Dr Seamus O’Reilly is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department in the Department of Food Business & Development.  His research integrates food value chains, supply networks, and business ecosystems to explore pathways toward more sustainable and resilient food systems. Employing a business network perspective, including network analysis and co-creation methodologies, his work investigates interdependencies, knowledge flows, and the influence of network position of a range if stakeholders. This has led to current projects such as work examining how social and technical innovations shape pathways to more sustainable food value chains (funded by Protein-I), and interaction between business innovation ecosystems and sustainable bioeconomy business model development (funded by BiOrbic). His work on supply chain complexity and process improvement addresses strategic alignment and decision-making challenges, notably through the implementation of Integrated Business Planning (IBP).  Complementing this, his research into food system vulnerability and integrity informs management frameworks and strategies to foster trust and transparency among consumers, industry, regulators, and media (public-industry funded). Currently, funded PhD scholars are supervised in the areas of plant-based protein value chains and sustainable bioeconomy business models.

Teaching centres on supply chain management and sustainable food systems. His work bridges industry practice and academic research, with particular expertise in lean supply chain strategy, integrated business planning, and sustainable agri-food value chains. He contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that foster innovation, drive operational excellence, and advance sustainability across the food and business sectors.  Modules delivered currently delivered include:

FE3020: Understanding Supply Chain Management

FE4016: Lean Thinking and Process Improvement

FE4207: Global Food Supply Chain Management and Circular Economy

FE6517: Supply Chain Management and Food Integrity

BU6500: Operations and Supply Chain Management