Biography
Urban Wemmerlöv is the Kress Family Distinguished Professor – Emeritus – in Productivity and Quality at the Wisconsin School of Business.
His teaching and research interests are in the areas of healthcare operations management, cellular manufacturing, focused factories, lean principles, change management, and planning and control systems. Many of his more than 80 publications focus on the design, implementation, and operation of cells, including his book, “Reorganizing the Factory: Competing through Cellular Manufacturing” (with Nancy Hyer; Productivity Press, 2002) which received the 2003 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research. Recent and ongoing research has been in the areas of health care organization and process improvement.
Wemmerlöv was instrumental in the planning and establishment of the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management (1992-1994). In 1994, he was formally appointed its first director and led the center until December 31, 2015. He was a long-term member of the Executive Committee of UW-Madison’s Center for Quick Response Manufacturing and engaged in faculty/student field research projects carried out through this center. He also served for many years on the Executive Committee of the Manufacturing Systems Engineering program.
Wemmerlöv is a certified fellow of the American Production and Inventory Control Society and a fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute. He has been associate editor for the Journal of Operations Management and area editor for Production and Operations Management. Currently, he serves as associate editor for the Decision Sciences journal and on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Operations Management.
Wemmerlöv holds a B.S. in business, an M.S. in mechanical engineering, and a doctorate in production management (all from Lund University, Sweden), and an M.S. in IEOR (from the University of California-Berkeley).
Research
Selected Published Journal Articles
Kaufman, M. & Matsumura, E. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2021). Accounting Control, Operational Control, and the Value of Continuous Improvement: A Capacity Change Perspective Advances in Management Accounting
Wemmerlöv, U. (2021). The Retrospective Determination of Process Improvement’s Economic Value at the Individual Manufacturing Firm Level: Literature Review and Proposed Measurement Framework Journal of Operations Management
Kim, Y. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2015). Does a Supplier’s Operational Competence Translate into Financial Performance? An Empirical Analysis of Supplier-Customer Relationships Decision Sciences
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. & Morris, J. (2009). Performance Analysis of a Focused Hospital Unit: The Case of an Integrated Trauma Center Journal of Operations Management
Hua, S. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2006). Product Change Intensity in the Personal Computer Industry: A Study of Firm-Supplier Innovation IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
Hua, S. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2006). Product Change Intensity, Product Advantage, and Market Performance: An Empirical Investigation of the PC Industry Journal of Product Innovation Management
Johnson, D. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2004). Why Does Cell Implementation Stop? Factors Influencing Cell Penetration in Manufacturing Plants Production and Operations Management
Wemmerlöv, U. & Johnson, D. (2000). Empirical Findings of Manufacturing Cell Design International Journal of Production Research
Wemmerlöv, U. & Johnson, D. (1997). Cellular Manufacturing at 46 User Plants: Implementation Experiences and Performance Improvements International Journal of Production Research
Johnson, D. & Wemmerlöv, U. (1996). On the Relative Performance of Functional and Cellular Layouts: An Analysis of the Model-Based Comparative Studies Literature Production and Operations Management
Park, Y. & Wemmerlöv, U. (1995). A Comparative Study of Cell Formation Techniques: Experimental Findings on Data Dependency and Solution Quality Decision Sciences
Vakharia, A. & Wemmerlöv, U. (1995). A Comparative Investigation of Hierarchical Clustering Techniques and Dissimilarity Measures Applied to the Cell Formation Problem Journal of Operations Management
Park, Y. & Wemmerlöv, U. (1994). A Shop Structure Generator for Cell Formation Research International Journal of Production Research
Selected Submitted Journal Articles
Wemmerlöv, U. (2023). Deconstructing Value-Based Healthcare Delivery: CIMO-Logic Applied to Integrated Practice Units (IPUs) Journal of Operations Management
Working Papers
Hua, S. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2008). Construct Measurement in Operations Management: A Review of Survey Studies Published in 1999-2006
Practitioner-Oriented Publications
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2004). Cellular Manufacturing: The Hard Part is to Get the People in Step with the Program Mechanical Engineering
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2003). Getting Cells in Place Manufacturing Engineering
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2003). Cells: The Foundation of Product-Focused Teams Vanderbilt Magazine
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2003). Cellular Manufacturing: The Hard Part is to Get the People in Step with the Program Manufacturing Engineering Online
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2003). Cellular Manufacturing: The Hard Part is to Get the Soft Side in Step with the Program Mechanical Engineering Online
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2002). The Office that Lean Built IIE Solutions
Presentations
European Healthcare Management Association (EHMA) (2021) Implementing Value-Based Health Care at The Provider-Organization Level: Critical Decision Areas and Related Contextual Factors
Production and Operations Management (POMS) Annual Meeting 2021 (online) (2021) Towards Value-Based Health Care at the Provider-Organization Level
Production and Operations Management (POMS) Annual Meeting (2019) Deconstructing Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC)
Decision Sciences Institute 49th Annual Meeting (2018) Translation of Operational Gains from Process Improvement into Financial Gains: Measurement and Control Systems Issues
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA 2018) (2018) Determining the Financial Value of Process Improvement – A Systematic Review
Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) Annual Meeting (2018) Continuous Improvement (CI) Activities and their Financial Benefits: What Do We Know?
University of Pittsburgh Research Workshop (2016) Capacity Changes, Soft and Hard, and Their Impact on the Financial Value of Continuous Improvement Activities
“Challenges and Opportunities in ME, IE, and Management” (2012) Invited PlenaryTalk at the international conference in Bangalore, India: “Challenges and Opportunities in ME, IE, and Management.” See more at http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-educationplus/article3671163.ece?textsize=large&test=1
Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) (2011) Investigating the Effects of Operational Capabilities and Cooperative Activities on the Supplier’s Financial Performance
Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) (2011) The Effect of Power on Cooperation and Financial Performance: Supplier’s Perspective
20th Annual North American Research and Teaching Conference on Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (2010) The Effect of Operations Strategy on Supplier-Customer Relationships and Suppliers’ Financial Performance (this paper was the Best Paper Award for the conference)
Teaching
Undergraduate Courses
Production Planning and Control (OIM 654), Spring 2002.
Production Planning and Control (OIM 654), Spring 2001.
The role of materials and capacity planning and control in business operations. Manufacturing Resource Planning Systems: aggregate planning, material requirements planning, capacity planning, operations scheduling. Procedures for cellular manufacturing systems. Costing issues in modern planning and control systems.
Graduate Courses
PhD Reading & Research (OTM 999), Spring 2008.
Individual work suited to the needs of Ph.D. students may be arranged both during regular sessions and during the intersession periods.
PhD dissertation (OTM 990), Fall 2008.
Individual work to complete dissertation requirement of Ph.D. program.
PhD Thesis (OTM 990), Spring 2009.
Individual work to complete dissertation requirement of Ph.D. program.
PhD Thesis (OTM 990), Summer 2009.
Individual work to complete dissertation requirement of Ph.D. program.
Reorganizing the Factory: Competing through Cellular Manufacturing (OIM 875), Spring 2005.
Design and analysis of manufacturing systems.
Smr-Operations & Tech Mgmt/Reorganizing the Factory (OTM 875), Spring 2010.
Organizing manufacturing operations into cellular manufacturing and Focused Factories.
Seminar in OTM (OTM 875), Spring 2007.
Design and analysis of manufacturing systems.
Smr-Operations & Tech Mgmt (OTM 875), Spring 2008.
Design and analysis of manufacturing systems.
Reorganizing the Factory: Competing through Cellular Manufacturing (OIM 875), Spring 2002.
Design and analysis of manufacturing systems.
Reorganizing the Factory: Competing through Cellular Manufacturing (OIM 875), Spring 2003.
Design and analysis of manufacturing systems.
Reading & Research (OTM 799), Spring 2008.
Individual work suited to the needs of graduate students may be arranged both during regular sessions and the intersession periods.
Reading and Research-Operations and Information Management (OIM 799), Spring 2006.
Individual work suited to the needs of graduate students may be arranged both during regular sessions and the intersession periods.
Healthcare Operations Management (OTM 765), Spring 2011.
Healthcare Operations Management (OTM 765), Spring 2012.
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2012.
Issues surrounding strategic decisions to adopt new technologies and modern improvement philosophies, the impact these will have on the organization and its members, obstacles preventing successful implementations, and the effective management of change p
Managing Technological Change in Manufacturing Systems (OTM 758), Fall 2006.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technologial and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2010.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2009.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological Change in Mfg Systems (OIM 758), Fall 2004.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological Change in Mfg Systems (OIM 758), Fall 2003.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2018.
Issues surrounding stretegic decisions to adopt new technologies and modern improvement philosophies,the impact these will have on the organization and its members,obstacles preventing successful implementations,and the effective management of change p
Managing Technological Change in Mfg Systems (OIM 758), Fall 2001.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological Change in Mfg Systems (OIM 758), Fall 2002.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OIM 758), Fall 2015.
Issues surrounding strategic decisions to adopt new technologies and modern improvement philosophies,the impact these will have on the organization and its members,obstacles preventing successful implementations,and the effective management of change p
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2008.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2016.
Issues surrounding strategic decisions to adopt new technologies and modern improvement philosophies,the impact these will have on the organization and its members,obstacles preventing successful implementations,and the effective management of change p
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OTM 758), Fall 2017.
Issues surrounding stretegic decisions to adopt new technologies and modern improvement philosophies,the impact these will have on the organization and its members,obstacles preventing successful implementations,and the effective management of change p
Healthcare Operations Management (OTM 753), Spring 2018.
Healthcare delivery systems around the world struggle with three fundamental issues: patient access to care,quality and safety in the care process (incl. patient and staff satisfaction),and cost of care. In this course,we look at these issues and selec
Healthcare Operations Management (OTM 753), Spring 2017.
Healthcare delivery systems around the world struggle with three fundamental issues: patient AISess to care,quality and safety in the care process (incl. patient and staff satisfaction),and cost of care. In this course,we look at these issues and selec
Healthcare Operations Management (Eve MBA) (OTM 753), Spring 2017.
Healthcare delivery systems around the world struggle with three fundamental issues: patient AISess to care,quality and safety in the care process (incl. patient and staff satisfaction),and cost of care. In this course,we look at these issues and selec
Healthcare Operations Management (OTM 753), Spring 2016.
Healthcare delivery systems around the world struggle with three fundamental issues: patient access to care,quality and safety in the care process (incl. patient and staff satisfaction), and cost of care. In this course,we look at these issues.
Healthcare Operations Management (OTM 753), Spring 2019.
Healthcare delivery systems around the world struggle with three fundamental issues: patient access to care,quality and safety in the care process (incl. patient and staff satisfaction),and cost of care. In this course,we look at these issues and selec
Hybrid Courses
Managing Technological and Organizational Change (OIM/IEN 758/658), Fall 2005.
Overview of computerized manufacturing technologies and their managerial implications. Manufacturing systems. Definitions and design aspects. Manufacturing planning and control. CAD/CAM, flexible automation, group technology, and other technologies. Integration aspects. Manufacturing strategies. Performance measures. Adoption considerations. Human aspects and implementation issues. International outlook.
Learning/Teaching Oriented Publications
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. & Morris, Jr., J. & Brown, K. (2014). Redesigning Trauma Operations at University Hospital (Case available from Thunderbird School of Management, includes Teaching Note) Thunderbird School of Management Case series
Hyer, N. & Wemmerlöv, U. (2002). Reorganizing the Factory: Competing through Cellular Manufacturing
Service
Professional Organizations
Decision Sciences Institute (DSI)
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA)
Production Operations Management Society (POMS)
Production and Operations Management (POMS)
Fourth World Conference on Production & Operations Management
Editorial and Reviewing Activities
Journal of Operations Management – Since April 2021
Editorial Board Member
Decision Sciences – January 2019 – December 2019
Associate Editor
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) – January 2019 – January 2019
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Production and Operations Management (POMS) – January 2019 – March 2019
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Journal of Operations Management – April 2018 – July 2018
Associate Editor
Decision Sciences – January 2018 – December 2018
Associate Editor
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) – January 2018 – March 2018
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Int Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM) – February 2017 – September 2017
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Decision Sciences – January 2017 – December 2017
Associate Editor
Health Environments Research & Design – September 2016 – September 2016
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Decision Sciences – January 2016 – December 2016
Associate Editor
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) – January 2016 – March 2016
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Int. J. of Production Research – May 2015 – May 2015
Ad Hoc Reviewer
INFORMS – April 2015 – April 2015
Decision Sciences – January 2015 – December 2015
Associate Editor
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) – January 2015 – December 2015
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Production and Operations Management (POMS) – March 2014 – March 2014
Decision Sciences – January 2014 – December 2014
Associate Editor
European Operations Management Association (EurOMA) – January 2014 – December 2014
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Decision Sciences – January 2013 – December 2013
Associate Editor
Production and Operations Management – July 2012 – July 2012
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Decision Sciences – January 2012 – December 2012
Associate Editor
Production Planning and Control – October 2011 – October 2011
Ad Hoc Reviewer
International Journal of Production Research – April 2011 – May 2011
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Production Planning and Control – March 2011 – April 2011
Ad Hoc Reviewer
Decision Sciences – January 2011 – December 2011
Associate Editor
International Journal of Production Research – January 2010 – December 2010
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Int. J. of Operations and Production Management – January 2010 – December 2010
Invited Manuscript Reviewer
Production and Operations Management – September 1990 – October 2003
Editorial Board Member