INFORMS Open Forum

PhD position in Operations Research at Eindhoven University of Technology

  • 1.  PhD position in Operations Research at Eindhoven University of Technology

    Posted 12-15-2018 07:41
    Data-driven E-Commerce Order Fulfillment (1.0 fte)

    As e-commerce continues to grow, the logistics of moving products along the last leg from warehouses to end-customers has become more important and more complex. The market is highly competitive, volumes increase and customers expect faster, on-demand deliveries, 7 days a week. As of 2022, the USA e-commerce retail market is expected to grow to a staggering US$ 638 billion, from US$ 409 billion in 2017 [Statista 2018]. Similar growth rates are reported for Europe and several Asian countries. To cope with this growth in expected volume, the capacity of last-mile delivery systems will have to expand significantly.
    The focus of this particular project is on e-fulfillment: a term which collectively denotes warehousing operations, last-mile delivery and their interdependence. Within the context of e-fulfillment, we study data-driven optimization. Key to this research is the question how data can be used to make better decisions. Data from various sources is available in abundance: sensor and tracking data (IoT), demand, traffic and weather forecasts, etc. It however remains largely unclear how this data can be used effectively to improve e-fulfillment. Consequently, the main goal of this project is to develop data-driven optimization techniques to improve efficiency in e-fulfillment, while reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, and lowering the ecological impact.
    Within the context of the project, the candidate will be developing new methodology, which typically involves Mathematical programming (Integer and Constraint Programming), Stochastic optimization, as well as Machine learning.

    This project is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

    The PhD candidate is expected to do scientific research in the domain described, write a PhD thesis and publish research results in scientific journals. The research is executed under the supervision of dr. Joris Kinable and prof.dr. Tom van Woensel. The candidate also participates in the PhD education program. A small part of the position involves teaching (in English) in courses offered by the group.
    Applicants for the PhD project should have completed (or be close to completion of) a Master's degree in Operations Research, Computer Science, Econometrics, Mathematics or a comparable domain. Fluency in English is required. Moreover, the candidate must be comfortable in programming in an OO programming language such as Java or C++. Affinity with Industrial Engineering, Operations Management or Econometrics is a plus.

    For more information (including the application procedure): https://jobs.tue.nl/en/vacancy/phd-student-on-datadriven-ecommerce-order-fulfillment-10-fte-404945.html

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    Joris Kinable
    Assistant Professor
    Eindhoven University of Technology
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