A distributedconstraintoptimizationproblem(DCOP)isadescriptionofconstraintoptimizationproblem where variablesandconstraintsaredistributedamongagroupofagents,andwhereeachagentcanonly interactwithagentsthatshareconstraints.EventhoughDCOPshavebeenstudiedsincethe1990s,there are onlyafewattemptstoaddressrealworldproblemsusingthisformalism,mainlybecauseofthe complexityofthesolutionalgorithms.Inthispa…
Large, urban ports are under pressure from a variety of stakeholders to integrate nontrade objectives into the planning and management of their harbors. The Port of Vancouver was criticized in the late 1980s for its insensitivity to local interests. Since that time, the Vancouver Port Corporation has developed a leading-edge landuse plan. Such plans are now required of Canadian port authorities…
Imagine if you could: Create massive emotional commitment among all your direct reports Turn apathetic groups into high performance teams exhibiting huge discretionary effort Be a leader who people fight to work with Win a "Best Place to Work" award within 12 months Indeed, you can do all that and more, and it doesn't take a lot of time or a big budget. This isn't just another ivory tower book …
Everyone knows engaged employees are happier and improve the workforce. But engaged employees improve their managers? lives, too! Employee engagement has gotten the rap of being something ?nice? to do, not something that can produce results. You need to reverse that perception in your organization by becoming an engaged leader yourself. ? Align your management style with ways to improve your wo…
There have been numerous extensions of the maximum covering location problem that has been developed in the last decade to deal with facility location. Most of the research, however, addresses a single attribute or objective. In the case when a single criterion such as minimizing average response time to access a service facility is insufficient to address the interests of the decision maker, m…
The purpose of this paper is to identify the effects of benefits, barriers and risks on user satisfaction in ERP projects.
The purpose of this paper is to explore, analyse and discuss the published concepts of “the customer” and “customer service” in the context of managing international emergency relief chains.
To succeed in an uncertain environment, firms must respond to changing customer needs, and logistics flexibility is an important part of the response. This paper defines logistics flexibility, creates a framework to understand it, and shows how it relates to customer satisfaction.
The purpose of this paper is to implement a multi-criteria preference disaggregation approach to measure logistics service quality (LSQ) of manufacturing companies’ supply chains.
With the performance of service personnel often constituting a major element of a service per se, the customer orientation of service personnel is often regarded as a main determinant of service firms’ success. Drawing on a deductively derived four-dimensional conceptualization of the customer orientation of service personnel, consisting of employees’ technical skills, social skills, motiv…
This article deals with the evolution of customer service practices in grocery products distribution in Brazil (1994‐2001), based on a longitudinal survey of grocery retailers. Data were collected on retailers’ expectations on four relevant dimensions of customer logistics service provided by manufacturers, as well as on their perceptions of logistics service performance of the typical supp…
In order to receive adequate rewards for the firm's innovations and performance in logistics, managers have to measure and sell the value that is being provided to customers. Value, once determined, must be sold to customers and also to top management within the firm. There are several value metrics mentioned in the literature, ranging in financial sophistication from customer satisfaction to s…
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into commonalities and differences of service innovation across industries. The compared sectors are logistics service providers and IT service providers (SPs).
The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual framework which explores the links between the two service features (physical and interactive), job satisfaction and their impact on customer satisfaction.
The purpose of this paper is to provide researchers and practitioners an understanding of one potentially direct linking mechanism between organizational practices and consumer satisfaction with a service.
The purpose of this paper is to provide researchers and practitioners an understanding of one potentially direct linking mechanism between organizational practices and consumer satisfaction with a service
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of complaint behaviour and service recovery satisfaction on consumer intentions to repurchase through internet channels.
The purpose of this paper is to examine why employee-level customer orientation (CO) influences the customer experience in a service setting.
Customer demands on manufacturers and retailers are increasing relentlessly. Spurred by the Internet's “click it and get it” value proposition, a growing number of consumers and business buyers want customized products, convenient ordering, and rapid fulfillment. Delivering against these rising expectations is not easy, however. This is especially true for traditional or incumbent compani…
The purpose of this research is to examine different customer satisfaction and loyalty metrics and test their relationship to customer retention, recommendation and share of wallet using micro (customer) level data.
The purpose of this study is to analyze the connections between centrality within conflict networks, individual performance, and job satisfaction from the perspective of social networks. The intervening effects of task interdependency on these connections are also examined.
The applicability of manufacturing planning and control methods differs between environments. This paper explains the fit between the planning environment and material and capacity planning on the detailed material planning and shop-floor planning levels. The study is based on a conceptual discussion and a survey of 84 Swedish manufacturing companies. Results show the use of planning methods an…
The purpose of this paper is to use the technology acceptance model (TAM) from the information technology (IT) literature to investigate the relationships among technology use and acceptance, and perceptions of quality and satisfaction with logistics services among industrial customers.
The application of self-service technology in transaction-based e-service (e.g. online financial services) creates a challenge for firms: what combination of features should they offer to satisfy needs from different customer segments? This paper seeks to address the above question by highlighting similarities and differences of consumer preferences among self-service, hybrid service and profes…
Owner operators are an important group of truck drivers, yet have been the subject of very little academic research. Specifically, no research has explored retention issues among owner operators. Thus, this paper aims to employ a segmentation approach to owner operator retention, examining important independent variables that include: pay and compensation, top management support, time at home, …
The complexity, uncertainty, and diminished control found in global operations hinder the development of world-class competencies. For example, as a firm rationalizes manufacturing, logistical challenges increase. As a result, cost advantages achieved through production sharing are often offset by higher logistics costs. This multi-method explores the cross-functional development of quality and…
Traditional methods of capturing and determining logistics attribute importance have serious research limitations. The purpose of this paper is to introduce maximum difference (MD) scaling as a new research methodology that will improve validity in measuring logistics attribute importance, overcoming many of the limitations associated with traditional methods. In addition, this new research met…
The purpose of this paper is to explore conceptually and examine empirically the impact of market competitiveness on employee satisfaction, service quality, and customer satisfaction in high-contact service industries.
Asserts that developments in management of technology (MOT) deserve more attention than they currently receive in relation to management of quality. Argues that organisations, or groupings of organisations, that recognise the consumer potential of the new technologies, and learn how to deliver them, will be the total quality performers of the new millennium. Considers that the pace of technol…
The purpose of this research is to understand the current developments in business models that are aimed at meeting changing market characteristics, many of which require specific customer service responses.
The goal of this research is to identify which service activities contribute most to customer satisfaction in the technical wholesale industry in the Baltic States .
Discusses customer care as a vital ingredient of Pitney Bowes′ success – keeping the customer totally satisfied and the importance of staff training, especially for pre‐empting potential problems and handling the computer system. Sees the supply chain as a fundamental element of the customer satisfaction programme.
This paper aims to establish the main factors that underlie store attributes, to examine which exert the greatest influences on the achievement of a maximum level of customer satisfaction. This study seeks to determine if there are significant differences not only in the factor compositions but also in their influence on customer satisfaction, depending on the country of residence of focal cust…
The purpose of this study was to examine overall customer satisfaction associated with medical service quality in Taiwan by integrated Kano’s model and customer satisfaction index model. Another purpose was to confirmed nonlinear and asymmetric relationship of Customer Satisfaction and Quality Performance by the research outcome. By analyzing 1,100 patients or their family members, this study…
This paper sets out to determine the benefits offered to customers and activities taken by retailers, whether or not they have formal customer loyalty programs, whether there are differences in the benefits/activities of retailers with and without formal loyalty programs and finally, whether specific benefits/activities of retailers can predict whether or not they have formal loyalty programs.
This paper aims to investigate user preferences for the information systems in order to achieve user satisfaction by using conjoint analysis.
Highlights how leading companies focus on logistics excellence. The boom in international trade opens up a range of opportunities and challenges as domestic markets are no longer safe havens. Concludes that European companies offer a unique chance to embark on a fundamental revolution.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that human resource management (HRM) has an impact on supply chain management (SCM), which in turn has a significant impact on customer satisfaction (CS) and organisational performance (OP), playing a mediating role in the relationship between HRM and SCM outcomes (SCMO).
Increasingly, two key trends ± value- and cost-conscious customers, and globalization of markets and supply sources ± are shifting the competitive focus from the competitive advantage of firms to competitive advantages of entire supply chains. At the same time, the possibilities for flexibility and coordination inherent in modern information and communication technologies are making it pos…
On-shelf availability (OSA) is a key challenge for all retailers. Items that are out-of-stock (OOS) result in customer dissatisfaction; thus OSA/OOS are important customer service issues. Customer reactions to OOS range from product substitution to seeking products elsewhere. There remains much to do to research factors and causes of OOS affecting OSA from a supply chain perspective in a non-gr…
This paper aims to present the development of a scale, off-site customer service (OCS), which assesses the factors that are important in consumer evaluation of an off-site customer service contact method (e.g. website or telephone).
Using data collected from a sample of 97 manufacturing plants, we examine how organizational culture is related to outcomes associated with advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) implementation. Multiple item scales are developed and adapted from a wide range of sources in the literature to measure managers' perceptions of organizational culture, AMT benefits, and implementation outcomes such …
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the integration of information technology (IT) systems and the strengthening of customer service to raise business competitive advantage.
To examine warehouse worker development associated with managerial coaching in the logistics industry.
This study aims to investigate the effects of stress and job satisfaction on the functioning of a company. It seeks to focus on factors affecting stress and job satisfaction such as number of work hours, good relations between management and employees, good function of the group and work related to employees’ area of education.
The easy way to boost employee engagement Today more than ever, companies and leaders need a road map to help them boost employee engagement levels. Employee Engagement For Dummies helps employers implement the necessary plans to create and sustain an engaging culture, allowing them to attract and retain the best people while boosting their productivity and creativity. Employee Engagement For D…