Research by the Value Chain Innovation Initiative

We support rigorous research that is immediately applicable to real-world situations related to the choices and challenges faced by today’s global value chain leaders.

Projects may be structured as theoretical or model-based research, empirical research, or detailed field-based studies in any the following themes:

  • Electronic commerce
  • Global trade dynamics
  • Retail supply chains
  • Agricultural value chains
  • Data-driven decision-making
  • Electronic marketplaces
  • Omnichannel fulfillment and logistics
  • Service value chains
  • Product digitization
  • Shared value chain strategies
  • Social media in the value chain
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White Paper

Material Selection to Improve Sustainability in the Apparel Industry

Barchi Gillai, Jessica Landzberg, Nina Sabharwal, Hau L. Lee
Value Chain Innovation Initiative April92024

The large amounts of resources required for producing the materials our garments are made of and the significant levels of pollution associated with textile and garment production and disposal are some of the major environmental concerns…

White Paper

Exploring the Right Logistics Strategy for China-U.S. B2C Cross-Border E-commerce

Barchi Gillai, Hau L. Lee
Value Chain Innovation Initiative March2023

Sound logistics services are critical for supporting business-to-consumer cross-border e-commerce (CBEC), given consumers’ expectations for a fast, affordable, and reliable order delivery. Yet fulfilling orders placed by customers located in a…

Other Publication

Transforming Logistics with AI

Kuang Xu, Barchi Gillai
Value Chain Innovation Initiative February2023

The use of AI-based technologies in logistics has the potential to reduce operating costs, increase efficiency and service levels, and improve quality of life for some. Yet many hurdles to adopting such technologies, both technical and otherwise…

White Paper

The Road Toward A Circular Value Chain

Barchi Gillai, Hau L. Lee, Caroline Yuandi Ling
Value Chain Innovation Initiative July182022

The linear consumption model, under which products are made, consumed, and then thrown away, is reaching its limits. The excessive pressure this model puts on natural ecosystems, the pollution of air, land, and water bodies resulting from the…

Other Publication

How to Turn a Supply Chain Platform into an Innovation Engine

Kasra Ferdows, Hau L. Lee, Xiande Zhao
Harvard Business Review July12022 Vol. 100 Issue 4 Pages 126–133.

Most companies have digital platforms that support specific functions, such as supply chain management, product design, or operations, and they tightly regulate who may join the platform. The Chinese appliance manufacturer Haier has taken a…

White Paper

Sustainable Procurement Barometer 2021

Barchi Gillai, Hau L. Lee, Anna Kapica-Harward, Gaytree Lallchand, David McClintock
Value Chain Innovation Initiative August2021

Sustainability has become a topic of great interest and is increasingly viewed as a source of competitive advantage that innovative companies can tap into. Sourcing and procurement are key to a company’s efforts to drive sustainability. Yet,…

Other Publication

Value Chains in a Post-COVID World

Hau L. Lee, Haim Mendelson, Barchi Gillai
Value Chain Innovation Initiative June2021

On June 3, 2021, the Value Chain Innovation Initiative hosted the executive workshop “Value Chains in a Post-COVID World,” to explore the long-term impacts of the pandemic on companies’ value chains. Examples of topics covered include changes in…

White Paper

Creating Value with Blockchain: A Value Chain Management Perspective

Barchi Gillai, Haim Mendelson
Value Chain Innovation Initiative November2020

The goal of this paper is to evaluate blockchain technology in the context of value chain management, and identify the types of applications where the technology can potentially offer a real advantage over traditional solutions. We begin by…

Other Publication

Value Chains in Turbulent Times

Hau L. Lee, Haim Mendelson, Barchi Gillai
Value Chain Innovation Initiative November2020

Trade tensions, natural disasters, and the current global pandemic bring with them many challenges. Yet a variety of strategies, technologies, and digital innovations can help companies reduce risk and enhance supply chain resilience and agility…

Journal Article

Designing the Right Global Supply Chain Network

Morris A. Cohen, Hau L. Lee
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management January2020 Vol. 22 Issue 1 Pages 15-24.

This paper considers how research in operations management can support the development of strategies for the design and management of global supply chains. It includes a model-based statement of the problem and an overview of highlights of past…

Journal Article

Designing Contracts and Sourcing Channels to Create Shared Value

Joann de Zegher, Dan A. Iancu, Hau L. Lee
Manufacturing and Service Operations Management June2019 Vol. 21 Issue 2 Pages 251-477.

In complex supply chains, the benefits and costs of technological innovations do not always accrue equitably to all parties; thus, their adoption may critically depend on sourcing relationships and incentives. In a setting with uncertain and…

Other Publication

Leveraging Blockchain for Value Chain Innovation

Hau L. Lee, Haim Mendelson, Barchi Gillai
Value Chain Innovation Initiative May2019

Blockchain technology has real potential to provide business value. While many technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles still remain, blockchain offers significant opportunity for innovation along the value chain. 

White Paper

Value Chain Innovation: The Promise of AI

Hau L. Lee, Haim Mendelson, Sonali Rammohan, Lauren Blake
Value Chain Innovation Initiative October2018

Artificial intelligence has been touted as a technology with great promise for value chain improvements. This paper shares our understanding of how AI can improve various stages in the value chain, provides insight on how to design business…

Journal Article

Big Data and the Innovation Cycle

Hau L. Lee
Production and Operations Management September2018 Vol. 27 Issue 9 Pages 1642-1646.

Big data and the related methodologies could have great impacts on operations and supply chain management. Such impacts could be realized through innovations leveraging big data. The innovations can be described as first improving existing…

Journal Article

OM Forum — Benchmarking Global Production Sourcing Decisions: Where and Why Firms Offshore and Reshore

Morris Cohen, Shiliang Cui, Ricardo Ernst, Arnd Huchzermeier, Panos Kouvelis, Hau L. Lee, Hirofumi Matsuo, Marc Steuber, Andy Tsay
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management May82018 Vol. 20 Issue 3 Pages 389-600.

Problem definition: Manufacturing firms are undergoing restructuring defined by a collection of adjustments and decisions, which affect the source and destination of manufactured products throughout the firm’s global supply chain network. We…

Journal Article

Randomized Markdowns and Online Monitoring

Ken Moon, Kostas Bimpikis, Haim Mendelson
Management Science March2018 Vol. 64 Issue 3 Pages 1271-1290.

Online retail reduces the costs of obtaining information about a product’s price and availability and of flexibly timing a purchase. Consequently, consumers can strategically time their purchases, weighing the costs of monitoring and the risk of…

Journal Article

Socially and Environmentally Responsible Value Chain Innovations: New Operations Management Research Opportunities

Hau L. Lee, Christopher S. Tang
Management Science March2018 Vol. 64 Issue 3 Pages 983-996.

By examining the state of operations management (OM) research from 1980 to 2015 and by considering three new industry trends, we propose new OM research directions in socially and environmentally responsible value chains that fundamentally expand…

Mhuri Enterprise: Innovating the Value Chain of Small-Scale Pig-Farms in Zimbabwe

Hau L. Lee
2018
Mhuri Enterprise had beaten the odds, and figured out a way to cut production costs to bring its pigs to market and make a profit. Small-scale enterprises faced a large number of financial, regulatory, and business barriers in Zimbabwe, a country…
Journal Article

Sourcing Under Supplier Responsibility Risk: The Effects of Certification, Audit, and Contingency Payment

Li Chen, Hau L. Lee
Management Science September2017 Vol. 63 Issue 9 Pages 2795-2812.

Companies that source from emerging economies often face supplier responsibility risks, namely, financial and reputational burdens that the companies have to bear when their suppliers’ engagement in noncomplying labor and environmental practices…

White Paper

Technology in Agribusiness: Opportunities to Drive Value

Hau L. Lee, Haim Mendelson, Sonali Rammohan, Akhil Srivastava
Value Chain Innovation Initiative August2017

New technologies are driving fundamental shifts in the evolving agribusiness value chain, from operational excellence and supply chain orchestration, to transparency. Advancements in artificial intelligence, system design solutions, and…

Journal Article

Incentive Alignment and Coordination of Project Supply Chains

Shi Chen, Hau L. Lee
Management Science April2017 Vol. 63 Issue 4 Pages 1105-1025.

We consider a project supply chain where a manufacturer carries out a sequence of tasks, and each task requires certain key materials from a supplier. Since a fixed-price contract cannot attain channel coordination, we focus on time-based…

Journal Article

Using Value Chains to Enhance Innovation

Hau L. Lee, Glen Schmidt
Production & Operations Management April2017 Vol. 26 Issue 4 Pages 617-632.

Past research (along with our experience) suggests that a firm’s supply chain (i.e., value chain) plays an integral role in its ability to not only reduce cost via process innovation, but also in its ability to develop new products and services.…

Case

Beef in Brazil: Shrinking Deforestation While Growing the Industry

Hau L. Lee
2017

In June 2009, Greenpeace accused the cattle industry of contributing to deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Big brands that bought beef and leather were named as silent partners to the practice. Pressure from Greenpeace and the Brazilian…

Journal Article

Supply Chain Coordination with Multiple Shipments: The Optimal Inventory Subsidizing Contracts

Hau L. Lee, Sri Chen, Kamran Moinzadeh
Operations Research September302016 Vol. 64 Issue 6 Pages 1320-1337.

We study a supply chain involving a supplier–retailer relationship. When production lead-time is long and the selling season is short, the retailer has to place an order ahead of the season, which resembles the classical Newsvendor model. However…

Riders for Health

Research Brief

The systematic management of motorcycles used by healthcare workers improved health ministry system performance in Zambia.

Interactive Map

GPS trackers monitoring healthcare workers’ motorcycle trips were used to develop detailed maps of dirt paths.