News > 2019 > New Chair in Supply Chain Operations Planning

New Chair in Supply Chain Operations Planning

February 13, 2019

HEC Montréal is pleased to announce a new Chair in Supply Chain Operations Planning, held by Professor Raf Jans. His five-year appointment took effect January 1, 2019, and will continue until December 31, 2023.

The goal of Professor Jans’ field of research, supply chain operations planning, is to optimize the planning of the different stages in the supply chain (purchasing, production and distribution).

This research has many concrete applications for industry, especially in the manufacturing sector. It is a flourishing field and an area of expertise in which HEC Montréal has stood out for several years now, in part thanks to Professor Jans’ work.

The Chair’s research will make it possible to come up with new mathematical models for different problems and to develop efficient algorithms to solve them. These models are sure to be valuable for organizations that can use them to cut costs and retain their competitive edge.

Professor Jans and his team of researchers will focus on three areas:

  • Production planning

This part of the research involves properly representing the complexities of production planning in mathematical models, so as to accurately portray actual conditions in the production process. Many aspects have to be considered at this stage, for instance product perishability or the use of different resources with limited capacity.