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Erica Plambeck
Erica Plambeck
Professor, Operations, Information & Technology
EricaPlambeck
Currently on Sabbatical
Charles A. Holloway Professor of Operations, Information & Technology
Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford
Academic Area: 
Operations, Information & Technology

Research Statement

Erica Plambeck is an expert in manufacturing operations and supply chain management, and her current research focuses on environmental sustainability.

Bio

Erica Plambeck is Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Operations, Information and Technology in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment. She teaches the MBA core course in Operations Management and an elective, Environmental Entrepreneurship, that draws together MBAs and graduate students from across the Stanford campus. Erica received the Presidential Early Career Award for research in supply chain management, and was recognized as a Faculty Pioneer in social and environmental stewardship by WRI and the Aspen Institute. Erica grew up in the Midwest, received a BS in Mathematics and Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, developed decision-models for EU climate change policy as a Marshall Scholar at Cambridge University, and received her PhD in Engineering Economic Systems and Operations Research from Stanford University.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD in Engineering Economic Systems and Operations Research, Stanford University, 2000
  • Diploma in Economics, London School of Economics, 1996
  • MPhil in Management Studies, University of Cambridge, 1995
  • MS Industrial Engineering and Mathematics, University of Wisconsin, 1994

Academic Appointments

  • At Stanford University since 2000

Professional Experience

  • Scientist, RAPT Technologies, 1999-2000
  • Engineer, Sun Microsystems, 1997
  • Consultant, Conoco, UK, 1996
  • Summer Scientist, International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, 1994

Awards and Honors

  • Faculty Pioneer Award, Aspen Institute and World Resources Institute, 2004
  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2004,
  • Finalist and Honorable Mention, two papers, Junior Faculty Interest Group, INFORMS, 2003
  • Nicholson Prize for Best Student Paper, INFORMS, 2000
  • British Marshall Scholar, Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, 1996
  • British Marshall Scholar, Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, 1995
  • British Marshall Scholar, Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission, 1994

Publications

Journal Articles

Optimal Control of a High-Volume Assemble-to-Order System with Guaranteed Maximum Delays and Expediting
Erica Plambeck, Amy R. Ward. Queueing Systems. 2015, Vol. 60, Issue 1-2, Pages 1-69.
Supplier Evasion of a Buyer’s Audit: Implications for Motivating Supplier Social and Environmental Responsibility
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Forthcoming in Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 2015.
Implications of Hyperbolic Discounting for Optimal Pricing and Scheduling of Unpleasant Services that Generate Future Benefits
Erica Plambeck, Qiong Wang. Management Science. 2013, Vol. 59, Issue 8, Pages 1927-1946.
On the Value of Input-Efficiency, Capacity-Efficiency, and the Flexibility to Rebalance Them
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 2013, Vol. 15, Issue 4, Pages 630-639.
Operations Management Challenges for Some “Clean-Tech” Firms
Erica Plambeck. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 2013, Vol. 15, Issue 4, Pages 527-536.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Operations and Supply Chain Management
Erica Plambeck. Energy Economics. November 2012, Vol. 34, Issue 1, Pages S64-S74.
Delegation vs. Control of Component Procurement Under Asymmetric Cost Information and Price-Only Contracts
Enis Kayis, Feryal Erhun, Erica Plambeck. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 2012, Vol. 15, Issue 1, Pages 45-56.
Effects of E-Waste Regulation on New Product Introduction
Erica Plambeck, Qiong Wang. Management Science. March 2009, Vol. 55, Issue 3, Pages 333-347.
Asymptotically Optimal Control for an Assemble-to-Order System with Capacitated Component Production and Fixed Transport Costs
Erica Plambeck. Operations Research . September 2008, Vol. 56, Issue 5, Pages 1158-1171.
Dynamic Inventory Management with Learning About the Demand Distribution and Substitution Probability
Erica Plambeck, Li Chen. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management . April 1, 2008, Vol. 10, Issue 2, Pages 236-256.
Sensitivity of Optimal Capacity to Customer Impatience in an Unobservable M/M/S Queue (Why You Shouldn’t Shout at the DMV)
Erica Plambeck, Armony Mor, Sridhar Seshadri. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. January 4, 2008, Vol. 11, Issue 1, Pages 19-32.
Implications of Breach Remedy and Renegotiation Design for Innovation and Capacity
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Management Science. December 1, 2007, Vol. 53, Issue 12, Pages 1859-1871.
Implications of Renegotiation for Optimal Contract Flexibility and Investment
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Management Science. December 1, 2007, Vol. 53, Issue 12, Pages 1872-1886.
Supply Chain Relationships and Contracts: The Impact of Repeated Interaction on Capacity Investment and Procurement
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Management Science. August 3, 2007, Vol. 53, Issue 10, Pages 1577-1593.
Note: A Separation Principle for a Class of Assemble to Order Systems with Expediting
Erica Plambeck, Amy R. Ward. Operations Research. June 1, 2007, Vol. 55, Issue 3, Pages 603-609.
Simple Relational Contracts for Capacity Investment: Price- Only vs. Quantity-Commitment
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 2007, Vol. 9, Issue 1, Pages 94-113.
Optimal Control of a High-Volume Assemble-to-Order System
Erica Plambeck, Amy R. Ward. Mathematics of Operations Research. August 2006, Vol. 31, Issue 3, Pages 453-477.
Partnership in a Dynamic Production System with Unobservable Actions and Noncontractible Output
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Management Science. 2006, Vol. 52, Issue 10, Pages 1509-1527.
The Impact of Duplicate Orders on Demand Estimation and Capacity Investment
Mor Armony, Erica Plambeck. Management Science. October 2005, Vol. 51, Issue 10, Pages 1505-1518.
Sell the Plant? The Impact of Contract Manufacturing on Innovation, Capacity, and Profitability
Erica Plambeck, Terry A. Taylor. Management Science. 2005, Vol. 51, Issue 1, Pages 133-150.
Dynamic Bayesian Quantity Control When Some Customers Will Accept a Substitute
Erica Plambeck, Li Chen. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management. 2004, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Pages 103-106.
Optimal Leadtime Differentiation via Diffusion Approximations
Erica Plambeck. Operations Research. 2004, Vol. 52, Issue 2, Pages 213-228.
Incentive Efficient Control of a Make-to-Stock Production System
Erica Plambeck, Stefanos Zenios. Operations Research. 2003, Vol. 51, Issue 3, Pages 3741-386.
A Multiclass Queue in Heavy Traffic with Throughput Time Constraints: Asymptotically Optimal Dynamic Controls
Erica Plambeck, Sunil Kumar, J. Michael Harrison. Queueing Systems. 2001, Vol. 39, Pages 23-54.
Performance-Based Incentives in a Dynamic PrincipalAgent Model
Erica Plambeck, Stefanos Zenios. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management. 2000, Vol. 2, Issue 3, Pages 240-263.
The PAGE95 Model: Integrating the Science and Economics of Global Warming
Erica Plambeck, Chris Hope, John Anderson. Energy Economics. 1997, Vol. 19, Pages 77-101.
Sample-path optimization of convex stochastic performance functions
Erica Plambeck, Bor-Ruey Fu, Stephen M. Robinson, Rajan Suri. Mathematical Programming. November 30, 1996, Vol. 75, Issue 2, Pages 137-179.
An Updated Valuation of the Impacts of Global Warming
Erica Plambeck, Chris Hope. Energy Policy. 1996, Vol. 24, Issue 9, Pages 783-793.

Working Papers

Allocating Emissions Among Co-Products: Implications for Procurement, Offsetting & Border Adjustment | PDF
Nur Sunar, Erica Plambeck, January 2014
Environmental Performance under Voluntary versus Mandatory Disclosure | PDF
Basak Kalkanci, Erjie Ang, Erica Plambeck2012

Courses Taught

Degree Courses

2013-14

OIT 262: Operations

This course focuses on basic managerial issues arising in the operations of both manufacturing and service industries. The objectives of the course are to familiarize students with the problems and issues confronting operations managers and to...

OIT 601: Fundamentals of OIT

The goal of this course is to provide first-year Ph.D. students in OIT with sufficient fundamentals to subsequently take advanced research seminars. The course covers the very basics of six topics: queueing theory, inventory theory, multi-echelon...

2012-13

OIT 262: Operations

This course focuses on basic managerial issues arising in the operations of both manufacturing and service industries. The objectives of the course are to familiarize students with the problems and issues confronting operations managers and to...

OIT 601: Fundamentals of OIT

The goal of this course is to provide first-year Ph.D. students in OIT with sufficient fundamentals to subsequently take advanced research seminars. The course covers the very basics of six topics: queueing theory, inventory theory, multi-echelon...

Programs and Non-Degree Courses

Stanford Case Studies

Water Funds: Financing Nature's Ability to Protect Water Supplies | OIT104
Gretchen Daily, David Hoyt, Erica Plambeck2011
ZETA Communities - Part A | E404A
Andrea Larson, Raymond Levitt, Erica Plambeck, Sara Rosenthal2011
ZETA Communities - Part B | E404B
Andrea Larson, Raymond Levitt, Erica Plambeck, Sara Rosenthal2011
American Electric Power: Investing in Forest Conservation | OIT96
Gretchen Daily, Sara Leslie, Erica Plambeck2010
Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy (C): Inventory Management in the Seafood Supply Chain | OIT71C
Lyn Denend, Erica Plambeck2010
Walmart's Sustainability Strategy (B): 2010 Update | OIT71B
Lyn Denend, Erica Plambeck2010
Ma Jun and the IPE: Using Information to Improve China's Environment | SI115
Hau Lee, Erica Plambeck, Maria Shao2009
Environmental Enhancements in Road Vehicle Technologies | OIT74
Lyn Denend, Erica Plambeck, Fraser Stark2008
Khosla Ventures, Investing in Ethanol | E229
Erica Plambeck, Joshua Spitzer2007
Wal-Mart's Sustainability Strategy (A) | OIT71A
Lyn Denend, Erica Plambeck2007
A Technical Note on Ethanol as a Motor Fuel | OIT52
Erica Plambeck, Joshua Spitzer2006
FedEx and Environmental Defense: Building a Hybrid Delivery Fleet | SI82
David Hoyt, Erica Plambeck2006
Environmental Product Differentiation by the Hayward Lumber Company | OIT38
Magali Delmas, Erica Plambeck, Monifa Porter2004

Service to the Profession

Associate Editor

  • Operations Research, 2004-present
  • Management Science, 2004-present

In the Media

Outsourcing May Not Always Be Best Answer
Silicon Valley Business Journal, February 15, 2004

Insights by Stanford Business

writtenSlowing Introductions of New Electronic Products Reduces E-Waste
October 1, 2009
Research says some regulations can reduce the world's mountains of devices waiting to be recycled and slow the rate of new product introductions.
writtenHow Do We Work Together on Sustainable Development?
December 1, 2004
Top U.S. environmentalists note that most Americans are "pro-environment," but the lack of a unified approach hinders progress.
writtenResearch: When is it Smart to Outsource?
June 1, 2003
A series of new papers suggests that outsourcing manufacturing may stifle innovation, and that a different model might be better.