Dr Seamus O'Reilly

Biography

Dr Seamus O'Reilly is a Senior Lecturer in the Business School, University College Cork, Ireland. He has focused his research activity on supply chain management and teaches on a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education/ post-experience programmes.  His research on supply chain networks includes: network analysis & business ecosystems; global supply chain complexity, trust in food supply chains, food supply chain integrity and food supply chain networks in rural areas.He has received his BSc and MSc from UCC and a PhD from the University of Wales.  Over a 25 year academic career he has worked closely with industry.  On this basis he designed and delivered lean supply chain management programmes for practitioners in multi-national and Irish owned companies spanning sectors such as: food & drinks, pharmaceuticals, medtec, electronics and services.  As academic director of education in supply chain management he has contributed to the development of a range of part-time programmes from undergraduate (certificate) to postgraduate (masters) levels that are offered through classroom, distance and blended learning formats. These programmes support industry and career development in supply chain management () and appeal to a variety of people working in a wide range of industries, such as: food and drinks, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, electronics, utilities, distribution and services. Through these programmes he has developed range of pedagogical tools to: (i) support a blend of classroom and distance learning methodologies, (ii) build strong delivery partnerships with expert practitioners and (iii) create an interactive learning environment between the workplace and the classroom.  He has a particular interest in supply chain networks and relationship management.  From the outset his research work focused on marketing and distribution channels, including analysis of food SME distribution and marketing networks in Ireland, Italy, Spain and France. More recently research an interest in supply chain complexity has focused attention on food supply chain integrity, supply chain resilience, product variety management and leadership in complexity. Research methodologies leverage both action research projects and action learning pedagogies.He has published in a wide range of international academic journals and has also presented papers at a number of international conferences.  He has been published in a number of international journals including: International Journal of Operations and Production Management; International Journal of Logistics Management; Journal of Decision Systems; Journal of Production, Planning and Control; International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management; Journal of Chain and Network Science.  In addition to extensive work within the Irish food industry he has also worked on projects in numerous European countries (including: the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Spain) as well as overseas in Chile, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia

Research Interests

Research interest has centred on supply chains; an initial focus on rural-based SMEs has broadened to include multinational companies and associated global supply chains. An interest in the factors influencing supply chain design, has prompted research investigating the impact of changing supply chain configuration on competitiveness, strategic and operational alignment, relationship management and governance.  An interdisciplinary approach has been adopted including, Transaction Cost Economics (TCE), Resource-Based View of the Firm (RBV), Resource-Dependence theory, the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) Group's Interaction approach (indeed this is a broad interdisciplinary approach drawing on TCE and inter-organisational studies such organisational environment, inter-organisational dependence and marketing channel analysis, and studies of organisations in the societal context).    This work has continued with current work using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to investigate the emergence and development of 'supply chain eco-systems'. We are finding that the use of SNA techniques together with qualitative measures offers a useful analytical approach to the study of what has often been considered a rather intangible phenomenon.   Specific research areas include: supply chain vulnerability management, impact of digital technology in supply chain design and management, supply chain governance mechanisms in food supply chains, food supply chain sustainability, leading in complexity and deployment of lean six sigma in higher education institutions.

Affiliations

• a member of the Scientific Committee of the EurOMA 2015 Conference, EurOMA (/)
• Member (past President), AESI Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland (/)

Committees

• Member, University Mitigation Committee (/)
• Chair, UCC-IMI Joint Programme Development and Approval Committee (2011 /)
• Chair, Academic Council sub-committee on e-Learning (2011 / 2013)
• Member, University Quality Promotion Committee (QPC). (2007 / 2012)
• Member, Academic Council, University College Cork (2006 / 2009)
• Member, Academic Council (2006 / 2009)
• Member, Examination Mitigation Committe, University College Cork (2002 / 1899)
• Chairperson, Department of Food Business & Development, Food Business Committee (2001 / 1899)
• Member, Department of Food Business & Development, Rural Development Committee (2001 / 1899)
• Member, Department of Food & Nutritional Sciences, Undergraduate Studies Committee (2001 / 1899)
• Chairperson, Department of Food Business & Development, Finance Business Committee (2005 / 1899)

Education

• University College Cork , DIPLOMA, Dairy Science (1986)
• University College Cork , BSC - UCC, Food Business (1988)
• NUI , MSc, (1990)
• University of Wales , PhD, (2003)

Employment

• Senior Lecturer, University College Cork (01-JAN-90 /)
• Senior Lecturer, University College Cork (01-SEP-06 /)
• Lecturer (above bar), University College Cork (01-JAN-01 / 01-JAN-06)
• Lecturer (above bar), University College Cork (01-JAN-92 / 01-JAN-01)

Teaching Interests

• Seamus teaches across a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and post-experience programmes (programmes are listed at the end of this section).
• This approach presents an interesting challenge for academics, as a balance between education and training is fundamental to the academic standing of such programmes.  Thus students are not expected to merely complete company-based projects of commercial significance but to broaden their mental models by learning how to adapt to real changes in the business environment.  Thus in addition to the applied nature of such learning the role of novel thinking and an expectation of exposure to 'cutting-edge' research is evident among participants.  This approach has been well received by post-experience students.  Examples of can be found at
• testimonials
• .
• http://www.ucc.ie/en/foodbus/executive/scm/dipscm/GraduateTestimonials/
• Seamus contributes to the following programmes: 
• BSc Food Marketing & Entrepreneurship; BSc Food Business; B. Commerce;
• MBS Food Marketing; MSc Food Business; Postgraduate Diploma & MSc in Co-operative Organisation, Food Marketing and Rural Development.

Professional Achievements

Honours and Awards

• : Outstanding paper (2000)

Publications