The compatibility of durable goods with contingent generic consumables

Many durable products provide value only when used together with contingent services or consumable components, e.g. light fixtures (bulbs), printers (ink), electronics (batteries). Consumers need only have access to the contingent consumable components to continue to derive service from a durable. In fact, many firms rely primarily upon the revenues generated from the contingent services or consumables as the primary source of profitability, e.g. giving away the razors to make money on the blades. Such firms often invest considerable effort into making sure that consumers of their durables are held captive to their own branded consumables by impeding their access to generically available consumables. They do so by designing their products in such a way that they are not readily compatible with the generic consumables. We consider the implications of competition from third-party manufacturers that can provide generic consumables and the manufacturer’s production decisions of a durable good under such contingencies. This allows us to draw managerial insights about how a firm should decide on his product compatibility and production quantity when the generic contingent consumables enter the market.     

Managing Production and Distribution for Supply Chains in the Processed Food Industry

We develop and evaluate a modeling approach for making periodic review production and distribution decisions for a supply chain in the processed food industry. The supply chain faces several factors, including multiple products, multiple warehouses, production constraints, high transportation costs, and limited storage at the production facility. This problem is motivated by the supply chain structure at Amy's Kitchen, one of the leading producers of natural and organic foods in the United States. We develop an enhanced myopic two‐stage approach for this problem. The first stage determines the production plan and uses a heuristic, and the second stage determines the warehouse allocation plan and uses a non‐linear optimization model. This two‐stage approach is repeated every period and incorporates look‐ahead features to improve its performance in future periods. We validate our model using actual data from one factory at Amy's Kitchen and compare the performance of our model to that of the actual operation. We find that our model significantly reduces both inventory levels and stockouts relative to those of the actual operation. In addition, we identify a lower bound on the total costs for all feasible solutions to the problem and measure the effectiveness of our model against this lower bound. We perform sensitivity analysis on some key parameters and assumptions of our modeling approach.     

Appropriate use of bright light promotes a durable adaptation to night-shifts and accelerates readjustment during recovery after a period of night-shifts

Abstract

The present study examines the stability of bright light circadian readjustment during two consecutive dim light night-work periods and circadian synchronization during the recovery after a night-shift period. A sample of 10 subjects was divided into 2 groups (control group: 6 subjects; experimental group: 4 subjects). All subjects worked during 5 days, between 23:00 and 07:00 h and then went to sleep. Subjects received 2500-3000 lux between 02:00 and 05:00 h during 5 days for the control group and 3 days for the experimental group. During recovery after the night-shift periods, three cycles of bright light were administered at two different times: 12:00-15:00 h for two of six subjects from the control group and 10:00-13:00 h for all subjects (4) of the experimental group. By the fifth cycle of night-work the maximum of urinary aMT6s excretion that occurs at 05:00 h in the baseline condition was shifted to 12:00 h for the control and experimental groups (delay in hours: 7±1.6 (control); 7±1 (experimental)). This result suggests that three cycles of bright light are sufficient to induce a significant phase delay and that this delay remained stable when night-work proceeded under dim light. The phase delay of the circadian aMT6s excretion by exposure to bright light was accompanied by an improvement of the quality of day sleep and level of cognitive and psychomotor performances for control and experimental groups. No significant difference was observed in the two groups for daytime sleep and nocturnal performance. The two bright light periods used during the three days of recovery induced a complete synchronization in five of six subjects. One subject showed a partial synchronization probably because he remained at the laboratory under dim light during the day and had few family and social contacts.     

Development of an integrated information management model: A case of textile industry

For past two decades many organisations have tried to implement integrated information management systems for better production management based on co-ordination of information and therefore activities of different departments. Although Enterprise Resource Planning systems have been in the market for the past decade, many industries find it difficult to implement such systems due to the amount of work involved in streamlining the documentation, customisation and of high costs reported in implementation. An attempt is made through this paper to propose an integrated model, which can be easily understood by production personnel, with specific emphasis on the textile sector.     

Benchmarking for small- to medium-sized enterprises

This paper identifies which benchmarking databases are available for small- to medium-sized enterprises and the best way to conduct a benchmarking project given the limiting factors which exist at the present time. First, the meaning of benchmarking and performance measures, and their importance to an enterprise are explained. Second, frameworks for the identification of critical performance measures are considered. Third, different types of industrial benchmarking are identified and defined. Fourth, publicly accessible databases are critically reviewed against the requirements of industrial benchmarking. Fifth, the results of the critical review are presented in tabular form. Sixth, conclusions are drawn as how best to proceed with a benchmarking project at the present time. Seventh, recommendations for how best to address the issues raised by the critical review are presented.     

Dynamic selection of dispatching rules for job shop scheduling

Although the academic contribution to job shop scheduling is abundant, its impact on practice has been minimal. The most preferred approach to job shop scheduling in the industry is dispatching rules. A major criticism against dispatching rules is that there is no single universal rule. The effective choice of dispatching rules depends on the scheduling criterion and existing job shop conditions. In this paper, the authors have proposed a scheduling method based on the analytic hierarchy process, that dynamically selects the most appropriate dispatching rule from several candidate rules. The selection is based on the existing job shop conditions. This method is applied to two formal job shop problems, and the results for single dispatching rules are inferior to the method proposed in this paper.     

End-to-end process management: implications for theory and practice

The term ‘end-to-end’ process management is now commonplace in the language and practice of operations. Managers are encouraged to migrate from functional process management to end-to-end process management to realise a range of performance improvements. However, these improvements are often elusive; the specific challenges associated with such a migration are under-researched. This paper uses a cross-sector study to identify the challenges of end-to-end process management and to generate practical managerial guidance. Three areas are identified that demand particular managerial attention: the need to move beyond process mapping, the role of IT in process management and maintaining the process infrastructure as a strategic asset. More significantly, the findings highlight the need for greater conceptual clarity regarding the end-to-end concept itself. The existing literature suggests that scope is the primary differentiator of the end-to-end process – the requirement to manage an extended boundary from customer order through to customer fulfilment. However, this research suggests that the end-to-end concept is more complex, comprising of three core constructs with seven dimensions: scope (boundary conditions, sequence/flow and controls); scale (resources and input/output transformation) and complexity (interrelationships and orientation). End-to-end process management involves much more than an extended boundary. It requires a systemic perspective and clarity regarding controls and transforming resources.     

A closed loop automatic scheduling system (CLASS)

Abstract

CLASS is a production scheduling system, that is designed to function in either a stand-alone manner, or in conjunction with an MRP system. MRP systems innately do not have 'closed loop’ capability in the sense of being able to produce master schedules and order releases that are consistent and that respect capacity constraints. True closed loop performance requires detailed scheduling. In addition to interfacing with MRP systems, CLASS is designed to produce schedules that can be used in conventional shops or can be downloaded to automated facilities. The design goals for the system, its internal architecture, and its role in manufacturing control systems are described. The modelling and decision capabilities     

Managing green productivity: Some strategic directions

The twentieth century has been the hallmark for managing total productivity, where the emphasis is towards maximization of outputs commensurate with the consumption of inputs. This is being challenged now to evolve the world class manufacturing strategy requiring a paradigm shift. This shift is towards green productivity, which looks forward to socially appropriate production and consumption aiming at value innovation and resource conservation. This paper is an attempt to outline the concepts and experiential learning about green productivity.     

Multimedia in manufacturing

Multimedia is promoted as the technology for the future from the perspective of applications and its role in improving enterprise integration and management effectiveness. As yet few useful applications are found in business and manufacturing. Nevertheless, a growing number of businesses are looking to multimedia for real-life business solutions. Computerized production management systems have enjoyed the same growth and popularity as the personal computers and workstations on which they run. The application of multimedia in various functional areas of manufacturing such as marketing, design and engineering, production and distribution has tremendous potential, taking into account its capacity to integrate text, drawings, full-vector graphics, and full-motion video. Multimedia can also be used as an open development framework for manufacturing applications, especially in CAD, CAE and CAM, by providing users with tools to re-engineer and integrate product and process information. Advances in telecommunications and associated technological developments. Like the personal communicator and the video phone will increasingly add to the importance of multimedia in modern manufacturing. In addition, the future of manufacturing depends crucially on a well-trained employee base. Consequently, interactive video-based training programs appear ideal for jobs that have a high level of human error. In factories, computers and interactive video have been widely used. Realizing the importance of multimedia in manufacturing, especially in the process of enterprise integration and integrating the functional areas of manufacturing, an attempt has been made to investigate the applications of multimedia and identify some future research directions.