Thesis & Dissertation Topics on Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Inventory, Transportation, Warehousing

Thesis and Dissertation topics related to
Supply Chain Management, Procurement
Management, Inventory Management, and
Distribution Management: By: Professor Nand
Kishore Prasad, Principal Consulting Officer

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Supply Chain Management is one of those
research domains that will always have research
opportunities and research topics for dissertation
and thesis projects. This is because the global
business frameworks operated and managed by
multinational businesses are changing rapidly
because of the challenges posed by globalization
and liberalization, which directly affects supply
chain design and management of an organization.
Environmental issues, economical challenges,
financial crisis, challenges to sustainability,
fluctuating oil prices, increase of carbon
footprints, dynamic scenarios of multinational
trade relationships, agreements, and barriers,
global conflicts and wars, rising threats to
international sea cargo, land cargo and air cargo,
rising threats to congested lanes and channels,
single points of failures, lack of feasible alternate
routes, increasing supply chain risks, increasing
global competition, rising benchmarks of
customers' expectations, challenges of flexibility,
agility, and responsiveness and many more
similar issues are significant challenges facing
modern supply chain managers who are already
under pressure to reduce lead times, inventory
holding and costs in every step of supply chain
management. Modern supply chain practices
need to be highly proactive, horizontally
integrated, synchronized, information driven,
network based, and technology enabled. These
challenges are rapidly eliminating the old beliefs
and practices giving way to new ways of
managing the components of supply chain. The
core elements of supply chain, viz. procurement
management, production and operations
management, inventory management,
distribution management, and retail management,
can no longer operate as distinct verticals but
need to be integrated horizontally with the help
of accurate and timely information management
and flow, effective and efficient management of
funds, synchronous activities, effective
coordination, decision-making power at lower
levels, better economies of scale, elimination of
wastes, increased reliability on actual demands
(than demand forecasting), flexible logistics
infrastructure, operations, and processes,
organization wide cost reduction targets and
excellent service delivery. In this context, I hereby
present some of the key areas in which, the
students may like to conduct their research
studies. In each of these areas and the suggested
sample topics, you may select an industry in a
country/region or a specific company in that
industry with multiple locations for conducting a
narrow and focussed study.

(A) Functional Integration of Procurement,
Production, Inventory, Distribution, and
Inventory Management: In modern supply
chains, organizations are giving high emphasis on
horizontal integration of supply chain
components by breaking all the traditional
functional barriers and organizational hierarchies
that have existed since the concept was born.
Modern supply chain agents integrate effectively
by sharing timely and accurate information with
everyone in very transparent manner. For
example, if the supply chain has multiple
inventory points (Stock Keeping Units), the
procurement manager may have access to daily,
or even hourly, updates of the inventory levels at
all the points. Functional integration is evident
even with suppliers and customers. The systems
like automatic reordering by an IT enabled system
at fixed pre-negotiated prices whenever inventory
levels dip below the reorder points, continuous
flow of consumption information upstream and
shipping information downstream between the
endpoints, supplier managed inventory at
customer premises, exact and timely flow of
actual demand information reducing the need for
demand forecasting, strategic supplier
agreements, framework agreements, sustainable
procurements, etc. are emerging modern
practices. I suggest that students may like to
undertake academic research studies on how
supply chain integration is carried out by modern
companies, by conducting on-field surveys and
interviews. The studies can be conducted on a
particular company or on the entire supply
network of a commodity. A sample of possible
research topics in this area is presented below. In
addition to the following sample topics, please
contact us at consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Logistics performance through coordination
and collaboration in multi-echelon supply chains
(b) Constructs and their measurements
comprising interrelationships among functional
variables in supply chain management (multiple
topics involving identification of functional
variables in a supply chain environment and their
interrelationships established through statistical
significance testing)
(c) Functional integration in supply chains and
competitive advantages of businesses (multiple
topics investigating influence of functional
integration variables of supply chain management
on variables related to competitive advantages of
businesses)
(d) Functional integration in supply chains and
performance of businesses (multiple topics
investigating influence of functional integration
variables of supply chain management on
variables related to financial performance, market
performance, supply performance, demand
fulfilment performance, and quality performance
of businesses)
(e) Multi-level inter-echelon integration of
functional roles and responsibilities, and their
tasks in supply chains
(f) Effectiveness of achieving social, economical,
and environmental sustainability through
functional integration in supply chains
(g) Investigation of technological solutions for
functional integration in supply chain
management (example: investigating the role of
logistics information systems, role of RFID, and
role of Internet of Things in supply chain
functional integration)
(h) Achieving supply chain resilience,
responsiveness, and flexibility through
inter-echelon functional integration
(i) Critical success factors for effective and
efficient functional integration in supply chain
management (multivariate factor analysis and
structural equation modeling)
(j) Quantitative and system dynamics modeling of
supply chain functional integration (comprising
study of supply chain system dynamics modeling
in Vensim and Arena, and analysis of dependence
of integration goals on internal and external
factors using Taguchi method)
(k) Evolving techniques on supply chain
integration through digital transformation in the
era of Industry 4.0
(l) Integrating and automating procurement and
inventory replenishment and management
practices using Industrial Internet of Things and
big data analytics
(m) Integrating industrial machineries and
robotics operations with automated performance
monitoring and maintenance to drive automated
inventory replenishment in the Industry 4.0
(n) Integrating materials despatch data with
inventory data through continuous data streams
using Industrial Internet of Things and Big Data
Analytics
(o) Application of Augmented reality in
integrating procurement, logistics operations, and
inventory control in the era of Industry 4.0
(p) Automating supplier deliveries and payment
processing through Industrial Internet of Things
attachments in consignments and integrating with
procurement and accounts processes
(q) Digital transformation of transportation and
distribution networking in the era of Industry 4.0
(r) Conceptualising and designing a Big Data
Analytics framework for integrating facilities of
strategic suppliers with those of a large global
manufacturing organisation
(s) Integrating processes from drawing board to
final delivery of products - investigating new B2B
models in manufacturing, logistics, and supply
chain management
(t) Integration of procurement, inventory,
logistics, and supply chain management functions
of multiple suppliers serving shared customers
through cloud manufacturing
(u) Materials Requirements Planning integration
with real-time production consumption data
streamed from Industrial Internet of Things
attached with robotics and machineries, and their
controllers in the Industry 4.0
(v) Real-time visibility into process variables and
its impact on lead-time and supply chain risks
management performance
(w) Resilience, Agility, and Responsiveness
achievable through integration of logistics and
supply chain processes employing Industrial
Internet of Things and Big Data Analytics
(x) Multi-functional decision-making protocols by
integrating Operations 4.0 with Procurement 4.0
and Inventory 4.0 in the Industry 4.0
(y) Lean and Just-In-Time production, logistics,
and supply chain management revisited in the era
of Industrial Internet of Things and Industry 4.0
(z) Securing global logistics and supply chain
management integration by separating the
Industrial Internet infrastructure from the Public
Internet

Logistics and Supply Chain Management is
undergoing a wave of digital transformations
worldwide. In this context, we have presented
latest topics on Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet
of Things, Big Data Analytics, and Artificial
Intelligence in the context of Logistics, Supply
Chain Management, Inventory Management,
and Manufacturing.

We will be happy to assist you in developing your
narrow research topic with an original
contribution based on the research context,
research problem, and the research aim, and
objectives. Further, We also offer you to develop
the "problem description and statement", "aim,
objectives, research questions", "design of
methodology and methods", and "15 to 25 most
relevant citations per topic" for three topics of
your choice of research areas at a nominal fee.
Such a synopsis shall help you in focussing,
critically thinking, discussing with your
reviewer, and developing your research
proposal. To avail this service, Please Click Here
for more details.

(B) Supply Chain Network Design: The concept
of network design is rapidly gaining popularity in
supply chain management. In fact, many modern
scholars are talking about renaming "Supply
Chain Management" to "Supply Network
Management". This is because companies no
longer just manage multi-tier suppliers in the
form of chains but rather manage a whole
network of suppliers for their key purchases. The
concept of supply network has evolved as a result
of globalization and rapid growth of Internet
leading to reduced gaps between suppliers and
buyers of the world. The network design concepts
are applied in the areas of production facilities,
operational facilities (like service locations),
logistics facilities, transportation, distribution, and
retailing. The actual design depends upon the
supply chain strategy, scope, cost, risks and
uncertainties, and demand information. The key
design considerations in network design are -
nodes and links, direct shipments, milk runs,
in-transit mergers, domestic transit routes,
international transit routes, last mile transit
routes, locations of plants, depots, warehouses,
distributor storage, retail outlets, and risks related
to each node and link. The key factors that need
to be taken into account are - strategic factors,
technological factors, macroeconomic factors,
political factors, infrastructure factors,
competitive factors, socioeconomic factors,
localization, response time expectations (of
customers), facility costs, and logistics costs. In
my view, network design in logistics and supply
chain management has ample opportunities for
conducting academic studies for students and
professionals. The studies will be based more on
interviews and focus group discussions because
the students will need to learn from specialist
network designers and network managers in
supply chains. A sample of possible research
topics in this area is presented below. In addition
to the following sample topics, please contact us
at consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Multiobjective optimization problems in
supply chain network design under risks and
uncertainties (multiple topics are possible for
designing different configurations of a supply
network through mathematical optimization in
operations research theory)
(b) Value creation through robust supply chain
network design
(c) Optimised supply network design through
process engineering and value chain creation
(d) Agile and lean production strategy through
robust closed-loop supply network design
(e) Effective Supply chain network design for
effective demand fulfilment at low operational
costs and through high quality and timely
deliveries
(f) Effective Supply chain network design for
reducing carbon footprints and improving
environmental sustainability
(g) Effective Strategies for robustness in supply
network design for reducing service disruptions
amidst uncertainties in flow of supplies
(h) Effective Supply network design for dealing
with uncertainties in demand information flow
and high seasonal fluctuations
(i) Effective Supply network design for curbing
Bullwhip effect and reducing the resulting effects
of beer gaming and order rationing games
(j) Supply chain network design for integrated
flow of materials, funds, and information in
forward and reverse logistics
(k) Supply chain network design for
implementing, maintaining and operating
strategic supplier agreements
(l) Multipath routing design in national supply
chain networking based on variability in path
costs and path delays
(m) Supply network optimisation through system
dynamics modeling, network simulations, and
Taguchi method
(n) Designing a multi-echelon multi-vehicle
network with optimal routing under time window
constraints for perishable products supplies
(o) Optimized supply network design for capacity
planning and balancing of production capacity,
logistics capacity, and distribution capacity
(p) Designing locations and interconnectivity of
temporary in-transit storage infrastructures for
multi-hop multi-path transportation networks
(q) Designing a flexible transportation, logistics,
and distribution network for lean and agile order
fulfilment of small batch orders
(r) Solving an integrated supply chain design
optimization problem for multiple irregular
shipments caused by production and logistics
delays using hybrid Taguchi - Immune method
(s) Strategic and tactical supply chain network
designs for managing risks and uncertainties
under stochastic demand variations
(t) Evolutionary approaches of flexible logistics
network designing and redesigning for variable
capacity, resources, and funds allocation
decision-making based on variations in costs,
efficiencies, and lead-times
(u) Principles influencing agility, flexibility,
responsiveness, resilience, and quality of supply
chain network design
(v) Multi-party multi-supplier supply chain
network design based on order booking and
fulfilment services through cloud computing

(C) Demand Pull Supply Chain Strategy: It is
almost an empirical fact that the world is now
gradually drifting towards demand pull supply
chain strategy for demand chain management
instead of mass production and products push
strategy. Now the businesses are focusing more
on gaining accurate and timely demand
information rather than depending upon demand
forecasts such that demand-based order
fulfilment through make-to-order and
assemble-to-order processes can be done. The
companies have already faced significant
problems due to high inventory costs and wastage
of unconsumed products in light of forecast
inaccuracy and inaccurate demand flow
phenomenon caused by Forrester (Bullwhip)
effect. However, it may be noted that pull supply
chain strategy is not as straightforward as push
strategy. The strategists no longer have the
leverage to just depend upon demand models,
viewed as magic wands in the past, but are
required to proactively collect actual demand
information. This change requires effective
integration with suppliers and buyers, and large
scale information sharing through sophisticated
information systems. The companies need to
think much beyond Japanese Kanbans or lean
strategies (even they have backfired, really!!). The
students may like to study on what companies are
doing or can do to shift to demand pull strategy
as much as possible. A sample of possible research
topics in this area is presented below. In addition
to the following sample topics, please contact us
at consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Enhancing responsiveness of a supply chain
through demand pull strategy supported by lean
manufacturing and IT-enabled integration
(b) A study of make-to-order, assemble-to-order,
and engineer-to-order demand fulfilment
strategies under demand pull strategy
(c) Lean transformation of a supply chain for
implementing demand pull strategy and
demand-linked order fulfilment
(d) Identifying and managing customer order
coupling points of a supply chain for
implementing demand pull strategy and
demand-linked order fulfilment
(e) Data collection and management methods
from bar codes and RFID data aggregators for
implementing demand pull strategy and
demand-linked order fulfilment
(f) Value chain management by integrating
demand and supply information through
knowledge management
(g) Implementing demand pull strategy and
demand-linked order fulfilment through cloud
computing-enabled demand chain management
(h) Investigating resource-based view and
resource-advantage theory for implementing
demand pull strategy and demand-linked order
fulfilment
(i) Principles and factors influencing supply chain
design for effective demand chain management
(j) Strategic supplier engagements and integration
with sales and marketing for effective demand
chain management
(k) Designing a logistics workflow system for
demand chain management using data collected
from bar code and RFID databases
(l) System dynamics modeling and discrete
events simulations for designing and analysing a
demand chain management system
(m) Demand-driven inventory management
based on predictive analytics and collaborative
replenishment
(n) Demand-driven quick response in digitalised
supply chain management
(o) Resilience and responsiveness in
demand-driven digitalised supply chains
(p) Collaborative multi-party logistics for
demand-driven supply chains
(q) Solving bullwhip effect problem in digitalised
supply chains through multi-echelon data
collection and analysis
(r) Supply chain analytics and visualisation
technologies for demand - supply synchronisation
(s) Impact of modern real-time data collection and
visualisation technologies on demand fulfilment
performance of supply chains
(t) Role of machine learning and artificial
intelligence in responding to highly dynamic
stochastic demands
(u) Supply chain partnership modeling using
modern digitalised integration of logistics and
production processes
(v) Time-based supply chain competition and
related time-based strategies in the digitalised
world
(w) Process and Value chain mapping in modern
digitalised supply chains
(x) Advanced category management in
demand-driven supply chain management
(y) Demand-driven supply chain mapping
processes specific to an industry (industry-specific
topics)
(z) Demand-driven flexible smart contracts in
blockchains comprising of closed supplier and
customer networking

We will be happy to assist you in developing your
narrow research topic with an original
contribution based on the research context,
research problem, and the research aim, and
objectives. Further, We also offer you to develop
the "problem description and statement", "aim,
objectives, research questions", "design of
methodology and methods", and "15 to 25 most
relevant citations per topic" for three topics of
your choice of research areas at a nominal fee.
Such a synopsis shall help you in focussing,
critically thinking, discussing with your
guide/supervisor, and developing your research
proposal. To avail this service, Please Click Here
for more details.

Please visit the Link to our latest article on
suggested Topics for Dissertations and Thesis
Research Projects in Industry 4.0, Industrial
Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, and
Artificial Intelligence

(D) Supply Chain Efficiency and Effectiveness:
Every organization spends significant amounts on
supply chain management. Financial planning,
cost control, timely service, high quality of
service, elimination of duplicates and wastes,
information and information systems integration,
horizontal collaboration, cooperation, teamwork,
and communications, relevant management
practices, process integration, tasks integration,
metrics and measurements, continuous
improvements, and return on investments in
supply chain are key drivers of efficiency and
effectiveness. A number of metrics are taken as
inputs to the strategic supply chain planning to
ensure that optimum efficiency and effectiveness
can be achieved. This research area may require
on-site quantitative data collection, and
quantitative analytics using SPSS and such other
statistical analysis tools to arrive at the results.
The students may have to discover independent
and dependent variables and their
interrelationships using statistical significance
testing and other inferential statistical methods. A
sample of possible research topics in this area is
presented below. In addition to the following
sample topics, please contact us at
consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Defining and measuring key performance
indicators of supply chain performance
(b) Differentiation, effectiveness, and efficiency in
the context of competitive advantages through
logistics performance
(c) Strategies for enhancing process, tasks,
communications, information systems, and
collaboration efficiency in supply chains (multiple
topics may be formed each addressing a separate
area)
(d) Inducing agility and flexibility in supply
chains through effective supplier selection and
management
(e) Effects of inter-echelon collaboration,
coordination, and communications on
effectiveness and efficiency of demand fulfilment
(f) Enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of
supply chains by achieving triple bottomline
(environmental, economic, and social)
sustainability objectives for supply chain
management
(g) Investigating the impact of global information
and supplier integration on stock replenishment
effectiveness and demand fulfillment of
multinational retail brand stores
(h) Investigating the impact of demand and
supplies forecasting accuracy on logistics costs
and demand fulfillment of multinational retail
brand stores
(i) Investigating the influence of online
comparative quotes and multi-supplier
management in web-based global procurement on
business value enhancement and profitability
(j) Investigating the influence of IT innovation
and Information Integration on Global supplier
development, and business value creation
(k) Investigating the impact of demand and
supplies forecasting accuracy on business value
creation, resources prioritization, and inventory
planning effectiveness
(l) Investigating the influence of IT innovation,
Information Integration, and Relevant decision
support reporting on long-range planning
effectiveness, resources forecasting, and
budgeting in supply chain management

Topic development in the area of triple
bottomline (economic, environmental, and social)
sustainability, lean, and six sigma in supply chain
management is presented in an extension of this
article (please click here).

(E) Supply Chain Integration: This research area
may be taken as an extension of functional
integration (point A). Other forms of integration
in supply chain management are logistics
integration, process integration, supplier
integration, technology integration, data
integration, information and information systems
integration, quality integration, funds integration,
and infrastructure and services integration. The
student may like to study how companies are
integrating with key suppliers and customers to
improve flow of information about demands
(upstream) and supply (downstream) and to
reduce lead times. The modern concepts like
direct delivery (from suppliers to customers),
vendor managed inventories (VMI),
cross-docking, optimal procurement policy,
optimal manufacturing strategy, inventory
minimization, input and output control,
aggregation planning, process integration, real
time monitoring and control, optimization of
operations, supply chain object library, enterprise
supply chain integration modelling, 3PL and 4PL,
quick response (QR), efficient consumer response
(ECR), continuous replenishment planning (CRP),
and collaborative planning, forecasting, and
replenishment (CPFR) are included in the scope
of supply chain integration. The students may
chose a particular area and conduct on-site
interviews of supply chain experts about how
these practices are incorporated by organizations
in their supply chain integration strategies. A
sample of possible research topics in this area is
presented below. In addition to the following
sample topics, please contact us at
consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) A study of strategies for achieving effective
integration of an organisation with customers and
suppliers for value creating demand chain
management
(b) Competitive advantages of IT enabled supply
chains by virtue of integrated processes,
integrated information, and integrated team
collaboration
(c) Strategies and logistics planning for
integrating forward and reverse supply chains
(d) Performance outcomes achievable through
supply chain integration in manufacturing
companies
(e) Logistics capability development through
supply chain integration
(f) Lean and agile transformation of supply chains
through supply chain integration
(g) Effective supply chain risk management
through logistics processes, infrastructure, and
tasks integration strategy
(h) Integrating supply chain processes and
information through e-collaboration tools on
cloud computing
(i) Implementing lean and six-sigma philosophies
for supply chains through information and
process integration
(j) Developing dynamic capabilities and flexibility
in a supply chain through integration
(k) Information integration and collaboration in
reverse supply chain management
(l) Enablers and barriers to integration in supply
chain management
(m) Reducing supply chain disruptions through
information integration and collaboration
(n) Integrating demand and supply sides in a
supply chain through value chain management
(o) Eliminating duplicates and wastes in supply
chains through multi-echelon process and
information integration and standardisation
(p) Tactical supply chain integration under supply
uncertainties, disruptions, and demand
fluctuations
(q) Collaborative planning and replenishment and
vendor-managed inventory in modern
cloud-based multinational e-commerce (Amazon
case study)
(r) Collaborative logistics planning through 3PL
and 4PL for supply chain flexibility and quick
response
(s) Closed loop supply chain integration for
remanufacturing of rapidly recyclable products
(separate product-based case studies, like
batteries, bags, consumer electronics, mobile
phones, and Vehicle tyres)
(t) Applying ISO 9001 standard for integrating
supply chain processes
(u) Transactional and relational mechanisms for
integration with buyers and suppliers in
small-scale industries
(v) Global supply chain integration with lean and
green practices for triple bottom-line
(environmental, economical, social) sustainability
(w) Integration in services supply chain for
customer-centric value creation
(x) Integrating marketing, sales, procurement, and
logistics functions and their processes for effective
demand chain management
(y) Carbon accounting and carbon footprint
tracing of supply chains through knowledge and
information integration
(z) Curbing dysfunctional phenomena in supply
chains through multi-echelon functional, process,
information, and skills integration (examples are:
Bullwhip effect, beer gaming, order rationing,
large batch sizes, inaccurate demand forecasting,
stock outs, stock overruns, cost overruns, and
high defects density)

We will be happy to assist you in developing your
narrow research topic with an original
contribution based on the research context,
research problem, and the research aim, and
objectives. Further, We also offer you to develop
the "problem description and statement", "aim,
objectives, research questions", "design of
methodology and methods", and "15 to 25 most
relevant citations per topic" for three topics of
your choice of research areas at a nominal fee.
Such a synopsis shall help you in focussing,
critically thinking, discussing with your
reviewer, and developing your research
proposal. To avail this service, Please Click Here
for more details.

Please visit the Link to our latest article on
suggested Topics for Dissertations and Thesis
Research Projects in Industry 4.0, Industrial
Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, and
Artificial Intelligence

(F) Supply Chain Performance Drivers: The key
performance drivers of supply chain management
are - facility effectiveness, inventory
effectiveness, transportation effectiveness,
information effectiveness, sourcing effectiveness,
cost effectiveness, speed effectiveness, delivery
effectiveness, quality effectiveness, service
effectiveness, green effectivness, economic
effectiveness, social empowerment effectiveness,
employee skills and competencies, supplier
effectiveness, flexibility, lean effectiveness,
agility, responsiveness, resilience, and market
orientation effectiveness. These drivers comprise
multiple performance indicators that may be
measured quantitatively by collecting data and
applying them in SPSS. The studies in this area
may primarily be quantitative with statistical
significance analysis of interrelationships between
variables. The sustainable supply chain
management to support the triple bottom-line
(equity, environment, and economy) is also
included in the scope of supply chain
performance drivers. Topic development in this
area is presented in an extension of this article
(please click here).

A sample of possible research topics in this area is
presented below. In addition to the following
sample topics, please contact us at
consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Influence of information systems on supply
chain operational performance
(b) Influence of multi-echelon integration on
supply chain operational performance
(c) Market orientation and demand penetration in
supply chains and their effects on demand
fulfilment performance
(d) Strategic lock-in under win-win
buyer-supplier relationships for enhanced
supplier performance
(e) Identifying the performance key indicators
and their measures of a global multi-echelon
supply chain following the balanced scorecard
approach
(f) Customer and supplier perspectives of value
chain performance with end-to-end integration of
logistics facilities and processes
(g) Developing and testing an instrument based
on SCOR for performance measurement of global
sustainable supply chains
(h) Evaluating the structure, speed,
responsiveness, resilience, agility, and flexibility
metrics and their measurements of a modern
global supply chain in the context of fulfilling lean
and agile demands
(i) Performance metrics and measurements in
reverse closed-loop supply chains for recycling
and reengineering
(j) Approaches for developing industry-specific
KPIs, KPMs, and measurement methods of a
global supply chain
(k) Applying economic value added (EVA) and
activity based costing (ABC) for enabling lean and
agile performance of a global supply chain
(l) Factors and preparations influencing
development of performance measurement
indicators and their measures in a multi-echelon
supply chain
(m) Defining configurable and comprehensive
performance metrics for selecting suppliers based
on contractual terms and customers' needs
(n) Enablers and barriers of performance
measurements of e-supply chains using cloud
computing
(o) Greening a supply chain through selection and
measurement of green KPIs and KPMs
(p) Measurements of maintenance and after sales
performance in a closed-loop supply chain
(q) Modeling lean and agile practices through a
strategy-structure-performance paradigm change
in supply chain management
(r) Approaches for developing logistics KPIs,
KPMs, and measurement methods of a complex
multi-company multi-industry global supply
chain managed by international freight and
forwarding (courier) companies (this topic is
specifically designed to study the logistics and
supply chain performance of multinational courier
companies like DHL, Blue Dart, FedEx, United
Parcel Service, TNT, etc.)
(s) Role of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) in enhancing logistics
performance in a global supply chain
(t) Supply chain performance drivers for fostering
greenness and sustainability in developing
economies

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(G) Demand Forecasting: The concept of demand
forecasting is diminishing as more and more
companies are now focusing on getting accurate
and timely demand information rather than
depending upon forecasts. This is carried out by
effective integration of information from all the
nodes of the supply chain and disseminating
upstream as well as downstream. However, there
are many industries that will continue to depend
upon push strategy and demand forecasting. The
students may like to study about the drawbacks of
traditional forecasting methods (like time series
forecasting, moving averages, trend analysis, etc.)
and the ways of improving forecasting accuracy.
Many companies want to incorporate real time
data in their forecasting models and focus on
forecasting for shorter periods. This requires lots
of additional knowledge over and above the
traditional ways of working upon past demand
data. The modern forecasting models may be
based on accurate knowledge of customer
segments, major factors that influence forecasting
accuracy, information integration, bullwhip effect,
scenario planning, simulations, external factors,
risks, and causal (Fishbone or Ishikawa) analysis.
Most of the studies may be qualitative or
triangulated. A sample of possible research topics
in this area is presented below. In addition to the
following sample topics, please contact us at
consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Demand forecasting for reducing Forrester
(bullwhip) effect caused by distortion induced
during information flow
(b) A Study of advanced planning methods and
techniques in supply chain management
(c) Factors influencing timeliness and accuracy of
demand forecasting in supply chain management
(d) Judgmental adjustments approaches in
demand forecasting based on localised scenario
analysis of the supply chain in a location
(e) The role of knowledge management in
demand forecasting in supply chains
(f) Scenario planning and system dynamics
modeling for studying the effects of demand
forecasting on supply chain performance
(g) Forecasting of spares stocking and materials
flow in reverse supply chains based on service
logs of the service centres
(h) Demand and supplies mapping through
customer facing data collection in CRM
applications
(i) Demand forecasting through big data analytics
of Internet retail websites
(j) Advanced techniques in demand forecasting
for decision support (studies on neural networks,
fuzzy algorithms, neuro-fizzy models, goal
oriented programming methods, scenario
analysis, advanced planning tools, AHP, etc.)
(k) Demand forecasting through study and
analysis of customer actions and order coupling
points in a supply chain
(l) Demand forecasting under uncertainties and
supply risks following advanced planning tools
(m) Aggregation of sales, order booking,
production, inventory, and supplies information
for adaptive demand forecasting for businesses
running in volatile markets
(n) Predictive analytics for supporting
follow-the-demand strategy in digitalised supply
chains
(o) Artificial Intelligence for Predictive Analytics
of demand waves in stochastic demand
environments
(p) Predictive and prescriptive analytics for
Procurement 4.0
(q) Advanced data analytics for predictive
visualisation of transportation and distribution
risks
(r) Predictive data modeling for detecting
provenance-related anomalies in supplier reports
(s) Predictive data modeling for flows
prioritisation in warehouses having dynamic
capabilities of racks and routes
(t) Demand-driven flow management in supply
chains using predictive analytics
(u) Real-time visualisation of consumption in
modern retail supermarkets and hypermarkets
(v) Lean replenishment of inventory using
real-time data visualisation of inventory flows
and predictive analytics
(w) Supply chain synchronisation following
advanced demand and supplies predictions
(x) Managing time-based opportunities following
demand and supply predictive modeling
(y) Predictive data analytics for reducing flows
and storage periods in digitalised warehousing
(z) Supply chain business models exploiting the
predictive data analytics capabilities

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suggested Topics for Dissertations and Thesis
Research Projects in Industry 4.0, Industrial
Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, and
Artificial Intelligence

(H) Aggregation Planning: Aggregation is carried
out by a company to determine the levels of
pricing, capacity, production, outsourcing,
inventory, etc. during a specified period.
Aggregation planning helps in consolidation of
the internal and external stock keeping units
(SKUs) within the decision and strategic
framework for reducing costs, meeting demands
and maximising profits. It may be viewed as the
next step of either demand forecasting (push
strategy) or demand information accumulation
(pull strategy) for carrying out estimations of the
inventory level, internal capacity levels,
outsourced capacity levels, workforce levels, and
production levels required in a specified time
period. Aggregation planning in modern supply
chains is carried out using advanced planning
tools comprising of 2D layout maps, 3D spatial
maps, structural maps, data association with map
items, spatial data mining, location-aware data
mining, analytical hierachy planning, etc. The
students may like to conduct qualitative case
studies and modeling-based quantitative studies
to research about modern practices of aggregation
planning in various industrial and retail sectors. A
sample of possible research topics in this area is
presented below. In addition to the following
sample topics, please contact us at
consulting@eproindia.com or
consulting@eproindia.net to get more topic
suggestions and to discuss your topic.

(a) Planning and aggregating customer order
points, stock keeping points, and transportation
routes for order fulfilment with agreed service
levels
(b) Aggregation of supply chain processes for
logistics planning in a global supply chain
(c) Hierarchical aggregation planning of
transportation routes and their lead-times for
predicting delivery reliability
(d) Aggregation of city logistics facilities for
planning of urban food and essential supplies
distribution under crisis scenarios
(e) Supply chain planning matrix with hierarchical
aggregation of stock keeping units (SKUs) and
transportation routes for determining pricing,
demand fulfilment thresholds, safety stocks, and
lead-times
(f) Multi-objective urban logistics planning
through aggregation of locations and spatial
capacity consumption patterns on a city map
(g) Holistic planning of supermarket and
hypermarket inventories using aggregation of 3D
spatial models, RFID data of packaged products,
and storage/retrieval tools
(h) Aggregation planning through virtualisation
of logistics clusters of supermarkets and
hypermarkets in 3D spatial mapping tools
(i) Aggregation planning for spare parts inventory
in large-scale service centres based on integrated
information availability from installed bases,
service stations, stock keeping units, and
production units
(j) Aggregation planning for on-site service
provisioning and spares stocking at customer
locations using installed base, SKUs, and
transportation route maps and information
(k) Logistics park layout planning for deciding on
SKU locations and routing
(l) Aggregation planning of information assets for
maintaining information systems inventory for
large IT customers (this topic will involve case
studies of enterprise IT support by large IT
vendors like Cisco, IBM, HP, Dell, etc. using their
logistics operations and inventories)
(m) Layout planning of construction assets and
materials storage and flow in a large construction
site
(n) A structural map of horizontal inter-echelon
cooperation for improved logistics effectiveness
and efficiency
(o) Classification and nomenclature of nodes in a
supply network plan for organising data in spatial
data maps and spatial data mines
(p) Multi-agency coordination through 3D spatial
model of a virtualised supply chain using
RFID-based tracking and tracing of items

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