Click here for my courses.

Bio

Jan C. Fransoo is Professor of Operations and Logistics Management at the School of Economics and Management of Tilburg University in Tilburg, the Netherlands. He has conducted research across a wide variety of domains and methodologies, all related to supply chain and operations management, and published extensively in many journals in operations management, operations research, industrial engineering, and transportation. He currently serves as Department Editor at Management Science, as Associate Editor at Decision Sciences Journal, and Senior Editor at Production and Operations Management, and guest edits a special issue of  Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. In recent years, his research has mainly focused on retail operations in developing countries and other emerging markets. Much of this research is conducted in collaboration with Consumer Packaged Goods companies, technology startups, and intergovernmental agencies such as the World Bank and the Interamerican Development Bank. Apart from this line of research, he also has active research lines on intermodal transportation, urban logistics, semiconductor supply chain dynamics.

Expertise

Professor Fransoo conducts both model-based and empirical quantitative research. His current research studies in particular the operations and supply chains of the 50 million mom-and-pop stores (which he denoted as "nanostores") that serve much of the population in the developing world. His book "Reaching 50 million nanostores" is the first extensive study documenting this very large retail channel. Furthermore, he currently also studies omnichannel grocery retail, hinterland container supply chains, and urban logistics.

In his prior work, he has studied inventory, production planning and transportation models. He holds particular domain expertise of the grocery retail, chemical, pharmaceutical, and consumer packaged goods (FMCG) industries.

Professor Fransoo frequently appears in Dutch and international media to inform the general public and comment on current affairs related to his expertise. 

PhD supervision

• Samira Hamouche (TUE) (second supervisor) (since January 2025)
• Nils Löwhagen (ETH Zurich) Quantum Computing in Operations  Management (second supervisor) (since June 2025)
• Ziyan Wei (TiU) Analytics of Freight Matching Platforms (primary advisor) (since September 2024)
• Haiyu Wen (TiU) Rational queuing and pricing models (second supervisor) (since September 2024)
• Guan-Yuan Wang (TiU) Operations in nanostore logistics (primary advisor) (since June 2023)
• Iman Moosavi (TiU) Human/AI decision making in supply chains (since September 2022) (primary advisor)
• Joan Stip (TUE) Human/AI decision making in supply chains (part-time, external, since 2021) (primary advisor)
• Simone Balvers (TiU) Operations in nanostore logistics (since 2021) (primary advisor)
• Emily Dickey (KLU) The role of compassion in supply chain decisions on decent work (2020-2024) (second supervisor)
• Rafael Escamilla (TiU and KLU) Finance and logistics in nanostore supply chains (2018-2023) (primary advisor)
• Navid Mohamadi (KLU) Food waste in retail supply chains (2018-2023) (second supervisor)
• Nayeli Hernandez (TUE) Social Responsibility in Agricultural Supply Chains (2017-2023) (promotor - supervision)
• A. Acocella (MIT) (2020-2021) (committee member)
• C. Imdahl (KLU) (2018-2021) Data-driven Tools and Human Decision Making in Operations Management (committee chair - second supervisor)
• N.A. Kurdhi (TUE) Revenue Management and Strategy for the Refurbishing Economy (2017-2021) (promotor – co-supervision)
• A. Snoeck (MIT) Flexibility in urban logistics networks (2016-2020) (committee member - co-supervision)
• J. Ge (TUE) Traditional Retail Distribution in Megacities (2013-2017) (promotor - supervision)
• T. Soltani (TUE) Risk management at the interface of operations and finance (2013-2017)  (promotor - co-supervision)
• H. Cetinay (TUE) Integrated operational and financial decision making (2010-2016) (promotor - co-supervision)
• M. Jaksic (TUE) Inventory Model with Uncertain Supply (2006-2016) (external candidate - promotor – supervision)
• A. Franceschetti (TUE) Sustainable City Logistics: Fleet planning, routing and scheduling problems (2011-2015) (2nd promotor – co-supervision)
• R. van den Berg (TUE) Strategies and new business models in intermodal hinterland transport (2nd promotor – co-supervision)
• K. van der Vliet (TUE) Concepts and trade-offs in supply chain finance (2011-2015) (promotor - co-supervision)
• M. Udenio (TUE) Inventory dynamics and the bullwhip effect: studies in supply chain performance (2010-2014) (promotor – supervision)
• S. Fazi (TUE) Mode selection, routing and scheduling for inland container transport (2010-2014) (promotor – co-supervision)
• K. Sharypova (TUE) Optimization of Hinterland Intermodal Container Transportation (2009-2014) (promotor – supervision)
• F. van den Heuvel (TUE) Co-location in logistics (2009-2013) (2nd promotor – co-supervision)
• A. Pufall (Nokia / TUE) Ramp-up Performance in Consumer Electronics (2006-2013; external candidate) (promotor – supervision)
• K. Hoen (TUE) Design and Control of Carbon Aware Supply Chains (2009-2012) (2nd promotor – co-supervision)
• M. Raskovic (University of Ljubljana) Managing supplier-buyer relationships as a source of competitive advantage in transnational companies (mentor - co-supervision) (2009-2012)
• M. Jansen (TUE) Hierarchical supply chain planning under dynamic demand (2007-2012) (2nd promotor – co-supervision) - Finalist, BETA PhD Award 2013.
• A. Curseu (TUE) Retail inventory management with lost sales (2005-2012) (promotor – co-supervision)
• Y. Boulaksil (TUE) Supply Chain Planning in Outsourced and Partnered Supply Chains (2006-2010) (promotor – supervision) - Finalist, BETA PhD Award 2012
• U. Özen (TUE / University of Tilburg) Modeling supply chain collaboration using game theory in multiple newsvendor situations (2003-2007) (promotor)
• B. Selçuk (TUE) Dynamic performance of hierarchical planning systems (2003-2007) (2nd promotor - supervision)
• A.G. Robinson (Stanford University) Available to Promise concepts in the automotive industry using variable due dates.(2002-2005) (member of reading committee - de facto co-supervision).
• J. Spitter (TUE) (2004-2005; involved at later stage) (2nd promotor)
• C.V. Ivanescu (TUE) Order Acceptance and Capacity Planning in Batch Chemical Industries (2000-2004) (member of reading committee – de facto promotor -supervision)
• A.J. Schalla (TUE) Hierarchical Planning in Advanced Planning Systems (supervision and committee member as copromotor 12/01)
• E.G. Negenman (TUE) Improved Aggregate Decision Making in Complex Manufacturing Systems (co-supervision and committee member 04/00)
• W.H.M. Raaijmakers (TUE) Order Acceptance and Capacity Loading in Batch Process Industries (supervision and reading committee member as copromotor 09/99)
  
  PhD committee member
  
  • Camilo Mora Quinones (Tecnologico de Monterrey) (committee member) (since 2021-2024)
  • Naghmeh Khosrowabadi (2019-2024) (second supervisor)
  • Juan Esteban Muriel (Deakin University Melbourne) (2019-2023) (External Research Supervisor)
  • J. Paul (RSM Erasmus University), committee member (03/22)
  • N. Bombaij (Tilburg University), committee member (04/21)
  • J. Heinen (KLU), committee member and chair (12/19)
  • S. Aggarwal (IE Business School), member of committee (suspended due to personal situation of candidate)
  • B. Acero (Zaragoza Logistics Center / University of Zaragoza), alternate 
  member of committee (06/19)
  • Y. Huang (Tsinghua University), member of committee (06/18)
  • N. Ziengs (University of Groningen), member of committee (04/18)
  • D. Inghels (VU University Amsterdam), member of reading committee
  (06/16)
  • M. Rowshannahad (École des Mines de Saint-Étienne), member of jury
  (05/15)
  • N. Salimi (TUE), member of committee (10/14)
  • S. Wruck (VU University Amsterdam), member of reading committee (06/14)
  • M. van Elzakker (TUE), member of committee (11/13)
  • F. Liao (TUE), member of committee (11/13)
  • F. Karsten (TUE), member of committee (11/13)
  • J. Velazquez Martinez (ITESM), member of committee (06/13)
  • Y. Bouchery (Ecole Centrale de Paris), member of jury (11/12)
  • B. Vermeulen (TUE), member of extended committee (06/12)
  • O. Kilic (Univ of Groningen), member of reading committee (10/11)
  • K. Alterndorfer (Univ of Vienna), external reviewer (01/11)
  • C. de Snoo (Univ of Groningen), member of reading committee (01/11)
  • J. Larco (Erasmus Univ Rotterdam), member of reading committee (11/10)
  • O. Gabali (TUE), member of core committee (11/10)
  • Y. Feng (Université Laval, Québec), member of jury (09/10)
  • E. Engebrethsen (BI Business School, Oslo), first opponent (12/09)
  • N. Agatz (Erasmus Univ Rotterdam), member of extended committee 
  (04/09)
  • E. Krauth (Erasmus Univ Rotterdam), member of extended committee 
  (12/08)
  • M. Mes (University of Twente), member of reading committee (03/08)
  • P. van der Vlist (Erasmus Univ Rotterdam), member of reading committee (06/07)
  • R. Akkerman (Univ Groningen), member of extended committee (01/07)
  • J. Smaros (Helsinki University of Technology), external examiner and 
  opponent (09/05)
  • M.F. van Assen (Erasmus University Rotterdam), member of extended 
  committee (05/05)
  • C.A. Soman (Univ Groningen), member of reading committee (01/05)
  • B.J C. Claessens (TUE), member of extended committee (10/04)