Research group
Resilient Supply Chain Management
We develop flexible, resilient and sustainable supply chains for the flow of products and services from raw materials to the end customer.
A resilient supply chain is flexible, adaptable and resilient to disruptions. It is able to adapt quickly to changes in the operating environment.
Our research and development work in the supply chain is particularly focused on:
- The demand needs of companies
- Purchase
- Transport and its logistics solutions
- Storage
- To develop cooperation between different actors in the supply chain.
Our operations range from company-level development tasks to industry-level extensive development issues, such as security of supply, transport and land use development, transport markets, and regional and international logistics issues.
The research group has extensive connections to the business sector, regional and national public organisations, and advocacy organisations. We are skilled in international project cooperation and are involved in several EU-funded projects, and we are constantly developing our own cooperation network in Finland and abroad.
The subjects of our research
Our supply chain research and development activities cover many different areas related to the flow of products and services from raw materials to the end customer.
- Supply chain planning and optimization: Demand forecasting and capacity planning, inventory management and inventory strategies, route planning and logistics optimization, minimizing delivery times and costs, identifying bottlenecks.
- Strategic success factors of supply chains: productivity, cost control, flexibility, energy issues.
- Supply chain management models: Lean and Just-in-Time (JIT) operating models, flexible and resilient supply chains, crisis situations and risk management, green and energy-efficient supply chain.
- Sustainability and responsibility: reducing the carbon footprint of companies, green transition, energy efficiency in the supply chain, alignment of logistics and land use, ethical sourcing (ESG) and supply chain transparency, logistics of the reuse of materials and packaging.
- Technology and digitalization in supply chains: artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, automated traffic.
Effective management of different aspects of the supply chain is key to ensuring business flow, customer satisfaction and cost-efficiency, as well as accelerating the green transition. Supply chain management is a key factor in the quality of daily life.
Jari Hietaranta , leader of the research group
Our experts
The research group has expertise in automotive and transport technology, passenger and freight business development, corporate production, information and supply flow development, supply chain development, transport systems, robotics and automation development in logistics and warehousing, and land use and transport planning coordination.
Strong project skills
Turku University of Applied Sciences’ Project Office offers support and guidance throughout the life cycle of an RDI project. Our project experts have years of experience and strong expertise in national and international funding programmes. We have more than 200 projects running every year, and our RDI activities have received more than €10 million in external funding.