New Guest Researcher at the Chair of Logistics and Quantitative Methods

In 2014 researchers at the Chair of Logistics and Quantitative Methods launched a new research initiative dedicated to the procurement of essential medicines. This initiative focuses on how global health procurers can improve the supply of essentials medicines to low income countries through innovative procurement mechanisms. The research team in Würzburg (consisting of Dr. Alexander Rothkopf, Prof. Richard Pibernik, and Felix Lauton) established a partnership with the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan (more) and is carrying out a number of individual projects in close collaboration with other researchers and relevant international organizations.

In one of these projects, Dr. Rothkopf and Prof. Spiliotopoulou investigate the optimal design of volume guarantees. Their work is motivated by recent announcements of global health buyers to award large, long term volume guarantees to pharmaceutical manufacturers. How a long term volume guarantee impacts prices for vaccines and essential medicines for low income countries and how it affects new generic suppliers’ entry are the core questions they intend to answer. The two researchers have built a complex model drawing on auction theory and operations management models in order to investigate the trade-offs all players have to evaluate when deciding how to set prices and award procurement volumes. A large part of Eirini Spiliotopoulou’s stay at Würzburg is dedicated to further developing and extending this work. She will also engage with other researchers and students to share her experience in the field of supply chain management and behavioral operations, and to develop new ideas and research projects.  

About Prof. Spiliotopoulou:

Eirini Spiliotopoulou (CV) is an Assistant professor of Supply Chain and Logistics, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam. Her main research focus is on information sharing and supply chain coordination, studying both incentives and behavioral factors that may affect decision making in supply chain settings. Her interests lie also within global health supply chains and public policy. Her research has been presented at major international academic conferences and published in leading journals in her field.

Eirini received a B.Sc. in Management Science and Marketing, an MBA from Athens University of Economics and Business (Greece), and her M. Eng. and PhD in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from MIT-Zaragoza Logistics Program, at Zaragoza Logistics Center (Spain). As a doctoral student, she spent time at MIT, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, University of Minnesota and University of Pompeu Fabra. After completing her PhD studies, she served as a research fellow (post-doc) at European Business School (Germany). Before joining academia, Eirini worked as a logistics specialist for the private sector and the Greek Ministry of Transport.