Data-driven operations management: organisational implications of the digital transformation in industrial practice

Abstract

The ongoing digital transformation on industry has so far mostly been studied from the perspective of cyber-physical systems solutions as drivers of change. In this paper, we turn the focus to the changes in data management resulting from the introduction of new digital technologies in industry. So far, data processing activities in operations management have usually been organised according to the existing business structures inside and in-between companies. With increasing importance of Big Data in the context of the digital transformation, the opposite will be the case: business structures will evolve based on the potential to develop value streams offered on the basis of new data processing solutions. Based on a review of the extant literature, we identify the general different fields of action for operations management related to data processing. In particular, we explore the impact of Big Data on industrial operations and its organisational implications.     

The implementation of digital technologies for operations management: a case study for manufacturing apps

Abstract

Manufacturing applications address business to business (B2B) with highly customised applications developed for specific requirements, offering highly specialised solution-oriented and service-based software components, systems, and digital tools that aim at a fast and accurate decision-making support system. The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of digital technologies for operations management using manufacturing or engineering apps (eApps), for product design and manufacturing processes. In particular, starting from the specific needs of two companies from mature European industries as automotive and food, this work depicts how this kind of solutions can support companies and improve their operations. In particular, related benefits and challenges faced for the full implementation of the developed tools are highlighted. Moreover a business model to exploit the manufacturing apps is also proposed. The business model proposed for the exploitation of the eApps supports the commercialisation of all the revenue streams offered by this rapidly growing sector taking into account the specific needs of the concerned stakeholders through a diversified value proposition.     

How emerging digital technologies affect operations management through co-creation. Empirical evidence from the maritime industry

Abstract

Globalization, variation in customer expectations, and the developments connected to Information & Communication Technology are usually considered as the main drivers of changes in Operations Management (OM) strategies by firms in both manufacturing and service industries. Emerging digital technologies, such as Internet of Things or Cloud Computing, represents a novel paradigm that is rapidly affecting on several aspects of everyday-life of private and business users. This paper contributes to extant literature about the relationship between emerging digital technologies and OM, by stressing the value co-creation issue. Specifically, we investigate how emerging digital technologies affect OM through value co-creation in the maritime industry. Our study reports the case of FairWind project, an open technology marine service and graphic user interface enabling sailors to personalize their experience on board through 3rd party boat applications. The case of Fair Wind points out how emerging digital technologies contribute to OM within both organizations and, more in general, maritime industry, as well as the critical role of user’s co-creation in defining and managing on-board operations.     

Consumers,clothing retailers and production planning and control in the smart city

Abstract

Though there has been much talk of smart cities, it is still unclear what the concept means and what the role of their inhabitants might be in the development of such cities. There is a tendency to focus on technology and infrastructure and forget that cities are places for people to live. To counter this, smart city planners need to recognise that people’s needs can and should influence and shape their environment, rather than concentrating too much on technology or the built environment. In order to understand how smart cities can serve the needs of their inhabitants, we will examine the specific example of the fashion clothing industry and its development of omni-channel retailing. This will show that retailers, driven by technology-smart and fashion-conscious consumers, are reshaping the clothing supply chain to achieve greater integration, flexibility and speed. Central to this process is the manufacturers’ ability to create production planning and control (PPC) systems capable of operating effectively in an omni-channel environment. The paper presents a Composite Model of Enterprise Planning which can aid the development of such PPC systems. The paper concludes that changes within the fashion clothing industry indicate how smart cities can develop and are developing, and that although these changes are facilitated by technology, they are driven by the necessity to meet consumers’ needs.     

Bi-objective multi-resource scheduling problem for emergency relief operations

Abstract

Resource scheduling for emergency relief operations is complex as it has many constraints. However, an effective allocation and sequencing of resources are crucial for the minimization of the completion times in emergency relief operations. Despite the importance of such decisions, only a few mathematical models of emergency relief operations have been studied. This article presents a bi-objective mixed integer programming (MIP) that helps to minimize both the total weighted time of completion of the demand points and the makespan of the total emergency relief operation. A two-phase method is developed to solve the bi-objective MIP problem. Additionally, a case study of hospital network in the Melbourne metropolitan area is used to evaluate the model. The results indicate that the model can successfully support the decisions required in the optimal resource scheduling of emergency relief operations.     

Knowledge management for sustainability in operations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of Knowledge Management (KM) as a platform to enable sustainability in firms’ operations and to provide recommendations for managers to integrate sustainable operations into their business strategies. The urgency to create and implement sustainable operations is also argued. The conceptual framework is based on the hypothesis that KM contributes to the achievement of more suitable operations. To test this hypothesis, a model of structural equations was developed with data collected from 345 SMEs. Empirical evidence supported the hypothesis, indicating that KM represents an important alternative to implementing sustainability. The results suggest that managers need to implent KM, as they will enable a better understanding and awareness regarding the global dangerous impacts from unsustainable operations mainly focused on sales and cost reduction. For this reason, this research provides evidence that KM offers an alternative impulse on the quest for more sustainable operations.     

Applying a longitudinal interpretive multi-case research method to study the employee impact of operations management systems in a micro firm setting

Abstract

While many operations management journals are now publishing interpretive studies, there is still a need for more material on how to carry out such work under the interpretive gestalt. By offering a research account of a longitudinal interpretive multi-case study, this paper seeks to contribute to the literary gap in ‘how to do it [interpretive research]’. The purpose of this paper is to document a longitudinal operations management study in three micro-firms, where the catalyst for this study is the implementation of an electronic operations management system in each case. The paper chronicles the authors’ experience in a four-year multi-case study, and as such provides insight into design, development and execution of longitudinal interpretive operations management research, and the building of a theoretical model. While blueprints are not the purpose of such reflections, they can provide insight and advice to researchers, which is the underlying goal of this paper.     

Governing the Circular Economy in the City: Local Planning Practice in London

ABSTRACT

There is interest in the circular economy as a framework for transition from a linear take-make-dispose model of production and consumption, to a circular model which decouples economic growth from resource consumption. However, there is limited understanding of how that applies to the city through governance lens. This paper examines evidence from 28 municipalities in London to unpack the ‘government’ and ‘governance’ of circular economy in the city. It examines the ‘governmentality’ of circular economy in planning practice and reflects on what austerity localism and scalar politics might mean for the planning and governance of circular economy in cities.     

Open collaborative innovation and digital platforms

Abstract

This study uses contract theory to analyse the relationship between open collaborative innovation strategies and digital platforms. We argue that a collaborative mechanism and governance of the platform affect how operations are run and impact firm ambidexterity. We also explain how the twofold revealing strategy, both selective and free occurs via the platform and how governance positively impacts the coordination mechanism. A case study analysis on TIM OPEN draws a ground-breaking framework for future investigations. The analysis suggests that the combination of digital platform and collaborative innovation can facilitate the creative process and be a driver of operational synergies. Results confirm that the adoption of digital platforms for collaborative innovations reduces transaction costs.     

Bottleneck identification and ranking model for mine operations

Abstract

Mining has a long history of production and operations management. Considering the increasing complexity of reserves, declining metal grades, and worldwide price volatilities, mines have to operate more efficiently than ever. In recent years, companies have been adopting innovative solutions and technologies to reduce costs and remain competitive in the global market. Specifically, management of bottlenecks has been in the focus of the manufacturing industry for decades now. The mining industry has made significant advancements in process improvement tools using equipment, human, and asset tracking capabilities. However, to date, there is no holistic approach or system to identify and manage the bottleneck in the entire value chain of mining. This research proposes a new method to identify and rank the bottlenecks in a mine value chain. The method is applied in a coal mine and the results are presented in the case study.     

社会化运作管理:一个正在兴起的研究领域

在信息化、智能化程度日益发达的社会环境中, 参与者之间的信息交互与社会行为开始显著影响整个运作管理系统.而随着与运作管理息息相关的社会经济活动的日益革新, 社会互动行为和社会因素的影响正在得到广泛的关注, 逐渐形成了一个新兴研究领域——社会化运作管理.社会化运作管理是指考虑人的社会性特征及社会影响因素的运作管理.本文从社会互动、社会价值观多元化及新经济形态的发展三个方面分析了运作管理中社会化现象产生的原因及影响, 阐明了研究和发展社会化运作管理的必要性和迫切性, 继而剖析了社会化运作管理的实现途径.在此基础上, 本文从社会学习、社会比较及社会影响等方面对社会化运作管理的理论研究进行了评述, 同时从社会化商务和共享经济角度对应用研究进行了分析, 并结合最新研究成果提出未来可行的研究方向.     

A generic accounting model to support operations management decisions

Information systems are generally unable to generate information about the financial consequences of operations management decisions. This is because the procedures for determining the relevant accounting information for decision support are not formalised in ways that can be implemented in information systems. This paper describes a formalised procedure, which is based on the following theoretical propositions: (i) cost behaviour is described on the basis of a company's contracts for purchasing and selling resources, and (ii) hierarchical relationships between decisions are recognised, because some decisions have to be made earlier than others. Earlier decisions determine the feasible alternatives for later decisions (e.g. through constraints in available production capacity or components), and the plans that supported the earlier decisions serve as instructions for later decisions. The procedure can be implemented in information systems to provide accounting information in case later decisions deviate from these instruc tions (within the limits of the real-world constraints) because new information becomes available.     

Integrated project operations and personnel scheduling with multiple labour classes

The main theme of this paper is improving project schedules by integrating the scheduling of project jobs and labour resources. An ILP model is presented of the integrated project operations and personnel scheduling problem with multiple labour categories. Traditionally, this problem is solved in two steps: first, operations are scheduled by solving the resource-constrained project scheduling problem; then, labour categories are scheduled by solving the personnel days-off scheduling problem. The proposed model combines the two stages into an integrated problem, which is solved in one step. Using 48 test problems, the two methods were compared in terms of total cost, labour cost and scheduling efficiency. The results clearly indicate that the integrated model outperforms the traditional two-step method.     

Editorial for special issue on: humanitarian operations management

Abstract

Over the past decades, there has been increasing interest in studying humanitarian operations management. The mismatch between global humanitarian needs and the resources available, together with chronic vulnerability in many parts of the world, continues to have a direct bearing on the lives of millions of people in need of assistance. It also means that donors have to re-double their efforts to respond to disasters in a more efficient and effective manner. International humanitarian organizations (IHOs) often deal with a mix of disaster response and development programmes simultaneously. This operational mix entails disaster cycle management challenges such as project and programme planning of multi-objective global logistics, balancing earmarked donations for disaster response with budget needs for development programmes, and determining the push-pull boundaries in the supply chain, particularly with the increase in cash transfer programmes. The main purpose of this special issue is to report on research in humanitarian operations management. This special issue attempts to explore and examine the above topical issues at strategic, operational and technical levels.     

The knowledge management of micro-firms in the crowd: key challenges for successful operations*

Abstract

Crowdfunding platforms are increasingly being used by small and micro-firms to fund the development and initial promotion of their new products. The transition from a crowdfunding campaign to the subsequent operational phase is critical to successfully fulfil the expectations of the backers who supported the micro-firm and expect to receive the new product. This paper analyzes the main challenges that must be faced by micro-firms during this transition, adopting the perspective of knowledge management theory. Based on an exploratory case study analysis, the paper highlights the particularities of these knowledge management challenges in terms of knowledge diversity, dependence and novelty. Asymmetry, dispersion, synchronization, a lack of a common understanding and backer lock-in are the main knowledge-based challenges for the operations of micro-firms that use crowdfunding. Various theoretical and practical implications of the findings are offered.     

Building dynamic capabilities for digital transformation: An ongoing process of strategic renewal

In this qualitative study, we explore how incumbent firms in traditional industries build dynamic capabilities for digital transformation. Digital transformation has been defined as the use of new digital technologies, such as mobile, artificial intelligence, cloud, blockchain, and the Internet of things (IoT) technologies, to enable major business improvements to augment customer experience, streamline operations, or create new business models. In making sense of digital transformation, we discovered that leaders in various industry circles use the term inconsistently to describe various strategizing and organizing activities; in addition, the term has gained limited scholarly attention as a context for study of strategic change. Drawing on senior executives' experiences with leading digitalization projects at incumbent firms, we propose a process model comprising of nine microfoundations to reveal the generic contingency factors that trigger, enable, and hinder the building of dynamic capabilities for digital transformation. Our findings reveal that digital transformation is an ongoing process of using new digital technologies in everyday organizational life, which recognizes agility as the core mechanism for the strategic renewal of an organization's (1) business model, (2) collaborative approach, and eventually the (3) culture.     

Product architecture,global operations networks,and operational performance: an exploratory study

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships between product architectures and global operations networks and their impact on operational performance, based on survey data from 82 Swedish manufacturers. We find that modular and integral product architectures are associated with different characteristics of the global operations network, and that global operations network designs are characterised by three dimensions: network, plant and supply chain. The key aspects are network structure (configuration as well as coordination), plant focus (scale or scope) and the locus of supply chain capabilities (internal or external).     

Creatively prototyping the future high street

Abstract

This paper gives a voice to a range of community and individual stakeholders who would not generally be heard in the conventional town planning process. We present a methodological technique, described as creative prototyping, that has at its heart, the capability to enable full stakeholder inclusivity into the future imagining of the smart city. Actively involving these individuals and community representatives in the research process enables deeper understanding of how technology and people can interact productively to create smart cities that are socially inclusive while still being commercially relevant. The research data for this paper are drawn from the findings of a workshop conducted by the authors that utilised Science Fiction Prototyping and Lego Serious Play. This research activity was driven by questions focusing upon the current complex interplay and tensions of technology and the UK’s physical high street. We first explore these issues theoretically in previous literature and then drawn upon this review to analyse the outcomes of the workshop. Three themes emerge from this analysis that have operational and strategic relevance to the development of future high streets; the importance of ever present but invisible technology, the forefronting of people in the smart city and the need for wide-ranging stakeholder input and participation into planning. The findings also illustrate that not all future imaginings of the retail high street are immediately practical or realistically applicable. However, in examining the many issues facing the current high street and in negotiating the multiplicity of voices with their competing demands and expectations, we offer the conclusion that the future smart city must become a place of truly shared sociality – rather than just mere proximity, customised convenience or a concentration point for multiple forms of entertainment.     

Linking long-term capacity management for manufacturing and service operations

For firms that combine manufacturing and service operations in one system, the task of managing capacity is not straightforward. New goods and services may not have the same set of competitive priorities, and the models and concepts available in the literature for service operations differ from those for manufacturing operations. We address this problem and review the concepts and models for capacity management in the long term in both streams of literature, i.e. manufacturing and services, to develop a unified framework for manufacturing and service operations. The framework creates transparency between new goods manufacturing and service operations, since the same long-term capacity management structure is used for both product types, as well as between capacity strategy and planning strategy, since new goods and services are treated simultaneously. In the framework, the concepts of chase and level strategies are redefined for service operations to allow for integration with manufacturing operations. A case study demonstrates the usefulness of the integrated approach for long-term capacity management.