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On the 29 of June, Piet van der Vlist successfully defended his PhD thesis at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. For multiple reasons this was a special event for many people. As a former professor himself, Mr. Van der Vlist faced the rare setting to be challenged by his former colleagues. In the past, Mr. van der Vlist was professor in the PhD research of Martin Verwijmeren, and this time our MP Objects director had the honor to assist Mr. Van der Vlist as ‘Paranimf’ in the public PhD defense. However, definitely most exiting are the intriguing outcomes of his research on supply chain management in the retail sector.
Instead of the usual assumption that production needs to follow distribution, the research shows that the most efficient retail chain requires the opposite: distribution should be synchronized to production. The main research outcomes go against the current mainstream retail practice: Right from production goods should move downstream the supply chain in full pallets and full truckloads. Supplier warehouses become cross dock points for consolidation of products from various plants. Shop delivery should be rationalized based on shelf coverage, to enhance the warehouse operation. We recommend both practitioners and professionals in (retail) supply chain management to get familiar with the fascinating theories behind the main lesson from Dr. Piet van der Vlist: Be Wise - Synchronize! For more information: www.erim.eur.nl or ISBN 90-5892-142-0
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