Professor Yong Lin is Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. He joined Birmingham in September 2021, before that, he spent more than twelve years at the University of Greenwich, where he was Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management. Earlier in his career, he was Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Department at School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He also worked as a visiting researcher at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, and as a research assistant at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

His research examines how organisations and supply chains respond to technological, environmental and geopolitical change. His principal interests include digital transformation, artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience, sustainable productivity, platform internationalisation and business ecosystems. He has led or contributed to research funded by UKRI–ESRC, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, China’s National High Technology Research and Development Programme, and the European Regional Development Fund. His research is strongly collaborative and interdisciplinary, connecting management scholarship with engineering, digital technologies, industry practice and public policy.

Professor Lin is committed to translating academic research into practical and educational impact. He has worked with businesses and professional organisations on digital transformation, supply chain strategy, resilience and sustainability, while also contributing to national and international discussions on logistics and supply chain education.

He has led interdisciplinary curriculum innovation, including the development of the MSc AI in Management, and co-authored one of China’s most widely adopted supply chain management textbooks. Through his research, teaching, academic leadership and external engagement, he seeks to develop more resilient, sustainable and digitally enabled organisations while supporting the development of students, colleagues and professional communities.

Current research

Professor Lin’s current research focuses on:

• Digital transformation and artificial intelligence in organisations and supply chains 
• Sustainable productivity and digitally enabled operations 
• Supply chain risk, resilience and reconfiguration 
• Digital logistics platforms and platform-based coordination 
• Business ecosystem development, governance and transformation 
• Organisational responses to technological, environmental and geopolitical change 
• Capability development for more resilient, sustainable and competitive operations 

Previous and related research

His previous and related research includes:

• Supply chain integration, collaboration and information sharing 
• Logistics management and manufacturing strategy 
• International transfer and development of operational capabilities 
• Digital technologies for coordination, innovation and performance improvement 
• Interdisciplinary research connecting operations management, strategy, international business and innovation 
• Practice-oriented collaboration with academic, industry and policy partners