Our Mission
Let's Create Impact Together
Ops21™’s mission is to collaboratively build organizational capacity to tackle 21st-century challenges and opportunities through applied, rigorous Operations and Supply Chain Management (OSCM) research that generates both practical impact and scholarly contributions.
Our Objectives
Impacting Practice & Scholarship
01
Capacity-building at partner organizations to
- enhance operational effectiveness and
- create value (economic and socio-environmental) through operations and supply chain-focused business models
02
Knowledge creation and dissemination through
- scholarly research articles and
- trade and policy publications
Testimonials - TO HIDE
The MBA taught me to lead with courage, embracing discomfort, uncertainty, and growth as essential fuel for principled leadership. - by Damian Graizevsky (MBA25). Asia School of Business truly embodies the 'mens et manus' motto, where learning meets practice
Through diverse experiences, the MBA broadened both my global perspectives and self-awareness. My direction forward now feels more intentional.
My MBA journey taught me to integrate strategic thinking with empathy to balance analytical rigor with human-centric leadership for sustainable organizational success.
Our Focus Areas
Driving Impact Across Four Pillars
Build capacity for organizations and supply chains to be agile and resilient to operational disruptions and create organizational vigilance to notice longer-term systemic shifts and adapt organizations and supply chains.
Exploit the advances in information technology, including AI, to make operational processes more efficient and effective.
Foster new organizations (including social enterprises and non-profits) that create economic, social, and environmental value by orchestrating supply chain operations
Enable a resolute and pragmatic transition to operations to achieve sustainable development goals
Our Projects
Impact in Action - TO HIDE
Scenario Planning for Resilient Chemical Logistics Company
Collaboration with a chemical logistics company to examine how scenario planning can inform both long-term strategy and operational decisions.
Project with a steel tube manufacturing company on its transformation from analogue to digital operations, focusing on how digital technologies can enhance operational visibility, process efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.
Collaboration with a large multi-industry conglomerate to explore how digital platforms and supply chain orchestration can transform retail operations.
Our Partners
Our Collaborators for Impact - TO HIDE
The MBA taught me to lead with courage, embracing discomfort, uncertainty, and growth as essential fuel for principled leadership. - by Damian Graizevsky (MBA25). Asia School of Business truly embodies the 'mens et manus' motto, where learning meets practice
Through diverse experiences, the MBA broadened both my global perspectives and self-awareness. My direction forward now feels more intentional.
My MBA journey taught me to integrate strategic thinking with empathy to balance analytical rigor with human-centric leadership for sustainable organizational success.
Our Publications
Research That Drives Impact
| Year | Title | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Phadnis (2018) “Internet of Things and Supply Chains: A Framework for Identifying Opportunities for Improvement and Its Application”, Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management | Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management |
| 2017 | Phadnis (2017) “Internet of Things and Supply Chains: A Framework for Identifying Opportunities for Improvement and Its Application”, Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management | Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management |
| Year | Title | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Phadnis (2023) “Creating Value Through Supply Chain Orchestration as a Business Model”, Academy of Management Perspectives | Academy of Management Perspectives |
| Year | Title | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Phadnis, Mooney and Grasset (2025) “Food Supply Chain Orchestration for Circularity: The Lost Food Project”, California Management Review | California Management Review |
| Year | Title | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Phadnis (2018) “Internet of Things and Supply Chains: A Framework for Identifying Opportunities for Improvement and Its Application”, Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management | Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management |
| 2017 | Phadnis (2017) “Internet of Things and Supply Chains: A Framework for Identifying Opportunities for Improvement and Its Application”, Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management | Emerging Technologies for Supply Chain Management |
| Year | Title | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Phadnis (2023) “Creating Value Through Supply Chain Orchestration as a Business Model”, Academy of Management Perspectives | Academy of Management Perspectives |
| Year | Title | Publication |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Phadnis, Mooney and Grasset (2025) “Food Supply Chain Orchestration for Circularity: The Lost Food Project”, California Management Review | California Management Review |
Founding Director, Ops21™: Operations for 21st Century
Shardul Phadnis is a Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Asia School of Business. He studies the intersection of supply chains and strategic management: how organizations create value by orchestrating supply chain operations and how strategy processes like scenario planning influence the adaptability of supply chain infrastructures and processes.
Shardul has led collaborative applied research projects in various industries including chemicals, food and beverage, retail, pharmaceutical distribution, semiconductors, as well as government agencies in Asia, Europe, North and South America (incl. US). He served as the President of the board of directors of The Lost Food Project—one of Malaysia’s largest food banks—for 2.5 years, where he is currently President Emeritus.
Shardul holds a PhD (2012) in Engineering Systems from MIT. He worked in manufacturing companies for seven years before joining academia (with the last role as the head of the Lean Promotion Office).
The Team
“Working with Prof. Shardul and the Ops21™ team has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. We worked with a Japanese steel tube manufacturer pathway through a digital transformation, digging into why the implementation had stalled and how to get it moving again, getting to the root causes rather than the surface symptoms. That mix of analytical rigor and a consultative, problem-solving approach is what sets Ops21™ apart.” ASB truly embodies the 'mens et manus' motto, where learning meets practice
“My experience with Ops21™ provided valuable exposure to a real-world manufacturing transformation project. It allowed me to examine the journey from existing manual, fragmented processes to a more integrated, data-driven way of working, including the practical hurdles involved in that transition. The experience strengthened my ability to structure ambiguous problems and connect process improvements with measurable business outcomes.”
“Working with Ops21 on the Daiwa project was one of the most enriching experiences of my career. Under the thoughtful guidance of Prof. Shardul Phadnis, I learned how rigorous research, disciplined problem solving, and cultural sensitivity come together to drive meaningful change in complex manufacturing environments. Ops21 is a truly special programme that sharpens research assistants both professionally and personally, and I feel privileged to have been part of it.”
benyamin nasir
Senior Manager, Ops21™
Sunil Bangi
Research Associate
Feb ‘25 – Dec ‘25
Daiwa
Syarifah Hasanah
Research Associate
Nov ‘25 – Apr ‘26
BASF
Hoji Mirzakulov
Research Associate
Apr ‘26 – Jul ‘26
Daiwa
Hanim Mohd Saupi
Research Associate
Jun ‘26 – Aug ‘26
The Habitat Foundation
benyamin nasir
Senior Manager, Ops21™
Sunil Bangi
Research Associate
Feb ‘25 – Dec ‘25
Daiwa
Syarifah Hasanah
Research Associate
Nov ‘25 – Apr ‘26
BASF
Hoji Mirzakulov
Research Associate
Apr ‘26 – Jul ‘26
Daiwa
Hanim Mohd Saupi
Research Associate
Jun ‘26 – Aug ‘26
The Habitat Foundation