Business analytics: From problem solving to problem discovery

Author's Biography

Yao Zhao is a Professor in Supply Chain Management at Rutgers Business School and the co-director of Supply Chain Analytics Lab at Rutgers University. He holds a PhD degree in industrial engineering and management sciences in 2002 from Northwestern University. His research interests lie in supply chain management, analytics and healthcare. Yao has published in leading operations research and management journals such as Operations Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (M&SOM), Production and Operations Management, and served as an associate editor for Operations Research and M&SOM. Yao has consulted with companies and government agencies, such as General Motors, Estee Lauder, Verizon, MTA — NY Transit, Special Olympics, Johnson and Johnson, Fannie Mae, Defense Logistics Agency and US Navy, Korean Air-Cargo, Robert Wood Johnson hospitals and Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan. His MIT System Design Management webinar on 787 Dreamliner (2013) attracted a worldwide attendance of 307 people from 29 countries and 50+ companies or organisations. Yao’s work on the Special Olympics shuttle system helped the 2014 USA Games (5,000 athletes, 1,000 coaches and 11 locations in a 40-mile radius in NJ) to achieve 100 per cent customer satisfaction in transportation with a budget of US$600,000. His work on the Pakistan energy crisis proves the ineffectiveness of the government’s then policy and suggests an alternative, which was partially adopted with a significant economic and social impact. Yao has launched a few popular courses on Coursera towards Supply Chain Analytics.

Andrew Johnson holds the rank of Lecturer of Supply Chain Management in the College of Business at the University of Central Florida. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Central Florida, Andrew was Assistant Professor of Supply Chain Management at Rowan University, where he was instrumental in the development of the Supply Chain Management major and its continued growth. Andrew’s general interest lies in supply chain management with special focus on transportation planning, inventory control, military applications, operations management and the integration of supply chain management with project management. His research has appeared in prestigious outlets such as Interfaces (an INFORMS journal), International Journal of Production Economics, and proceedings of various international conferences, among others. He has over 30 years’ practical experience in supply chain and operations across several industries — military, non-profit, chemical and oil and gas. Andrew is a 20-year Air Force veteran in the petroleum supply chain industry, retiring in 2007. He earned his PhD in supply chain management and marketing sciences from Rutgers University in 2015.