Making an Impact: Practice-Driven Inventory Management

Inventories are the magic ingredient that enables supply chains to deliver consumers what they need amid uncertainty and disruptions. However, it is a costly ingredient that ties up capital equivalent to 15% of GDP in developed countries. Inventory research allows us to better understand and manage this key ingredient, and often directly applies to practical settings where it reduces waste and increases resilience.

The International Society for Inventories Research endeavors to provide those engaged in inventory research with an opportunity to exchange views and experiences on an international and interdisciplinary basis: to provide an appropriate and comprehensive framework for the dissemination of research results and to take an initiative in the development of research and higher education.

Organized and hosted by the Operations Planning Accounting and Control group, department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences, Eindhoven University of Technology, on behalf of the ISIR, the 17th ISIR PhD Summer School will be held in the nexus of high-tech manufacturing in the Netherlands and Europe: Eindhoven. Between 25th  and 29th of August, 2025, PhD students, potentially one of their supervisors plus other senior faculty members will convene there to give an opportunity to the students to present their work in a friendly environment, receive extensive and constructive feedback from experienced scholars, attend keynotes from renowned scholars, expand their network, etc.

Keynote Speakers

We are honored and extremely pleased to have confirmed the following keynote speakers:

• 🌟 Christopher Tang (Anderson School of Management , UCLA)

• 🌟 Sean Willems (Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee, Knoxville)

• 🌟 Stefan Minner (TUM School of Management , Technical University of Munich)

• 🌟 Karen Donohue (W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University)

There will also be workshops on relevant topics.

Stochastic Production-Inventory Planning Challenge

In addition to attending keynotes and workshops, summer school participants will have the opportunity to enroll in the 2025 Stochastic Production-Inventory Planning Challenge sponsored by ASML. This challenge, which will be made available in February of 2025, invites participants to come up with policies for optimizing the production-inventory planning process in the supply chain of a large high-tech low-volume manufacturer under uncertainties.

Research Streams

Key research streams in the summer school include:

• 📦 Applications of Inventory Research

• 🤖 Machine Learning for Inventory Research

• 🚚 Interface Between Inventory Management and Transport & Logistics

• 🧠 Judgmental Aspects of Inventory Management

• 🌱 Inventory Management for Sustainable Supply Chains

• 🌍 Offshoring, Near-shoring, and Dual Sourcing

• 🛠️ Inventory Management for Service Logistics

• 🔗 Supply Chain Resilience and Risk Management

• 📈 Forecasting for Inventory Management

Attending the Summer School

There will be a competitive selection process for PhD student presentations, based on a peer review conducted by the summer school’s scientific committee. PhD student applicants are required to submit a 500-word extended abstract detailing the Purpose, Method, Findings (even if provisional), Originality, and Limitations of their research. Senior researchers (preferably supervisors of attending PhD students) are also encouraged to express their intent to attend the summer school and serve as discussants of selected PhD papers. 

Both senior researchers and PhD students can submit their applications here. PhD student are required to upload an abstract as part of their application as they will present their research. Senior researches, on the other hand, are not required to submit abstracts, as they will serve as discussants for selected PhD papers and will not present their own research.

Accepted applicants (both PhD students and senior researchers) will be notified and invited to finalize their registration by paying a registration fee of €200 before 30 April 2025.  The registration fee of 200 euros will cover participation, lunches and two dinners, and the industry visits. Eindhoven has a range of different levels and prices of hotels, hostels and bed & breakfasts that may be booked via comparison web sites to get the best deals. Currently prices quoted start from around 90 euros per night. 

Key Dates

• 📢 January 6, 2025: Opening date for extended abstract submissions

• 📢 February 2025: Publication of the ASML Stochastic Production-Inventory Planning Challenge

• 📢 February 28, 2025: March 10, 2025: Closing date for extended abstract submissions

• 📢 March 31, 2025: Notification of acceptance

• 📢 April 30, 2025: Deadline for summer school payment completion

• 📢 August 1, 2025: Deadline for final submission of complete working papers

The deadline for submitting entries for the ASML challenge is yet to be determined.

Concluding Remarks

We are looking forward to an inspiring week with fascinating presentations from talented researchers, and an awesome social program including visits to picturesque medieval cities and to companies leading the world in their respective industries. The venue will be Eindhoven University of Technology, with its campus located in the heart of Eindhoven. We look forward to welcoming you there for to have a good and inspiring time!