Prof. Dr. Johannes Kern · Dean of Business · DHBW CAS Heilbronn
Bridging Academia & Industry.
From Knowledge to Impact.
I see my role as a bridge: between the market and the university, between academic quality and economic viability. I bring nine years of industry and entrepreneurship in China and experience in leading a university.
About
Nine years of industry and entrepreneurship in China. Now leading in higher education in Heilbronn.
After studying in Bayreuth, Munich, Lyon and Birmingham, I joined Bosch in Shanghai in 2013. In 2018 I co-founded a supply chain consultancy in Suzhou. Alongside, I completed my doctorate at TU Darmstadt and taught at Tongji University. I have been a professor at DHBW since 2022, served as Vice Rector and Dean in Lörrach, and since October 2026 I have been Dean of Business at the DHBW Center for Advanced Studies.
Think from the market.
Good programmes start from the real needs of companies, students and partners.
Deliver reliably.
Memoranda of understanding are quickly signed. Bringing them to life is the real work.
Involve people.
Calm and respectful in tone, clear on substance. I involve people before decisions are made.
Leading institutions
Leadership in the dual system.
As Vice Rector and Dean in Lörrach, I led a faculty and central service units. Since October 2026, as Dean of Business at DHBW CAS, I have been responsible for the faculty’s part-time master’s programmes, certificates and corporate learning.
“Think from the market and deliver reliably within the university system.”
33
professors in the Faculty of Business at DHBW Lörrach, 2023–2026
2 weeks
instead of several months: digital approval of dual partner companies, agreed with the staff council
10 → 20
students in the China Summer School, most recently from almost all DHBW campuses
1,500
professionals study at DHBW CAS in more than 28 dual master’s programmes
Focus areas
Four themes, one question: how does knowledge turn into better decisions?
I
Supply chains in the digital transformation
Digitalisation, AI, sustainability and geopolitical risk are changing purchasing and logistics at the same time. I am interested in what actually works in companies and how leaders can decide where to invest.
Editor of two Wiley volumes · OECD case study · Bosch innovation award 2017
II
Understanding China
Working with Chinese partners takes more than market data. What matters are relationships, expectations and reliability on both sides. I combine research on business relationships in China with nine years on the ground.
Springer book on guanxi · Tongji University since 2014 · summer schools
III
Dual education and dual didactics
Learning in two places, at the university and in a company. I am interested in how the two really come together, in my own teaching and in how the model can be shared internationally.
Training for Chinese university teachers · practice projects · IEEE TEMSCON 2025
IV
Studying while working
A part-time degree is a conscious decision to invest in your own development. Alongside work, family and everyday life, that is not always easy. Those who connect what they learn with their working day gain twice.
Dean at DHBW CAS · posts and videos on studying while working
Career path
Industry, entrepreneurship, academia.
2013
Bosch, Shanghai
Purchasing and logistics for Asia Pacific
2018
Xiezhi, Suzhou
Co-founder and managing director of a supply chain consultancy
2022
DHBW Lörrach
Professor of Digital Business Management
2023
DHBW Lörrach
Vice Rector and Dean of Business
2026
DHBW CAS, Heilbronn
Dean of Business
I have taught at Tongji University in Shanghai since 2014, as Affiliated Professor since 2021. At Bosch I received the innovation award “GS Inventory Reduction” (2017) and the Robert Bosch China “Excellent Employee” award (2018).
Selected projects
Where universities, companies and international partners meet.
Continuing education · with DHBW CAS
Sino-German Faculty Training
A compact training programme for teaching staff of Shanghai Zhongqiao University: the German higher education system, university didactics and the logic of dual education. Three cohorts so far.
Dual education · Understanding China
Teaching · DHBW Lörrach
Practice projects with companies
Students work on real questions from meteoblue, Rheinhafengesellschaft Weil am Rhein and the Lörrach recycling centre. One result: MeteoSwitchGuard, an AI-based control system for railway switch heating.
Dual education
Internationalisation · DHBW Lörrach
Summer schools with China
Short, well-planned formats instead of a full semester abroad. From Shanghai via Huangshan to Beijing, and in return more than 30 guests from five partner universities in Lörrach.
Understanding China
Talks & Teaching
On stage and in the lecture hall, in German and English.
Teaching at DHBW and, since 2014, at Tongji University. Guest lectures at the University of St. Gallen, the University of Mainz, the University of Denver and Hult International Business School, among others.
“A good link between theory and practice, very close to real cases.”
From a course evaluation, anonymised
- 2026 Presenter and session chair · IEEE TEMSCON Global, Montréal [title to follow]
- 2025 From hype to hard value: AI’s impact on freight forwarding · OceanX AGM, Cairo
- 2025 Teaching future skills through interdisciplinary problem-based learning · IEEE TEMSCON Global, San Diego
- 2021 Skills for the new era of SCM · Podcast Bicara Supply Chain
- 2019 The digital transformation of the automotive supply chain · OECD, London
Publications
Books
Wiley-IEEE · 2026 · Editor
Managing Modern Supply Chains
Digital Transformation, Sustainability, and Resilience in a Global Economy
Wiley-IEEE · 2021 · with Mac Sullivan
The Digital Transformation of Logistics
Demystifying Impacts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Springer · 2021 · in German
Guanxi im chinesischen Geschäftsleben
How personal relationships shape business in China
Insights
Recent posts
International & China
Two weeks in China, and plenty to think about
Our China Summer School took students from Shanghai via Hongcun and Huangshan to Beijing. The point is a more informed, realistic picture of China.
Research & talks
Managing technology when change keeps accelerating: IEEE TEMSCON Global 2026
Impressions from IEEE TEMSCON Global 2026 in Montréal, where I presented and chaired a session, and why the TEMS community matters.
Work with me
Good ideas grow stronger when we build on them together.
I welcome requests when a question comes from practice and experience from industry, academia and university leadership can help.
Talks and conversations
For conferences, companies and universities, in German or English: supply chains, China, dual education, continuing education.
For universities
Getting to know dual education and dual didactics: exchange, workshops and training, in Germany and abroad.
For companies
Continuing education, practice projects with students and exchange on supply chains and China. I am also happy to connect you with DHBW CAS.