Centre for Supply Chain Improvement

Who we are

Efficient and sustainable supply chain operations are vital to the growth of the economy and for servicing daily needs of industry and consumers. Due to highly competitive markets, there is an urgent need for actions for companies to improve their supply chain operations and reduce costs.

Derby Business School has a long-standing record as a Centre of Excellence in the area of supply chain and logistics, with its relationship with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply as well as the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. The Centre for Supply Chain Improvement comprises of industry-led, experienced academics practising applied research to solve business challenges and is innovative to identify and address business opportunities.

Over the years, we developed a range of research expertise in the areas of radio-frequency identification (RFID) applications, systematic innovation, lean & agile manufacturing, quality management, responsive & reconfigurable manufacturing/supply chain, green/sustainable supply chain, cost & system optimisation, system modelling & simulation, and multi-agent systems.

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We engage in knowledge transfer to assist companies in advancing their business operations to achieve competitive advantage in their respective markets.

What we do

The Centre aims to pursue business excellence in three focuses: technology innovation, system improvement and process re-engineering. This excellence will be targeted, as illustrated below, vertically within the organisation and horizontally across the supply chains.

Take technology as an example, Radio-Frequency Identification technology (RFID) is increasingly being deployed as a tool for unique object tagging and identification to deliver a range of benefits, such as accurate stock location and elimination of inventory count (vertical) and enhanced supply chain visibility of goods (horizontal). For system improvement, manufacturing systems and distribution systems are vital for achieving efficiency gain and cost reduction and their information sharing is crucial for the entire supply chain operations. As for process, individual processes such as sourcing, outsourcing etc. could be revised to maximise their potential for cost reduction.

 

Who we work with

The members of the Centre have strong collaboration with academia and industry, and have successfully secured various funded projects from the EU FP7 (Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme CIP), UK EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Science Research Council), Technology Strategy Board and Manufacturing Advisory Services.  Our industrial partners include large organisations, such as DHL, NHS (National Health Service), Tesco Express and Caterpillar, and a range of SMEs across different industries - logistics and distribution, warehousing, packaging, manufacturing, software development, sales and service sector.

What we offer

As an organisation's activities are closely associated to the wider scope of their supply network, we explore for the most efficient and cost-effective roadmap to excellence within and across the supply chains. We offer a range of services:

• Short courses and training solutions
• Professional skills development and work-based learning programmes
• Consultancy and advice services
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) Scheme
• Postgraduate education - MSc in Supply Chain Improvement, PhD
• Student projects

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