Mahtab Kouhizadeh is an assistant professor of supply chain management at the University of Rhode Island. She recently was recognized among the top scientists around the globe by Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists list, particularly for her research work on supply chain management. She spoke with Providence Business News about her work and what needs to be done to correct supply chain problems.
PBN: What does being part of Stanford’s Top 2% list mean to you and your work at URI?
KOUHIZADEH: Being ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide is both inspiring and encouraging to me, as it highlights the impact of my work within the scholarly community.
Being in the early stages of my career, this recognition provides a valuable opportunity for me to elevate the visibility of my research, expand my professional network and build a strong foundation for a successful academic. At URI, this acknowledgment demonstrates our commitment to contributing cutting-edge, impactful research and innovative knowledge to advance the field of business.
PBN: Supply chain management has been a major topic for local businesses and how recent supply chain problems have impacted them. What did you find in your research? Any root causes to those problems?
KOUHIZADEH: My research has identified several underlying causes of recent supply chain issues, including a lack of transparency across supply chain networks, vulnerabilities in inventory management and demand forecasting, and insufficient adaptation to advanced technologies.
Issues like these are particularly challenging when unexpected events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or geopolitical shifts, expose difficulties in supply chain resilience. The constraints of existing infrastructure and the reliance on global supply networks without local contingencies have also been significant contributors to these issues.
PBN: What kind of implications does blockchain have on supply chain sustainability?
KOUHIZADEH: Blockchain can have great potential for supporting supply chain sustainability. By enabling transparency and traceability, blockchain allows for the monitoring of environmental, social and ethical impacts throughout the supply chain. It offers a secure platform to verify the authenticity and chain of custody of products, validating that sustainable practices are maintained across the entire network, from material sourcing to product delivery.
This transparency is also critical for identifying and minimizing carbon footprints, verifying ethical practices, and enhancing trust with supply chain partners and consumers. Blockchain can support innovative approaches like crowdsourcing, which entails leveraging a large network of people to share resources, ideas, or labor. This enables companies to optimize and extend resource use by sharing, renting, or collaborating with others – ultimately reducing waste and promoting circular economy practices.
PBN: Have you worked with local businesses on your research endeavors on supply chain sustainability? If so, who did you collaborate with?
KOUHIZADEH: While my research has mainly focused on broader, industrywide SCM challenges and innovations, I am eager to expand collaborations with local businesses to implement sustainable SCM practices and integrate digital technologies to address supply chain issues. The URI College of Business provides an excellent environment for fostering these connections. I look forward to future opportunities to build partnerships that will offer mutual insights into optimizing regional supply chains and advancing sustainable business practices.
PBN: What do you feel needs to be done to correct any supply chain problems? And do governments need to address that, or businesses, or both?
KOUHIZADEH: Addressing supply chain issues requires a collaborative effort from both governments and businesses. Governments can support resilience by promoting infrastructure investment, enabling integration of advanced technologies, encouraging reshoring initiatives to reduce dependency on global supply chains, and creating policies that encourage sustainable practices.
Businesses, on the other hand, need to adopt flexible, transparent and digitally integrated systems while developing contingency plans to mitigate disruptions. By working together, these efforts can strengthen supply chain resilience, sustainability and adaptability, making supply chains more robust and resilient against future challenges.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
