Ananth Raman

Ananth Raman is a professor in the Technology and Operations Management area where he has taught courses on various aspects of Operational Excellence -- supply chain management, technology and operations management, and service operations -- to MBA students and executive participants. He is also actively involved in guiding multiple doctoral students at Harvard Business School.

His research focuses on supply chain management and the investors’ perspective on operations. He is co-director (with Marshall Fisher of the WhartonSchool) of the Consortium for Operational Excellence in Retailing, a research group that involves academics from numerous universities and leading retailers from around the world.

Raman’s research has been published in many leading journals including Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, Management Science, Operations Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management. He has also authored multiple Harvard Business School case studies that are taught extensively at many schools, including Harvard. His book (co-authored with Marshall Fisher) “The New Science of Retailing” was published in June 2010.

He has consulted with, and been responsible for management education programs for executives at, a number of companies, and has also helped multiple retailers and suppliers design and develop decision-support systems for supply chain management. He serves as an advisor to multiple retail CEOs. He is co-founder of 4R Systems (www.4rsystems.com), a venture-backed startup company.

Raman serves on the board of directors at 4R Systems, and Cumberland Farms, Inc. (http://www.cumberlandfarms.com/). 4R Systems (www.4rsystems.com) uses science and technology to help retail chains maximize profit from their inventory investment. Cumberland Farms is a family-owned and family-operated chain of convenience stores in the United States.

Featured Work

The New Science of Retailing

How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance

Authors Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman, argue that the time is ripe for “rocket science retailing.” Just as Wall Street was transformed in the 1970’s by the influx of physicists, engineers, and “rocket scientists” with mathematical techniques that allowed the harnessing of vast, complicated transaction data, so too retailing is now ready, and in fact beginning a “rocket science revolution.”

Books

• Fisher, Marshall, and Ananth Raman. The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance. Harvard Business Press, 2010. View Details

Journal Articles

• Fisher, Marshall, and Ananth Raman. "Innovations in Retail Operations: Thirty Years of Lessons from Production and Operations Management." Special Issue on The 30th Anniversary Issue of Production and Operations Management edited by Subodha Kumar and Christopher S. Tang. Production and Operations Management 31, no. 12 (December 1, 2022): 4452–4461. View Details
• Schmidt, William, and Ananth Raman. "Operational Disruptions, Firm Risk, and Control Systems." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 24, no. 1 (January–February 2022): 411–429. View Details
• Craig, Nathan, Nicole DeHoratius, and Ananth Raman. "The Impact of Supplier Inventory Service Level on Retailer Demand." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 18, no. 4 (Fall 2016): 461–474. View Details
• Huckman, Robert S., and Ananth Raman. "Medicine's Continuous Improvement Imperative." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association 313, no. 18 (May 12, 2015): 1811–1812. View Details
• Schmidt, William, Vishal Gaur, Richard Lai, and Ananth Raman. "Signaling to Partially Informed Investors in the Newsvendor Model." Production and Operations Management 24, no. 3 (March 2015): 383–401. View Details
• Craig, Nathan, and Ananth Raman. "Improving Store Liquidation." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 18, no. 1 (Winter 2016): 89–103. View Details
• Gaur, Vishal, Saravanan Kesavan, and Ananth Raman. "Retail Inventory: Managing the Canary in the Coal Mine!" California Management Review 56, no. 2 (Winter 2014): 55–76. View Details
• Merlino, James, and Ananth Raman. "Health Care's Service Fanatics: How the Cleveland Clinic Leaped to the Top of the Patient-satisfaction Surveys." Harvard Business Review 91, no. 5 (May 2013): 108–116. View Details
• Kraiselburd, Santiago, Richard Pibernik, and Ananth Raman. "The Manufacturer's Incentive to Reduce Lead Times." Production and Operations Management 20, no. 5 (September–October 2011): 639–653. View Details
• Ton, Zeynep, and Ananth Raman. "The Effect of Product Variety and Inventory Levels on Retail Sales: A Longitudinal Study." Production and Operations Management 19, no. 5 (September–October 2010): 546–560. View Details
• Kesavan, Saravanan, Vishal Gaur, and Ananth Raman. "Do Inventory and Gross Margin Data Improve Sales Forecasts for U.S. Public Retailers?" Management Science 56, no. 9 (September 2010). View Details
• DeHoratius, Nicole, and Ananth Raman. "Inventory Record Inaccuracy: An Empirical Analysis." Management Science 54, no. 4 (April 2008). View Details
• Gaur, Vishal, Saravanan Kesavan, Ananth Raman, and Marshall L. Fisher. "Estimating Demand Uncertainty Using Judgmental Forecasts." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 9, no. 4 (fall 2007). View Details
• DeHoratius, Nicole, and Ananth Raman. "Store Manager Incentive Design and Retail Performance: An Exploratory Investigation." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 9, no. 4 (fall 2007). View Details
• Gaur, Vishal, Marshall L. Fisher, and Ananth Raman. "An Econometric Analysis of Inventory Turnover Performance in Retail Services." Management Science 51, no. 2 (February 2005): 181–194. View Details
• Narayanan, V.G., Ananth Raman, and J. Singh. "Agency Costs in a Supply Chain with Demand Uncertainty and Price Competition." Management Science 51, no. 1 (January 2005). View Details
• Narayanan, V.G., and Ananth Raman. "Aligning Incentives in Supply Chains." Harvard Business Review 82, no. 11 (November 2004). View Details
• Kraiselburd, Santiago, V.G. Narayanan, and Ananth Raman. "Contracting in a Supply Chain with Stochastic Demand and Substitute Products." Production and Operations Management 13, no. 1 (March 2004). View Details
• DeHoratius, Nicole, and Ananth Raman. "Building on Foundations of Sand?" ECR Journal 3, no. 1 (spring 2003). View Details
• DeHoratius, Nicole, and Ananth Raman. "Incentives: Getting What You Pay For." ECR Journal (winter 2003). View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Kim Bowon. "Quantifying the Impact of Inventory Holding Cost and Reactive Capacity on an Apparel Manufacturer's Profitability." Production and Operations Management 11, no. 1 (March 2002). View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Marshall Fisher, and Kumar Rajaram. "Optimizing Inventory Replenishment of Retail Fashion Products." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 3, no. 3 (summer 2001): 230–241. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Nicole DeHoratius, and Zeynep Ton. "The Achilles Heel of Supply Chain Management." Harvard Business Review 79, no. 5 (May 2001): 136–152. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Nicole DeHoratius, and Zeynep Ton. "Execution: The Missing Link in Retail Operations." California Management Review 43, no. 3 (Spring 2001). View Details
• Fisher, Marshall L., A. Raman, and Anna McClelland. "Rocket-Science Retailing Is Almost Here: Are You Ready?" Harvard Business Review 78, no. 4 (July–August 2000): 115–124. View Details
• Raman, A. "Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains: The General Manager's Role." POMS Series in Technology and Operations Management (January 2000). View Details
• Raman, A., M. Fisher, J. Hammond, and W. Obermeyer. "Configuring a Supply Chain to Reduce the Cost of Demand Uncertainty." Production and Operations Management 6, no. 3 (Fall 1997): 211–225. View Details
• Raman, A., and M. Fisher. "Reducing the Cost of Demand Uncertainty through Accurate Response to Early Sales." Operations Research 44, no. 4 (January 1996): 87–99. View Details
• Raman, A., M. Cohen, N. Agrawal, and V. Agrawal. "Analysis of Distribution Strategies in the Industrial Paper and Plastics Industry." Operations Research 43, no. 1 (January 1995): 6–19. View Details
• Fisher, M., J. Hammond, W. Obermeyer, and A. Raman. "Making Supply Meet Demand in an Uncertain World." Harvard Business Review 72, no. 3 (May–June 1994): 83–92. View Details
• Raman, A., M. Fisher, J. Hammond, and W. Obermeyer. "Accurate Response: The Key to Profiting from Quick Response." Bobbin (February 1994). View Details

Book Chapters

• Raman, Ananth, and Noel Watson. "Managing Global Supply Chains." In The Global Market: Developing a Strategy to Manage Across Borders, edited by John A. Quelch and Rohit Deshpandé. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2004. View Details
• Raman, A., and Marshall Fisher. "Managing Short-Lifecycle Products." In Achieving Supply Chain Excellence through Technology, edited by David L. Anderson. Montgomery Research, Inc., 1999. View Details
• Raman, A. "Managing Inventory for Fashion Products." In Quantitative Models for Supply Chain Management, edited by S. Tayur, R. Gaheshan, and M. Magazine. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999. View Details
• Hammond, J. H., Marshall L. Fisher, Walter Obermeyer, and A. Raman. "Configuring a Supply Chain to Reduce the Cost of Demand Uncertainty." In Global Supply Chain and Technology Management. Vol. 1, edited by Hau Lee and Shu Ming Ng, 76–90. POMS Series in Technology and Operations Management. Miami: Production and Operations Management Society (POMS), 1998. View Details
• Raman, A. "Matching Supply with Demand in Supply Chains: The Impact of Factor Markets and Mismatched Incentives." In Strategic Supply Chain Alignment: Best Practice in Supply Chain Management, edited by John L. Gattorna. Gower, 1998. View Details

Working Papers

• Kwon, Caleb, Ananth Raman, and Jorge Tamayo. "Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions." Working Paper, December 2022. View Details
• Gibson, Hise O., Bradely R. Staats, and Ananth Raman. "Multiple Team Membership, Turnover, and On-Time Delivery: Evidence from Construction Services." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-004, July 2021. View Details
• Craig, Nathan, and Ananth Raman. "Improving Store Liquidation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-096, May 2013. View Details
• Schmidt, William, and Ananth Raman. "When Supply-Chain Disruptions Matter." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-006, July 2012. (Revised January 2013.) View Details
• Craig, Nathan, Nicole DeHoratius, and Ananth Raman. "The Impact of Supplier Inventory Service Level on Retailer Demand." Working Paper. (Revised January 2016.) View Details
• Kesavan, Saravanan, Vishal Gaur, and Ananth Raman. "Incorporating Price and Inventory Endogeneity in Firm-Level Sales Forecasting." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 07-056, March 2007. View Details

Cases and Teaching Materials

• Buell, Ryan W., Ananth Raman, and Vidhya Muthuram. "Oberoi Hotels: Train Whistle in the Tiger Reserve." Harvard Business School Case 615-043, January 2015. (Revised March 2015.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Nathan Craig, and Ehsan Valavi. "Hamptonshire Gas and Convenience." Harvard Business School Exercise 623-044, December 2022. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, William Schmidt, and Ann Winslow. "Nissan's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic." Harvard Business School Case 621-057, June 2021. (Revised October 2021.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Ann Winslow, and Kairavi Dey. "Axis My India." Harvard Business School Case 621-075, November 2020. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Elena Corsi. "Essent: From a State-Owned Utility to a Commercial Company (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 621-038, October 2020. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, John Masko, and Aldo Sesia. "David Hysong and SHEPHERD Therapeutics." Harvard Business School Case 619-012, November 2018. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Elena Corsi. "Essent: From a State-Owned Utility to a Commercial Company." Harvard Business School Case 617-026, October 2016. (Revised October 2020.) View Details
• Goh, Joel, and Ananth Raman. "Coca-Cola in Vietnam." Harvard Business School Case 616-063, June 2016. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Vishal Gaur, and Saravanan Kesavan. "David Berman Simplified Model (Spreadsheet)." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 616-702, September 2015. View Details
• Fearing, Douglas, Ananth Raman, and G.A. Donovan. "Beijing's Terminal 3: Building a New Gateway to China." Harvard Business School Case 613-051, January 2013. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Noel Watson, Santiago Kraiselburd, and Emmanuel Akili. "SCMS: Battling HIV/AIDS in Africa." Harvard Business School Case 613-023, September 2012. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Inga Maurer, and William Schmidt. "Merck: Operating Science-Based Business." Harvard Business School Case 612-082, April 2012. (Revised May 2012.) View Details
• Foley, C. Fritz, Ananth Raman, and Nathan C. Craig. "Inventory-Based Lending Industry Note." Harvard Business School Background Note 612-057, January 2012. (Revised June 2015.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Anita L. Tucker. "Cleveland Clinic: Improving the Patient Experience." Harvard Business School Case 612-031, September 2011. (Revised February 2013.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Anita L. Tucker, and Rachel Gordon. "The Cleveland Clinic: Improving the Patient Experience (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 611-015, October 2010. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Vishal Gaur, and Richard Lai. "Investor Meets Calendar Retailer (AMP)." Harvard Business School Exercise 611-031, October 2010. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Inga Katharina Maurer. "Merck: Investing in Science-Based Business (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 611-027, September 2010. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, William Schmidt, and Vishal Gaur. "Airbus A380—Turbulence Ahead." Harvard Business School Case 609-041, October 2008. (Revised January 2010.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Vishal Gaur, and Richard Lai. "Investor Meets Calendar Retailer." Harvard Business School Exercise 610-037, November 2009. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Vishal Gaur, and Saravanan Kesavan. "David Berman (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 609-006, July 2008. (Revised September 2009.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Nicole DeHoratius, and Zahra Kanji. "Supply Chain Optimization at Hugo Boss (A)." Harvard Business School Case 609-029, April 2009. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Nicole DeHoratius, and Zahra Kanji. "Supply Chain Optimization at Hugo Boss (B) - The M-Ratio." Harvard Business School Supplement 609-055, April 2009. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Zeynep Ton. "Operational Execution at Arrow Electronics." Harvard Business School Case 603-127, April 2003. (Revised March 2009.) View Details
• Ton, Zeynep, and Ananth Raman. "Borders Group, Inc. (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 606-144, May 2006. (Revised March 2009.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Vincent Marie Dessain, Ane Damgaard Jensen, and Gudrun Urfalino Kristinsdottir. "AREVA T&D." Harvard Business School Case 608-174, June 2008. (Revised October 2008.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Bharat P. Rao. "Tale of Two Electronic Components Distributors." Harvard Business School Case 697-064, February 1997. (Revised November 2007.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Vishal Gaur, and Saravanan Kesavan. "David Berman." Harvard Business School Case 605-081, April 2005. (Revised October 2006.) View Details
• Hammond, Janice H., and Ananth Raman. "Sport Obermeyer Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 695-022, October 1994. (Revised August 2006.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Laura Winig. "India's Big Bazaar." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 606-711, June 2006. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Laura Winig. "Big Bazaar." Harvard Business School Case 606-099, April 2006. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Vishal Gaur. "Bradman and Tendulkar, LLC." Harvard Business School Case 604-085, February 2004. View Details
• Ton, Zeynep, and Ananth Raman. "Borders Group, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 601-037, August 2000. (Revised February 2003.) View Details
• Narayanan, V. G., and Ananth Raman. "Hamptonshire Express." Harvard Business School Case 698-053, March 1998. (Revised October 2015.) View Details
• Narayanan, V.G., and Ananth Raman. "Hamptonshire Express TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 698-073, April 1998. (Revised August 2002.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, Marshall L. Fisher, and Anna Sheen McClelland. "Supply Chain Management at World Co., Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 601-072, April 2001. (Revised November 2001.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Norwalk Furniture (A) and (B) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-153, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Supply Chain Management at World Co., Ltd. TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-147, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "i2 Technologies, Inc. TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-143, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "CompUSA: The Computer Superstore TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-145, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Merchandising At Nine West Retail Stores TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-148, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Coordinating + Managing Supply Chains: Course Overview Note TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-159, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Retail Operations TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-150, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Role of Intermediaries in Supply Chains TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-151, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Aligning Incentives for Supply Chain Efficiency TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-144, June 2001. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Colin S Welch. "Merchandising at Nine West Retail Stores." Harvard Business School Case 698-098, May 1998. (Revised May 2001.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Campbell Soup Company: A Leader in Continuous Replenishment Innovations TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 601-149, May 2001. View Details
• Narayanan, V.G., and Ananth Raman. "Aligning Incentives for Supply Chain Efficiency." Harvard Business School Background Note 600-110, April 2000. View Details
• Hammond, Janice H., and Ananth Raman. "Dore-Dore TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-045, July 1995. (Revised August 1999.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Jasjit Singh. "i2 Technologies, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 699-042, December 1998. (Revised February 1999.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Anna Sheen McClelland. "CompUSA The Computer Superstore." Harvard Business School Case 699-026, October 1998. (Revised December 1998.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Coordination: An Overview TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 698-001, July 1997. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Apparel Exports and the Indian Economy TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 697-123, May 1997. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Bharat P. Rao. "Tale of Two Electronic Components Distributors TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 697-124, May 1997. View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Module Overview: Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains: Matching Supply and Demand TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 697-126, May 1997. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Kim Bowon. "Northco (A) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 697-125, April 1997. View Details
• Raman, Ananth, and Bowon Kim. "Northco (A)." Harvard Business School Case 697-017, October 1996. (Revised April 1997.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Apparel Exports and the Indian Economy." Harvard Business School Case 696-065, October 1995. (Revised April 1997.) View Details
• Raman, Ananth. "Coordination: An Overview." Harvard Business School Background Note 696-001, October 1995. View Details
• Hammond, Janice H., and Ananth Raman. "Sport Obermeyer, Ltd. TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 696-012, July 1995. View Details

Presentations

• Raman, A., and Zeynep Ton. "Phantom Stockouts: Problem Description, Research Design, Preliminary Results." In Proceedings of the MSOM Conference. Paper presented at the INFORMS Society on Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Conference, University of Michigan, June 01, 2000. View Details

Other Publications and Materials

• Raman, A., and Giulio Zotteri. "A Technique to Estimate Retail Demand and Lost Sales." View Details
• Ton, Zeynep, and Ananth Raman. "Cross Sectional Analysis of Phantom Products at Retail Stores." View Details
• DeHoratius, Nicole, and A. Raman. "Inventory Record Inaccuracy: An Empirical Analysis." April 2001. View Details
• Raman, A., Vishal Gaur, and Marshall Fisher. "Linking Operations and Finance in Retailing." April 2001. View Details

Research Summary

Supply Chain Coordination for Products with Uncertain Demand

Ananth Raman has been investigating supply chain coordination for products with uncertain demand in industries as diverse as apparel, power tools, computers, and footwear. Most recently he has been exploring the role of intermediaries, particularly in supply chains that transcend national boundaries. This research, spurred by the steadily rising costs of mismatched supply and demand, takes on added importance with the continuing proliferation of product models and ever-diminishing product life cycles. Raman has identified a number of operational changes that might enable a firm to better match supply with demand, and has developed tools for quantifying the impact of those changes. His findings have been reported in Harvard Business Review and Operations Research, as well as in a number of industry publications.

Awards & Honors

Winner of the 2016 Ralph Gomory Best Industry Studies Paper Award from the Industry Studies Association for "The Impact of Supplier Inventory Service Level on Retailer Demand" (Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, Fall 2016) with Nathan Craig and Nicole DeHoratius.

Inducted as a Fellow of the Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) in 2013 to recognize exceptional scholarly and pedagogical contributions.

Received the 2009 Service Award from the Production and Operations Management Society.

Areas of Interest

• consumer goods
• decision support
• operations management
• supply chain
• supply chain management
Additional Topics
• emerging markets
• entrepreneurship
• executive development
• incentives
• operations strategy
Industries
• apparel
• retailing
• software
Geographies
• China
• India