Professor David John Robb
PhD, MBA and BE (Hons)
Biography
David is Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management and Deputy Director in the Graduate School of Management at the University of Auckland Business School.
He has an Engineering Science degree from the University of Auckland, an MBA and PhD in Operations Management from The University of Calgary, where he also served as Assistant Professor (1992-1994). He joined the University of Auckland Business School in 1994.
He has worked in and consulted for various companies, including Dulux Paints, Fletcher Steel, Fletcher Aluminium, New Zealand Post International, Scott Panel & Hardware, and Zuellig Pharma, developing and implementing inventory/logistics management systems in manufacturing and distribution settings. He has taught Operations Management/Strategy and Supply Chain Management on various programmes and companies such as Adams & Robertson Shoes, Aventis China, Fletcher Building, Sellagence, Sinopec, and Whitcoulls.
His research interests include inventory/supply chain management, and operations strategy, and have resulted in over thirty publications in Accident Analysis & Prevention, Computers & Operations Research, Decision Line, Decision Sciences, European Journal of Operational Research, European Management Journal, IIE Transactions, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Interfaces, International Journal of Innovative Computing, Information and Control, International Journal of Inventory Research, International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Journal of Operational Research, Naval Research Logistics, OMEGA: International Journal of Management Science, Operations Management Review, PM Network and Production and Operations Management.
David is Research Fellow at Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, and co-Director of the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing – Greater China. He is a faculty affiliate of the New Zealand Centre for Supply Chain Management, and a member of APICS, CORS, INFORMS, ORSNZ, and POMS. He serves on the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management, the International Journal of Services and Operations Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, and the University of Auckland Business Review, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Alberta. David and his wife have six children.
Research | Current
Teaching | Current
The University of Auckland (2012-)
2019 | BUSMBA 702 | Managing Capacity and Inventory |
2018 | BUSADMIN 776 | Operations & Supply Chain Management |
2018 | BUSADMIN 766 (Q3) | Supply Chain Management |
2017 | BUSADMIN 776 | Operations & Supply Chain Management |
2017 | BUSADMIN 766 (Q3) | Supply Chain Management |
2017 | BUSMGT 724 | Global Operations Management |
2017 | BUSADMIN 766 (Q1) | Supply Chain Management |
2015 |
BUSADMIN 776 |
Operations & Supply Chain Management |
2015 |
BUSMGT 724 |
Global Operations Management (Q1 and Q3) |
2014 |
BUSMGT 721 |
Supply Chain and Operations Management |
2014 |
INFOSYS 345 |
Business Project |
2013 |
BUSADMIN 776 |
Operations and Supply Chain Management |
2013 |
INFOSYS 345 |
Business Project |
2012 |
BUSADMIN 766 |
Supply Chain Management |
The University of Auckland (1994-2006) |
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2006 |
BUSADMIN 776 |
Operations & Supply Chain Management |
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2006 |
BUSADMIN 766 |
Operations Management |
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2005 |
OPSMAN 716 |
Strategic Operations |
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2005 |
OPSMGT 370 |
Advanced Operations Management |
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2005 |
OPSMGT 780 |
Advanced Inventory Management |
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2004 |
OPSMAN 716 |
Strategic Operations |
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2003 |
OPSMAN 703 |
Operations Management |
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2003 |
OPSMAN 601 |
Strategic Operations |
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2003 |
BUSADMIN 729 |
Integrating Strategy |
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2002 |
OPSMGT 258 |
Business Process Design |
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2002 |
BUSADMIN 729 |
Integrating Strategy |
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2000 |
636.333 |
Enterprise Systems Management |
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2000 |
636.782 |
Advanced Inventory Management and Production Planning |
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1999 |
636.786 |
Enterprise Control Systems |
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1999 |
608.601 |
Strategic Operations (twice) |
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1998 |
608.601 |
Strategic Operations |
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1998 |
636.257 |
Project Management |
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1997 |
643.601 |
Managing the Contemporary Organisation (DipMgmt) |
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1997 |
636.370 |
Management of Operations (BCom) |
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1996 |
643.601 |
Managing the Contemporary Organisation (DipMgmt) |
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1996 |
636.370 |
Management of Operations (BCom) |
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1995 |
273.503 |
Operations/Services Management (DipMgmt) |
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1995 |
74.436 |
Manufacturing and Service Operations Strategy (MCom) |
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1995 |
74.300 |
Advanced Operations Management (BCom) |
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1994 |
70.585E |
Strategic Operations (DipBus) |
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1994 |
26.293 |
Introduction to Operations Research (BCom/BSc) |
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Tsinghua University (1997-) |
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2016 2014 2013 |
Operations Management (Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA) Operations Management (Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA) (twice) Operations Management (Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA) |
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2012 |
Operations Management (International MBA) |
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2011 |
China Supply Chain Research (Masters/IMBA) |
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2011 |
Operations Management (International MBA) |
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2011 |
Operations Strategy (International MBA) |
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2010 |
China Supply Chain Research (Masters/IMBA) |
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2010 |
Operations Management (International MBA) |
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2010 |
Operations Strategy (International MBA) |
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2009 |
Operations Strategy (International MBA) |
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2009 |
Operations Management (International MBA) |
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2008 |
Operations Strategy (International MBA) |
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2008 |
Operations Management (International MBA) |
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2007 |
Operations Strategy (International MBA) |
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2007 |
Operations Management (International MBA) |
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2001 |
Operations Management (MIT International MBA) |
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2001 |
Operations/Production Strategy (MBA) |
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1997 |
Production Management |
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The University of Calgary (1992 - 1994) |
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1994 |
OPMA511.01 |
Introduction to Project Management (BComm) |
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1993 |
OPMA351 |
Introduction to Operations Management (BComm) |
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OPMA353 |
Decision Analysis (BComm) |
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1992 |
OPMA351 |
Introduction to Operations Management (BComm) |
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Postgraduate supervision
- Mou Shandong, PhD, Real-time Labour Allocation in Retail Operations, 2014-
- Yi He, MCom - Advanced segmentation of service in retail checkout operations, 2015
- Yucheng Zhou, MCom - A study of inventory management in cellphone supply chains in China, 2014
- Julie Kim, BCom(Hons) - 3D printing, 2013
Distinctions/Honours
- Outstanding Faculty Award for Key Management Challenges Course, Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA (TIEMBA), 2016
- University of Auckland Business School Research Excellence Award, 2015
- Teaching Excellence Award (2nd class), School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, 2009
- University of Auckland Distinguished Teaching Award, 1999
Responsibilities
- Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management and Deputy Director, the University of Auckland Business School's Graduate School of Management.
Visit the GSM website - Research Associate, China Studies Centre.
Visit the NZAI website - Faculty affiliate, New Zealand Centre for Supply Chain Management.
Visit the CSCM website
Areas of expertise
- Operations management, operations strategy
- Supply chain management, inventory management
- Operations and supply chain management in China
Committees/Professional groups/Services
- 2014-2016 Professorial Representative, International Committee, University of Auckland
- 2012- Beachheads Advisor, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
- 2002 Associate Dean (Postgraduate), University of Auckland Business School
Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)
- Mou, S., Robb, D., & DeHoratius, N. (2018). Retail store operations: Literature review and research directions. European Journal of Operational Research, 265 (2), 399-422. 10.1016/j.ejor.2017.07.003
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Shandong Mou - Robb, D., & Barnes, T. (2018). Accident rates and the impact of daylight saving time transitions. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 111, 193-201. 10.1016/j.aap.2017.11.029
- Robb, D. J., & Yang, Y. (2014). Recharge and consolidation decisions for stored value cards with an application to Beijing public transit. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 65 (10), 1511-1521. 10.1057/jors.2013.107
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/24130 - Bischak, D. P., Robb, D. J., Silver, E. A., & Blackburn, J. D. (2014). Analysis and Management of Periodic Review, Order-Up-To Level Inventory Systems with Order Crossover. Production and Operations Management, 23 (5), 762-772. 10.1111/poms.12072
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/24845 - Lai, R., Ren, Z. J., & Robb, D. J. (2014). Geographical Influences on Chinese Inventory: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Inventory Research, 2 (3), 145-173. 10.1504/IJIR.2014.069187
- Fang, X., Zhang, C., Robb, D. J., & Blackburn, J. D. (2013). Decision support for lead time and demand variability reduction. Omega, 41 (2), 390-396. 10.1016/j.omega.2012.03.005
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/24134 - Robb, D. J., Liu, F., Lai, R., & Ren, Z. J. (2012). Inventory in mainland China: Historical, industry, and geographic perspectives. International Journal of Production Economics, 135 (1), 440-450. 10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.08.020
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/14300 - Robb, D. J., Johnson, M. E., & Silver, E. A. (2010). An In-Class Competition Introducing Inventory Management Concepts. INFORMS Transactions on Education, 10 (3), 122-125. 10.1287/ited.1100.0049
Identifiers
Contact details
Primary office location
OWEN G GLENN BUILDING - Bldg 260
Level 3, Room 346
12 GRAFTON RD
AUCKLAND 1010
New Zealand