David Bamford, PhD is Professor of Operations Management at the Manchester Metropolitan University. He is an experienced industrialist/academic with over 200 articles, book chapters and reports, as well as having presented widely on his topics to both academic and practitioner audiences. Knowledge transfer has been at the centre of David's career strategy; it provides a focus and direction for his research, grant applications, publications, teaching and major administrative roles. His research interests are quality management, operations management improvement strategies, supply chain management, quality management, sports operations management, strategic organisational change and leadership.

Marina Papalexi, PhD is a Senior Lecturer in Operations and Project Management at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on supply chain resilience, sustainability, digitalisation, and operations improvement strategies. She has published in high-impact international journals and contributed to several book chapters. Marina's work enhances academic literature by offering theoretical and empirical insights into complex delivery processes. Her research also spans quality management, sport management and knowledge transfer. She has presented at international and national conferences including EurOMA and BAM and led research projects such as KTPs. Marina teaches BSc, MSc, and MBA courses in operations, supply chain, and project management.

Benjamin Dehe, PhD is an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). His research explores operational excellence, supply chain quality integration, innovation, and digital transformation, with a particular focus on Industry 4.0 technologies and decision-making processes. His work has been published in leading national and international journals and reflects a strong commitment to bridging theory and practice. Benjamin actively collaborates with organisations across manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and service sectors, contributing to the advancement of quality and supply chain management practices.

James Bamford, PhD is a Senior Lecturer in Project Management at York Business School, York St John University. He joined in 2021 after completing a PhD at the University of Huddersfield, where he also led undergraduate and postgraduate courses in operations, logistics, and project management. With a background in NHS strategic change projects across northern England, Jim brings extensive experience in healthcare and service management. He has led award-winning Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, receiving the ESRC Best Application of Social or Management Science and the TSB Best Partnership Award for innovation-led research. Jim's research interests include procurement, project management and operations management.

Jon Tudor is the founder and owner of True North Excellence, a UK based training and event company specialising in Lean Management and Operational Excellence. For over two decades he has been developing training and event programmes for organisations like The Manufacturing Institute, the Manufacturing Advisory Service and is an Advisory Board Member for the Society of Operational Excellence. He helped launch the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence in the UK and has led manufacturing benchmarking study visits in the USA, UK, Europe and Japan, visiting and studying over 300 companies.