Kris Lieckens

Dr. Kris Lieckens is a Lecturer affiliated with multiple academic institutions including the University of Antwerp (UA), Antwerp Management School (AMS), and IESEG School of Management. He teaches courses related to supply chain management, operations management, and managerial decision-making using operations research models. Additionally, he serves as a board member of PICS Belgium, where he delivers APICS certification courses (CSCP, CPIM, CLTD) focusing on supply chain flows. Since 2016, he has concurrently held a role at The Grain, a data science company developing AI applications for industrial optimization.

His educational background includes a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Antwerp and post-doctoral research at KU Leuven's Research Center for Operations Management.

Lieckens' research applies operations research techniques to industrial challenges, with expertise in:

• Advanced resource planning and supply chain network design
• Reverse logistics and large-scale manufacturing systems
• Maintenance service optimization and stochastic modeling
• AI-driven decision support tools for operations

He co-developed FlowBalancer, an analytical tool for Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) decisions.

As a consultant since 2001, he has advised global companies on planning systems and optimization routines. Through his industry role at The Grain, he develops solutions to streamline supply chain, manufacturing, and maintenance workflows for planners and engineers.