Shardul Phadnis

Dr. Shardul Phadnis is an Associate Professor and Director of Research at Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (MISI) and affiliated with MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) as a researcher. He is leading MISI’s Center for e-Commerce And Retail Transformation(CART).

Dr. Shardul Phadnis' research motivation is to explore the challenge and the process of designing and adapting business models in the rapidly evolving and dynamic supply chains. His research interests lie at the intersection of studies of business models and supply chains, and organizational decision processes that shape these business models. His work seeks to contribute to the scholarly domains of supply chain strategy, business models, scenario planning, and managerial cognition. Dr. Shardul Phadnis is method-agnostic. He published works using various research methods–mathematical modeling, qualitative and mixed methods research, field experiments, etc.–each chosen for its suitability to answer the study’s research question.

Dr. Shardul Phadnis current research projects examine business models in the global apparel industry by taking an end-to-end supply chain perspective (from procurement to retailing). His earlier work in this area received the Giarratani Rising Star Award in 2015 from the Industry Studies Association. Dr. Shardul Phadnis also engaged in a field study that examines the supply chains of small-and-medium enterprise (SME) retailers in South East Asia.

Some applications of his research include a scenario-based long-range planning process used by transportation agencies in the U.S. for deciding the investments in the freight infrastructure, an organizational process to adapt a firm’s supply chain strategy by monitoring its business environment, and applications of scenario planning to aid adaptation of supply chain strategy at three large companies.

Before beginning his academic career, he worked in manufacturing firms for seven years and led the continuous improvement program at a design-to-manufacture firm.