Bob Lowson

About the authors: Bob Lowson is Research Director of the QuickResponse Research Program based at Cardiff Business School, CardiffUniversity. This is a European initiative aimed at improving theflexibility, responsiveness and diversity of manufacturers andretailers in a number of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)industries. Prior to this appointment, he spent several years invarious industry sectors, involved with QR, Supply Chain Managementand logistical improvement projects. Russell King is Professor ofIndustrial Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU).He is Director of the NCSU Logistics Institute. He has worked inindustry in the areas of Quick Response systems analysis and on theproblems of maintenance scheduling. He has also consultedextensively on QR-related matters and is the author of severalpapers and articles on QR. Alan Hunter has spent much of his career as a senior manager inindustry in the US. He was one of the developers of QR in the early1980s, has taught at North Carolina State University (NCSU) andhelped establish the research program underlying this book. He iscurrently a Visiting Professor with the College of Textiles, NCSU,and a consultant to the QR program at the university.