Professor Zinn’s research interests focus primarily on the impact of customer service policies on the determination of safety stocks. As part of this focus, his research addresses issues such as the effects of inventory centralization and sales forecasting on safety stocks, logistics partnerships and, more recently, consumer reactions to stockouts. Professor Zinn is also interested in logistics issues in Latin America and received a logistics innovation award from the Latin American Logistics Center.

His research has been published in such academic journals as the Journal of Business Logistics, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of the Operational Research Society, The International Journal of Logistics Management, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and Business Horizons. Professor Zinn is also a member of the editorial review board of the Journal of Business Logistics and The International Journal of Logistics Management. He recently completed two studies for the World Bank, both discussing supply chain management problems generated by imperfections in public policy, and works regularly with the business community as a speaker at logistics conferences and meetings in the United States, Brazil and other countries in Latin America.