Package-free stores aim to eliminate waste

A new wave of sustainability-focused retailers are embracing a package-free retail trend to minimize the environmental impact of shopping for groceries and everyday goods.

Professor Saibal Ray, the academic director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, applauds the innovative attempts to avoid packaging while pointing out the difficulty of implementation.

Pfizer delay causing vaccine shortage in Quebec

Quebec will receive only half of the expected Pfizer-BioNtech vaccines by February 8th due to strategy adjustments made by production facilities in Europe. Accelerated vaccine deliveries are planned for February and March to address the shortfall. The shortage will mainly affect elderly patients in long-term care, who were set to receive the second round of the vaccine in mid-March.

Crowdshipping could be answer to delivery delays as e-commerce soars

The sharp rise in e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic has strained the ability of Canada Post and private couriers alike to keep up with demand.

Avoiding a vaccine vial shortage

The launch of the largest vaccination campaign in history involves the mass production of medical vials constructed out of borosilicate glass.

Restaurant automation gains new appeal during pandemic

As social distancing measures remain in replace across Canada, consumers are flocking to buy automated food and drink kiosks for fresh, made-to-order food and beverages with little to no human contact.

Logistical challenges stand in the way of COVID-19 vaccine

Professor Saibal Ray, Academic Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, describes the daunting complexity involved in ramping up the first round of COVID-19 vaccine production.

Retail for a post-COVID world

Professor Saibal Ray weighs in on the strategies that will propel retailers to success in a post-pandemic landscape where the optimal customer experience is a frictionless experience. As the academic director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, Prof.

Inventory in Times of War

Authors: Andres F. Jola-Sanchez and Juan Camilo Serpa Publication: Management Science, 67(10):6457-6479 Abstract:

We study how armed conflicts affect inventory across firms’ production facilities. We track 38,916 production facilities—including plantations, livestock farms, and factories—in war-torn Colombian regions; we also collect the data of 5,138 attacks performed by the two rebel groups involved in Colombia’s civil war. To obtain exogenous variation in the conflict intensity, we use a difference-in-differences model that hinges on the peace process between the government and one of the guerrilla groups. We find that when the conflict intensity increases by one order of magnitude, inventory decreases by up to 10.38%. Firms, however, barely reduce finished inventory during war; they mainly reduce raw and work-in-process inventory. To offset this inventory reduction, firms increase their cash holdings—that is, they shift their working capital from physical inventory to liquid assets. The location of the facility moderates the effect of war: when a facility is close to a distribution center—hence, inventory travels short distances—the firm responds to violence by aggressively reducing inventory; when a facility is far from a distribution center, the firm reacts less aggressively to war.

COVID-19 pandemic spurs growth in data analytics and business intelligence

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, companies are relying more heavily than ever on data analytics and business intelligence applications to weather the storm. Led by Professor Juan Serpa, a student-run initiative called COVID-QC is providing approximate real-time information about infection, death, and recovery numbers in Quebec to help leaders make more strategic, data-informed decisions.

Montreal retailers plan for month-long Black Friday to stay afloat

Struggling Montreal retailers hope to build a critical mass of shoppers downtown through offering traditional Black Friday sales and events for multiple days, even up to a month in some stores. Professor Saibal Ray, Academic Director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management, weighs in on their Hail Mary strategy.

Maxime Cohen appointed Associate Editor of Management Science

Maxime Cohen, Associate Professor of Retail Management and Operations Management, was recently appointed Associate Editor of Management Science

QS ranks McGill MMA best in Canada, 10th in the world

Only two years since the program launched in 2018, the Master of Management (MMA) program at McGill University has carved a spot in the top 10 business analytics programs in the world and taken the top spot in Canada.

Released today, the QS World University Rankings places the McGill MMA 10th in the QS Masters in Business Analytics Rankings 2021.

Professor Robert David named Vice-Dean of Faculty

Professor Robert David has been appointed Vice-Dean (Faculty) of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.

Delve: Adapting our Global Supply Chains During a Historic Pandemic

For the last several decades we have been conditioned to assume that necessities like food items and cleaning supplies will be readily available whenever we require them. But the COVID-19 pandemic has upended those supply chains, as well as those for other necessities, such as medical devices (e.g. respirators) and personal protective equipment (e.g. masks, gloves).

Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou steps down as Dean of Desautels

After five years at the helm of the Desautels Faculty of Management, Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou has been appointed the new Dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. Dean Bajeux-Besnainou will end her second term as Dean in October 2020.