Nima Zaerpour is a Professor in the Department of Operations, Supply Chain, and Business Analytics at the College of Business Administration, California State University San Marcos. He earned his Ph.D. in Operations Management from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, the Netherlands, in 2013. Before joining CSUSM, he was an Assistant Professor at VU University Amsterdam and held visiting research positions at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech and the School of Management at the University of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Zaerpour's research focuses on supply chain management, facility logistics, terminal operations, and business analytics. His work has appeared in academic journals, including Production and Operations Management, Transportation Science, IISE Transactions, European Journal of Operational Research, Transportation Research Part E, and the International Journal of Production Research. He actively serves as a reviewer for journals such as Operations Research, POM, Transportation Science, IISE Transactions, and others. In addition to his academic contributions, he has developed warehousing decision support tools and provided consulting services to companies in the supply chain and logistics sectors.

Ph.D., Operations Management

• Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2013

M.S., Industrial Engineering

• University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, 2008

B.S., Industrial Engineering

• Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, 2005

Research Interests:

• Supply Chain Management
• Facility Logistics Management
• Terminal Operations Management
• Business Analytics

Papers in Refereed Journals

• Rismanchian, F, N Zaerpour, N Soltani, F Zaerpour (2026) "Performance dynamics of warehousing innovations: a productivity and efficiency perspective", International Journal of Production Research, 64 (14), 5805-5824.
• Karimi, M, N Zaerpour, R de Koster (2026) “Keeping up with changing customer demand”: An adaptive data-driven approach for storage and repositioning decisions in automated warehouses, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 208, 104710.
• Zaerpour, N, A Gharehgozli, K Li (2026) "Impacts of additive manufacturing on manufacturing supply chain design", Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 37 (5), 1015-1033.
• Zaerpour, N., A. Gharehgozli, S. Siddique, P.D. Dao (2024) “Impacts of Pandemics on Supply Chains: Lessons Learned, Transition, and Future.” International Journal of Advanced Operations Management, 15(3), 224–247.
• Gharehgozli, A., N. Zaerpour, K. Li (2023) “Optimizing the Number of Deployed Yard Cranes in a Container Terminal.” INFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research, 61(1), 86–103.
• Karimi, M., N. Zaerpour (2022) “Put Your Money Where Your Forecast Is: Supply Chain Collaborative Forecasting with Cost-Function-Based Prediction Markets.” European Journal of Operational Research, 300(3), 1035–1049.
• Mirzaei, M., N. Zaerpour, R. de Koster (2022) “How to Benefit from Order Data: Correlated Dispersed Storage Assignment in Robotic Warehouses.” International Journal of Production Research, 60(2), 549–568.
• Gharehgozli, A., N. Zaerpour (2021) “Robot Scheduling for Pod Retrieval in a Robotic Mobile Fulfillment System”. Transportation Research Part E, 142, 102087.
• Alipour, Z., F. Jolai, E. Monabbati, N. Zaerpour (2020) “General Lot-Sizing and Scheduling for Perishable Food Products”. RAIRO-Operations Research, 54 (3), 913-931.
• Alipour, Z., F. Jolai, N. Zaerpour, S.E. Monabbati (2020) “Bi-Objective Age-based Production-Distribution Planning for Perishable Products”. International Journal of Industrial Engineering, 27 (2).
• Gharehgozli, A., N. Zaerpour, R. de Koster (2019) “Container Terminal Layout Design: Transition and Future”. Maritime Economics & Logistics, 1-30.
• Zaerpour, N., A. Gharehgozli, R. de Koster (2019) “Vertical Expansion: A Solution for Future Container Terminals”. Transportation Science, 53 (5), 1235-1251.
• Zaerpour N., R. Volbeda, A. Gharehgozli (2019) “Automated or manual storage systems: do throughput and storage capacity matter?”. INFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research, 57 (1), 99-120.
• Gharehgozli, A., N. Zaerpour (2018) ”Stacking Outbound Barge Containers in an Automated Deep-Sea Terminal”. European Journal of Operational Research, 267 (3), 977-995
• Zaerpour, N., Y. Yu, R. de Koster (2017) “Small is Beautiful: A Framework for Evaluating and Optimizing Live-cube Compact Storage Systems”. Transportation Science, 51 (1), 34-51.
• Zaerpour, N., Y. Yu, R. de Koster (2017) “Optimal Two-class-based Storage in a Live-cube Compact Storage System”, IISE Transactions, 49 (7), 653-668.
• Zaerpour, N., Y. Yu, R. de Koster (2017) “Response Time Analysis of a Live-Cube Compact Storage System with Two Classes”, IISE Transactions, 49(5), 461-480.
• Gharehgozli, A.H.; F. Vernooij; N. Zaerpour (2017) “A Simulation Study of the Performance of Twin Automated Stacking Cranes at a Seaport Container Terminal”, European Journal of Operational Research, 261 (1), 108-128.
• Mirzaei, M., R. de Koster, N. Zaerpour (2017) “Modelling load retrievals in puzzle-based storage systems”. International Journal of Production Research. 55 (21), 6423-6435
• Zaerpour, N., Y. Yu, R. de Koster (2015). “Storing Fresh Produce for Fast Retrieval in an Automated Compact Cross-dock System”. Production and Operations Management 24 (8) 1266–1284.
• Zaerpour, N., Y. Yu, R. de Koster (2013) “Storage Policies and Optimal Shape of a Storage System”, International Journal of Production Research 51(23-24) 6891-6899.
• De Koster, R., T. Le-Duc, N. Zaerpour (2012) “Determining the Number of Zones in a Pick-and-sort Order Picking System”, International Journal of Production Research 50(3) 757-771.
• Zaerpour, N., M. Rabbani, A.H. Gharehgozli, R. Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, (2009) “A comprehensive decision making structure for partitioning of Make-To-Order, Make-To-Stock and Hybrid products”, Soft Computing 13(11) 1035-1054.
• Gharehgozli, A.H., R. Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, N. Zaerpour, (2009) “A fuzzy-mixed-integer goal programming model for a parallel-machine scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times and release dates”, Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 25(4-5) 853-859.
• Zaerpour, N., M. Rabbani, A.H. Gharehgozli, R. Tavakkoli-Moghaddam (2008) “Make-To-Order or Make-To-Stock decision by a novel hybrid approach”, Advanced Engineering Informatics 22(2) 186-201.
• Gharehgozli, A.H., M. Rabbani, Zaerpour, J. Razmi, (2008) “A comprehensive decision making structure for acceptance/rejection of incoming orders in Make-To-Order environments”, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 39(9-10) 1016-1032.

Teaching

• Graduate level
  • Fully Employed MBA: BA 625: Business Analytics
  • Specialized MBA: OM 632: Sales and Operations Planning
  • Specialized MBA: OM 502: Foundations of Operations Management
  • Masters in Biotechnology: BA 627: Business Analytics and Project Management
• Undergraduate level
  • OM 446: Quality Management
  • OM 445: Warehousing and Distribution Management
  • BUS 324: Introduction to Business Analytics

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