Journal of Environmental Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Computers & Industrial Engineering, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, European Management Journal, International Journal of Production Economics and International Journal of Production Research. Many of his papers were selected as the ESI top 1% highly cited papers or 0.1% hot papers and highlighted as the Key Scientific Articles contributing to the excellence in Engineering and Environmental research. He is an executive editor of the Journal of Cleaner Production, Associate Editor of Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Senior Editor of Industrial Management and Data Systems, Editor of Annals of Operations Research, an area Editor of INFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research, and was a Guest Editor in journals such as Decision Sciences, European Journal of Operations Research, Computers and OR, Annals of OR, Journal of Cleaner Production, International Journal of Production Economics. Finally, he is an Editorial Board Member of several international journals. His research interests include digital supply chain, industry 4.0 on supply chain, sustainable development goals, reverse logistics, closed-loop supply chain, digitalized sustainable circular economy, green supply chain management, and sustainable supply chain management.
Title: Circular Economy 4.0: A Sustainability and Digitalisation Approach
Abstract: In the face of recent global industrialization and globalization, companies are increasingly prioritizing innovation efficiency and its role in sustainable development. This shift has sparked a growing interest in integrating innovative and digital strategies within organizational processes, giving rise to various theories of digitalized innovation. This keynote will delve into how Industry 4.0 technologies are set to transform the supply chain and circular economy. It will outline the potential for a transition towards a circular economy 4.0 and a low-carbon supply chain, supported by results and insights from real-world applications.
Dr. Michael Grieves
Executive Director, Digital Twin Institute
Dr. Michael Grieves is an internationally renowned expert on Digital Twins, a concept that he originated, and organizational digital transformation. His focus is on product development, engineering, systems engineering and complex systems, manufacturing, especially additive manufacturing, and operational sustainment. Dr. Grieves has written the seminal books on Product Lifecycle Management and the seminal papers and chapters on Digital Twins, He has consulted and/or done research at some of the top global organizations, including NASA, Boeing, Unilever, Newport News Shipbuilding, and General Motors. In addition to his academic credentials, Dr. Grieves has over five decades of extensive executive and deep technical experience in both global and entrepreneurial technology and manufacturing companies. He has been a senior executive at both Fortune 1000 companies and entrepreneurial organizations during his career. He founded and took public a national systems integration company and subsequently served as its audit and compensation committee chair. Dr. Grieves has substantial board experience, including serving on the boards of public companies in the United States, China, and Japan.
Title: Digital Twins as Crystal Balls
Abstract: Dr. Grieves will explore the transformative potential of stochastic modeling through the lens of digital twins and predictive analytics, often likened to modern-day crystal balls. Digital twins—virtual replicas of physical systems—leverage stochastic models to simulate and predict the behavior of complex systems under uncertainty. By integrating random variables and probability distributions, these models provide insights into future states and potential failures, enhancing decision-making and risk management across various industries. The keynote will delve into practical applications, from manufacturing to urban planning, illustrating how stochastic modeling drives innovation and reliability in an increasingly data-driven world.
Prof. Ger Koole
Professor/entrepreneur specialized in Operations Management and Business Analytics
Professor Koole is professor in Applied Probability at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He teaches Business Analytics and Stochastic Optimization to different groups of students. His research is centered around the control of queueing systems, and applications of that in various areas, especially call centers, health care and revenue management. Next to his academic work, he co-founded CCmath, a call center optimization company. He is also a founder of Adscience, which focuses on internet advertisement optimization, and he works for PICA, the VU University/VU medical center knowledge center on health care logistics. Since 2011 he develops his research collaborations with industry through ACBA, the Amsterdam Center for Business Analytics, together with the Faculty of Economics and CWI.
Title: Lessons from practice for call center workforce management
Abstract: In the scientific literature there are many papers on call centers but some of the most important issues for practice have largely remained unaddressed. In this talk we will address some of them, especially:
- service level variability, the fact our models give only the expected performance, and its relation to flexibility and real-time management;
- the validation of models, i.e., how wrong are the models we use?
- possibilities for the use of machine learning in staffing and scheduling.