Xiaodan Pan, Ph.D.

Dr. Xiaodan Pan, an academic scholar and industry veteran, joined John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in 2018. She holds a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management from the University of Maryland (UMD). Her diverse educational portfolio also includes an M.Eng. in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an M.Sc. in Management Science from Queen’s University, and an M.Eng. in Transportation Planning and Management from Dalian Maritime University.

Before her academic career, Dr. Pan gained valuable experience over a decade in the petroleum industry. Her extensive professional background encompasses areas such as logistics operations, global sourcing, supplier management, project management, and corporate strategy. She played a crucial role in establishing and developing numerous corporate regulations, transportation contracts, evaluation criteria, and strategic alliances in the realm of logistics and supply chain management. 

Dr. Pan's research focuses on leveraging business analytics to improve societal well-being, with a particular emphasis on enhancing operations of businesses in the retail and service sectors. Her primary research areas include: responsible retail operations, consumer stockpiling behavior, disaster risk and resilience, last-mile delivery logistics, and innovations in retail technology. She investigates these domains within the context of broader societal challenges such as economic fluctuations, natural disasters, public health crises, and digital inequalities. 

Her work has been published in leading logistics and supply chain management journals, including Production and Operations Management, Journal of Operations Management, Journal of Business Logistics, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management. Her research has been funded by respected institutions such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec– Société et culture.

Education

Ph.D. (University of Maryland, 2018)

M.Eng. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)

M.Sc. (Queen’s University, 2013)

M.Eng. (Dalian Maritime University, 2002)

Area of Expertise

Responsible retail operations

Consumer stockpiling behavior

Disaster risk and resilience

Last-mile delivery logistics

Innovations in retail technology

SCOM 492   Supply chain simulation

COMM 225   Production and operations management

MSCM 684   Demand management

Paraskevas, J.P., Pan, X., Elking, I., Park, H. 2025. Bridging the digital divide in online retailing: The effect of a strategic focus on ecommerce fulfillment offerings. Production and Operations Management. 34(4): 744–759. Link

Park, H., Pan, X. Dresner, M. 2025. Targeting online sales through last-mile delivery platform integration. Journal of Operations Management. 71(2): 195–219. Link

Pan, X., Shen, Z., Elking, I., Paraskevas, J.P. 2024. Retailing in college towns: spatial location and multimodal commuting. Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal. 25(4): 562–577. Link

Pan, X., Li, G., Dresner, M., Mantin, B. 2024. Exploring the impacts of ecommerce activities on the spatial resilience of warehouse clubs: The role of retail agglomeration. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management. 54(4): 392–417. Link

Pan, X., Dresner, M., Li, G., Mantin, B. 2024. Stocking up on hand sanitizer: Pandemic lessons for retailers and consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 79:103763. Link

Wang, R., Dresner, M., Pan, X. 2022. Strategic responses to the pandemic: An investigation into department store industry. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. 53(2):273–294. Link

Pan, X., Mantin, B., Dresner, M. 2022. When the going gets tough, do the tough go shopping? Journal of Business Logistics. 44(1):61–79. Link

Pan, X., Dresner, M., Mantin, B., Zhang, J. 2020. Pre-hurricane consumer stockpiling and post-hurricane product availability: Empirical evidence from a natural experiment. Production and Operations Management. 29(10): 2350–2380. Link

Shevchenko, A., Pan, X., Calic, G. 2020. Exploring the effect of environmental orientation on financial decisions at the bottom of the pyramid: Evidence from the microlending context. Business Strategy and the Environment. 29(5): 1876–1886. Link

Pan, X., Dresner, M., Xie, Y. 2019. Logistics information system, organizational factors, and operational performance: An investigation into domestic logistics firms in China. The International Journal of Logistics Management. 30(2): 569–594. Link

The collapse of Hudson's Bay signals the turning point for Canadian legacy retailers. The Conversation. 2025. Link

Canada is now on a trade war with the U.S. — here is what you need to know to prepare for it. The Conversation. 2025. Link

The big lesson from past pandemics? Avoid panic-buying, says new Concordia research. Concorida News. 2024. Link

How to make your service company more productive. BDC. 2024. Link 

How the pandemic permanently altered college towns. The Conversation. 2024. Link

John Molson students engage with local fast-food restaurants as part of an experiential learning project. Concordia News. 2024. Link

Department stores survived the pandemic by being adaptable andinnovative. The Conversation. 2023. Link

When the coronavirus gets tough, the tough get stockpiling. The Conversation. 2020. Link

Consumer stockpiling is different during a pandemic. Concordia News. 2020. Link

COVID-19 crisis may usher in new financial era if the world begins to shunrisk: Don Pittis. CBC News. 2020. Link