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Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management

Steven Carnovale

Dr. Carnovale is an Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management at Florida Atlantic University and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management. He has previously held positions at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Portland State University. Specializing in interfirm networks, risk management, and global sourcing, Dr. Carnovale's research has been published in numerous journals. Before academia, he co-founded a marketing strategy firm and worked in various roles in the IT and marketing sectors.

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Contributor Brief·Steven Carnovale · 2 articles
Updated May 9, 2024

Counterintuitive efficiency: Remove friction to unlock profitability

Carnovale argues that operational profitability emerges not from restricting customer choice or tightening processes, but from removing friction points that create cascading costs. Across logistics and retail, he demonstrates that anticipating disruptions and enabling frictionless customer experiences generate revenue faster than traditional cost-control measures.

$billions

lost annually by retailers on returns alone

“The counterintuitive path to profitability lies in making the process frictionless for shoppers.”

Returns Cost Retailers Billions (2023)

How logistics and retail profit engines differ in approach

Predictive disruption anticipation9
Pre-problem optimization8
Friction elimination for revenue9
Reactive cost-cutting3

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31%Predictive disruption
Predictive disruption anticipation
Pre-problem optimization
Friction elimination for revenue
Reactive cost-cutting

2 sectors

where Carnovale applies frictionless profitability principle

Advanced analytics empower leaders to anticipate disruptions and optimize operations before problems arise.

Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics (2024)

Making returns easier for customers will turn returns into revenue streams.

Returns Cost Retailers Billions (2023)

“Friction is the hidden cost multiplier in modern supply chains.”

Themes:Predictive intelligence as competitive moatFriction elimination paradoxically drives profitabilityProactive optimization beats reactive cost control

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