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- Dr Balan Sundarakani
Dr Sundarakani is an Associate Professor and Discipline Leader for the Master of Science in Logistics program in the Faculty of Business at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD). He earned a B.Engg (Distinction) in Mechanical Engineering from M.S University and an M.Engg (High Distinction) in Industrial Engineering from the National Institute of Technology-Tiruchirappalli, a PhD in Supply Chain Management from the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, India and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship from the Logistics Institute Asia Pacific, NUS Singapore.
He has won “Research Excellence Award” on three occasions for his research performance at UOWD in 2021, 2012 & 2010, received the ‘Highly commended’ “Teaching Excellence Award” from UOWD in 2015, Literati Award Winner (2020) - Journal of Modelling in Management, Emerald Publishing (UK), the ‘Best paper Award’ from IEOM, Bali, Indonesia in 2014, the RTA Appreciation (2012) from the Government of Dubai for sustainable transport strategies, Best Educator Award (2010) from ITP Middle East, ‘Gold medal for Best Case Study’ from IIIE in 2010 and, the prestigious A*Star Fellowship (2006) Singapore, MHRD Fellowship (2003) India, University Rank (2000) and College First Rank (1997-2000) India.
Dr Sundarakani’s teaching style involves Blended Learning and industry practice engaged teaching. He has been very successful in teaching the Analytical, Operational and Supply Chain Management Modelling subjects with deep critical analysis and high level of academic engagement using relevant logistics industry cases and live demonstrations.
He has 20 years of teaching and research experience in the area of Supply Chain Management across various universities including the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, Hindustan University, Chennai and the National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore and the Chair of Logistics Management in Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland.
- PhD in Supply Chain Management (9.5/10), Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
- Master of Industrial Engineering (High Distinction) National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappali
- Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Distinction) M.S University
- Graduate Certificate, Curriculum Design and Assessment, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria, Australia (Pursuing)
[Refereed Journals: 47, Refereed Conferences: 49, Book Chapters: 17, White Papers/Periodicals: 7, Industry Reports: 4, Book Review: 3., Total: 125]
Publications include but not limited to:
- Sundarakani, B., Aneesh, V., and Gunasekaran, A, (2021) Big Data driven Supply Chain Architecture Design and Application for Block Chain in Industry 4.0, Omega: The International Journal of Management Science, Elsevier, Vol.102 (Impact Factor: 7.084) published: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omega.2021.102452 (ABDC: A*)
- Manikas, I., Sundarakani, B. and Madmoune, A. (2021), Integrated Supply Chain Sustainability for Mega Events: An Empirical Study of Dubai Expo 2020, Event Management: An International Journal, Vol.25, Issue ahead-of-print (Impact Factor: 1.16) (ABDC: A)
- Sundarakani, B., Pereira, V. and Ishizaka, A., (2021) Robust Facility Location Decisions for Resilient Sustainable Supply Chain Performance in the Face of Disruptions, International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 357-385. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-12-2019-0333 (Impact Factor: 5.661) (ABDC: A)
- Albishri, D, Sundarakani, B., Gomisek, B., (2020), An Empirical Study of Relationships between Goal Alignment, Centralised Decision Making, Commitment to Networking and Supply Chain Effectiveness Using Structural Equation Modelling, International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications, Taylor and Francis, Vol.23, Issue 4, pp.390-415 (Impact Factor: 4.381) (ABDC: B)
- Younis, H., Sundarakani, B., (2020) The Impact of firm size, firm age and environmental management certification on the relationship between green supply chain practices and corporate performance, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Emerald Publications., Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 319-346. (Impact Factor: 3.93) (ABDC: B)
- Abu-Salim, T., Sundarakani, B. and Lasrado, F., (2019) A Relationship between TQM practices and organisational innovation outcomes: moderating and mediating role of slack, The TQM Journal, Emerald Publications, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 874-907. (Impact Factor: 3.25) (ABDC: B)
- Ioannis, M., Sundarakani. B. and Iakimenko, V., (2019) Time-based responsive logistics for a maintenance service network: A case study of an automated teller manufacturer, Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, Emerald Publications, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 589-611, (Impact Factor: 1.21) (ABDC: B)
- Sundarakani, B, Abdul Razzak, H., Manikandan. S. (2018) Creating competitive advantage in the global catering supply chain: a case study of flight catering, International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications, Taylor and Francis, Vol.21, Issue 5, pp.481-501¸ (Impact Factor: 4.381) (ABDC: B)
- De Souza, R., Mark Goh, Sundarakani, B., Wong T, W., Wu Yong, Keith Toh, (2011) Return on Investment Calculator for RFID Ecosystem of High Tech Company, Computers In Industry: An International Journal, Elsevier Science, (Impact Factor: 7.635), Vol 62, Issues 8-9, October-December 2011, pp. 820-829. (Impact Factor: 7.635) (ABS: 3)
- Sundarakani, B., R. De Souza, M. Goh, Wagner, S and Manikandan, S. (2010), Modelling Carbon Footprints across the Supply Chain, International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier Science, Vol. 128, pp. 43–50. (Impact Factor: 7.885) (ABDC: A*)
Dr Sundarakani’s research areas involve investigating the contemporary supply chain issues that are challenging logistics industry at present.
Research Grants
Resilient Agrifood Dynamism through evidence-based policies
March 2020 – ongoing
Ministry of Education, the UAE Grant - AED 7,100,000, in Partnership with the Dubai Municipality, the UAE University, and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture
Sustainable Value Chain for Expo2020 – Closing the Loop in Expo 2020 Operations
Jan 2020 – ongoing,
EXPO 2020, Sustainability Pavilion
Innovative Schemes for Promoting Distributed Renewable Resources and Electrical Vehicles in Future and Smart grids
March 2018 – Dec 2020, Status: Completed
UOW Australia and UOWD Global Research Grant - A$. 20,000
Resource efficient symbiotic solutions for urban food production systems
Feb 2018 – Dec 2021,
UOWD Research Grant - AED 25,000, Status: Completed
Scale-up Urban Farming for City Resilience and Sustainability.
July 2017 – June 2019
UOWD Research Grant – AED 15,000 Status: Completed
Organizational Learning Within Supply Chain Networks,
UOWD Research Grant, Dubai; Amount: AED. 15,000; Year: March 2013 (Completed)
Greening the construction industry supply chain in UAE: Modeling the carbon footprint,
UOWD Industry Linkage Grant, Dubai; Amount: AED. 10,000; Year: 2009-2010 (Completed)
Innovation Dynamics and Green Supply Chain Project;
Client: Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) Shipping company, Singapore; Amount: S$0.25 million, Year: 2008-2009, (Completed)
Co-evolution study of trade and logistics using system dynamics approach;
Client: IBM, Singapore; Amount: S$750,000; Year: 2007 Duration: 6 Months, (Completed)
Warehouse Inventory model assessment and validation;
Client: DHL, Singapore; Amount: S$50,000, Year: 2007-2008, Duration: 3 Months, (Completed)
Dynamic analysis of Asia Pacific Automotive Supply Chain;
Client: Economic Development Board (EDB), Singapore; Amount: S$1.5 million; Year: 2006-2007, Duration: 1 Year, (Completed)
He is a member of the AIB (USA), ORSI (India), POMS (USA), EuROMA (UK) and INFORMS (USA). Some of his current major scholarly affiliations are;
- Regional Editor (MEA – India), International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, ABDC Rank – B, Scimago Rank - Q1, (Impact Factor: 4.381), Taylor and Francis, UK, May 2020 - Present
- Editor, Operations and Supply Chain Area, Cogent Business & Management Journal, Taylor and Francis Group, ABS Rank – 1, Scimago Rank – Q2, Feb 2018 - Present
- Editor- Supply Chain Management Area, Sage Open- A peer reviewed Open Access journal, Sage Publications, Scimago Rank – Q2, Aug 2019 – Present
- Senior Associate Editor, Operations Management, FIIB Business Review, Sage Publications, Sep 2019 – Present
- Executive Committee member, Supply Chain Logistics Group, SCLG Middle East in Dubai. Jan 2011 – Present
- Executive Committee member, Supply Chain Asia, Singapore, Jan 2010 – Dec 2020
Dr Sundarakani has previously served with the editorial board of Journal of Advances in Management Research, (Emerald Publications) and International Journal of Agile Systems and Management (Inderscience Publications). He also serves as a regular reviewer for the EJOR, IJPR, IJPE, JAMR and SCM Journals.
- Supply Chain Management
- Logistics Systems Management
- Advanced SCM
- Supply Chain Analytics
- Applied Data Analysis*
- Current Issues in Business*
- Business Research Project**
- Operations Management
*Doctoral subject
**Master subject

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