Speaker: Jan Fransoo, Tilburg University

Title: Reaching 50 Million Nanostores: Retail at the bottom of the pyramid

Abstract: 50 million family-operated “nanostores” form the largest retail channel in the world, as 3-4 billion consumers in Latin America, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia buy their daily grocery needs around the corner from their home. In our research program, we study the supply chains serving these nanostores, with particular attention for the Consumer Goods Manufacturers serving this market, and the rapid digitization affecting this traditional retail channel. In this presentation, I will provide an overview of our work, and highlight some of our findings based on both formal mathematical modeling, on econometric analysis of empirical data, and on experiments in the lab and field.

About the speaker: Jan Fransoo is Professor of Operations and Logistics Management in the School of Economics and Management at Tilburg University, Netherlands. He held prior faculty and leadership positions at Kuehne Logistics University and Eindhoven University of Technology, and currently holds honorary affiliations with Eindhoven University of Tcehnology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fransoo’s work has been widely published in academic journals in operations management, operations research, industrial engineering, and transportation. Fransoo has served on the editorial board of multiple journals, while currently serving as Associate Editor for Operations Research and for Production and Operations Management. In his research and consulting, Fransoo collaborates with industry, governments, and intergovernmental institutions.

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Organisers: Sanne Wøhlk and Marcel Turkensteen