Panel Session: Defining, Connecting, and Innovating the Last Mile across B2B and B2C Supply Chains

I had the opportunity to moderate a thought-provoking discussion featuring Aaron Galer (SVP of Partnerships, Arrive Logistics), Satpreet Singh Aulakh (Founder & CEO, GreenMile AI), and Gaurav Badkar (Director of Product Management, Walmart).

The panel explored how the “last mile” should be defined across both B2B and B2C contexts, and how the two increasingly intersect in practice. Panelists examined pressing execution challenges, from capacity constraints and cost pressures to rising customer expectations, while sharing industry innovations that are reshaping delivery networks and sustainability strategies.

Looking ahead, the experts offered forward-leaning perspectives on the future of the last mile, emphasizing digital intelligence, platform integration, and cross-domain collaboration as critical levers for creating resilient and connected logistics ecosystems.

I am delighted to share that my work has been recognized as a Finalist for the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) 2024 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for excellence in the practice of advanced analytics and operations research.

I am looking forward to moderating this panel on “How faster, final mile delivery wins customers and builds brand loyalty” at the upcoming 2024 Home Delivery World Conference in Philadelphia, PA. The session is sponsored by OnTrac Logistics, Inc.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Operations Department at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and presenting a working paper on the economic and operational implications of partnering with a third-party grocery delivery platform to access online fulfillment capabilities. The experience was nothing short of stimulating. I enjoyed the intellectual exchanges with the faculty and students and appreciate their hospitality. The weather was great, and people even more amazing. Thank you.

Proposed project “Food Supply Chain Disruptions: Market-Based Resilience Strategies” awarded $650,000 by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture—Agriculture and Food Research Initiative for three years.

During the summer, I had the opportunity to give an invited research seminar at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The session was highly interactive. I enjoyed the interactions and appreciate the invitation and warm reception. Thank you.

Co-authored with Juan Sotolongo, CEO of Lockars based in London, we discuss why shippers are very upset at the pricing and capacity strategies of both UPS & FedEx and how this could create an opportunity for new competition. Here’s the link to the full article recently published at Supply Chain Quarterly.

I recently had the opportunity to give an invited seminar to the Supply Chain Management group at Tilburg School of Economics and Management, Tilburg University. The session was interactive and the group was engaging. My appreciation to both Professors Jan Fransoo and Sangho Chae for their invitation and warm reception.

I had the pleasure to attend and present a research paper at this year’s Industry Studies Association Virtual Conference. Check out this link for more information about the events at the conference: https://isa1.memberclicks.net/2020-virtual-conference.

On March 14, I had the pleasure of hosting a technical talk on by Jason Koo from AlwaysAI, a software company that brings computer vision (CV) to embedded devices. As part of the session, we had demonstrations showing the applicability of CV in inventory management, product/customer tracking, promotion targeting, among others. Feel free to reach out to me at stanleylim@sandiego.edu if you have experience in using CV in a retail setting or simply interested to have a conversation on this topic.