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Jayashankar Swaminathan - UNC-Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, NC, UNITED STATES

Jayashankar Swaminathan

GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Operations, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School | UNC-Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC, UNITED STATES

Jay Swaminathan is an internationally recognized thought leader in innovations in global operations and supply chain management.

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Biography

Jayashankar Swaminathan is an internationally recognized thought leader in innovations and productivity improvements related to global operations and supply chain management.

His areas of expertise include global health operations, supply chain management, global execution models, emerging markets, retailing, sustainable enterprise, operations management and e-commerce. He teaches courses in global operations, global supply chain strategy and management, and doing business in India.

Dr. Swaminathan has published dozens of articles in leading academic journals and is author of " Indian Economic Superpower: Fiction or Future?"

He has consulted with a number of firms, including AGCO, Agilent, CEMEX, Cisco, IBM, Kaiser, McKinsey, Nokia, Public Health Institute, Railinc, Samsung, Sara Lee, Schaeffler Group, TVS Motors, UNICEF and the U.S. Navy. His work with UNICEF led to major changes in the global supply chain planning and execution for Plumpy’Nut (RUTF) into Africa. His work to configure-to-order assembly using vanilla boxes impacted the electronics industry in the 1990s.

Industry Expertise (5)

Education/Learning

Training and Development

Retail

Manufacturing

Logistics and Supply Chain

Areas of Expertise (7)

Sustainability

International

Operations

E-Commerce

Retailing

Emerging Markets

Global Supply Chains

Accomplishments (4)

Global Business Center at UNC Kenan-Flagler: Director (professional)

The Global Business Center helps students, educators and companies develop the tools to build critical trust and business across boundaries.

National Science Foundation CAREER Award (professional)

Received the NSF's most prestigious award in support of early career-development activities

Production and Operations Management Society Fellow (professional)

Received the lifetime honor that recognizes exceptional intellectual contributions through research and teaching, in 2015

UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities, Fellow (professional)

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities is UNC-Chapel Hill’s faculty home for interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration.

Education (3)

Carnegie Mellon University: Ph.D., GSIA, Industrial Administration

Carnegie Mellon University: M.S., GSIA, Industrial Administration

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi: B. Tech, Computer Science

Affiliations (3)

  • Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS)
  • Manufacturing and Service Operations Society (MSOM)
  • Production and Operations Management Society

Media Appearances (7)

Jayashankar Swaminathan

Endeavors  online

2019-12-04

"I learned why they cared so much about their supply chain and how business optimization and simulation could be so impactful to a firm."

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In Trump era, it's up to companies to push climate agenda, advocates say

MarketWatch  online

2017-12-09

Companies are waking up to the reputational risk attached to ignoring climate change, which is “a big driver of the risk seen by companies.”

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Business schools breaking out of the 'West Is Best' mindset

Forbes  online

2013-04-29

“Companies from Beijing to Bangalore are learning to work in virtual teams, across time zones, with a management team that can understand what is happening in the rest of the world,” explains Jay Swaminathan, Associate Dean of the OneMBA executive MBA program. Jay discusses the gaps these companies need to bridge in order to be internationally competitive.

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Why Asia's elite is signing up for American MBAs

Fortune  online

2013-03-29

Asia’s business class is eager to fill the shortage of managerial talent in China by enrolling in executive MBA programs. "The UNC-Tsinghua EMBA program is rather unique in that it offers a dual emphasis on business and engineering," says Jayashankar Swaminathan, associate dean of the program.

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Can companies know every supplier?

Financial Times  online

2013-02-09

Jay advises on how companies can better manage the many layers of sub-suppliers.

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1-800-Flowers.com's response to a downturn

Financial Times  print

Jay Swaminathan writes a case study that shows how innovation can increase value in processes, from design to production to delivery.

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International programmes not providing a global education

Financial Times  online

Jay Swaminathan writes that Executive MBA programs tend to offer a single "global" model that applies strategies the same way to all markets.

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Articles (2)

Inventory Management in Humanitarian Operations: Impact of Amount, Schedule, and Uncertainty in Funding


Manufacturing and Service Operations Management

Funding for humanitarian operations in the global health sector is highly variable and unpredictable. The authors study the problem of managing inventory in the presence of funding constraints over a finite planning period. The goal is to determine the optimal procurement policy given the complexities associated with funding and also to analyze the impact of funding amount, funding schedule, and uncertainty around the funding timing on operations.

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Effect of Traffic on Sales and Conversion Rates of Retail Stores


Manufacturing and Service Operations Management

Attracting shoppers to stores and converting the incoming traffic into sales profitably are vital for the financial health of retailers. The authors use proprietary data pertaining to an apparel retailer to study the relationship between store traffic, labor, and sales performance.

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