Professor Aki Jääskeläinen: supply chain management enhances the performance and sustainability of industrial production

As modern companies streamline their core operations, they are dependent on external suppliers and partners. However, as supply chains become more globally dispersed, significant challenges emerge: how can companies address environmental concerns and ensure social sustainability, such as maintaining fair working conditions worldwide? 

Professor Aki Jääskeläinen highlights the role of supply chain management (SCM) in ensuring that products are manufactured and delivered efficiently, sustainably and economically. By optimising their supply chains, companies aim to uphold the principles of ethical procurement and reduce the environmental impact of their operations, among other goals.

“Company success is becoming increasingly reliant on effective supplier networks and relationships. As the number of suppliers grows, the volume of data about them also expands substantially,” notes Jääskeläinen. 

Jääskeläinen, who was appointed as a Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management at Tampere University in December 2024, is looking to help companies find more effective methods for supplier information management. Jääskeläinen’s current top priority is the AI-Driven Renewal of Business and Supplier Information Management (AI-SIM) consortium, which he leads.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of information management in supply chains. The AI-SIM project explores AI-based digital applications and methods to renew networked business, with intelligent supplier information management being a key component.

According to Professor Jääskeläinen, the AI-SIM project was initiated to address the challenges companies faced in acquiring supply chain information. Companies need tools to manage unexpected situations in the supply chain, which requires a combination of quantitative and qualitative data sources.   

The AI-SIM project primarily focuses on the better utilisation of qualitative information. In particular, the project delves into Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology.  Weak signals related to supplier networks are detected from textual content with the help of AI.

“Companies need a better understanding of what changes in the supplier network mean for their business. We investigate, for example, how AI can extract information from information streams about working conditions or ownership changes on the other side of the globe. Unexpected events in the supplier network cannot be monitored solely by keeping up with daily news.” 

The project also involves company partners that participate in envisioning how this new technology can be transformed into practical business benefits. The consortium consists of Tampere University’s Industrial Engineering and Management Unit, the TurkuNLP research group at the University of Turku, and three companies (AGCO-Power, Sievo and Integrata). The project is supported by co-innovation funding provided by Business Finland.

Information leads to better decisions 

Aki Jääskeläinen earned his doctoral degree in industrial engineering and management at the then-Tampere University of Technology in 2010. He has always been fascinated by industrial engineering and management due to its unique blend of natural sciences, economics and business perspectives.  

Photo: Jonne Renvall/Tampereen yliopisto

At the beginning of his research career, Jääskeläinen was interested in measuring value and exploring the significance of numerical information in company decision-making. His collaboration with Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Jussi Heikkilä led to project funding that enabled him to study procurement.

“Procurement expertise and supply chain management play a central role in business transparency, which is essential for sustainability. To fully grasp the sustainability impacts of industrial production, it is necessary to examine the supply chain beyond the first-tier supplier.” 

While Aki Jääskeläinen’s professorship primarily centres on business activities and their industrial landscape, he believes the insights gained can be applied across various sectors. He points out that this research can benefit all decision-makers involved in supply chains, process development and procurement activities. His keen interest in information and knowledge management is clearly evident.

“Often the problem is not the availability of information but rather what happens with it. I place great importance on the management perspective, where information leads to better decisions.” 

PRECIUS is a project funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ programme that develops a new educational offering to increase public procurement expertise.

“For example, the lack of procurement training in the public sector often creates a bottleneck when procurement duties are performed alongside other responsibilities. There is a particular shortage of strategic expertise in public procurement,” says Jääskeläinen. 

Public procurement specialists, SME sales professionals and environmental engineers are integral to driving sustainable innovations. The PRECIUS project fosters collaboration among these professionals and focuses on creating, developing, procuring and delivering sustainability solutions for the public sector.

The Industrial Engineering and Management Unit engages in multidisciplinary projects

Professor Jääskeläinen brings his expertise in industrial management and engineering to the INSIGHT project that explores social sustainability. This project develops and studies the sustainability impacts of chemicals and materials. One of the dimensions of social sustainability is how a company treats its workforce. The industrial and engineering specialists within the INSIGHT consortium are developing methods to measure the socio-economic impacts of new technologies. 

“We are developing an approach for measuring and evaluating social sustainability and its impacts. For instance, we do not yet know how sustainable the supply chains of new nanomaterials are. When companies make decisions about adopting new materials, they need information about their impacts,” Jääskeläinen says. 

The INSIGHT consortium – which is funded under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme and led by Professor Dario Greco from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University – includes partners from across Europe. 

Professor Jääskeläinen has also brought the Industrial Management and Engineering Unit into the ProDigial research programme, which examines, for example, what constitutes productivity in the infrastructure sector and how it is measured. 

“This is a return to my roots. We are developing ways to generate information that enhances our understanding of infrastructure operations.” 

Jääskeläinen’s work demonstrates a commitment to improving industrial processes and operations, but his research also has a broader impact on society, as evidenced by his projects on infrastructure, public procurement and social sustainability. The integration of research and practical applications has always been a hallmark of his work. 

“I enjoy research that has a practical connection. When companies and public organisations participate in research, we gain valuable insights into the latest advancements in their fields. Linking academic research with operational improvements can be highly rewarding. Looking ahead, I am also eager to explore risk management within supply chains,” Jääskeläinen reflects.