Professor David John Robb

PhD, MBA and BE (Hons)

Prof of Operations and SCM

In: Graduate School of Management » Faculty of Business and Economics

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 forty publications in Accident Analysis & Prevention, Computers & Operations Research, Decision Line, Decision Sciences, Decision Support Systems, 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

Modelling and empirical investigation into operations and supply chain management in China, the effects of lead time and uncertainty in supply chains, inventories in China, the management of retail queues, and on-line shopping for perishable items.

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)
2006	BUSADMIN 776	Operations & Supply Chain Management
2006	BUSADMIN 766	Operations Management
2005	OPSMAN 716	Strategic Operations
2005	OPSMGT 370	Advanced Operations Management
2005	OPSMGT 780	Advanced Inventory Management
2004	OPSMAN 716	Strategic Operations
2003	OPSMAN 703	Operations Management
2003	OPSMAN 601	Strategic Operations
2003	BUSADMIN 729	Integrating Strategy
2002	OPSMGT 258	Business Process Design
2002	BUSADMIN 729	Integrating Strategy
2000	636.333	Enterprise Systems Management
2000	636.782	Advanced Inventory Management and Production Planning
1999	636.786	Enterprise Control Systems
1999	608.601	Strategic Operations (twice)
1998	608.601	Strategic Operations
1998	636.257	Project Management
1997	643.601	Managing the Contemporary Organisation (DipMgmt)
1997	636.370	Management of Operations (BCom)
1996	643.601	Managing the Contemporary Organisation (DipMgmt)
1996	636.370	Management of Operations (BCom)
1995	273.503	Operations/Services Management (DipMgmt)
1995	74.436	Manufacturing and Service Operations Strategy (MCom)
1995	74.300	Advanced Operations Management (BCom)
1994	70.585E	Strategic Operations (DipBus)
1994	26.293	Introduction to Operations Research (BCom/BSc)
Tsinghua University (1997-)
2016 2014 2013	Operations Management (Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA) Operations Management (Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA) (twice) Operations Management (Tsinghua-INSEAD Executive MBA)
2012	Operations Management (International MBA)
2011	China Supply Chain Research (Masters/IMBA)
2011	Operations Management (International MBA)
2011	Operations Strategy (International MBA)
2010	China Supply Chain Research (Masters/IMBA)
2010	Operations Management (International MBA)
2010	Operations Strategy (International MBA)
2009	Operations Strategy (International MBA)
2009	Operations Management (International MBA)
2008	Operations Strategy (International MBA)
2008	Operations Management (International MBA)
2007	Operations Strategy (International MBA)
2007	Operations Management (International MBA)
2001	Operations Management (MIT International MBA)
2001	Operations/Production Strategy (MBA)
1997	Production Management
The University of Calgary (1992 - 1994)
1994	OPMA511.01	Introduction to Project Management (BComm)
1993	OPMA351	Introduction to Operations Management (BComm)
	OPMA353	Decision Analysis (BComm)
1992	OPMA351	Introduction to Operations Management (BComm)

Postgraduate supervision

Param Iyer, PhD, modelling dairy industry operations, 2019-
Lahiru Gunasekera, PhD, circular economy for apparel/footwear, 2019-
Shandong Mou, PhD, Real-time Labour Allocation in Retail Operations, 2014-2019
He Yi, 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

2018- International Committee, The University of Auckland Business School
2017-2020 Deputy Director, Graduate School of Management, The University of Auckland
2014-2016 Professorial Representative, International Committee, The University of Auckland
2012-2018 Beachheads Advisor, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
2002 Associate Dean (Postgraduate), The University of Auckland Business School

Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)

Mou, S., & Robb, D. (2018). Dynamic Labour Allocation To Improve Store Performance. Paper presented at INFORMS Annual Meeting 2018, Phoenix, New Zealand. 4 November - 7 November 2018.
Robb, D. J., & He, Y. (2018). Retail checkout operations with express lanes and adaptive transaction size. Paper presented at 60th Annual Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS) Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. 4 June - 6 June 2018. Related URL.
Mou, S., & robb, D. (2018). Investigating the art of field workforce management: a simulation-based analysis of real-time labour allocation in a retail store. Paper presented at 3rd EURO Working Group Meeting on Retail Operations, Eindhoven, Netherlands. 23 May - 25 May 2018.
Mou, S., & Robb, D. (2017). Real-time labour allocation in a retail store: an exploratory investigation. Paper presented at 15th ANZAM Operations, Supply Chain and Services Management Symposium, Queenstown, New Zealand. 12 June - 13 June 2017. Proceedings of the 15th ANZAM Operations, Supply Chain and Services Management Symposium.
Robb, D., & Barnes, T. (2017). Accident rates: The impact of daylight saving time and other date-based variables. In P. Castka, M. Wilson, M. Chowdhury (Eds.) Proceedings of the 15th ANZAM Operations, Supply Chain and Services Management Sympsoium, 54-56. Queenstown, New Zealand.
Robb, D. J., & Barnes, T. P. (2016). Association Between Accident Rates and Daylight Saving Time Transitions. Paper presented at INFORMS Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. 13 November - 16 November 2016. Related URL.
He, Y., & Robb, D. J. (2016). Retail Checkout Operations: Dynamic Segmentation and Demand Adaptation. Paper presented at Manufacturing and Services Operations Management Conference, Auckland, New Zealand. 30 June - 1 July 2016. Related URL.
Robb, D. J., & He, Y. (2016). Retail checkout operations with dynamic checkout allocation and shopping frequency adaptation. School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University. Related URL.