'Joe Thomas is a true renaissance academic who has integrated research, teaching, practice and leadership. He's advised numerous companies through board positions and consulting engagements. His research has identified and focused on real issues in operations management, like overcoming the dark side of worker flexibility and other aspects of the human component of operations. And he has then incorporated research findings into his teaching, including cases on issues like global operations that we can all benefit from. Joe is so admired by his colleagues that they chose him to lead the Johnson School as Dean. Joe is a model and an inspiration for all of us. This book, with its emphasis on cross-functional approaches to inventory management, is an excellent way to honor Joe on his retirement.'Marshall L FisherUniversity of Pennsylvania'Joe Thomas is one of the Grand Masters in our field of operations management. I will always remember him fondly as someone who has accomplished so much, with such a high status in our profession, and yet at the same time, a humble, warm and gentle scholar. In my early student days, I read of Joe's work in multi-echelon inventory systems. He has made deep contributions in manufacturing and distribution network designs and operations management, before the term 'supply chain management' became popular. He is also one of the early scholars in operations management who recognized and promoted the importance of looking at manufacturing and operations as a strategy for a firm. I have learned a great deal from both his writings and from interactions with him face to face. Of course, Joe has also been serving our community as an editor and through professional society leadership. I had first-hand experience from his editorship directly, since he processed some of the papers that I published. That experience also taught me how to have high standards, be encouraging, and be generous in giving advice and inputs in the editorial process. As a junior researcher at the time, such editorial support was both helpful and served as a great model. As a senior colleague, Joe has always treated me as a friend, making me feel comfortable and easy to exchange with him. Over the years, many of our colleagues have benefited tremendously from his mentorship and support. While he is a very serious researcher and holds very high standards in his work, Joe's personality radiates warmth and energy to those around him. And then he adds humor at the right time. I will never forget when Joe led all of us at a conference honoring the retirement of El Buffa to sing a song with lyrics that he composed himself, titled 'Just-in-Time.' The lyrics contained lessons in a very funny way. Joe is a pioneer in research (as well as in teaching and practice) that connected inventory management to other business functions such as human resources, marketing, finance and accounting. Thus, with its emphasis on cross-functional inventory research, this book is an excellent way to honor him on his retirement. It is a privilege for us to recognize and celebrate with him all he has done for our profession!'Hau L LeeStanford UniversityCross-Functional Inventory Research details path-breaking analytical, empirical and behavioral operations management research that interfaces inventory with the business functions of human resources, finance, accounting, information technology, and globalization.For about fifty years, inventory research was conducted with a silo mentality with assumptions of exogenous pricing, price-independent demand distribution, rational human decision making, and lack of information sharing. Over the past few years, there is increased realization that this kind of analysis and thinking will not be useful for the modern business world. This has motivated inventory researchers to reach across different business functional areas such as finance, marketing, human capital and information technology and identify research questions that are more appropriate for the modern, complex, data-driven business environments. Cross-Functional Inventory Research contains path-breaking research developments in cross-functional inventory research. The methodologies applied to answer these research questions cover the complete gamut of empirical, analytical, and behavioral approaches.

Quantitative models and computer-based tools are essential for making decisions in today's business environment. These tools are of particular importance in the rapidly growing area of supply chain management. This volume is a unified effort to provide a systematic summary of the large variety of new issues being considered, the new set of models being developed, the new techniques for analysis, and the computational methods that have become available recently. The volume's objective is to provide a self-contained, sophisticated research summary - a snapshot at this point of time - in the area of Quantitative Models for Supply Chain Management. While there are some multi-disciplinary aspects of supply chain management not covered here, the Editors and their contributors have captured many important developments in this rapidly expanding field. The 26 chapters can be divided into six categories. Basic Concepts and Technical Material (Chapters 1-6). The chapters in this category focus on introducing basic concepts, providing mathematical background and validating algorithmic tools to solve operational problems in supply chains. Supply Contracts (Chapters 7-10). In this category, the primary focus is on design and evaluation of supply contracts between independent agents in the supply chain. Value of Information (Chapters 11-13). The chapters in this category explicitly model the effect of information on decision-making and on supply chain performance. Managing Product Variety (Chapters 16-19). The chapters in this category analyze the effects of product variety and the different strategies to manage it. International Operations (Chapters 20-22). The three chapters in this category provide an overview of research in the emerging area of International Operations. Conceptual Issues and New Challenges (Chapters 23-27). These chapters outline a variety of frameworks that can be explored and used in future research efforts. This volume can serve as a graduate text, as a reference for researchers and as a guide for further development of this field.

The new digital economy has pronounced implications for corporate strategy, marketing, operations, information systems, customer service, global supply-chain management, and product distribution. This handbook examines most aspects of electronic commerce, including electronic storefronts, online business, consumer interface, business-to-business networking, digital payment, legal issues, information product development, and electronic business models. An indispensable reference for professionals in e-commerce and Internet business.

The first comprehensive book to uniquely combine the three fields of systems engineering, operations/production systems, and multiple criteria decision making/optimization Systems engineering is the art and science of designing, engineering, and building complex systems—combining art, science, management, and engineering disciplines. Operations and Production Systems with Multiple Objectives covers all classical topics of operations and production systems as well as new topics not seen in any similiar textbooks before: small-scale design of cellular systems, large-scale design of complex systems, clustering, productivity and efficiency measurements, and energy systems. Filled with completely new perspectives, paradigms, and robust methods of solving classic and modern problems, the book includes numerous examples and sample spreadsheets for solving each problem, a solutions manual, and a book companion site complete with worked examples and supplemental articles. Operations and Production Systems with Multiple Objectives will teach readers: How operations and production systems are designed and planned How operations and production systems are engineered and optimized How to formulate and solve manufacturing systems problems How to model and solve interdisciplinary and systems engineering problems How to solve decision problems with multiple and conflicting objectives This book is ideal for senior undergraduate, MS, and PhD graduate students in all fields of engineering, business, and management as well as practitioners and researchers in systems engineering, operations, production, and manufacturing.

"This book examines related research in decision, management, and other behavioral sciences in order to exchange and collaborate on information among business, industry, and government, providing innovative theories and practices in operations research"--Provided by publisher.