I am a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at the University of Ulster and a Visiting Professor as Ajman University, United Arab Emirates. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of Centre of Higher Education and Research Practice and a Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE) with the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS). I have won numerous awards for teaching and research excellence.

I am regularly involved in a range of supply chain projects across sectors based on my expert knowledge of supply chain and operations management and regularly supports trade and government organisations in developing supply chain policies. My research has been published in journals such as the International Journal of Operations Management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Information Management and the International Journal of Production Research.

I have vast experience in leading management and skills development programmes, information systems implementation, process improvement and management capability development programmes. For example, a commissioned study for Intertrade Ireland reviewing supply chain management capabilities of cross border SMEs was completed in 2019 and included mini online supply chain skills modules.  This project shaped Intertrade Ireland’s Corporate Plan 2020, and informed the creation of a cross-directorate Brexit Taskforce and a dedicated Brexit Voucher funding stream (over €2mn support to micro and SMEs, with Impact of Expenditure reported as 12.5:1). Also, feeding directly into national government policy meetings with the UK Treasury and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Ireland around innovation and economic development. This was followed by a project funded by Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and Department of Business, Enterprise, and Innovation in partnership with Manufacturing Northern Ireland to design and develop a suite of online supply chain Brexit readiness management capability resources for SMEs. These resources have been accessed almost 100,000 times since their launch in November 2020 by manufacturing organisations across 13 sectors. Over 80% of firms found they significantly improved their supply chain resilience and readiness for Brexit and this project resulted in £12mn follow-on support to micro and SMEs. Information can be found at https://mnisupplychain.com/.

I have led many projects in process and systems development in both large and small organisations in the UK and Ireland. I have successfully (and continue to) lead numerous Innovation Boost and Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects focusing on supply chain management, innovation and systems development. My lead role in a KTP with the Social Enterprise (SE) Sector, NI led to the development of a framework for measuring social value within the public procurement process (worth GBP£3 billion in tenders annually). A social clause is now included with legislation imminent. Supported impact includes employment within the sector increasing from 12,200 to 24,280, and turnover of SE’s increasing has increased from GBP£600m to GBP£980mn (from 2013-2018). In addition, three quarters of SE’s are now making a profit, which is a marked increase from 68% in the last review period (2013). Further, there has also been a 44% increase in SE start-ups, and this has resulted in knock on benefits on local communities.  For example, SEs are now emerging in disadvantaged areas, with 25% of social enterprises now based in the 50 most deprived areas, and 53% of SEs workforce come from the local area.  The Chair of Social Enterprise NI stated, “The significant impacts of this partnership with UUBS in terms of sustainability, job creation, economic growth and social value are transformative to the sector and regional economy”.

 I am a Co-Investigator in a North South Shared Island project looking entitled, “The Atlantic Innovation Corridor: Social Capital and Co-Ordinating Capacity in a Multi-City, Distributed Conurbation Border Region” (€3.8Mn). I am also involved in a €4.88mn European project addressing food waste in the supply chain using Industry 4.0 technologies; a €2.2mn project on health sustainable nutrition in the supply chain using blockchain technologies, and a €153,161 seed corn project aimed at developing a non-clinical Internet of Things (IoT) strategy across Northern Europe.

My research impact was selected as a Research Impact Case Study (one of only 3 in the Faculty) in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 return within the Ulster University’s Business School.

My research research focuses on a range of supply chain issues, such as digital transformation, Big Data Analytics, digital technology adoption, culture, innovation, and environmental practices. I am widely published in many high quality internationally recognised journals, such as Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, International Journal of Production Economics, and the International Journal of Information Management. Information can be found at: Research Profile. I have won several awards for his research, including the Ulster University Business School Distinguished Research Award (2019); and a best paper Award at the British Academy of Management (2016). I am a regular press commentator and contributor to supply chain issues.

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Centre for Higher Education Research. I teach and coordinate a range of subjects from operations and supply chain management, research methods and applied management skills. I am an External Examiner at Newcastle University, Atlantic Techological University, and the Open University, Derby. I held the title of Programme Director for the Masters in Business Administrator for 15 years, successfully leading 3 revalidations. I have recently won several awards for his teaching and learning excellence, including Ulster University Distinguished Education Excellence Award: Sustained Educational Excellence (2021); Ulster University Distinguished Education Excellence Award: Innovation Excellence (2020); Ulster University Distinguished Education Excellence Award: Collaborative Excellence (2020); and the Ulster University ‘Educator of the Year’ (2019); The latter being awarded for designing an innovative bitesize management development programme in collaboration with industry, which has been taught across 3 continents. Information can be found at Mini MBA Short Video.

Research Funding and Knowledge Exchange (Dr Trevor Cadden: as off September 2022)