Manufacturing Operations
This department encourages the publication of manuscripts that significantly enhance our understanding of how to manage production and distribution processes of manufacturing companies, i.e. the ones that produce physical goods as opposed to services. A variety of issues that relate to the operations management of such companies are of interest to the department, from production planning and scheduling, to inventory management, quality improvement and control, procurement and outsourcing practices, to facilities location, capacity expansion, equipment selection and layout design. We will provide a more detailed list of topics below, without implying that this list is exhaustive in any way.
We welcome papers from the spectrum of paradigms in the broad operations management field. We are open to a diverse set of rigorous methodological approaches, from operations research modeling, to economics or behavioral based models, to surveys, experiments, field based and empirical studies. We are interested in the creation of new theoretical and conceptual models as well as the methodological deepening and rigorous empirical testing of existing theories. Papers that deal at a high level design and operations decisions, or are concerned with tactical day-to-day execution and control issues, or display innovative applications and state-of-the-art practices in manufacturing management are equally welcomed for submission.
The predominant criterion of acceptance for publication of a submitted paper will be its ability to clearly communicate both managerial relevance and methodological rigor.
The fundamental evaluation question posed is if the studied issues in the paper are of significant interest to practicing operations managers and the insights provided constitute substantial contribution to current knowledge and operations practice. Even though there are no restrictions on research methods used, the paper must meet the highest standards of scientific rigor concerning the appropriate selection and competent use of the applied method.
If there are questions on the appropriateness of submission of a particular paper to the department, we invite the author(s) to contact, preferably via email, the department editor. He will be glad to perform an early screening and advise on the suitability of the submission to the department.
Sample list of topics:
• Demand forecasting processes for manufactured goods
• Inventory management
• Production planning and control
• Production sequencing and scheduling
• Lot Sizing and Coordinated Replenishment issues for manufactured and procured raw materials and components
• Quality management and continuous improvement practices
• Quality and reliability control
• Aggregate and workforce planning
• Capacity expansion
• Capacity management
• Productivity measurement and improvement
• Assembly line balancing and production line design
• Material requirements and enterprise resource planning
• Information technology and advanced manufacturing practices
• Lean operations practices
• Synchronous manufacturing and bottleneck scheduling
• Stochastic modeling of production systems
• Managing manufacturing lead times
• Make or buy decisions, and associated outsourcing practices
• Contract manufacturing and third party operations & logistics practices
• Supplier management practices for manufacturing companies
• Push and pull production systems
• Hierarchical production planning
• Simulation of production systems and their applications
• Work-in-process management and production lead time control
• Shop floor control
• Design of facilities networks
• Facility location
• Facility layout
• Equipment and manufacturing technology selection
• Interfaces between design and manufacturing practices
• Information technology and process reengineering
• Advanced warehousing, material handling and distribution practices for manufacturing companies
• Behavioral management and team work elements in manufacturing management
• Group technology and focused manufacturing practices
• Global operations issues
• Managing manufacturing operations in developing countries
• Integrated risk management for global operations.
New Product Development, R&D, and Project Management
Innovation and new product development are major drivers of growth, renewal, and competitive advantage for firms across all industries. For the purposes of this department, this includes product, process, service, and business-model innovation, identification and commercialization of new technologies, the management of research, and the design, engineering, and introduction of new offerings.
At the heart of successful innovation lies sophisticated project management, the management of discrete activities with defined deliverables and end points, where the activities are in some way new or unique. We are interested in all aspects of project management, including applications outside product development (e.g., large scale engineering and infrastructure undertakings, or startups).
While the department approaches innovation and new product development with an Operations orientation, emphasizing processes and execution, designing successful new products is inherently cross disciplinary, and therefore we encourage close ties to other disciplines, including the following:
• Accounting (e.g., performance measurement and incentives)
• Economics (e.g., incentives, R&D races, industrial organization)
• Engineering (much work on product development is carried out, for example, in industrial, mechanical or electrical engineering)
• Finance (e.g., risk management and financing)
• Marketing (e.g., listening to the customer, product features, market development)
• Organizational Behavior and Sociology (e.g., information processing, coordination, structure and motivation)
• Strategy (e.g., industry evolution and the role of innovation, competitive advantage, alliances).
It is the mission of this department to publish articles that offer important insights into the management of product innovation. Modeling, empirical data analysis, or grounded theory methodologies are all welcome. The hurdles for acceptance are:
• The article should offer a new idea, not just an incremental twist on previous work.
• The results of the article should be managerially relevant. This means that the results can be translated into some useful managerial practice or decision rule.
• Whatever the research method chosen, it should fulfill a high standard of rigor.
We will emphasize innovativeness: if a manuscript offers an interesting new idea but does not quite live up to the highest rigor, we will work with the author to achieve a higher methodological standard, and then publish the manuscript..

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