On the afternoon of December 18, 2024, Professor Jia Shu from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) was invited to deliver an academic lecture titled“Supply Network Design with Service Mode Selection” at Lecture Hall 214 of the School of Management, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU). The seminar was chaired by Professor Eda Che, Dean of the School of Management, and attended by doctoral and master’s students as well as faculty members from the school.

In his presentation, Professor Shu introduced his latest research achievements in optimization under the theme “Supply Network Design Considering Service Mode Selection.” His work skillfully bridges classical theoretical problems with real-world applications, offering an innovative analytical perspective. To illustrate the practical relevance of his study, Professor Shu used the case of Freshippo (Hema), Alibaba’s fresh-food retail brand, to explore how to design optimal strategies within complex supply networks. Building on this real-world context, he formulated a classical optimization model and, by applying polynomial-time algorithms, derived a series of novel theoretical results.

The talk was exceptionally well-structured and logically rigorous. Professor Shu began with the research background, highlighting the critical role of service mode selection in supply network design. He then detailed the model formulation and its key assumptions, followed by a step-by-step derivation and explanation of the theoretical findings and their implications.

During the Q&A session, Professor Shu emphasized that breakthroughs in scientific research require a solid grounding in established scientific paradigms combined with insights from real-world contexts. He noted that researchers must first thoroughly understand fundamental questions—such as “what is 1+1?”—before tackling more complex scenarios. Only with a firm grasp of foundational concepts can one effectively address challenging, real-world problems. He also stressed the importance of deeply engaging with and building upon prior scholarly work. According to him, meaningful advances emerge when researchers stand on the shoulders of giants, rigorously connecting theoretical dots through careful derivation and proof to uncover new insights.

Professor Shu’s lecture not only showcased the depth and rigor of high-quality academic research but also offered young scholars a clear pathway—from theory to practice, and from fundamentals to innovation—encouraging them to pursue groundbreaking discoveries with both humility and intellectual ambition.

Speaker Biography:

Jia Shu is a Professor at the School of Economics and Management, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), specializing in logistics and supply chain management. He has led numerous prestigious research projects, including the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Key Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and major NSFC research initiatives. His research has been published in leading international journals such as Operations Research, INFORMS Journal on Computing, Transportation Science, Naval Research Logistics, and IISE Transactions.

(Written by Liu Yuxin / Reviewed by Jia Ming)