Lead supervisor:
Prof Aris Syntetos 
Other supervisor(s):
- Dr Thanos E Goltsos
Start date: October 2025 (Full time)
Award: Collaborative
Subject Pathway:
Management and Business
Thematic Cluster:
Economy, Enterprise, and Productivity Cluster
In partnership with:
Improving circular economic operations: characterisation, forecasting and management of circular flows
This work aims to advance CE operations by addressing uncertainties through forecasting and translating these insights into cost-effective and sustainable inventory and manufacturing decisions and practices. We benefit from close collaboration with the Welsh Government (Circular Economy, and Foundation Economy and Industrial Transformation Divisions), and several industrial partners (Brother Industries UK Ltd, Sony Group and The Royal Mint) who will ensure the empirical grounding of this work, its practical relevance and the maximisation of its impact.
Biography
Ling is an ESRC-funded PhD researcher in Management at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, supported by the Welsh Graduate School for the Social Sciences (WGSSS) Doctoral Training Partnership. His research focuses on characterising, forecasting, and managing reverse logistics flows to support operational decision-making in circular economy systems. He works closely with industrial partners, including Sony, Brother Industries UK Ltd, and The Royal Mint, investigating operational challenges across reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling.
Industry collaboration has been a consistent feature of his academic work, giving him extensive hands-on experience in addressing real-world operational challenges through data-driven research and decision-support solutions. His expertise spans forecasting, revenue management, stochastic optimisation, and decision analytics, drawing on quantitative methods including statistical modelling, mathematical optimisation, and machine learning.
Prior to his PhD, Ling completed an MRes in Management Science with Distinction at Lancaster University, where he conducted research on revenue management and pricing optimisation in car rental systems using data from Avis. He also contributed to the development of a forecasting dashboard for Co Wheels, one of the UK's leading car-sharing operators. His broader research interests include operations management, sustainable operations, and the application of quantitative research to industrial practice.