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Stanley Lim

Assistant Professor
Department: Supply Chain Management
Office:
North Business Building
632 Bogue St Rm N350
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-6327
  • Biography
    Stanley Lim is an assistant professor of supply chain management in the Department of Supply Chain Management and faculty affiliate with the Evolution and Future of Work Research Initiative at Michigan State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management from the University of Cambridge, a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an M.B.A. from Warwick Business School. His research examines operational challenges in downstream, or so-called "last-mile," supply chains. He is recognized for his practical and managerial approach, grounding his work in real-world applications. His work has been recognized as a finalist for the INFORMS' Daniel H. Wagner Prize for excellence in the practice of advanced analytics and operations research. By adopting an interdisciplinary perspective that combines operations management, marketing, and economics and utilizing customer behavior analytics, Stanley's aim is to advance the theory and practice of operation. He strives to provide businesses with practical insights on how to distribute their products and services to end consumers efficiently, under various conditions.

    In doing so, he contributes to the understanding of the economics of distribution services in digital and nondigital retail. This encompasses the four core services (or the four A's) that retailers provide to reduce consumers' search and transaction costs: (1) accessibility of product and information, (2) availability of product and information, (3) assurance of product delivery, and (4) assortment planning. His current research applications of interest include local package delivery, retail operations (particularly omni-channel retail), and food waste reduction.

    Based on this research agenda, Stanley has developed analytical models for store network and facility location design, service zoning, workload and job assignments, and new service policies. These include, for example, models to predict failed delivery attempts and incorporating the predictions in routing, estimate the opportunity cost of product stockouts for inventory planning, determine the optimal return window for consumer return policies, and evaluate spatial competition to guide store market area design. Additionally, he has explored the impact of contract terms on the bargaining power and economic outcomes of retailers and suppliers, the relationship between drivers' workload and delivery performance, the influence of subscription models on consumer behaviors, and consumers' sensitivities to lead times and their product return behaviors across digital and nondigital channels. 

    Stanley reviews for 
    Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations ManagementProduction and Operations ManagementJournal of Operations Management, Journal of Business Logistics, Naval Research Logistics, and Service Science. He serves as an associate editor at Journal of Operations Management and Decision Sciences JournalHe has also served as a guest associate editor for a special issue on omni-channel retailing and is co-editing a special issue on innovations, technologies, and the economics of last-mile operations at Journal of Operations Management, and serving as a guest associate editor for a special issue on responsible retail operations at Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. For his reviewing activities, he received the 2024 Decision Sciences Journal Best Reviewer Award, 2023 Management Science Distinguished Service Award, 2023 M&SOM Meritorious Service Award, and the 2022 Academy of Management's Operations and Supply Chain Management Division Outstanding Reviewer Award. He frequently serves as session chairs on empirical retail operations and economics of retail distribution services at INFORMS and POMS annual conferences. He co-chaired the Retail Operations track at the 2024 Annual POMS Conference, the POM-Economics Interface track at the 2023 Annual POMS Conference, and the Supply Chain Management track at the 2023 DSI Annual Conference. He is Chair of Research (Research Tracks) for the 2024 DSI Annual Conference and Co-Chair of the Empirical Research in Operations Management track for the 2025 Annual POMS Conference. Stanley welcomes opportunities for new collaborations.

    *** I am actively looking for post-docs/visiting PhDs/research assistants to work with me across causal inference, optimization and machine learning with applications in retail, logistics, and food supply chains. Please contact me if you are interested. ***
  • Publications
    Article
    Zhao, Y., Luo, Z., Lim, S.F.W.T., Chen, C. and Sim, M. 2024. Service oriented considerate routing: Data, predictions and robust decisions. Management Science (Under revision after major revision decision).
    Article
    Huang, J., Lim, S.F.W.T. and Akturk, M.S. 2024. Third-party delivery platforms. Management Science (Under revision after reject and resubmit decision).
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T., Rabinovich, E., Sousa, R. and Park, S. 2024. Omnichannel grocery retail: Fulfillment revenue models and operational impact. Management Science (Under second-round review after reject and resubmit decision).
    Article
    Wang, L., Lim, S.F.W.T. and Rabinovich, E. 2024. Stem distance and impact on courier choices. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management (Under revision after reject and resubmit decision`).
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T. 2024. Cutting last-mile delivery costs: New tactics can boost profitability and satisfaction with subscription services. MIT Sloan Management Review, forthcoming.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T., Rabinovich, E., Lee, S. and Park, S. 2024. Estimating stockout costs and optimal stockout rates: A case on the management of ugly produce inventory. Management Science, forthcoming.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T., Gao, F. and Tan, T.F. 2024. Channel changes choice: An empirical study about omnichannel demand sensitivity to fulfillment lead time. Management Science, 70(5): 2954-2975.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T. 2023. Research: Why so many packages don’t get deliveredHarvard Business ReviewAvailable  at https://hbr.org/2023/11/research-why-so-many-packages-dont-get-delivered.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T., Wang, Q. and Webster, S. 2023. Do it right the first time: Vehicle routing with home delivery attempt predictors. Production and Operations Management, 32(4): 1262–1284.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T., Richards, T.J., Rabinovich, E. and Choi, M. 2022. Scan based trading and bargaining equilibrium: A structural estimation of supply chain profit. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management24(4): 2328–2348.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T., Rabinovich, E., Park, S. and Hwang, M. 2021. Shopping activity at warehouse club stores and its competitive and network density implications. Production and Operations Management, 30(1): 28–46.
    Article
    Lim, S.F.W.T. and Winkenbach, M. 2019. Configuring the last-mile in business-to-consumer e-retailing. California Management Review, 61(2): 132–154.
  • Awards
    • Harry Boer Best Student Paper - 2016
      Best student paper at European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) Annual Conference
    • Meritorious Paper - 2018
      Best academic paper in the Industrial Logistics Category awarded by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport 
    • Chris Voss Best Paper - 2018
      Best paper at European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) Annual Conference
    • Literati Highly Commended Paper - 2018
      Runner-up of IJOPM Outstanding Paper Award for the year 2018
    • Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Award - 2018
      Best doctoral thesis in the Operations & Production Management Category
    • Service Science Section Best Cluster Paper - 2019
      Finalist for the Service Science Section Best Cluster Paper at the INFORMS Annual Meeting
    • Best Applications-Oriented Paper - 2019
      Best applied paper at the Annual European Decision Sciences Institute (EDSI) Conference
    • James Cooper Memorial Cup - 2019
      Best doctoral thesis awarded by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport 
    • The Case Center Case Writing Scholarship - 2020
      Grant support for writing a teaching case
    • Paul R. Lawrence Fellowship - 2020
      Fellowship awarded by the Case Research Foundation and North American Case Research Association 
    • Outstanding Reviewer Award - 2021
      The International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management Outstanding Reviewer Award
    • Outstanding Reviewer Award - 2022
      The Academy of Management Outstanding Reviewer Award – Operations and Supply Chain Management Division
    • Best Student Paper - 2022
      Best Student Paper (by a student co-author) at the Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) Annual Meeting
    • Instructor Excellence Award - 2021/2022
      Recognized by the Broad College of Business for having student evaluation scores in the top 10% of faculty for the Fall 2021 semester
    • USDA NIFA Grant - 2023
      Proposed project “Food Supply Chain Disruptions: Market-Based Resilience Strategies” awarded $650,000 by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture—Agriculture and Food Research Initiative for three years
    • Management Science Distinguished Service Award - 2023
      The editorial board at Management Science journal grants annual service awards to associate editors and reviewers who have offered exceptional service in the manuscript evaluation process
    • Instructor Excellence Award - 2022/2023
      Recognized by the Broad College of Business for having student evaluation scores in the top 10% of faculty for the Fall 2022 semester
    • M&SOM Meritorious Service Award - 2023
      M&SOM grants annual service awards to reviewers who distinguished themselves by reviewing several manuscripts and with each by writing a fair, critical, and constructive review timely
    • INFORMS Senior Member - 2024
      INFORMS created the Senior Membership program in 2024 to recognize and reward the most dedicated members for their presence and involvement
    • Daniel H. Wagner Prize - 2024
      Finalist for the INFORMS' 2024 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for excellence in the practice of advanced analytics and operations research
    • Behavioral Operations Management Section Best Working Paper - 2024
      Finalist (Honorable Mention) for the Behavioral Operations Management Section Best Working Paper at the INFORMS Annual Meeting
    • Transportation Science & Logistics Society Best Paper - 2024
      Runner-Up for the Transportation Science & Logistics Society Best Paper Award at the INFORMS Annual Meeting
    • Service Science Section Best Student Paper - 2024
      Second Place for the Service Science Section Best Student Paper (by a student co-author) at the INFORMS Annual Meeting
    • Best Reviewer Award - 2024
      Decision Sciences Journal Best Reviewer Award
  • Media Mentions

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