Job description

The department of Technology and Operations Management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) offers a full-time post-doctoral position. The start date of the project is 1 January, 2020.

Project description

The post-doctoral researcher will contribute to the project “Government Digitization to Enhance Agro-food Chains”, funded by TKI Dinalog/NWO and the province of Limburg.

The project aims at increasing competitive advantage of the top sectors ‘Logistics’, ‘Horticulture and starting materials’ and ‘Agriculture and food’ by a systematic impact assessment of the digitalization of paper certificates into e-certificates. Current paper certificates are a vulnerability in international supply chains resulting in inefficiencies and barriers to trade because of increased lead times, reduced predictability, unreliable operations and administrative burdens. These effects are in particular negative for perishables. E-certificates simplify and accelerate processes related to certificates and mandatory documentation and enable smart coordination of global supply chains. The digitization of certificates removes barriers of trade and supports data-driven monitoring and supervision of international trade and transport. Dutch logistics has not only built an international reputation through operational excellence on Dutch territory, but also by extending good practices from upstream in the country of export to downstream in the country of import. In this spirit, this project has a strong international orientation. E-certification also enables SMEs to benefit from data sharing and transport efficiencies, and this strengthens the competitive position of the Dutch economy. The project is transdisciplinary in nature by integrating knowledge of agro-logistics and supply chain management with legal and customs aspects in the phytosanitary and veterinary domain, and is aimed at IT-knowledge development on, for example, Blockchain-technology applications. The main research questions are:

By what method does one assess the impact in terms of logistics efficiency and risk mitigation of the digitalization of international phytosanitary and veterinary trade flows? And how can this method be applied to actual international trade flows?

The analysis of benefits from the use of information technologies that help create transparency (and for electronic certificates this relates to the quality of produce) in global supply chains as such is not novel.  This research will also address the question of how the effectiveness of visibility enabling technologies is affected by supply chain structure and governance. This builds on the analysis of traceability systems in agro-food supply chains.  It also addresses the relevance of supply chain structure for quality control, risk management, and certification in global supply chains. In particular, relationships between chain-of-custody, supply chain structure, and supply chain visibility will be addressed. Here new insights can be obtained that add to the academic literature and that will also provide useful insights to practitioners. For example, an effective use of Blockchain technology in trade lanes may also require redesign of the supply chain to remove some of the barriers to visibility which cannot be removed by information systems alone. 

Post-doctoral researcher contribution to the project

The post-doctoral researcher will focus on developing an instrument for impact assessment and participate in the application of the instrument in actual international supply chains. The post-doctoral researcher is involved in the development of scientific work and is expected to contribute to publications in top-tier journals as outcome of the project. The post-doctoral researcher will also participate in activities such as project meetings and dissemination initiatives.

Profile of the researcher

Candidates applying for the post-doctoral position should either have a quantitative orientation towards problem-solving, or have proven expertise and interest in empirical research methods, or both.

The ideal candidate:

·         has a scientific background in supply chain management, operations management, industrial engineering or international business, but other backgrounds related to the topic of the project may be considered relevant as well

·         has an international orientation and cross-cultural interest

·         obtained (or will obtain soon) a PhD degree in a relevant field

·         is enthusiastic about doing research in an applied setting, while aiming for excellent academic output

·         feels comfortable in a multi-disciplinary environment with stakeholders with various academic backgrounds as well as stakeholders from outside of academia

·         can communicate effectively (written and verbally) in English and, preferably, in Dutch.

Employment conditions

The conditions of employment comply with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO NU). The salary of the post-doctoral position will be in accordance with the gross full-time monthly salary scales for post-doctoral researchers at Dutch universities, scales 10 and 11, ranging from € 2,709 to € 4,978 (based on 1.0 FTE). Erasmus University has attractive employment conditions, which include a holiday allowance of 8 per cent, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3 per cent, and a generous number of vacation days.

The appointment for the outlined research project is for 1.0 FTE. The post-doctoral researcher’s appointment will be originally for the period of one year, with the possibility for prolongation for two years. The appointment preferably commences on 1 January 2020. Extension of the contract for another year is subject to satisfactory performance after the first year.