Submission Preflight (pom-submission)

When to trigger

• You are ready to submit and need a final checklist
• You are unsure which Department to route to or how to designate the e-companion
• You need to confirm the manuscript clears double-blind and same-data requirements

Reopen the current POMS author instructions and the SAGE journal page before giving submission-ready advice. POM moved from Wiley to SAGE in January 2024, so older Wiley templates/guidance are outdated; submission, however, remains on the POMS-run ScholarOne / Manuscript Central at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/poms — not a SAGE portal.

Route to a Department Editor

POM's defining step: submit to one named Department (e.g., Behavioral Operations, Supply Chain Management, Healthcare Operations, Sustainable Operations, Operations Management Data Analytics, or an interface department). The cover letter must articulate the target department so the paper is routed correctly. Confirm the live roster (待核实) before selecting.

Format and file checks

• 32-page limit for the main manuscript (original and revised), including abstract, tables, figures, appendices, and references; 1.5 spacing, size 11 font, one-inch margins on all four sides.
• Move proofs, lengthy derivations, large grids, and extended robustness to the e-companion (online-only, no page limit), submitted as a separate file with the E-Companion designation in ScholarOne.
• Abstract ≤ 350 words, no formulas/references/abbreviations; title ≤ 25 words; 1–6 keywords.
• Author-year citations with an alphabetical reference list.

Double-blind anonymization

Review is double-blind: remove author names and acknowledgments before submission. Scrub identity from the main file, the e-companion, file names, document metadata, and self-citations ("as we showed in…" → neutral phrasing).

Cover letter: disclosures POM specifically requires

• Same-data / related-work disclosure: outline all closely related prior works by the author(s), including papers using the same data, subsets of the data, or the same project.
• Department fit statement; contribution to knowledge and practice.
• Conflict/related-submission information as applicable.

The one-shot rule

Confirm the manuscript has not been rejected by POM before. A paper rejected in one department may not be resubmitted to the same or a different department unless the decision letter explicitly invited resubmission.

Checklist

• Target Department chosen; cover letter states the route and fit
• Main document ≤ 32 pages; 1.5 spacing, 11-pt, one-inch margins
• E-companion separate file, correctly designated
• Abstract ≤ 350 words (no formulas/refs/abbrev); title ≤ 25 words; 1–6 keywords
• Double-blind: identity removed from files, names, metadata, self-citations
• Same-data/related prior work disclosed in the cover letter
• Not a barred resubmission of a previously rejected paper

Submission readiness pass for Production and Operations Management

Use this as a second-pass capability check. First lock the operational decision, the performance metric, and the implementable lever; then test whether the manuscript addresses POM reviewers who want operational insight tied to production, service, supply-chain, or platform decisions.

• Primary move: Verify portal, article type, anonymity, declarations, files, data/code, and current source-map facts; return blockers before formatting advice.
• Decision ledger: return claim / evidence / blocker / next edit rows so the next pass can patch the manuscript directly.
• Neighbor test: compare against Management Science for broader OR/MS theory, Operations Research for method-first optimization, MSOM for manufacturing/service operations depth; if the neighboring outlet has the stronger audience claim, recommend re-routing before polishing.
• Verification floor: before submission-ready advice, re-open resources/official-source-map.md for volatile rules and name the one unresolved fact that could change the recommendation.

Output format

【Submission readiness】ready / needs fixes / not ready
【Department route】department + editor route
【Blocking issues】page / double-blind / e-companion / same-data / resubmission
【Cover-letter items】department fit / same-data / contribution / conflicts
【Fix order】<ordered list>
【Next step】pom-review-process