Pre-Submission Preflight (msom-submission)

When to trigger

• "We're submitting this week" — the last check before hitting submit
• Unsure what ScholarOne requires or which Department/Department Editors to pick
• Need to confirm double-anonymous anonymization is complete
• Verifying the manuscript fits the 32-page typeset cap on the official template

Before submitting, check the official M&SOM submission-guidelines page, editorial-board page, and ScholarOne screens for the live upload fields, payment step, and editor rosters. The baseline below was checked on 2026-06-20.

Verified M&SOM specs (confirm current values)

• Length: 32-page maximum for a new submission, including all references, tables, graphs/figures, and appendices, typeset on the official M&SOM LaTeX/Word style files (one column, 11-point font, 1-inch margins on all sides). Online supplement ≤ 16 pages for new submissions.
• Abstract: structured, ≤ 300 words, no technical jargon, with three subsections — Problem definition / Methodology-results / Managerial implications.
• Submission portal: ScholarOne Manuscripts at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/msom; submit as a single PDF.
• Department routing: choose a primary editorial Department and name two preferred Department Editors. The Manufacturing-and-Supply-Chain rule applies — if that department is chosen, the first DE choice must be from it and the second from a different department.
• Review: double-anonymous — author identities are known only to the EIC, Department Editor, Associate Editor, and editorial staff; remove names, institutions, and acknowledgments from the manuscript.
• Style: INFORMS author-year (author-date) citations; reference list ordered by first author, number of authors, then year (INFORMS style file v1.6).
• Data & code: manuscripts must permit replication; be prepared to share raw data on request and to retain it; provide your own code plus access/linking instructions for licensed data (Census, Compustat, CRSP, FactSet, WRDS).
• Fees: M&SOM author guidelines list an optional USD 3,000 INFORMS Open Option fee after acceptance and do not list a regular submission fee on the checked page; treat payment as a ScholarOne-screen check, not a manuscript-design assumption.

Pre-submission checklist

Anonymization (double-anonymous)

• Manuscript PDF contains no author names, affiliations, or acknowledgments
• Self-citations worded neutrally ("Author (2020) shows"), not "our earlier work"
• Funding/acknowledgments removed from the manuscript (supplied separately as the portal requires)
• File metadata/properties scrubbed of author identity; file names carry no identifiers

Format (verify against the official style files)

• Typeset on the official M&SOM LaTeX/Word template: one column, 11-pt, 1-inch margins
• Main submission ≤ 32 pages including references, tables, figures, appendices
• Online supplement ≤ 16 pages (full proofs, extra numerical studies, notation table)
• Structured abstract ≤ 300 words with all three required sections, jargon-free
• INFORMS author-year citations; reference order per style file v1.6

Routing & files for ScholarOne

• Primary Department selected; two preferred Department Editors named (with the M&SC first/second rule respected)
• Correct article type chosen (standard research vs. OM Forum vs. Practice Platform)
• Single anonymized PDF uploaded; supplement uploaded as required
• Cover letter (concise: operations problem, contribution, fit, not under review elsewhere)

Declarations & data/code

• Data-and-code statement: replication detail provided; raw-data sharing/retention acknowledged
• Licensed-data access/linking instructions prepared
• No concurrent submission; prior conference/working-paper versions disclosed in the cover letter
• Operations-centrality reaffirmed — the operations decision is the primary contribution

Anti-patterns

• Submitting with self-identifying language ("in our 2019 study") intact.
• Choosing a Department the paper does not actually fit, or ignoring the M&SC first/second rule.
• Letting references/appendices push the typeset manuscript past 32 pages.
• A structured abstract missing the Managerial-implications section.
• Reference list in a non-INFORMS style straight from the reference manager.

Output format

【Anonymization】pass / fix ...
【Format vs. style files】32-page cap, 11-pt template, structured abstract: pass / fix ...
【Department routing】primary + two DEs (M&SC rule respected) ...
【Files】single PDF / supplement / cover letter: ready? ...
【Data & code】replication detail; licensed-data access instructions ...
【Next step】await decision → msom-review-process; on R&R → msom-rebuttal

Resources

• templates/manuscript_template.md — M&SOM manuscript skeleton (structured abstract, model/design, results, numerical/empirical study, managerial insights, references) with verified specs
• templates/checklist.md — pre-submission self-check (anonymization / format / routing / files / data-code)
• ../../resources/external_tools.md — OM modeling/solver and empirical tools (Gurobi / CPLEX / Stata / Python)
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official INFORMS/M&SOM URLs behind every fact (accessed 2026-06-20)