Edward Sweeney 
Professor of Logistics & Systems | Aston University
Birmingham, UNITED KINGDOM
Ed Sweeney leads a multidisciplinary group of academics with interests in logistics, transport, supply chain systems and allied fields.
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Biography
Ed Sweeney is Professor of Logistics and Systems, and Director of the Aston Logistics & Systems Institute at Aston University. In this capacity he leads a multidisciplinary group of academics with interests in logistics, transport, supply chain systems and allied fields. From early 2014 to late 2017 he was Head of Aston’s Engineering Systems & Management (ESM) group, one of six subject groups in the University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. Ed was a member of the University Senate from 2014 to 2017 and is a member of the School Senior Management Team, as well as of many University committees and working groups. His teaching at Aston embraces full-time foundation year, undergraduate and postgraduate modules, as well as work-based programmes at foundation, B.Sc. and M.Sc. levels. Ed’s current research focusses on issues of supply chain design and integration, with a particular emphasis on the divergence between theory and practice. In addition to his teaching and research, Ed works tirelessly in his outreach activities with business and industry, including through his membership of the West Midlands regional committee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). This work embraces executive education, knowledge transfer, research commercialisation and workshop facilitation.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Supply Chain Learning
Logistics
Supply Chain Design and Integration
Environmentally Sustainable Third Party Logistics
Logistics and Supply Chain
Education (3)
The University of Hull: PhD, Supply Chain Management 2013
University of Warwick: MPhil, Manufacturing Economics 1995
Trinity College, Dublin: BA, Mechanical and Manufacturing EngineeringG 1986
Links (3)
Media Appearances (2)
Where next for the blockchain revolution?
The Telegraph online
2019-01-14
Business logistics expert Prof Edward Sweeney, of Aston University, says blockchain is “just one of myriad potentially disruptive technological ...
No-deal Brexit scenario would create serious traffic congestion and supply chain chaos
The Conversation online
2019-01-08
With less than three months until the UK’s planned departure date from the EU, 89 lorries took part in a test run of Operation Brock – the Department for Transport’s contingency plan to manage the disruption that may be caused at the port of Dover and beyond by a no-deal Brexit.
Articles (6)
Disruptive digital technology adoption in global supply chains
Engineering Systems & ManagementBusinesses need to cope with myriad challenges including increasingly competitive markets and rapid developments in digital technology. The overall aim of the research described in this paper is to generate fresh insights into the impacts of digitalisation on the design and management of global supply chains. It focuses on understanding the current adoption rate of new technologies in global supply chains, identifying perceived opportunities and challenges and clarifying the critical factors driving (and inhibiting) their deployment.
Responding to disruptions in the pharmaceutical supply chain
Clinical PharmacistDrug shortages and supply chain disruptions can affect healthcare provision. This study sought to determine the response actions after a supply chain disruption occurs, which previous research has largely ignored.
The human chain in logistics and supply chain management research and practice
Journal of Supply Chain Management, Logistics and ProcurementIt is now widely recognised that effective logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) plays a vital role in economic and wider societal well-being. A key facet of contemporary supply chain management (SCM) thinking is the shift away from traditionally fragmented supply chain configurations to ones that are characterised by high levels of integration of supply chain processes and data. Experience suggests that success in achieving higher levels of supply chain integration (SCI) depends on both physical and technical aspects (ie the so-called ‘hard-wiring’), as well as human and behavioural components (ie the so-called ‘soft-wiring’).
A Simulation Study on the Potential of Moving Urban Freight by a Cross-City Railway Line
SustainabilityThis paper analyses the scope for moving urban freight through rail by evaluating the utilisation levels of the Cross-City railway line in The United Kingdom (UK), running between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street. A simulation model of the railway system was built and implemented using SIMUL8 computer software. The results from the simulation model suggest that the railway line is being under-utilised. These low utilisation levels of the line presented a case to propose three scenarios that has the potential to carry urban freight by rail through Lichfield Trent Valley to Birmingham New Street Station.
Environmental Sustainability in the Follow-Up and Evaluation Stage of Logistics Services Purchasing: Perspectives from UK Shippers and 3PLs
SustainabilityThe purpose of the research described in this paper is to investigate the role played by the green agenda and sustainability in the follow-up and evaluation stage of the purchasing of logistics services. This stage is relatively under-explored in the extant academic literature. However, there is some evidence of a divergence between the perspectives of shippers and forwarders in this area. In this context, therefore, two carefully selected groups of UK-based supply chain management professionals—from shippers (i.e., manufacturers and retailers) and third-party logistics (3PLs)—were investigated using semi-structured interviews.
Strategic adoption of logistics and supply chain management
International Journal of Operations & Production ManagementThe purpose of this paper is to develop a thorough understanding of the adoption of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) in practice, particularly at a strategic level, through an investigation of the four perspectives taxonomy of the relationship between logistics and SCM.
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