Brightlands Institute for Supply Chain Innovation
The Brightlands Institute for Supply Chain Innovation (BISCI) develops smart and sustainable innovations in supply chain management. Set up by Maastricht University and the Province of Limburg in early 2019, BISCI seeks to apply the latest results of logistics research to address the challenges of service providers in the region and beyond. In addition, the institute trains the next generation of professionals who can contribute to supply chain innovation in the industry. BISCI derives its strength from closely collaborating with partners in the public, private and community sectors.
The BISCI expertise and innovation centre is to start operations this summer. It will be part of the 'ecosystem' of Brightlands Greenport Campus Venlo, in which the business community, academics, students and representatives from various governments work together through open innovation and co-creation.
In this way, BISCI contributes directly to the innovation and competitiveness of individual companies and organisations in various sectors and helps strengthen the region’s economic infrastructure.
BISCI was set up by UM and Limburg province to help boost the regional economy.

A Brightlands institute
Brightlands is an open innovation community in a global context, connecting four campuses in the province of Limburg: in Maastricht, Heerlen, Sittard-Geleen and Venlo. The campuses provide entrepreneurs, scientists and students state-of-the-art facilities to support development, education, innovation and growth. Naturally, there are close links between all four Brightlands campuses, and together they enable Limburg to serve as an innovation region where researchers and entrepreneurs take on the major challenges in the areas of materials, health, food and smart services.

Research themes
BISCI is closely connected to the department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management of the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics. The department offers an established team of scholars and an existing infrastructure that facilitates high-quality research relevant to industry.
The “triple bottom line” is a key concept within smart and sustainable supply chain management. It holds that organisations should commit to focus on social and environmental concerns, just as they do on economic gains. For every company, there should be a harmonious balance between "profit, people, and the planet" to obtain long term value creation and corporate social responsibility.
Research at BISCI is driven by new technological developments, the use of digitalisation and big data, the scarcity of resources and the role of people within the supply chain.
Education
Currently, BISCI is connected to two MSc programmes in Supply Chain Management:
- Global Supply Chain Management and Change (in Venlo)
- International Business / Supply Chain Management (in Maastricht)
Exemplary research topics include:
- Augmented reality (AR) in warehouses
- Autonomous vehicles and platooning
- Smart sensors in containers
- Drones for last-mile delivery
- Developing stronger but lighter packaging
- Supplier-enabled logistics services innovation
- Traceability of CO2 emissions throughout supply chain
- Digital technologies in logistics activities
News
Events
We're open to collaboration
BISCI is a transparent institute, open to collaboration and looking for complementarities with other knowledge institutions and parties who share the ambition of smart and sustainable supply chain solutions.
If you’re interested in working with us, please give us a call or drop us a line.