On the morning of June 23, 2025, CUFE Business School successfully held the 19th Session of 2025 Excellent Academic Forum in Conference Room 615 of the Main Teaching Building at the Xueyuan South Road Campus. Associate Professor Abraham Zhang, specializing in Supply Chain Management and Technology from the Adam Smith Business School of the University of Glasgow (UK), was specially invited as the keynote speaker. More than 20 participants attended this academic event, including teachers, doctoral students, master’s students of CUFE Business School, and scholars from other universities.
The lecture was hosted by Professor Liu Xiaohong of CUFE Business School. Before the event, Professor Liu Xiaohong gave a detailed introduction to Associate Professor Abraham Zhang’s academic background. Dr. Abraham Zhang is currently an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management and Technology at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, UK. He has published over 50 papers in international journals, including top-tier publications such as Transportation Research Part B, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Transportation Research Part E, and International Journal of Production Economics. He serves as the Associate Editor of Business Strategy and the Environment and a Member of the Editorial Board of Transportation Research Part E. Additionally, he worked as the Guest Editor for the special issue "AI-LLM for Enhancing Digital Manufacturing" of International Journal of Production Economics, participated in the special issue "Logistics and Supply Chain Management in the Circular Economy Era" of Transportation Research Part E, and led the special issue "Empirically Based Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research in the Circular Economy" of International Journal of Logistics Management. Associate Professor Abraham Zhang has been included in the Stanford/Elsevier List of Top 2% Scientists Worldwide and was ranked by ScholarGPS as the 23rd top scholar in the global supply chain management field in 2024.
The theme of Associate Professor Abraham Zhang’s lecture was "The Role of Digital Product Passports in Sustainable and Circular Supply Chain Management: A Use-Case Based Structured Review". Focusing on the Digital Product Passport (DPP) – a key regulatory element in the European Union’s latest Circular Economy Action Plan – he explored its potential in improving product traceability, supply chain transparency, and resource recycling. The lecture first outlined the current status of DPP in policy and practice. Then, based on a structured review of 82 DPP supply chain use cases, it systematically analyzed the functional value of DPP in enhancing supply chain sustainability and circularity. Drawing on the review results, Associate Professor Abraham Zhang discussed the theoretical and practical significance of DPP in empowering sustainable and circular supply chain management, and proposed priority research needs in this emerging research field, providing profound academic inspiration for the participants.
After the lecture, teachers and students present conducted lively discussions around the lecture theme, covering topics such as the application scenarios of Digital Product Passports, optimization strategies for circular supply chains, innovation in research methods, and future trends of sustainable development. This further promoted the exchange and collision of academic ideas.
As an important platform for CUFE Business School to fulfill its mission of "contributing new management knowledge", the "Excellent Academic Forum" is committed to focusing on cutting-edge issues in the field of business administration and Chinese enterprise management practice, gathering global wisdom and innovative perspectives, and providing theoretical support and practical paths for promoting the sustainable development of Chinese society and economy.
