WHU
We have developed numerous teaching innovations such as the MIT award winning course on International Operations Management ("best course developed at a US Business School" at the Booth School of Business) as well as pioneering courses based on our own research and publications on Industrial Excellence, Supply Chain Management, Sustainable Operations, E-Commerce Operations Management, Retail Analytics, Real Options Analysis, Supply Chain Finance, Blockchain/DLT and the famous "Die Beste Fabrik" (The best factory) practice seminar for SMEs and the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt online seminar with MoreSteam, to just name a few.

Key figures

40 alumni, 2 post-docs and 2 assistant professors (Supply Chain Finance, Retail Analytics) with 9 nationalities
#9 Supply Chain Management Group ranked by Arizona State University
8 tenured faculty with Star (and M-Star) publications placed at top business schools
11 Star, 14 P, 3 M-Star and 17 Harvard Business Review publications plus Top US & European Awards
12 European countries with 15 Business Schools host the Industrial Excellence Award
10 Springer books on Industrial Excellence, Management Quality, Bottom-up Strategy Formation, Variable Takt, Operations & Analytics, Supply Chain Fincance and Blockchain/DLT

News from our chair

Marjolein Buisman gives keynote speech @ KÜMPEM Retail Conference

Marjolein Buisman gives keynote speech @ KÜMPEM Retail Conference

Inventory dynamics at the retailer—An economic and environmental analysis of packaging fresh produce

 
Building the starting point for fashion

Building the starting point for fashion

Online presentation by David Schröder, COO of Zalando SE, Berlin

 
WHU’s Supply Chain Management Group is #1 in Europe

WHU’s Supply Chain Management Group is #1 in Europe

Ranking underscores WHU’s top position in supply chain management research

 

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We look forward to interacting with you
Asst. Professor Marjolein Buisman
Asst. Professor Marjolein Buisman
Assistant Professor in Retail Analytics
Honorary Professor Jürgen Ringbeck
Honorary Professor Jürgen Ringbeck
Honorary Professor
Thomas Kretschmar, M.Sc.
Thomas Kretschmar, M.Sc.
Research Assistant
Oliver Höllriegl, Dipl.-Betriebsw. (Univ.)
Oliver Höllriegl, Dipl.-Betriebsw. (Univ.)
Team Lead Data & Analytics, Hitachi Solutions Europe, Nürnberg, Deutschland
Florian Meurer, M.Sc.
Florian Meurer, M.Sc.
Doktorand, Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, Deutschland
Alexander Niclas Popovic, M.Sc.
Alexander Niclas Popovic, M.Sc.
Operations Research Scientist, VYTAL Global, Köln, Deutschland
Dennis Schäfer, M.Sc
Dennis Schäfer, M.Sc
Head of Production Unit, Lindt & Sprüngli, Aachen, Deutschland
Dennis Schmitz, M.Sc.
Dennis Schmitz, M.Sc.
Vice President Transportation Management, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions, Gütersloh, Deutschland
Caroline Vaessen, M.Sc.
Caroline Vaessen, M.Sc.
Chief of Staff, In Praxi e.V., Vallendar, Deutschland
Kai Wendt, M.Sc.
Kai Wendt, M.Sc.
Consultant, McKinsey & Company, Hamburg, Deutschland
Carl Witzel, M.Phil.
Carl Witzel, M.Phil.
Corporate Distressed & Special Situations Investing, Bain Capital Credit, London, Vereinigtes Königreich

The alumni of the Chair of Production Management

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Dr. Verena Höllriegl
Managing Director
MEDICON, Nuremberg, Germany
"What was the most important business advice you ever received?

To start and finish my doctoral studies under the guidance of Professor Huchzermeier at WHU. You rarely find a doctorate chair that is at the top level, both professionally and personally. I also particularly appreciated the exchange of expertise with the doctoral students."
Dr. Felix Röllecke
Founder & CEO
vetevo, Berlin, Deutschland
"Working in such a unique internationally-oriented, science-based environment enabled me to publish the results of my research in renowned academic journals and fully equipped me with the skills I needed to make that jump into being my own boss. In this respect, the PhD program at WHU was ideal preparation for my own company start-up."
Dr. Rob Smith
President & CEO
KONECRANES, Helsinki, Finland
"I have applied my doctoral work on Real Options in global industry with Professor Huchzermeier in each of my businesses since 2002 creating value through increased profitability and reduced exposure to FX and supply chain disruptions. The global business education at the WHU has made invaluable contributions in my business career."
Professor Fabian Sting
Full Professor Strategy and Innovation
University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
"An environment that stimulates internationally visible research that is relevant for operations management. Highly recommended."
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Career

Open positions at the Chair of Production Management

Our primary goal is to develop publishable research in reputable journals in due course, i.e., as part of the dissertation project. To facilitate this, we clearly differentiate among full-time and part-time dissertations.

Job openings as research assistant, post doc or assistant professor will be advertised on the WHU careers page.

About us

Innovation in teaching, research excellence, and thought leadership for practice.

Our research has been recognized internationally, among others, with the prestigious Franz Edelman Finalist Award of the Institute of Operations Research and Management Science, the Marketing Science Institute's Practice Prize, the Management Science Strategic Innovation Prize by the European Operations Research Societies, the Case Award by the European Case Clearing House (now The Case Center) and the Science Award of the European Retail Institute and GS1 Germany. We regularly publish articles in major academic journals and leading management journals and serve as senior or department editors in Management & Business Review and the Production & Operations Management Journal, among others. The alumni of our chair serve as role models not only in academia but also in business, for example for start-ups.

We have published the ECR Journal for the global consumer goods and retail industries, as well as globally cited industry studies, such as on the Introduction of the Euro and on monopolies in the credit card industry. Our INSEAD-WHU Industrial Excellence Award (formerly "The Best Factory") is supported by 15 leading business schools in 12 European countries and annually rewards top-down & bottom-up digital enterprise strategy innovations across a wide range of industries. Winners include renowned giants of the European business landscape. Our latest business competition - developed in collaboration with ZIRP - will reward best practices in digital corporate responsibility in Rhineland-Palatinate starting in 2021. Our start-up Campus Car with 3 Smarts and a 1-series BMW has evolved into the global player WunderCar Mobility Solutions.

Excellence Awards

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INSEAD-WHU Industrial Excellence Award (Europa)
"Since 1995, the Industrial Excellence Award (IEA) competition benchmarks Management Quality for European competitiveness in the industrial and service sectors. The IEA 2021 competition focuses on Digital Enterprise Strategy Innovation and Deployment Top-down & Bottom-up, that is, how organizations align distributed activities and knowledge to achieve common strategic goals."
Gartner Power of the Profession Awards (USA)
"The Gartner Power of the Profession Awards are a community-led recognition of the most impactful supply chain initiatives every year.

Selected exclusively by the supply chain community and a panel of top chief supply chain officers, these awards encourage the community to identify standout business and talent initiatives to advance the supply chain profession."
EHI Foundation – GS1 Germany Science Award (Germany)
"The EHI Foundation and GS1 Germany Science Award honors young scientists, chairs and startups for excellent scientific work and projects that are highly relevant to the retail and consumer goods industry."
Corporate Digital Responsibility Award (Rhineland-Palatinate)
"ZIRP is a network, a source of inspiration and a location initiative. In 6 main topics, strategies and options for action for economic, technical and social developments, which will be characteristic for Rhineland-Palatinate, are worked out in dialogue with different actors."
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Research and management knowledge

Our ongoing research activities are manifold and cover a wide range of areas. Get an overview and copies of the latest working papers, industry reports and other online references at first hand.

Learn more

The goal of journal MBR is to bridge management practice, education and research, thereby enhancing all three. Professor Huchzermeier has been nominated as Autonomous Departmental Editor for the area of Global Supply Chains and Risk Management.

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We engage in academia-industry partnerships and apply business or retail analytics methods in a variety of applications. Key research areas include promotional and judgmental demand forecasting, segment-of-one marketing, the design of loyalty programs, customer churn prevention and customer retention management, staffing of service points and dynamic pricing in e-commerce.

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Quick links to:

Top research articles:

Morris Cohen, Shiliang Cui, Sebastian Doetsch, Ricardo Ernst, Arnd Huchzermeier, Panos Kouvelis, Hau Lee, Hirofumi Matsuo, Andy A Tsay

Journal of Operations Management 68 (5), 515-531

Huchzermeier, Arnd; Mönch, Tobias
Production and Operations Management

Top case studies:

Huchzermeier, Arnd; Wolters, Jannik; Uphues, Marcel (2021)
Case Study, INFORMS Transactions on Education

Markoff, Richard; Schröder, David; Huchzermeier, Arnd; Seifert, Ralf W.
Case Study.

Campus teaching & Executive Education

Master excellence in operations strategy formation, execution, and business analytics

The Chair of Production Management constantly explores a number of research topics, largely within the scope of Doctoral theses and externally funded research projects. These range from Fair Process Leadership, Returns Management in e-Commerce, Resilience for Global Supply Chain Risk Management, Promotional Demand Forecasting, and Blockchain Technology. Through such research, we are able to integrate the latest insights into modern teaching from Bachelor through to the Doctoral program.

Campus teaching
Campus teaching
We teach insights from current research combined with innovative methods, practice-oriented training and company visits. We are supported in this by guest lecturers from international business schools, alumni of our chair and captains of industry.
Executive Education
Executive Education
The Chair directs and offers a portfolio of executive education programs and workshops, including key note speeches, the annual Industrial Excellence Conference and Award Europe, and study tours to leading global manufacturers and service companies in Europe and Silicon Valley.

Get in touch –

We look forward to interacting with you