Dr. Asad Ata

Ex Associate Professor, Director of MISI Center for Sustainable Value Networks (CSVN)

He has worked full time in the industry for over twelve years in various supply chain IT, telecom and e-commerce projects, leading to his teaching interests in the areas of predictive and prescriptive analytics, software systems, data modelling and corporate supply chain responsibility.

Dr. Ata’s primary research has been in the areas of sustainable sourcing and supply chain responsibility. He has worked extensively with food and agricultural supply chains with Multi-National Corporations, NGOs, government organizations and agencies such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and SWIFT partnering with around 20 companies, 15 of them in food and agricultural sector.

He is the Director of Center for Sustainable Value Networks at MISI. With a team of 30 research officers, field managers and consultant agronomists, he has been working with SMEs and small farmer communities to design supply chains that are socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and economically viable.

Dr. Ata received his Ph.D. in 2011 from Southern Methodist University Dallas TX, USA in Operations Research, Master in Computer Science from Arizona State University Tempe AZ, USA and Bachelor of Architecture (Honors) from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India.

Conference Presentations

2020

Ata, A. (2020, January). Oil Palm Independent Small Farmer Sustainability Journey through P&G CSS Work, MIMOS, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

2019

Ata, A. (2019, December). Oil Palm Supply Chain Traceability and Mapping, P&G Leadership – University Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, November). The Small Farmer Sustainability Journey Road-Map, 17th Roundtable Conference on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Bangkok, Thailand.
Ata, A. (2019, September). Oil Palm Supply Chain Traceability and Mapping, P&G Leadership – University Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, September). Sustainability in ASEAN, MIT/DTGO Roundtable, Bangkok, Thailand.
Ata, A. (2019, August). RSPO Smallholder Academy Master Training Workshop, The P&G Smallholder Program, Medan, Indonesia.
Ata, A. (2019, July). Sustainable Sourcing for Palm Kernel Oil Supply Chain, Booth and Poster presentation, International Congress for Conservation Biology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, June). Challenges for Independent Small Holder Farmer Commitment to Sustainability, Presented at the Launching of Center for Sustainable Small-Owners, Johor, Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, April). Improving Livelihood through Yield Intensification for Independent Smallholder Farmers, Presented for the P&G Smallholders Program, Livelihood Improvement Initiative Workshop with Multiple Stakeholders, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, March). Responsible Sourcing for Palm Kernel Oil Supply Chain – through Traceability, Transparency and Accountability, Presented at the Research Seminar, Asia School of Business, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, March). “Doing What is Right” How a global commitment to sustainability translated into true partnership and meaningful collaboration through a successful supply chain Engagement, Presented at AMCHAM’s CSR Committee Sharing Sessions, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ata, A. (2019, February). Opportunities and Challenges with First Mile Logistics Services in Agriculture, Presented at Asian Development Bank’s, Logistics Workshop for National Integrated Logistics Plan for India, New Delhi, India.”

2014

Khakdaman, M., Lagoudis, I., & Ata, A. (2014, July). On-shelf availability strategies: Analyzing alternative models to assure product availability in high density areas, Presented at the 19th International Symposium on Logistics, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Kouma, P., Ata, A., & Lagoudis, I. (2014, July). Cold chain service providers: An evaluation framework”, Presented at the 19th International Symposium on Logistics, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

Research Projects

Project title: RSPO Independent Smallholder Certification (RISS) Initiative
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Livelihood Improvement for Independent Smallholder Farmers
Project owner: A Large MNC,

Project title: Traceability & NDPE Verification of PKO Supply Chain
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Center for Sustainable Small-owners, Livelihood Improvement and Certification
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Establishing Supply Chain Traceability for Independent Small Farmers
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Small Grower Mapping & Post-Harvest Innovation for Oil Palm
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Sustainable Sourcing for Palm Kernel Oil Supply Chain – Design and Modeling
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Small Holder Risk Assessment Model (SHRAM) for Independent Smallholders
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Sustainable Sourcing for Palm Kernel Oil – Mapping the Supply Chain
Project owner: A Large MNC

Project title: Transforming Eastern India Economies through Rural Business Hubs
Project owner: USAID

Project title: Financing SME Supply Chains
Project owner: SWIFT Institute