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Asad Ata

Home  » Faculty & Research » Resident Faculty » Asad Ata

Associate Professor II of Operations and  Supply Chain Management, Research Affiliate (MIT) Director, Center for Sustainable Small-owners

Area of Expertise:

Operations and Supply Chain Management, Analytics and Optimization, Sustainable Sourcing and Production, Community Empowerment

Dr. Asad Ata is an Associate Professor II of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Asia School of Business. His primary areas of research include sustainable sourcing and supply chain management. Dr. Asad has worked full-time in the industry for over 12 years on various supply chain IT, telecom, and e-commerce projects. He has also worked extensively with food and agricultural supply chains with multinational corporations, NGOs, government organizations, and agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and SWIFT.

With a team of more than 40 researchers, field officers, and consultant agronomists, he leads a sustainability center for SMEs and small farmers of oil palm in Malaysia. Dr. Asad is working with small farmer communities to design supply chains that are socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable. Dr. Asad Ata has been appointed on the Technical Advisory Committee for Mechanization & Automation Research Consortium for Oil Palm (MARCOP) Malaysia, a Government-Industry platform to discuss, develop and adopt mechanization and automation technologies for oil palm. In addition he is also on the advisory board of PERTANIGA, an independent smallholder association of Oil Palm farmers in Malaysia.

Dr. Asad teaches graduate programs in the areas of logistics, supply chain management, and sustainability. His teaching and research expertise covers operations and supply chain management, analytics, software systems, optimization, and data modeling. Dr. Asad has been a Research Affiliate with MIT from 2011, where he has taught for MIT Global Supply Chain And Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network. He has been part of the design team for MIT’s first X-Series MOOC on Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Asad received his PhD in Operations Research from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, USA. He completed his Master’s degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA. He completed his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

Refereed Publications
  • Ata, A., Yusof, N., Rosland, N., Ramachandran, V., Rashid, N. A., Ali, Z. A., Khairina, I., Hashim, A., and Azahar, S. (2024). RISS Execution by an Independent Smallholder Association, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1308/1/012063
  • Ramachandran, V., Donough, C., Soontat, C., Ratnam, M., Mohamad, R., Azahar, S., Hashim, A., Teh, K. S., Mansor, H., Oberthur, T., and Ata, A. (2024). Improving Livelihoods for Independent Smallholders by Yield Intensification through Good Agricultural Practices, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1308/1/012062
  • Chambers, G. C., Snir, M. E., & Ata, A. (2009). The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in Pharmaceutical Product Introductions, Decision Sciences Journal, 40 (2), 243–268, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2009.00226.x
Books
  • Ata, A., Yusof, N. M., Ajman, and Savory, S. I. (2023). The Road to Certified Sustainable Palm Oil, A Sustainability Journey from the Fields of Johor, Malaysia, (1st Edition). Asia School of Business. ISBN: 978-967-19347-5-3.
  • Mohamad, M. R., Hashim, M. A., Azahar, S., & Ata, A. (2023). Good Agriculture Practices- Training Module, Asia School of Business. ISBN: 978-967-19347-4-6.
Working Papers
  • Stek, E. P., & Ata, A. (Under Review, 2024). An Innovation Diffusion and Actor-Network Analysis of Sustainability Standards for Small Palm Oil Farmers, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.
  • Ata, A., Donough. R. C., Ramachandran, V., Tat. C. S., Mansor, H., Teh, S. K., & Oberthur, T. (2024). Supply Chain Driven Intervention to Improve Yield and Livelihood of Independent smallholders for Oil Palm in Malaysia.
  • Lee, Y., Ata, A., & Bateman, A. (2024). Hands-Off or Hands-On? Sustainable Sourcing Strategies by Firms Across Palm Oil Supply Chains.
  • Lim, K. E., Ramachandran, V., Nursaiyidah, Y., Ratnam, M., Azahar, S., Hashim, & Ata, A. (2024). Achieving Sustainable Development Goals – An NDPE and Certification Strategy for Independent Smallholder Farmers for Oil Palm.
  • Lim, K. E., Ramachandran, V., Ata, A., Ratnam, M., Mohamad, R., Azahar, S., Hashim, A., Tat, C. S., & Mansor, H. (2024). Insights from GAP Execution for Yield Intensification Among Independent Smallholder Farmer for Oil Palm.
  • Ramos, J. C. D. R., Amarvadi, P. K., & Ata, A. (2024) Composite Forecast Approach for Market Demand Using Regression with Simulation to Predict the Palm Oil Market.
  • Ata, A., Shukla, M., & Singh, M. (2017). Financing SME Value Chains, MIT Global SCALE Working Paper, (17-01).
Opinion Pieces, Press and Articles
  • Ata, A., (2024, March 13). How can businesses make their supply chains more sustainable? Business Because.
  • Ata, A., (2023, November 1). Membangunkan Rantaian Bekalan Mampan untuk Petani Kecil – Buka jalan ke arah tanggungjawab sosial. Dagangnews.com.
  • Ata, A., (2023, October 19). Building Sustainable Supply Chains for Small Farmers. The Edge.
  • Ata, A., (2023, October 16). Building A Sustainable Supply Chain for Smallholder Farmers. Utusan Malaysia.
  • Ata, A., (2023, August 26). Helping Smallholders Go Green While Raising Incomes. The Star.
  • Ata, A., (2022, June 8). Ensuring Sustainability in Palm Oil Smallholding Supply Chains. International Business Review, Issue 142, 36-38.
  • Ata, A., (2022, March 3). The Case for Sustainable Supply Chains. International Business Review, Issue 141, 36-38.
  • Ata, A. (2013). Bridging the Finance Gap for Asian SMEs, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 51.
  • Ata, A. (2013). Financial Constraints Limit Asia’s SMEs, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 49.
  • Ata, A., (2012, September). SMEs and the Supply Chain Management Challenge, SME Magazine Asia.
  • Ata, A., (2012, June). Supply Chain and SMEs, World SME News, World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME).
  • Ata, A., (2012). Can India’s Rural Farms flourish in World Markets? MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 47.
  • Ata, A., (2012). Funding for SME Research at MISI, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 46.
  • Ata, A., (2011). Small Businesses Play a Big Role in Asia, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 45.
Invited lectures and seminars
  • RSPO Roundtable Conference 2023: RSPO Book Launch, 19-22 November 2023
  • MPOB International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC 2023): Poster Competition, 7-9 November 2023
  • RSPO Monash Symposium: Panel Speaker, 25 September 2023
  • Climate Governance Workshop for SMEs: Paper Presentation, 6 September 2023
  • International Conference on Environmental Social and Governance (i-ESG): Paper Presentation, 28-30 August 2023
  • International Oil Palm Conference (IOPC) 2023, Bali Indonesia: Poster Presentation, 12-15 March 2023
  • RISE World Summit: RISE Value Co-Creation: Inclusive Capital, Procurement & Practices, 2 February 2022
  • From Dine-in to Takeaways – Surviving the Covid Disruption, 2021 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference; April 2021
  • Insights from the Learning Farms – Dealing with Self -Managed verses Contractor-Managed Farms – YARA Head Quarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; January 2021
  • Re-Structuring the State Space for A Markov Decision Process, INFORMS Virtual Annual Conference; October 2020
  • Role of Independent Smallholder Farmer in Malaysian Palm Oil SC, Bank Negara Malaysia – VBIAF Sectoral Guide Town Hall; September 2020
  • Oil Palm Independent Small Farmer Sustainability Journey, MIMOS Head Quarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; January 2020
  • The Small Farmer Sustainability Journey Road-Map, 17th Annual RSPO Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil, Bangkok, Thailand; November 2019
  • Oil Palm Supply Chain Traceability and Mapping, P&G Leadership, University Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia; September 2019
  • Roundtable on Sustainability in the ASEAN Region, MIT-Sloan & DTGO Roundtable, Bangkok, Thailand; September 2019
  • Sustainable Sourcing for Palm Kernel Oil Supply Chain, International Congress for Conservation Biology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; July 2019
  • Doing What is Right – True partnership and meaningful collaboration, AMCHAM CSR Committee Sharing Sessions at, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; March 2019
  • Opportunities & Challenges, First Mile Logistics Services in Agricultural Services, ADB Workshop for National Integrated Logistics Plan for India, New Delhi, India; February 2019
  • The Circular Supply Chain, Plasticity Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; October 2018
  • Trends in Supply Chain Management, 5th Global Supply Chain Logistics Group (SCLG) Summit, Dubai; August 2012
Presentations and Workshops
  • FORTASBI Indonesia, Palm Oil Smallholders Workshop, 21st January 2024
  • Empowering smallholders: Examining the outcomes of RSPO, Monash annual symposium , September 2023
  • WWF, RSPO and P&G: Workshop and traceability presentation at Johor, 5 September 2023
  • EXCO Johor CSS project and impact report presentation 16 August 2023
  • Presentation to Chief Minister (Menteri Besar) Johor on CSS Diffusion Program 8 February 2023
  • Smallholder Linking and Learning workshop at annual RSPO Round Table, 28 November 2022
  • Small Farmer Certification – Progress & Challenges – One World Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2021 January
  • Center for Sustainable Small-owners, Program and Glide Path – Sime Darby, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia; 2020 December
  • RSPO Independent Small Farmer Virtual Roadshow – RSPO Head Quarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2020 November
  • Impact of MCO / Covid-19 on Independent Smallholder Farmers – BFM Business News, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2020 May
  • The Small Farmer Challenges with Certification, Astro Awani – 17th Annual RSPO Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil, Bangkok, Thailand; 2019 November
  • Training the Trainers for Independent Smallholders Certification – RSPO Smallholder Academy Master Training Workshop, Medan, Indonesia; 2019 August
  • Responsible Sourcing for Palm kernel Oil Supply Chain – Research Seminar, Asia School of Business, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2019 March
  • Best Startup/Scale up in sustainable innovation – Finalist – Malaysian Dutch Business Council (MDBC) Innovation & Sustainability Awards October 2018
  • Cold Chain Service Providers: An Evaluation Framework – 19th International Symposium on Logistics, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Kumar, P. & Ata, A; 2014 July
  • On-Shelf Availability Strategies: Alternative Models to Assure Product Availability – 19th International Symposium on Logistics, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Kumar, P. & Ata A; 2014 July
  • An LP Based Approach to Stochastic Dynamic Programming Problem, INFORMS Annual Austin, TX DC Meeting, Stochastic Optimization Cluster, 2010
  • The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in New Product Introductions: Multi Product Problem, INFORMS Annual Washington DC Meeting, Technology Management Cluster, 2008
  • The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in New Product Introductions: 2 year 1 Product Problem, POMS La Jolla, CA Conference, Healthcare Track, 2008
  • The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in New Product Introductions: 3 year 1 Product Problem, INFORMS Southwest Regional Conference, Decision Analysis & Manufacturing Track, 2008

Dr. Asad Ata is an Associate Professor II of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Asia School of Business. His primary areas of research include sustainable sourcing and supply chain management. Dr. Asad has worked full-time in the industry for over 12 years on various supply chain IT, telecom, and e-commerce projects. He has also worked extensively with food and agricultural supply chains with multinational corporations, NGOs, government organizations, and agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and SWIFT.

With a team of more than 40 researchers, field officers, and consultant agronomists, he leads a sustainability center for SMEs and small farmers of oil palm in Malaysia. Dr. Asad is working with small farmer communities to design supply chains that are socially responsible, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable. Dr. Asad Ata has been appointed on the Technical Advisory Committee for Mechanization & Automation Research Consortium for Oil Palm (MARCOP) Malaysia, a Government-Industry platform to discuss, develop and adopt mechanization and automation technologies for oil palm. In addition he is also on the advisory board of PERTANIGA, an independent smallholder association of Oil Palm farmers in Malaysia.

Dr. Asad teaches graduate programs in the areas of logistics, supply chain management, and sustainability. His teaching and research expertise covers operations and supply chain management, analytics, software systems, optimization, and data modeling. Dr. Asad has been a Research Affiliate with MIT from 2011, where he has taught for MIT Global Supply Chain And Logistics Excellence (SCALE) Network. He has been part of the design team for MIT’s first X-Series MOOC on Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Asad received his PhD in Operations Research from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, USA. He completed his Master’s degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA. He completed his undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

Refereed Publications
  • Ata, A., Yusof, N., Rosland, N., Ramachandran, V., Rashid, N. A., Ali, Z. A., Khairina, I., Hashim, A., and Azahar, S. (2024). RISS Execution by an Independent Smallholder Association, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1308/1/012063
  • Ramachandran, V., Donough, C., Soontat, C., Ratnam, M., Mohamad, R., Azahar, S., Hashim, A., Teh, K. S., Mansor, H., Oberthur, T., and Ata, A. (2024). Improving Livelihoods for Independent Smallholders by Yield Intensification through Good Agricultural Practices, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1308/1/012062
  • Chambers, G. C., Snir, M. E., & Ata, A. (2009). The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in Pharmaceutical Product Introductions, Decision Sciences Journal, 40 (2), 243–268, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5915.2009.00226.x
Books
  • Ata, A., Yusof, N. M., Ajman, and Savory, S. I. (2023). The Road to Certified Sustainable Palm Oil, A Sustainability Journey from the Fields of Johor, Malaysia, (1st Edition). Asia School of Business. ISBN: 978-967-19347-5-3.
  • Mohamad, M. R., Hashim, M. A., Azahar, S., & Ata, A. (2023). Good Agriculture Practices- Training Module, Asia School of Business. ISBN: 978-967-19347-4-6.
Working Papers
  • Stek, E. P., & Ata, A. (Under Review, 2024). An Innovation Diffusion and Actor-Network Analysis of Sustainability Standards for Small Palm Oil Farmers, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions.
  • Ata, A., Donough. R. C., Ramachandran, V., Tat. C. S., Mansor, H., Teh, S. K., & Oberthur, T. (2024). Supply Chain Driven Intervention to Improve Yield and Livelihood of Independent smallholders for Oil Palm in Malaysia.
  • Lee, Y., Ata, A., & Bateman, A. (2024). Hands-Off or Hands-On? Sustainable Sourcing Strategies by Firms Across Palm Oil Supply Chains.
  • Lim, K. E., Ramachandran, V., Nursaiyidah, Y., Ratnam, M., Azahar, S., Hashim, & Ata, A. (2024). Achieving Sustainable Development Goals – An NDPE and Certification Strategy for Independent Smallholder Farmers for Oil Palm.
  • Lim, K. E., Ramachandran, V., Ata, A., Ratnam, M., Mohamad, R., Azahar, S., Hashim, A., Tat, C. S., & Mansor, H. (2024). Insights from GAP Execution for Yield Intensification Among Independent Smallholder Farmer for Oil Palm.
  • Ramos, J. C. D. R., Amarvadi, P. K., & Ata, A. (2024) Composite Forecast Approach for Market Demand Using Regression with Simulation to Predict the Palm Oil Market.
  • Ata, A., Shukla, M., & Singh, M. (2017). Financing SME Value Chains, MIT Global SCALE Working Paper, (17-01).
Opinion Pieces, Press and Articles
  • Ata, A., (2024, March 13). How can businesses make their supply chains more sustainable? Business Because.
  • Ata, A., (2023, November 1). Membangunkan Rantaian Bekalan Mampan untuk Petani Kecil – Buka jalan ke arah tanggungjawab sosial. Dagangnews.com.
  • Ata, A., (2023, October 19). Building Sustainable Supply Chains for Small Farmers. The Edge.
  • Ata, A., (2023, October 16). Building A Sustainable Supply Chain for Smallholder Farmers. Utusan Malaysia.
  • Ata, A., (2023, August 26). Helping Smallholders Go Green While Raising Incomes. The Star.
  • Ata, A., (2022, June 8). Ensuring Sustainability in Palm Oil Smallholding Supply Chains. International Business Review, Issue 142, 36-38.
  • Ata, A., (2022, March 3). The Case for Sustainable Supply Chains. International Business Review, Issue 141, 36-38.
  • Ata, A. (2013). Bridging the Finance Gap for Asian SMEs, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 51.
  • Ata, A. (2013). Financial Constraints Limit Asia’s SMEs, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 49.
  • Ata, A., (2012, September). SMEs and the Supply Chain Management Challenge, SME Magazine Asia.
  • Ata, A., (2012, June). Supply Chain and SMEs, World SME News, World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME).
  • Ata, A., (2012). Can India’s Rural Farms flourish in World Markets? MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 47.
  • Ata, A., (2012). Funding for SME Research at MISI, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 46.
  • Ata, A., (2011). Small Businesses Play a Big Role in Asia, MIT Supply Chain Frontiers, 45.
Invited lectures and seminars
  • RSPO Roundtable Conference 2023: RSPO Book Launch, 19-22 November 2023
  • MPOB International Palm Oil Congress and Exhibition (PIPOC 2023): Poster Competition, 7-9 November 2023
  • RSPO Monash Symposium: Panel Speaker, 25 September 2023
  • Climate Governance Workshop for SMEs: Paper Presentation, 6 September 2023
  • International Conference on Environmental Social and Governance (i-ESG): Paper Presentation, 28-30 August 2023
  • International Oil Palm Conference (IOPC) 2023, Bali Indonesia: Poster Presentation, 12-15 March 2023
  • RISE World Summit: RISE Value Co-Creation: Inclusive Capital, Procurement & Practices, 2 February 2022
  • From Dine-in to Takeaways – Surviving the Covid Disruption, 2021 INFORMS Business Analytics Conference; April 2021
  • Insights from the Learning Farms – Dealing with Self -Managed verses Contractor-Managed Farms – YARA Head Quarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; January 2021
  • Re-Structuring the State Space for A Markov Decision Process, INFORMS Virtual Annual Conference; October 2020
  • Role of Independent Smallholder Farmer in Malaysian Palm Oil SC, Bank Negara Malaysia – VBIAF Sectoral Guide Town Hall; September 2020
  • Oil Palm Independent Small Farmer Sustainability Journey, MIMOS Head Quarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; January 2020
  • The Small Farmer Sustainability Journey Road-Map, 17th Annual RSPO Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil, Bangkok, Thailand; November 2019
  • Oil Palm Supply Chain Traceability and Mapping, P&G Leadership, University Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia; September 2019
  • Roundtable on Sustainability in the ASEAN Region, MIT-Sloan & DTGO Roundtable, Bangkok, Thailand; September 2019
  • Sustainable Sourcing for Palm Kernel Oil Supply Chain, International Congress for Conservation Biology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; July 2019
  • Doing What is Right – True partnership and meaningful collaboration, AMCHAM CSR Committee Sharing Sessions at, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; March 2019
  • Opportunities & Challenges, First Mile Logistics Services in Agricultural Services, ADB Workshop for National Integrated Logistics Plan for India, New Delhi, India; February 2019
  • The Circular Supply Chain, Plasticity Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; October 2018
  • Trends in Supply Chain Management, 5th Global Supply Chain Logistics Group (SCLG) Summit, Dubai; August 2012
Presentations and Workshops
  • FORTASBI Indonesia, Palm Oil Smallholders Workshop, 21st January 2024
  • Empowering smallholders: Examining the outcomes of RSPO, Monash annual symposium , September 2023
  • WWF, RSPO and P&G: Workshop and traceability presentation at Johor, 5 September 2023
  • EXCO Johor CSS project and impact report presentation 16 August 2023
  • Presentation to Chief Minister (Menteri Besar) Johor on CSS Diffusion Program 8 February 2023
  • Smallholder Linking and Learning workshop at annual RSPO Round Table, 28 November 2022
  • Small Farmer Certification – Progress & Challenges – One World Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2021 January
  • Center for Sustainable Small-owners, Program and Glide Path – Sime Darby, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia; 2020 December
  • RSPO Independent Small Farmer Virtual Roadshow – RSPO Head Quarters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2020 November
  • Impact of MCO / Covid-19 on Independent Smallholder Farmers – BFM Business News, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2020 May
  • The Small Farmer Challenges with Certification, Astro Awani – 17th Annual RSPO Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil, Bangkok, Thailand; 2019 November
  • Training the Trainers for Independent Smallholders Certification – RSPO Smallholder Academy Master Training Workshop, Medan, Indonesia; 2019 August
  • Responsible Sourcing for Palm kernel Oil Supply Chain – Research Seminar, Asia School of Business, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2019 March
  • Best Startup/Scale up in sustainable innovation – Finalist – Malaysian Dutch Business Council (MDBC) Innovation & Sustainability Awards October 2018
  • Cold Chain Service Providers: An Evaluation Framework – 19th International Symposium on Logistics, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Kumar, P. & Ata, A; 2014 July
  • On-Shelf Availability Strategies: Alternative Models to Assure Product Availability – 19th International Symposium on Logistics, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Kumar, P. & Ata A; 2014 July
  • An LP Based Approach to Stochastic Dynamic Programming Problem, INFORMS Annual Austin, TX DC Meeting, Stochastic Optimization Cluster, 2010
  • The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in New Product Introductions: Multi Product Problem, INFORMS Annual Washington DC Meeting, Technology Management Cluster, 2008
  • The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in New Product Introductions: 2 year 1 Product Problem, POMS La Jolla, CA Conference, Healthcare Track, 2008
  • The Use of Flexible Manufacturing Capacity in New Product Introductions: 3 year 1 Product Problem, INFORMS Southwest Regional Conference, Decision Analysis & Manufacturing Track, 2008