Aruna’s research interests can be categorized in three broad areas in the field of operations and logistics management: Humanitarian Logistics, Service Operations, and Military Logistics.
Her primary interest is in
Humanitarian Logistics. A significant proportion of the world’s
population has suffered in recent years as a result of disasters—both natural
and manmade. An effective and efficient humanitarian response depends upon the
capabilities and competencies of the organizations involved in the humanitarian
relief effort. Humanitarian logistics is a special branch of logistics which
manages the response supply chain of critical supplies and services. It
addresses challenges such as demand surges, uncertain supplies, critical
time-windows in face of infrastructure vulnerabilities, and the vast scope and
size of the operations.
She is also interested in effectiveness of Service Operations
in terms of customer satisfaction and fairness towards customers. Throughout my
career my research has included examining how systems in field service delivery
or banking industry affect delivery of service to customers. An important aspect
of service operations is acquisition of services, especially in the DoD—the
expenditure in services acquisition has continued to increase in scope and
dollars in the past decade.
She was first introduced to Military Logistics while
doing research in scheduling classes for Navy training schools before she joined
NPS. Since joining NPS, she has researched issues related to weapon systems,
past and present, from an acquisition and logistics perspectives. The DoD
annually procures billions of dollar worth of systems, supplies, and services in
support of the national military strategy. Faced with budget cuts and other
resource constraints, the DoD must transform its procurement process to ensure
cost-effective sourcing of critical supplies and services. Military logistics is
an integral part of humanitarian logistics since due to the assets and
capabilities military presence proves to be critical in significant instances of
humanitarian operations.
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Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense."