ITC organised two online research seminars in July 2020 so that interested individuals would have the opportunity to be better acquainted with the ongoing research of different professors and discuss their work with them.
Prof. Jason Choi
The first online seminar was held on 10 July and facilitated by Prof. Jason Choi, Professor of ITC. Titled “Platform Supported Fashion Supply Chain Operations in the Blockchain Era: Supply Contracting and Moral Hazards”, the seminar discussed the prevalence of platform operations in the sharing economy. Nowadays, fashion retailers can sell surplus end-of-season products to platforms that offer product rental services to the market. Motivated by this observed industry practice, Prof. Choi and his team constructed stylized fashion supply chain models to explore the platform supported supply chain operations. They found that the presence of the platform creates a “triple marginalization” problem in which supply chain coordination cannot be achieved even if the manufacturer is willing to supply at cost by using a wholesale pricing contract. They also showed how the markdown sponsor (MS) contract can address the triple marginalization problem and allow supply chain coordination. However, they showed that there is a moral hazard problem, in which the retailer is incentivized to over-claim the amount of the markdown sponsor contract. Prof Choi and his colleagues showed that the moral hazard problem brings a loss to the manufacturer but an immoral gain to the retailer, with no impact on the platform and consumers. They analytically derived the impact of moral hazards (that is, a loss to the manufacturer, and gain to the retailer) and found that it is related to the markdown sponsor rate, as well as the degree of over-claiming. To overcome the moral hazard problem under an MS contract, they proposed measures such as the adoption of blockchain technology, and “discounted” markdown sponsor contracts. They also explored the implementations of other types of contracts to overcome moral hazards, like virtual buyback with inventory reallocation contracts, and wholesale pricing contracts with side payments. Over 50 students took part in this seminar.
Prof. Jintu Fan
The second online seminar focused on “Thermal Regulatory Clothing For Personal Thermal Management” and delivered by Prof. Jintu Fan, Chair Professor and Head of ITC, on 11 July. Human beings are homeothermic, which means that they can retain a constant body temperature but only within a very narrow range of temperatures. That is, the ability of the body to regulate its own temperature is very much limited. In most circumstances, clothing is essential to assist with the thermoregulation process. Depending on the source of the heat or cold and the triggering conditions, thermoregulating clothing can be categorized as either active or passive thermoregulating clothing. Clothing, as a portable environment, is ideal for personal thermal management. Heating or heat conservation through clothing can be achieved by adding insulation or heating elements. Comparatively, cooling with clothing is more challenging. Effective cooling garments will not only save on the immense energy consumption that comes with cooling indoor space, but also significantly improve the quality of life in outdoor environments. The seminar also discussed the recent developments of smart textiles and wearable technology for personal thermal management. About 150 individuals participated which included ITC research and MA students and alumni members.
