Finn Wynstra reappointed Endowed NEVI Professor of Purchasing and Supply Management

According to Professor Finn Wynstra, the “co-operation between NEVI and the higher education sector is unique”. He explained that in addition to funding various doctoral research projects and shorter research projects through its NEVI Research Foundation, NEVI supports a total of five chairs and a number of lectureships. “This co-operation began in 2004 in the case of my chair. The intensity and duration of this support for research and education are unique in both national and international terms.”

NEVI Knowledge Lab
In the coming four years, NEVI’s contribution will partly be used to enhance RSM’s position as a ‘research hub’ in the field of purchasing and supply management. Prof. Wynstra says possibilities in this regard include organising an annual symposium, held in Dutch, for researchers and lecturers and developing an international course for full-time and part-time doctoral candidates. “Also, we will ensure that the knowledge acquired in research is disseminated and can be applied by NEVI members in practice. The new NEVI Knowledge Lab will be one of the channels for the dissemination of this knowledge,” said Wynstra.

Research
Professor Wynstra said that in terms of research, “we will continue to work in our previously defined core areas of innovation and sourcing strategies, buying business services, healthcare procurement, and governance mechanisms. The main focus will be on the purchasing of services, care and performance contracts. Research in these areas will contribute to NEVI’s position as a thought leader.”

Education in purchasing and supply management
In terms of education, various targets were achieved in recent years and all major programmes (MSc, part-time executive MSc, and MBA) include an elective course and, in most cases, a compulsory course or part of a compulsory course. For example, in RSM’s MSc in Supply Chain Management programme around 30 students a year opt to fully specialise in purchasing management.

In addition, NEVI education in the field of purchasing will be further developed by means of training courses in the coming years.

About Finn Wynstra
Finn Wynstra is a professor of purchasing and supply management at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. He is also endowed professor in this field on behalf of the Dutch Association for Purchasing Management (NEVI). Prof. Wynstra’s research focuses on the relationships between purchasing and innovation processes, and on customer-supplier relationships in business services. His work, which spans a range of disciplines, has been published in several academic journals, including the Journal of Operations Management, the International Journal of Research in Marketing, the Journal of Product Innovation Management, and Accounting, Organizations and Society. He is also the co-author of Buying Business Services, and Developing Sourcing Capabilities, both published by Wiley. Professor Wynstra is a former chief editor of the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management and associate editor of the Journal of Operations Management, and is a member of the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, and the Journal of Supply Chain Management. In 2013, he received the Hans Ovelgönne Award from the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM) for his academic contribution to the development of the field of study.

The Dutch Association for Purchasing Management (NEVI) is the world’s third largest purchasing association, and has been the knowledge network for purchasing and supply management since 1956. NEVI brings purchasing professionals working in the private sector and those working in the public sector together to share knowledge.