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Suresh Muthulingam

Color portrait of Suresh Muthulingam

Professor of Supply Chain Management

Department Supply Chain & Information Systems
Office Address 460 Business Building
Phone Number 814-867-4798
Email Address sxm84@psu.edu

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Suresh Muthulingam is a Professor of Supply Chain Management since 2022 at the Smeal College of Business, Penn State. He has been at Penn State since 2014. From 2009 to 2014, he was an Assistant Professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University.

He received his PhD from the UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, MBA from the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, and B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras. Before coming to academia, Suresh worked in the industry for 12 years, in various leadership positions at IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Coopers & Lybrand.

Expertise

Environmental Issues in Operations Management;
Supply Chain Management;
Quality Management;
Learning and Forgetting.

Education

Ph.D., Business (Operations Management), The University of California, Los Angeles, 2009

PGDM, Business, Indian Institute of Management, 1993

B. Tech., Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, 1991

Courses Taught

SCM 450W – Design and Mgt Sc (3)
Strategic design and management of supply chains. SCM 450W Strategic Design and Management of Supply Chains (3) This course is about the strategic design and effective operation of supply chains. It will help prepare you for supply chain management positions in manufacturing, distributing, and other service firms including providers of logistics services. The course focuses on the definition, as well as the application, of a single logic that guides the management of all the supply chain activities. Information decision support systems, primarily computer-based, provide the foundation for this logic. Because the determination of inventory locations and the control of inventory levels play a key role in this logic, we spend considerable time on these subjects. The last section of the course covers ways to lead and organize people to manage cross-firm and cross-functional relationships effectively. After completing this course, students should have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to: -Articulate the process perspective and the total systems view of supply chain management, the impact of systems thinking on firm performance, and the nature of relationships supply chain networks. -Quantify the effect of strategic initiatives such as postponement and risk pooling on the financial performance of the firm, as well as on supply chain performance. -Use and apply selected quantitative tools useful in implementing supply chain strategies. -Explain the complex nature of human interaction needed to successfully introduce supply chain concepts in the firm.This is the prescribed capstone course for the Supply Chain and Information Systems major. It builds upon the fundamental supply chain knowledge, skills, and abilities developed in foundation and intermediate courses. Students must complete SCM 421 before taking this course. SCM 450W is a writing-intensive course. In addition to written assignments encompassing case studies, hands-on exercises, and examinations, student evaluations include oral presentations and class participation.

SCM 450 – Design and Mgt Sc (3)
Strategic design and management of supply chains.

SCM 450W Strategic Design and Management of Supply Chains (3) This course is about the strategic design and effective operation of supply chains. It will help prepare you for supply chain management positions in manufacturing, distributing, and other service firms including providers of logistics services. The course focuses on the definition, as well as the application, of a single logic that guides the management of all the supply chain activities. Information decision support systems, primarily computer-based, provide the foundation for this logic. Because the determination of inventory locations and the control of inventory levels play a key role in this logic, we spend considerable time on these subjects. The last section of the course covers ways to lead and organize people to manage cross-firm and cross-functional relationships effectively. After completing this course, students should have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to: -Articulate the process perspective and the total systems view of supply chain management, the impact of systems thinking on firm performance, and the nature of relationships supply chain networks. -Quantify the effect of strategic initiatives such as postponement and risk pooling on the financial performance of the firm, as well as on supply chain performance. -Use and apply selected quantitative tools useful in implementing supply chain strategies. -Explain the complex nature of human interaction needed to successfully introduce supply chain concepts in the firm.This is the prescribed capstone course for the Supply Chain and Information Systems major. It builds upon the fundamental supply chain knowledge, skills, and abilities developed in foundation and intermediate courses. Students must complete SCM 421 before taking this course. SCM 450W is a writing-intensive course. In addition to written assignments encompassing case studies, hands-on exercises, and examinations, student evaluations include oral presentations and class participation.

Selected Publications

Bansal S., Muthulingam S., "Can Precise Numbers Boost Energy Efficiency?." Production and Operations Management, vol. 31, no. 8, 2022, pp. 3264-3287
Muthulingam S., Dhanorkar S., Corbett C., "Does Water Scarcity Affect Environmental Performance? Evidence from Manufacturing Facilities in Texas." Management Science, vol. 68, no. 4, 2022, pp. 2785-2805
Alizamir S., Kim S., Muthulingam S., "Compliance as Operations Management." (Cambridge University Press), 2021, pp. 12
Dhanorkar S., Muthulingam S., "Do E-Waste Laws Create Behavioral Spillovers? Quasi-Experimental Evidence from California." Production and Operations Management, vol. 29, no. 7, 2020, pp. 1738-1766, doi.org/10.1111/poms.13182
Agrawal A., Mukherjee U., Muthulignam S., "Does Organizational Forgetting Affect Quality Knowledge Gained Through Spillover?—Evidence from the Automotive Industry." Production and Operations Management, vol. 29, no. 4, 2020, pp. 907-934, doi.org/10.1111/poms.13137
Mani V., Muthulingam S., "Does Learning from Inspections Affect Environmental Performance? – Evidence from Unconventional Well Development in Pennsylvania." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, no. 21, 2019, pp. 177–197, doi.org/10.1287/msom.2017.0695
Swift C., Daniel G. V., Muthulingam S., "Does Supply Chain Visibility Affect Operating Performance? – Evidence from Conflict Minerals Disclosures." Journal of Operations Management, no. 65, 2019, pp. 406–429, doi.org/10.1002/joom.1021
Agrawal A., Muthulingam S., Rajapakshe T., "How Sourcing of Interdependent Components Affects Quality in Automotive Supply Chains." Production and Operations Management, vol. 26, no. 8, 2017, pp. 1512-1533
Dowell G., Muthulingam S., "Will Firms Go Green if It Pays? The Impact of Disruption, Cost, and External Factors on the Adoption of Environmental Initiatives." Strategic Management Journal, vol. 38, no. 6, 2017, pp. 1287-1304
Muthulingam S., Agrawal A., "Does Quality Knowledge Spillover at Shared Suppliers? – An Empirical Investigation." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, vol. 18, no. 4, 2016, pp. 525-544
Agrawal A., Kim Y., Kwon D., Muthulingam S., "Investment in Shared Suppliers: Effect of Learning, Spillover, and Competition." Production and Operations Management, vol. 25, no. 4, 2016, pp. 736-750
Kwon D., Xu W., Anupam A., Muthulingam S., "Impact of Bayesian Learning and Externalities on Strategic Investment." Management Science, vol. 62, no. 2, 2016, pp. 550-570
Lee J., Gaur V., Muthulingam S., Swisher G., "Stockout-Based Substitution and Inventory Planning in Textbook Retailing." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, vol. 18, no. 1, 2016, pp. 104-121
Agrawal A., Muthulingam S., "Does Organizational Forgetting Affect Vendor Quality Performance? – An Empirical Investigation." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, vol. 17, no. 3, 2015, pp. 350-367
Walsman M. C., Verma R., Muthulingam S., "The Impact of LEED Certification on Hotel Performance." Cornell Hospitality Report, vol. 14, no. 15, 2014, pp. 13
Blass V., Corbett C. J., Delmas M. A., Muthulingam S., "Top Management and the Adoption of Energy Efficiency Practices: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Firms in the US." Energy, vol. 60, 2013, pp. 560-571
Muthulingam S., Corbett C. J., Benartzi S., Oppenheim B., "Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Firms: Order Effects and the Adoption of Process Improvement Recommendations." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, vol. 15, no. 4, 2013, pp. 596-615
Dowell G., Muthulingam S., "Behavioral and Institutional Influences on Energy Saving Initiatives." pp. 6

Honors and Awards

2020 M&SOM Meritorious Service Award, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, (Dec 31, 2020)

Finalist, 2020 Jack Meredith Best Paper Award, Journal of Operations Management, (Dec 31, 2020)

2019 M&SOM Meritorious Service Award, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, (Dec 31, 2019)

2018 Faculty Sustainability Award, Smeal College of Business, (Dec 31, 2018)

2018 M&SOM Meritorious Service Award, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, (Dec 31, 2018)

2017 M&SOM Meritorious Service Award, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, (Dec 31, 2017)

2016 M&SOM Meritorious Service Award, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, (Dec 31, 2016)

Finalist, 2015 IBM Service Science Best Student Paper Award, INFORMS, (Dec 31, 2015)

Dissertation Proposal Award, The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education, (Dec 31, 2008)