ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Trusted advisor to senior executives & the boards globally, and the founding partner of MCA – a revolutionary management consultancy helping leaders make trusted decisions & run fit businesses using a novel, scientific & practical portfolio of products & services,
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Author of the book Slimf it: Management Reinvented. Essentials Compiled.
& some highly-cited scientific articles,
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Award-winning researcher, practitioner & professor of Industrial Engineering, Operations Research & Management, the founding director of MCA Management School, and the designer, instructor & chair of the novel Executive Master’s in Management program courses,
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Engineer & inventor of FITNESS Score ™, and architect of xPS system,
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Designer & speaker of several special business seminars & keynote speeches;
namely, MCA p u b l i ca t i o n s,
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Experienced international business executive, and the co-founder & Chief of Development (CoD) of
minicore analytics,
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Composer of various songs, and the owner of MUZICA\\WORKS – a compilation of
his music & art works,
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Co-founder of discover.KIBYRA – a culture, history & tourism portal on Kibyra Ancient City,
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Co-founder of core - a social & environmental responsibilities foundation.
CORNERSTONES OF HIS ACADEMIC & BUSINESS PORTFOLIO
Dr. Arslan took several leadership positions in local Fortune 500 companies & Global 500 corporations where he led strategic projects / programs & assumed internal consulting engagements on almost each continent across the globe.
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During those appointments, he has primarily worked on setting the right strategy on a global scale towards the future of those businesses. His agenda almost always involves topics like process development, R&D, innovation, technology, strategy, transformation, change, next, agility, capability, lean, excellence, optimization, modeling, and analytics.
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Some examples of his work during his corporate affiliations include establishment of award-winning R&D, innovation & PMO functions, organizational restructuring of supply chain & operations units, deployment of planning tools / systems across European countries, and radical process development / improvement studies based on optimization, operations research / management science & advanced analytics.
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He serves as an advisor to senior executives & boards from multinational organizations in diverse industries as well as various start-ups. The scientific, innovative & practical managerial framework & consulting services he offers help manufacturing & service businesses from around the globe achieve sustainable growth, productivity, profitability & competitiveness, or simply "fitness".
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During his academic studies at globally recognized colleges & business schools, on the other hand, he also taught engineering & management courses at undergraduate, graduate & MBA levels.
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He authored some highly-cited international scientific publications pioneer in the field of industrial engineering, operations research & management, and has given several seminars & talks at businesses as well as academic conferences including YAEM, IIE, EURO & INFORMS. He also serves as a reviewer for respected academic journals in engineering & management, and is a member of the Operational Research Society, Turkey (ORST).
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He has received numerous academic honors & awards from Sabanci Foundation, Vehbi Koc Foundation, and The Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). He is a graduate of Izmir High School of Science (Izmir Fen Lisesi) (2002), and holds a BS degree in Manufacturing Systems / Industrial Engineering from Sabanci University (2007), and a PhD in Industrial Engineering & Operations Management from Koc University (2011).
ACADEMIC WORK
EOQ revisited with sustainability considerations
MC Arslan, M Turkay
Foundations of Computing and Decision Sciences 38 (4), 223-249, 2013
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Sustainability in supply chain management: Aggregate planning from sustainability perspective
M Turkay, O Saracoglu, MC Arslan
PloS one 11 (1), e0147502, 2016
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Impact of crossaisles in a rectangular warehouse: a computational study
G Ertek, B Incel, MC Arslan
Auerbach, 2007
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Modeling, development and analysis of sustainable facility location and demand allocation problem
S Anvari, MC Arslan, M Turkay
Mixed Integer Programming 2014 Workshop, Ohio State University, Columbus - Ohio, USA, 2014
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Aggregate planning problem from sustainability perspective
M Turkay, O Saracoglu, MC Arslan
YAEM, ODTU, Ankara, 2015
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Agreegate planning problem from sustainability perspective
O Saracoglu, MC Arslan, M Turkay
British-France-Germany Conference on Optimization, London, UK, 2015
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Aggregate planning problem from sustainability perspective
O Saracoglu, MC Arslan, M Turkay
4th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Logistics and Transport (ICALT), Valenciennes, France, 2015
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Advanced planning & scheduling (APS) system vendor selection process at an international 3PL services provider
MC Arslan
20th Conference of the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS), Barcelona, Spain, 2014
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Bir hızlı tüketim ürünleri firmasında dağıtım ağı tasarımı
MC Arslan
Yöneylem AraÅŸtırması ve Endüstri MühendisliÄŸi 34. Ulusal Kongresi (YAEM), Bursa, 2014
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Advanced planning system vendor selection process at an international logistics service provider
MC Arslan
Industrial Engineering - Operations Management (IE-OPIM) Joint Seminar Series, Sabanci University, Istanbul, 2014
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Optimizing domestic distribution network at a major 3PL provider
MC Arslan
26th European Conference on Operational Research (Euro-Informs), Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, 2013
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Ar-Ge, yenilikçilik ve üniversite-sanayi iÅŸbirliÄŸi üzerine bir deÄŸerlendirme
MC Arslan
International IIE Conference - Yöneylem AraÅŸtırması ve Endüstri MühendisliÄŸi 33. Ulusal Kongresi (YAEM), Ä°stanbul, 2013
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Sustainable supply chain management: a methodology and applications
MC Arslan
Yöneylem AraÅŸtırması ve Endüstri MühendisliÄŸi (YAEM) 31. Ulusal Kongresi, Sakarya Üniversitesi, Sakarya, 2011
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Modeling and analysis of sustainable supply chain systems
MC Arslan
PhD Thesis, Koc University, Istanbul, 2011
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First results and projections from a doctoral thesis study
MC Arslan
Operations Research Center for Industrial & Business Systems (ORCIBS) Seminar Series, Koc University, Istanbul, 2010
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Modeling and analysis of sustainable supply chain systems
MC Arslan
Operations Research Center for Industrial & Business Systems (ORCIBS) Seminar Series, Koc University, Istanbul, 2009
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Implementation of the newsvendor model with customer segmentation and inventory substitution
MM Bakan, MC Arslan
INFORMS Annual Meeting, Washington DC, USA, 2008
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Environmentally conscious supply chain management in energy sector
MC Arslan
Operations Research Center for Industrial & Business Systems (ORCIBS) Seminar Series, Koc University, Istanbul, 2008
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Data mining and visualization approaches to develop CRM strategies for an automobile spare parts distributor
MC Arslan
Sabanci University, Istanbul, 2007
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Visual mining of science citation data for benchmarking scientific and technological competitiveness of world countries
G Ertek, MC Arslan
2nd InternatIonal Conference on Technology and EconomIc Development, METU (TEKPOL) - Izmir Economy University, Izmir, 2007
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Asalımsı Sayılar (Pseudoprimes)
MC Arslan
Izmir Fen Lisesi (Izmir High School of Science) - TUBITAK National Science Projects, Izmir, 2001
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT HIM
"We can never get an output of this quality from any other management consultancy…"
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"Very high caliber work…"
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"I have never seen anyone applying theory into practice as good as this…"
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"I am deeply impressed…"
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"A very good combination of qualitative & quantitative skills…"
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"High quality output together with perfect punctuality in project delivery…"
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"This (his work & seminar) was like music to me…"
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A very special talent who combines ethics and analytics, and that you can't come across very often...
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"A perfect study with every single detail examined…"
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"Sometimes when everyone gets exhausted, someone comes in, inspires others, lights a torch & shines a light to the future… This is exactly what he did for us…"
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"He put enough doubt on my mind to abort an investment of a few million dollars for which i was almost sure to go at the first place…"
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"I have never worked with anyone else with a background comparable to his…"
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"His work is like a poem…"
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"Not only the content but also his delivery was spectacular...
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"Çok feyzaldım…"
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"Very few people dare to propose a fundamental change…"
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"He presented us a holistic summary of what we have to do..."
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"His work proves how innovation at processes should look like..."
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"Knowing a subject is important, but conveying this knowhow is another talent & he certainly has them both…"
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"He delivered the impossible (project)..."
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"I have never seen any other professor or consultant this comfortable in their subject matter & in using theoretical knowhow to solve real world problems..."
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"I really like working with him & learn a lot each time…"
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"Great job, and great delivery! A genius…"
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"Very detailed work…"
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"Truly competent in his field…"
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"Very good at explaining complex issues in simple terms & delivering key messages…"
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"His approach is truly different, and the concepts he put forth are inspiring & impressive..."
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"Technical & soft skills combined…"
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"So proud to work with him..."
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"A master mind…"
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"Çılgın Türk"
Full story with ups & downs on a timeline
for the interested to see what got him here…
Eyes opening: beginning of the journey from Turkiye to the World
Nov 14, 1984
Was born in Adana, a city to the south of Turkey. This marks the beginning of a long journey in the coming years moving from city to city including Agri on the east, Kocaeli-Izmit on the northwest, and Diyarbakir on the southeast due to his father’s appointments who is a government officer & a military judge.
Spending time also with his extended family members living in Kastamonu & Zonguldak-Eregli from Black Sea region in the north as well as Burdur-Golhisar & Antalya from Mediterranean / Aegean region in the southwest, he was never able to name a single place when asked about his origin. Instead, he simply preferred to say, “I am from Turkiye”.
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He never complained, though, as this journey gave him the chance to see different parts of the country & cultures therein, meet many people & have friendships from all over Turkiye.
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Later as he moved further in this life & career, the boundaries of the journey also expanded via international engagements, working with people from each continent, and travels across the globe. Combined with his global mindset, this made him turn to say, “I am from the World”.
First struggles & achievements: "family first!" & the first time on stage in 1995
1990 - 1999
Was among the top students in class during the entire elementary / primary school period & scored at the highest percentiles in nationwide secondary school examination for both Anatolian & Private High Schools, making him eligible to enroll in some notable ones in Istanbul.
Yet, not feeling ready to be set apart from his family & go to a boarding school at that time, preferred to continue at Anatolian High Schools in Kocaeli-Izmit & Diyarbakir, and continued to live with his family.
Elementary school period also marks his first experience to appear on stage as part of a theatre play. This is when he well-understood that he should not be an actor, yet should be "on stage" for the rest of his life.
Entering & leaving the lycée together with the best of the bests: graduated from Izmir High School of Science (Izmir Fen Lisesi) in 2002 – #1 lycée of the country
1999 - 2002
Prepared for nationwide high school examinations on his own in Diyarbakir without any additional course support, managed to be qualified in top 100 candidates, and enrolled in his dream school: historically the #1 lycée of the country by all relevant success measures – Izmir High School of Science (Izmir Fen Lisesi), located in Izmir as the name suggests, a city to the west of the country.
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Izmir Fen has simply been the lycée in which the best students enter, receive a collection of medals in national & international science Olympiads & research project competitions during their studies there, and then typically get graduated with the highest scores & enroll at top universities. Being one of the surviving 40 students of the graduating class of 2002 who started as 96 students in 1999, he also tried hard to achieve a similar track record & got graduated with full GPA.
“This is so advanced that it cannot be you who completed this...”: proposed 3 Theorems & 4 Corollaries in Number Theory
2001
At Izmir Fen, he was initially selected for the team to compete in national science Olympiads in Physics organized by The Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), but then could not make it to the short list.
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After that little joy in Physics, he decided to move onto Math - the mother of Science - and prepared a scientific study / research project on pseudoprimes individually to be submitted to national project competition again organized by TUBITAK. The study was originally a number theory work proposing three new theorems, four corollaries & applications of those.
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What makes it interesting, though, was the method employed in the proofs of the proposals which was based on Group Theory axioms of Abstract Algebra. In other words, not only the results but also the method employed in proofs was innovative. Moreover, the study depicting further characterizations of pseudoprimes might lead to important applications especially in (public-key) cryptography.
Yet, following his submission of the work, TUBITAK's conclusion was: “this is so advanced that it cannot be him who actually completed the study”. This was not going to be TUBITAK’s only encounter with him as they were going to meet again some years later.
Even today, this study & the process in preparing it forms a cornerstone for his mathematical judgment. In the following years during BS & PhD studies, he always wished to publish this work as a side study but never managed to have enough time. Still, for those interested, it can be found in Izmir Fen’s scientific projects database with archive code 91.
Apart from science, setting up a folk music band & giving a concert, a silver medal gain in a sports tournament, and a crash course completion in photography were the extracurricular activities that he was involved in during his high school years.
Years of search & self-development to author his own “extraordinary story” as they called it: received his BS degree in Manufacturing Systems / Industrial Engineering from Sabanci University – the world university of the country, together with a few awards, publications, and full of joy
2002 - 2007
While preparing for the university exams, he was aiming for the one with the highest nationwide enrollment score – honors (full) scholarship program of the newly established Sabanci University. Indeed, long before the exam, that young, innovative, promising yet a little bit risky world university already became his only ambition.
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Once the exam was over, he managed to score at the highest percentile & had the chance to enroll at Sabanci University with honors (full) scholarship provided directly by Sabanci University – Sabanci Foundation.
Although Sabanci was the only institution in the country allowing students to declare their major at the end of Sophomore year, he knew what to study from the very beginning ever since high school years: Industrial Engineering – Operations Research / Management Science (IE-OR/MS) – the science of the better.
During his undergraduate studies, he managed to publish a few academic studies in the field of IE-OR/MS, and conduct industry-applied / practice-oriented research projects where he acted as a consulting partner from academia together with his supervisory professor.
He also had the chance to instruct math & natural sciences courses at Academic Support Program of Academic Development Unit, and worked as part of TUSIAD – Sabanci University Competitiveness Forum & European Office of the Research Policy Directorate.
His years at Sabanci mark a period of self-discovery not only on the academic front but also in terms of his interests. During those years, he received Extracurricular Activities award five times for his musical performances & compositions, started tango dancing, received a virtual private pilot license (ppl), and learned horseback riding.
In 2007, he received his BS degree in Manufacturing Systems / Industrial Engineering from Faculty of Engineering & Natural Sciences (FENS) with exceptionally satisfactory, high honor & honor standings.
For all the activities he was involved in on the academic & extracurricular fronts, university named him as one of the Extraordinary Story holders. Still remembers those beautiful days with all the learning & joy behind…
“The toughest is yet to come” they said, “challenge accepted!” he said: received his PhD in Industrial Engineering & Operations Management at the age of 26 from Koc University – the other world university of the country
2007 - 2011
Towards the end of BS studies, he was sure to pursue a PhD not to primarily serve at university but indeed to deep dive in his field (IE-OR/MS) & strengthen his know-how. Having applied & either accepted or stood in waiting lists for direct PhD programs with full scholarship of MIT & a few other institutions, once again made an emotional decision to stay in Turkiye close to his family & friends, like he did years ago.
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Then, selected Koc University – the other world university of the country together with Sabanci – and joined the dual PhD program in Industrial Engineering & Operations Management (IEOM) offered jointly by Graduate School of Sciences & Engineering (GSSE) & Graduate School of Business (GSB).
He was the first one in the history of these graduate schools & the second in the history of entire Koc University to be accepted to a PhD program without a Master’s. He received a full tuition waiver directly from Koc University – Vehbi Koc Foundation, and funded by TUBITAK throughout his graduate studies, years after TUBITAK concluded “this is so advanced that it cannot be him who completed this…”
His whole graduate study was a challenge. He independently proposed a PhD thesis topic, which then turned out to be a pioneer in its field. His thesis basically objected to classical operations management & instead proposed a sustainable management alternative.
Apart from the thesis work, he was the first & only one being in a non-Math PhD program who was requested to pass Real Analysis I & II courses. Having received mostly "A" grades & just a few “B”s in his education up until then, failed in the first attempt, received a letter grade “F” & faced the risk to be expelled from the program. Eventually, he passed both courses, but the faculty – realizing that they would not be graduating anyone from the program unless they remove these courses from the curriculum – decided to waive this requirement for IEOM PhD fellows, ongoing & future!
Anyways, it was not just those two courses that put his studies at risk. When he was told he failed by only two points at the 10-day-long PhD qualifier sprint, or when his radical thesis proposal was declined in the first attempt & challenged in successive progress reports, his entire PhD study was always at risk, as any second failure / rejection at any phase leads to being expelled from the program without nothing on hand.
Finally, the day came, and he finished his graduate studies with high honor standing & received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2011, four years after Bachelor’s, at the age of 26. Even before finishing his PhD, he got a few offers of professorship from several universities in Turkiye & abroad. His academic ancestors go back to scholars from Imperial College London, University of London as well as Carnegie Mellon – the school of legendary Herbert Simon.
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He has international scientific publications. His paper on the revisit of the classical EOQ (inventory) model stood as the most & second most downloaded article of the respective journal for five years in a row following its publication in 2013. After the publication of EOQ paper, the rest of the chapters of his PhD thesis have also been published consecutively.
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He also delivered several seminars & talks at academic conferences including YAEM, IIE, EURO & INFORMS, serves as a reviewer for respected academic journals like International Journal of Operations & Production Management (IJOPM), and is a member of the Operational Research Society, Turkey (ORST).
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Apart from research, he also taught courses at the undergraduate & graduate levels of Industrial Engineering, Computer Science, Operations Research, Management & MBA programs. He also designed three novel courses, one being at the undergraduate level for Industrial Engineering / Management programs (Industry Insights), and two others at the graduate level for MBA / Exec. MBA programs (Sustainable Management; Innovation, Change & Business Transformation).
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Starting with his parents & his elementary school teacher, he is thankful to all his teachers & professors who taught him anything in life.
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While all the above was happening, he also managed to organize & play in a concert with his band at Koc campus.
Yes: married to his love Ozge, and built core together – their environmental & social responsibilities foundation
2010
During his PhD, he did one more thing & took a step towards maybe the most important partnership in life: got married to his dear love Ozge, with whom he was going to build core – their environmental & social responsibilities foundation.
More than enough time to sit down, observe & think: completed his military service obligation, surprisingly with a few awards
2011 - 2012
As a coincidence, sent back to where he was born - Adana - Mersin region - to fulfill his national obligation & served in military right after finishing his PhD studies.
Did not have any offers from any of the major management consultancies, so crafted his own way: professional appointments & various projects at leading multinational organizations, seminars & consulting to senior executives & boards on a global scale
2012 - Present
Having finished military service surprisingly with some awards, he was back in town, but this time not to academia but to business. He always wanted, and indeed feels like he was born to be a management consultant, yet never ever invited even for a single interview by any of the major management consultancies. He never gave up of course, but instead took corporate roles where he could work as an internal management consultant.
Process development, R&D, innovation, technology, strategy, transformation, change, next, agility, capability, lean, excellence, optimization, modeling, and analytics being the keywords that define his work, always tried to lead the to-be / future agenda of businesses on a global scale. Some of the projects he led during his corporate affiliations include setting up award-winning R&D, innovation & PMO functions, organizational restructuring of supply chain & operations units, planning tool / system deployments across Europe, and radical process development / improvement studies based on optimization, operations research / management science & advanced analytics.
Since his initial engagements with the industry during Bachelor’s years, he had the chance to provide senior executives & board members from multinational organizations in diverse industries with trainings, seminars & consulting. Some of those organizations include Alfa Romeo, Arcelik Global, Aygaz, Beko, Coca-Cola, Danone, Ekol Logistics, Ford Otosan, Frito-Lay, Hyundai Assan, IBM, JLL, Koc Holding, Mercedes-Benz, Numil, Opet, Otokar, PepsiCo, Renault, Temsa, Tofas Fiat, Turk Traktor, and Yapi Kredi as well as several start-ups.
“EOQ Revisited with Sustainability Considerations” paper published
2013
His top-cited paper "EOQ Revisited with Sustainability Considerations" published & stayed as the most / second most downloaded paper of the respective journal for five consecutive years following publication...
The first attempt to found his own management consultancy: tried early, failed quick, learned a lot for the rest of life
2013 - 2014 (Pause)
Not only his passion for management consultancy & inability to get an offer from major consulting firms, but also his desire to set sustainable management as the standard of managing businesses led him to found his own consultancy which was based on IE-OR/MS.
The managerial framework & the service array he proposed towards sustainable growth, productivity, profitability & competitiveness of manufacturing & service businesses were truly scientific & innovative. However, having mostly heard comments like “what you are proposing is amazing, major management consultancies should definitely have you” or “why would not you work with us internally” from prospects & faced some other constraints, he realized that it was not going to work.
In a sense, it was a quick failure, but as with many other failures, brought also numerous learnings. He decided to step back from the market, but the passion was still there. He was going to stand by for a while to give it a second thought, work for development opportunities, and revamp his brand & reintroduce in the most appropriate time possible while sticking to the core values he introduced at the very first day.
By the way, he still believes that major management consultancies are very nice companies which had been a source of inspiration for him. On the other hand, he also feels little sorry for them as they are at the edge of facing a disruptive alternative.
Miracles happen: became a dad, Nisan’s daddy
2017
Nisan, his dear daughter was born, and he thinks the first moment to see her is one of the very few things he will never ever forget in his life...
Stay tuned as more – and actually the best – is yet to come
2018
A friendly advice: fasten your seat belts...
Published the book "Slimf it: Management Reinvented. Essentials Compiled."
Aug 30, 2019
Things change, fundamentals remain the same.
Offered "Exec 901: Introduction to Management with 'Slimf it' Method" course
Apr 23, 2020
Exec 901 is in fact the first course within "Executive Master's in Management (ExecMM)" program - the flagship of MCA Management School.
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The course is open to enrollment via Udemy.
Published the work "Türkiye Ne Yapmalı?" (What should Turkiye do?)
May 19, 2020
A one-pager summarizing the fields Turkiye needs to focus on for sustainable development...
MUZICA\\WORKS on air
Sep 23, 2020
Music Composed & Arranged by Mehmet Can Arslan, or simply Mehmet Can Arslan Music...
Published the book "A few words for all those buzzwords: artificial intelligence big data science digital innovation lean sustainability..."
October 29, 2020
Interpreting the world correctly starts with avoiding misinterpretations, and this is precisely what this condensed book stands for... "A few words for all those buzzwords" is an edited collection of seven core articles that cover many of the business buzzwords of the last decade, including artificial intelligence, big data, digital & more...
"EOQ revisited with sustainability considerations" paper receives & exceeds 100+ citations threshold
Jan 2021
and counting...
discover.KIBYRA is live
Feb 2021
and waiting for visitors to discover...
M. Can Arslan is back home
Apr 23, 2021
Founding Partner, MCA
Co-founder & Chief of Development (CoD), minicore analytics
Remaining pillars introduced, and the portfolio is complete.
May 19, 2021
All the revolutionary "Consulting", "Speaking" & "FITNESS Score ™" services are launched.
Let's change the business, and the world a bit...