Optimizing Resources for Impact: Ilitch School Professor Tackles Supply Chain Challenges

Toyin Clottey, professor of global supply chain management at the Mike Ilitch School of Business, thinks companies can do more with the resources they already have on hand. And he has the stats to prove it. 

Born in Ghana, Clottey moved between his home country, the UK and Togo. Clottey attended the University of Ghana to study computer science and statistics. He started his career at a global logistics company in Ghana, helping manage shipping needs for international companies and NGOs. He also witnessed first-hand what can happen when big business decides it is easier to scrap resources than salvage them. 

“Maybe ten miles away from my grandmother’s house is this huge pile of electronic waste, shipped in from the west. Europe, the Americas and other places,” explained Clottey. “I would pass by every day, and I kept thinking something can be done about this.”

Pursuing Education and Research

Driven by his inquisitive nature, and a desire to advance his career, Clottey chose to continue his education at Ohio State University and began a masters of statistics. There, he found an environment that celebrated his curiosity.  

“I got a chance to teach and do research and I discovered I liked doing both,” said Clottey. “I found that I really liked doing applied types of research more than what the statistics department was doing, so I decided that for my Ph.D.  I would find a program that was more applied and in line with my work experience.”

Developing Solutions for Sustainability

After completing his masters, Clottey moved on to a Ph.D. program in operations management, remembering the millions of tons of e-waste dumped in his home country.  

“I felt like I could help in some way, and so for my dissertation, I focused on sustainability and remanufacturing,” explained Clottey. “One of the things that came up was that these companies find it difficult to reuse all the things that are returned to them. So, I started looking at these difficulties to find an economic way to do so from the perspective of remanufacturing.” 

Clottey discovered that if the companies producing this e-waste had some way to predict how much of their shipped product was going to be returned to them used, they could develop better remanufacturing processes to account for this waste and turn broken computers heading for landfills into like-new, functional units.  

“Most of these companies have historical data on returns coming in and sales going out. If you had a model, you could use that data to better predict and plan, so part of my dissertation was creating that statistical model to make these predictions better,” said Clottey. “I think at some point I had the state-of-the-art model that uses just sales and past returns data to predict timing and quantity of returns, and since then it has been improved upon.”

Making better predictions

His dissertation work proved to Clottey that his statistics background could be used to address large scale supply chain problems; companies often have the right data and resources, they just need to reapply them. 

“[My research] is about helping businesses use existing resources more efficiently to make supply chain decisions,” explained Clottey. “I emphasize ‘existing’ because that’s been one of my key things. Look at what they have and see how they could use it in a different way.”  

Clottey’s research has been of particular interest to the automotive industry. He began a partnership with Honda to conduct research on how to optimize their high-precision assembly line, to ensure that parts manufactured at different facilities fit together precisely for optimal efficiency. 

“I was interested in engine block assembly,” explained Clottey. “The cylinders and the pistons have to be particular diameters so that they fit. If you get a piston that is too small you have issues, and if it’s too wide it’s going to get stuck. To assure proper fit, they have to sort the pistons and cylinders into pre-specified bins so they can match bins and assure a particular clearance.”  

This process, known as fixed-bin selective assembly, is crucial for manufacturing engines, bearing components and machine parts that require a high degree of precision. For all the problems it solves, this process presents other supply chain difficulties. Engine blocks manufactured at Honda may sit unused while waiting for a matched set of pistons made at a tier-1 supplier. Storing components is costly, using more resources than quickly matching parts. 

To solve this problem, Clottey turned back to his statistics background. 

“Predicting the quality of parts coming in can help Honda adjust what they are doing to try and better match the dimensions of the parts they make in house to the dimensions of parts coming in,” explained Clottey. “If they can better predict ahead of time what pistons they will get, they can create their cylinders ahead of time and match them quicker, having less surplus inventory.” 

Clottey was able to use this research to build models that helped Honda and other automakers manage their inventories more efficiently and reduce waste.

Innovating Delivery Processes at UPS

Another research program where Clottey was able to improve efficiency and management was among UPS delivery teams.  

“UPS has these existing driver helpers, who are used in big cities by UPS to facilitate package delivery during high volume times,” explained Clottey. “Could we route them in a more efficient way? Fundamentally that’s what attracted me to that project...it’s a system resource we’re trying to use in a different way.”  

Clottey was able to examine the routing process utilized by UPS and suggest adjustments that not only provided more efficient delivery practices for UPS but allowed UPS to provide more hours to the driver helpers that were already hired, outside of high-volume times.  

It’s results like these that motivate Clottey to push his research further and find solutions that make the world a better place.  

“I feel blessed that my research has positively impacted the planet, with remanufacturing to help reduce waste, people by helping UPS helpers to make those jobs viable, and profits by reducing cost and working more efficiently,” said Clottey. As Clottey continues his research at the Mike Ilitch School of Business, his impact is sure to grow and have an effect on industry in Detroit and beyond.

-Patrick Bernas, Information Officer III

The Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business prepares students for challenging and rewarding careers, advances the boundaries of scholarly and practitioner knowledge, and enhances the economic vitality of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and beyond through its programs, research and community engagement. Established in 1946, the business school was renamed in 2015 in recognition of a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch. Thanks to this lead investment, the school moved to a new state-of-the-art building in the heart of the District Detroit in 2018, and academic programming and collaboration with city businesses are expanding. For more information, visit ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu.