Ilic, Alexander, Dr.

Alex is founder, CTO, and Chairman of the Board of Dacuda AG, a company that develops and markets proprietary, patent pending technology for enabling fast and intuitive document scanning. This technology is used to build a ScanMouse, the world's first scanning computer mouse.

Alex received his PhD in Management, Technology, and Economics from ETH Zurich. He was a PhD student at the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics of ETH Zurich, Switzerland and a visiting student with MIT's Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity. His research focused on technology-enabled, measurement-driven management approaches that increase energy and resource-efficiency in supply chains. Alex was active in the Sustainability@MIT initiative and has received the 2009 MIT Sloan Peer Recognition Award for organizing the MIT Sustainability Summit in April 2009. Moreover, he was a member of the MIT Energy Club, the MIT Venture Capital and Private Equity Club (VCPE), and took part in the MIT Sloan Entrepreneurship Lab (e-lab) program.

During his PhD studies, he was affiliated with the Bits to Energy Lab ETH Zurich/HSG, Auto-ID Lab ETH Zurich/St. Gallen, and the MIT Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity.

Before starting his PhD, he gathered two years of professional experience as Head of the Development Department at equinux, vendor of the market-leading VPN-Client on the Apple Mac OS X platform. He managed projects for customers in the sectors of healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing/packaging and creative industries as well as federal organizations.

Alex graduated from the Technische Universität München (TUM) with a Diploma (MSc equivalent) in Computer Science and Computational Linguistics. He completed his studies in the record time of six semesters with the predicate "excellent". During his studies he also won a business plan competition on the regional and national level in the field of ubiquitous computing.

Research Interests

• Increasing resource-efficiency in supply chains
• Supply side optimizations to reduce energy usage/carbon footprints
• Utilizing sensor information to improve the management of perishable goods
• Simulation studies of sensor-enhanced business operations
• Detecting inefficiencies and deviations in supply chain operations

Supervised Thesis Projects

• Analyzing data volume requirements for RFID-enabled supply chains through simulation studies (Andrea Grössbauer, May 2008)
• Supply Chain Visualizer: Monitoring product flows with RFID trace data based performance metrics and probabilistic analysis techniques (Thomas Andersen, March 2008)
• Design and Implementation of a Supply Chain Visualization Framework based on RFID Trace Data Analysis (Benjamin Morandi, August 2007)
• Industrialisierung einer Nischensoftware: Aussehen und Skalierbarkeit ausgewählter Strukturen und Prozesse (Stefan Berger, July 2007)

 
Recent Talks

• Cultural differences in sustainability awareness between Europe and the US, MIT Sustainability Summit, 24.04.2009, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Carbon Footprint Reductions with Sensors, GS1 Joint GSMP-JAG Meeting, 24.03.2009, Los Angeles, California
• Learnings from the BRIDGE Project, GS1 Joint GSMP-JAG Meeting, 23.03.2009, Los Angeles, California
• Towards a RFID technology roadmap, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 12.02.2009, Zurich, Switzerland
• Greenhouse gas emission reductions with sensors, EPCglobal JAG Meeting, 09.10.2008, Bonn, Germany
• Rule-based Analysis and Visualization of RFID Data, EPCglobal JAG Meeting, 09.10.2008, Bonn, Germany
• Towards a RFID technology roadmap, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 22.09.2008, London, United Kingdom
• RTI-based Management of Perishable Goods – Quantifying Condition Monitoring Benefits, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 20.06.2008, Weesen, Switzerland
• Status Update on Task 4.7 – Towards a Technology Roadmap, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 19.06.2008, Weesen, Switzerland
• Management of Perishable Goods – Using Sensor Information to Increase Profits and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, research seminar ETH/HSG, 17.06.2008, Eichenberg, Austria
• RTI-based Management of Perishable Goods, BRIDGE WP4/WP9 Meeting, 20.05.2008, Paris, France
• The Future of RTI Management – Between Vision and Reality, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 20.05.2008, Paris, France
• Evaluating Data Volumes of RFID Systems in Supply Chains, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 04.02.2008, Graz, Austria
• Supply Chain Visualizer 2.0 – Final Version and Feature Update, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 04.02.2008, Graz, Austria
• Understanding the Economic Relevance of Secure RFID Solutions, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 05.11.2007, Ipswich, United Kingdom
• Supply Chain Visualizer - Internals and Concepts, Auto-ID Labs Research Meeting, 11.10.2007, Hong Kong, China
• The Supply Chain Visualizer Project, Plenary talk at EPCglobal JAG Meeting, 10.10.2007, Hong Kong, China
• Supply Chain Visualizer and Alignment Possibilities with WP3, BRIDGE WP3 Meeting, 25.10.2007, Cambridge, UK
• Managing Interdependent Risks in EPC-based Information Sharing Networks, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 10.07.2007, Brussels, Belgium
• Improving Supply Chain Operations of Perishable Goods by Utilizing Sensor Information – A Simulation Study, research seminar ETH/HSG, 05.07.2007, Gais, Switzerland
• Visualizing Supply Chain Integrity Problems, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 29.03.2007, Viareggio, Italy
• Risk Assessment of EPC-based Networks, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 29.03.2007, Viareggio, Italy
• A Business Collaboration Infrastructure for the EPC Network, Auto-ID Labs Research Meeting, 15.03.2007, Brussels, Belgium
• Towards a Business Collaboration Framework for the EPC Network, EU RFID Forum 2007 and Academic Convocation, 14.03.2007, Brussels, Belgium
• The Impact of Auto-ID Technologies on Shrinkage, Forschungsseminar ETH/HSG, 14.02.2007, Neukirch a.d. Thur, Switzerland
• First Findings of Benedicta's Returnable Transport Items Scenario, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 15.01.2007, Barcelona, Spain
• Deliverable D-4.1.1 Status and Outcomes, BRIDGE F2F Meeting, 15.01.2007, Barcelona, Spain
• Anti-Counterfeiting & RFID, EU RFID Conference 2006 - Heading for the Future, 16.10.2006, Brussels, Belgium

Publications & Working Papers

• Sensors in Retailing: Reducing the Quality Uncertainty of Perishable Goods, A. Ilic, E. W. Schuster, T. Staake, E. Fleisch, Bits to Energy Lab Working Paper, 2010
• Understanding Data Volume Problems of RFID-enabled Supply Chains, A. Ilic, A. Grössbauer, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch. Business Process Management Journal, vol. 16, no. 6, 2010
• The Value of RFID for RTI Management, A. Ilic, P. Bowman, J. Ng, T. Staake. Electronic Markets, vol. 19, no. 2-3, pp. 125-135, August 2009, doi:10.1007/s12525-009-0011-5.
• Securing RFID systems by detecting tag cloning, M. Lehtonen, D. Ostojic, A. Ilic, F. Michahelles. In proceedings of H. Tokuda et al. (Eds.): 7th International Conference, Pervasive 2009, Nara, Japan, May 11-14, 2009. LNCS 5538, pp. 291–308, [PDF].
• Estimating Data Volumes of RFID-enabled Supply Chains, A. Ilic, A. Grössbauer, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, 15th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), San Francisco, CA, 2009
• The Value of Sensor Information for Managing Perishable Goods, A. Ilic, E. W. Schuster, T. Staake, E. Fleisch, S. E. Sarma, poster at MIT LMP Summit, Cambridge, MA, 2009
• Serial-Level Supply Chain Control: Sensor-based Condition Monitoring, P. Bowman, A. Ilic, J. Ng, BRIDGE Deliverable D-3.6, 2009
• Serial-Level Supply Chain Control: Reusable Asset Management Model, P. Bowman, M. Harrison, A. Ilic, J. Ng, BRIDGE Deliverable D-3.4, 2009
• Network Confidentiality, T. Burbridge, A. Ilic, D. Zanetti, J. Farr, A. Soppera, P. Bowman, J. Ng, J. Baños, A. Plaza, J. J. Cantero, F. Nuñez, BRIDGE Deliverable D-4.5.2, 2009
• Simulation Study on the Effect of Sensor Information in Supply Chains of Perishable Goods, A. Ilic, T. Staake, E. Fleisch, Auto-ID Labs White Paper, 2009
• EPCIS-based Supply Chain Visualization Tool, A. Ilic, T. Andersen, F. Michahelles, Auto-ID Labs White Paper, 2009
• RFID Tag Security, M. Aigner, T. Burbridge, A. Ilic, D. Lyon, A. Soppera, M. Lehtonen, BRIDGE White Paper, 2009
• Using Sensor Information to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Perishable Goods, A. Ilic, T. Staake, E. Fleisch. IEEE Pervasive Computing, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 22-29, Jan.-Mar. 2009, doi:10.1109/MPRV.2009.20
• Increasing Supply Chain Visibility with Rule-Based RFID Data Analysis, A. Ilic, T. Andersen, F. Michahelles. IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 31-38, Jan./Feb. 2009, doi:10.1109/MIC.2009.10
• The Value of Sensor Information for the Management of Perishable Goods – A Simulation Study, A. Ilic, T. Staake, E. Fleisch, 2008, working paper [PDF]
• Distance-sensitive High Frequency RFID Systems, C. Metzger, A. Ilic, P. Bourquin, F. Michahelles, and E. Fleisch, International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Applications (ICPCA), Alexandria, Egypt, 2008.
• Threat Modelling in EPC-based Information Sharing Networks, A. Ilic, T. Burbridge, A. Soppera, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, to appear in "Security in RFID and Sensor Networks", Auerbach Publications, Taylor&Francis Group, USA, 2009 [Amazon]
• Analyzing Product Flows with the Supply Chain Visualizer, A. Ilic, T. Andersen, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, Demo at Internet of Things Conference 2008, Zurich, Switzerland, 2008
• Synchronized Secrets Approach for RFID-enabled Anti-Counterfeiting, A. Ilic, M. Lehtonen, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, Demo at Internet of Things Conference 2008, Zurich, Switzerland, 2008
• Supply Chain Integrity, J. Farr, M. Harrison, A. Ilic, O. Kasten, A. Soppera, D. Zanetti, BRIDGE Deliverable D-4.6.1, 2007
• The Economic Relevance of Secure RFID Solutions - A Qualitative Perspective, A. Ilic, M. Aigner, A. Soppera, T. Burbridge, R. Maidment, F. Michahelles, BRIDGE Deliverable D-4.1.3, 2007
• A Threat Model Analysis of EPC-based Information Sharing Networks, A. Ilic, T. Burbridge, A. Soppera, F. Michahelles, BRIDGE Deliverable D-4.1.2, 2007
• The EPC Business Collaboration Framework - Thoughts on the Future Role of the EPC Network, A. Ilic, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, Auto-ID Labs White Paper, 2007
• The Dual Ownership Model - A Concept for Efficient Access Management of Item-Level Data in Pharmaceutical Supply Chains, A. Ilic, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, Auto-ID Labs White Paper, 2007
• Security Analysis and Requirements, A. Ilic, A. Soppera, T. Burbridge, M. Aigner, A. Dada, J. Farr, BRIDGE Deliverable D-4.1.1, 2007
• Towards a Business Collaboration Framework for the EPC Network, A. Ilic, F. Michahelles, E. Fleisch, EU RFID Forum 2007 and Academic Convocation, Brussels, Belgium
• The Dual Ownership Model: Using Organizational Relationships for Access Control in Safety Supply Chains, A. Ilic, F. Michahelles, and E. Fleisch, IEEE International Symposium on Ubisafe Computing (UbiSafe-07), Niagara Falls, Canada, 2007 [PDF]
• Dual Ownership: Access Management for Shared Item Information in RFID-enabled Supply Chains, A. Ilic, F. Michahelles and E. Fleisch, PerTec Workshop at the International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications (PerCom 2007), White Plains, NY, 2007 [PDF]

 
Research Projects

Other involvements

• Electronic Markets – The International Journal on Networked Busines (Reviewer)
• 15th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), August 6 - 9, 2009, San Francisco, California (Reviewer)
• 3rd IEEE International Conference on RFID, April 27 - 28, 2009, Orlando, Florida (Reviewer)
• The 17th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), June 8-10, 2009, Verona, Italy (Reviewer)
• The 16th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), June 9-11, 2008, Galway, Ireland (Reviewer)
• The 4th Annual International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems: Computing, Networking and Services (MOBIQUITOUS 2007), August 16-19, 2007, Philadelphia/USA (Reviewer)

Dacuda JP