The major characteristics of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) are an enterprise-wide system that covers all the business functions and information resources, integrated database, built-in best industry practice, packaged software and open architecture. ERP enables reduction of system development time, flexibility, standardization of workflow and effective business planning capability. ERP is …
Specialization in shipping has been the most significant development in sea transport in recent times, driven by spectacular growth in international trade. Very large dry and liquid bulk carriers have appeared, and there has been a remarkable transition from conventional to what are termed unitized means of carriage in the general cargo trades. This has involved palletization, packaged timber…
This chapter presents a framework which is accessible to port authorities to assess the potential environmental impact of maritime operations. Pursuant on globalisation, increased numbers of shipmovements have generatedmore frequent routine maritime operations in ports but few formal approaches exist for assessing their environmental impact, which potentially could be significant. In a novel f…
A numberofmetricsinthepasthavebeenproposedandnumericallyimplementedtoassesstheoverall performance oflargesystemsduringnaturaldisastersandtheirrecoveryintheaftermathoftheevents. Among suchperformancemeasures,resilienceisareliablemetric.Thispaperproposesaprobabilistic frameworkforscenario-basedresilienceassessmentofinfrastructuresystems.Themethodaccountsfor uncertainties intheprocessincludingthe…
A distributedconstraintoptimizationproblem(DCOP)isadescriptionofconstraintoptimizationproblem where variablesandconstraintsaredistributedamongagroupofagents,andwhereeachagentcanonly interactwithagentsthatshareconstraints.EventhoughDCOPshavebeenstudiedsincethe1990s,there are onlyafewattemptstoaddressrealworldproblemsusingthisformalism,mainlybecauseofthe complexityofthesolutionalgorithms.Inthispa…
The challenges faced by electricity grids suggest smart grids will have to coordinate its operation with other important initiatives in areas such as transportation. The smart grid relies on the use of network platforms where meter readings and data can be transmitted. On the other hand, concerning transportation systems the need to achieve a reduction of road congestion and traffic accidents …
With an increasing concern regarding climate change and the increasingly higher rate of urbanization worldwide, cities are expected to play a more important role in the future global energy system. Therefore, sustainable urban development projects, so-called EcoCities projects, are carried out globally. EcoCities are normally focusing on minimizing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions as wel…
Truck queuing at marine terminal gates has long been recognized as a source of emissions problem due to the large number of trucks idling. For this reason, there is a great deal of interest among the different stakeholders to lessen the severity of the problem. An approach being experimented by some terminals to reduce truck queuing at the terminal is to provide live views of their gates via we…
This paper aims to present how the success of inter-organizational systems (IOS) implementation projects can be increased by aligning the different incentives of buyers and suppliers.
Singapore’s electronics manufacturers are facing many questions. In the computer hard-drive industry, where the problem of obsolescence is common and where a product’s lifecycle may be only six months, manufacturers are anxious to know what the next order-winning criteria will be. Since low labour costs are no longer a key factor, many organisations are developing their competencies in rese…
Major ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Houston and Singapore’s Jurong Port host large industrial complexes of (petro)chemical and other energy-intensive process industry firms. Port authorities face the challenge to contribute to both greater international competitiveness and better environmental performance of these complexes. The development of industrial ecosystems, in which firms located…
This paper presents a taxonomy and analysis of the content of publishedresearch in port economics, policy and management (port studies). The recent increase of these publications suggests a growing interest in the study of ports. However, the research characteristics and directions of this research field are unidentified. This paper provides a systematic analysis of port studies published duri…
This paper attempts to analyse the performance of major ports in India taking into account the absolute cargo handled by them during 1951-52 to 1992-93. A particular focus of the study is the Calcutta-Haldia Port in the same period, with a view to determining the reasons for its deteriorating performance.
Purpose – To investigate the integration process of retailer’s information technology strategy within logistics strategy and to find out those aspects of the retailer’s distribution and operational performance that are mostly influenced via that integration. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study methodology is used where the managers of the major domestic and multin…
Acknowledges the potential problems the year 2000 may cause to computer software and hardware, but emphasises the need to understand fully and acknowledge the challenges and threats posed by date sensitive embedded systems. Describes embedded systems and the reasons why they have been generally ignored in the discussions about the year 2000. Discusses the potential disasters and the effo…
Modern supply chains are expected to respond rapidly, effectively and efficiently to changes in the marketplace. Simultaneously there is the drive to achieve world class customer service levels coupled with minimum reasonable inventory (MRI). We thus have the classic conflict of interests between marketing, production and materials management. Marketing wants the complete product range availabl…
Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRPII) is recognized as being an effective management system that has an excellent planning and scheduling capability which can offer a dramatic increase in customer service, significant gains in productivity, much higher inventory turns, and a greater reduction in material costs. Many companies world‐wide have attempted to implement MRPII systems. Many of th…
Logistics is becoming an increasingly important part of overall retail strategy because it provides opportunities for enhanced profit, market growth and sustainable competitive advantage. This research examines the underlying factors which impact retail logistics. The factors found are warehousing/transportation, supplier performance/communications, internal information systems, activity levell…
Builds on earlier work in developing the concept of information supply chains and the ways in which it can assist industrial organisations. Presents practical results that stem from the conceptual modeling and simulation environment. Asserts that the ATLAS “A push Technology Leveraging Action for ‘Slingshot”’ initiative, which is already successfully employed in the financial services s…
The purpose of this paper is to identify the components required for more robust landed cost models given the now widespread interest in sourcing finished goods, components for assembly, and basic raw materials from global sources. This study also seeks to establish the need for broad-based participation in operationalizing such models.
In this paper, the management of variety in automobile manufacturing is broadened from simply considering the choice of models, options and parts to include strategic issues in sourcing and logistics systems. Some of the major cost elements associated with varietal increase are identified, leading into a discussion of how logistics system redesign can reduce or, indeed, eliminate the unwanted i…
The purpose of this paper is to present a systemic analysis of the complex interaction of factors affecting the reverse logistics (RL) processes in a pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC).
Over the past 50 years computers and software have become indispensable parts of business, commerce, and government. Almost all major corporations now use computers and software as primary tools for accounting, finance, sales support, personnel records, and to a significant degree, manufacturing and distribution. Banks and service organizations use computers and software for virtually all finan…
The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the level of logistics information systems (LIS) adoption in manufacturing companies is influenced by organizational profile variables, such as the company’s size, the nature of its operations and their subsectors.
In this paper a conventional low volume maritime terminal equipped with straddle carriers is compared against an advanced automatic stacking crane/automatic guided vehicle alternative. For both configurations a convenient layout was designed, a reasonable level of service (common for both terminals) was adopted, and the required amount of equipment was determined using computer simulation. The …
An analysis of survey data collected from a sample of 98 Fortune 500 industrial companies reveals that expert systems (ESs) are utilized in manufacturing by 52 per cent of the companies, among which ESs are perceived to be more useful in process planning, product design, layout, facility design and maintenance; and less useful in forecasting production demand and reducing accidents/ safety haza…
Purpose – This paper seeks to understand the significance of the various forms of logistical and technological differentiation as prerequisites for supply networking by introducing appropriate conceptual models and illustrative cases. Design/methodology/approach – By studying the patterns of structural changes in 25 industrial companies, illustrated in four different positioning matrice…
The purpose of this paper is to summarize previously reported benefits, drawbacks and important aspects for implementation of performance-based logistics (PBL), and to identify knowledge gaps.
A multi-agent system (MAS) for supporting the planning of transhipments of imported finished vehicles via a seaport is presented. The focus is on storage allocation, i.e. the allocation of parking areas for the temporary storage of vehicles, and on deployment scheduling, i.e. the allocation of drivers to the vehicles that have to be moved in the terminal area. These planning tasks, which in pra…
Logisticians must make strategic level decisions in order to manage uncertainty, customer service and cost. This research explores the relationships between three strategic level decisions and selected product, operational and demand variables. The three strategic decisions are: make to order vs make to stock; push vs pull inventory deployment; and inventory centralization vs decentralization. …
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the appropriateness of system dynamics (SD) methodology as a tool for humanitarian decision makers to understand the effect of their decisions on humanitarian operations. The authors seek to present the initial stages and preliminary findings of a SD model used to analyze a well‐defined subsystem of humanitarian operations, field vehicle fleet manage…
The purpose of this paper is to present an operations research (OR) model for planning water distribution tours in disaster relief. Especially in situations after a disaster occurrence, characterized by instability and the immediate need of help, high-quality decisions have to be made fast. For this reason, it is very useful if planning decisions can be alleviated by a decision support system (…
The purpose of this paper is to provide a paradigmatic reflection on theoretical approaches recently identified in logistics and supply chain management (SCM); namely complex adaptive systems and complexity thinking, and to compare it to the dominant approach in logistics and SCM research, namely the systems approach. By analyzing the basic assumptions of the three approaches, SCM and logistics…
It is not surprising that proper implementation of reverse logistics systems can result in better customer loyalty and reduction in operational costs due to reuse or remanufacturing of some parts. This is particularly important for those industries with a short product life cycle, like the mobile phone industry. The major objective of this paper is to present the results of a pilot survey with …
Both practitioners and research scientists have noted a number of problems regarding measurement activities during the past decade. The problems reported suggest that measurement activities are fragmented both within and across organizations. Expands on a systems perspective on supply chain measurements and describes how problems can be communicated, understood and managed by developing methods…
The prevailing discipline in dealing with the Year 2000 computer problem tends to be logistics, which is the main focus of this paper. However, the Year 2000 computing problem is considered a multi-disciplinary problem, as it concerns fields of information systems, maintenance, decision making and crisis and risk management. The millennium problem is increasingly critical yet still it seems the…
tThis paper deals with designing and developing a Decision Support System (DSS) that will be able tomanage the flow of goods and the business transactions between a port and a dry port. An integrated DSSarchitecture is proposed and specified and the main components are designed on the basis of simulationand optimization modules. In order to show the use and implementation of the DSS, this work …
The purpose of this paper is to explore the consistence of an ecosystem framework within the cultural sector and investigate the potential role of intellectual capital (IC) in cultural ecosystems.
The emergence of advanced information technologies strengthens the capability to the entrepreneur to manage and manipulate data. However, the quality of information, the capability of providing the right information to the right person, and the utilization of information are still in doubt. Therefore, increasing numbers of firms have realized and started to develop as well as improve their exis…
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent of implementing management system standards among ISO (and other) certified companies in the Pearl River Delta and its effect on the perceived benefits.
The integration of business processes across multiple companies can provide economic benefits, thus ensuring the sustainability of the involved companies. However these advantages are accompanied by many potential risks. For instance, emerging disruptions within a supply chain can spread over several partners resulting in economic losses. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the development…
The integration of business processes across multiple companies can provide economic benefits, thus ensuring the sustainability of the involved companies. However these advantages are accompanied by many potential risks. For instance, emerging disruptions within a supply chain can spread over several partners resulting in economic losses. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the development…
The methods of celestial navigation to fix the ship position in line with the stars are only applied in the twilight time interval when both the celestial bodies and the horizon apppear simultaneously. This means that these methods cannot be used during the night even if the stars are visible. This paper proposes a novel approach which uses the azimuth of the celestial body in order to establi…
The constant increase in marine traffic and the simultaneous growth of the demand for exploiting marine areas (e.g., installing offshore wind power plants) require an adequate planning strategy for managing high traffic volumes. Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is the process of public development of an allocation plan for distributing, both spatially and temporally, human activities in marine a…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of local port community systems (PCS) towards a vast network of interlinked locations in Europe. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is conceptual. It builds on the findings of platform theory and the analogy between the market for cargo information and the payment system industry to discuss the potential outcomes and shape…
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of local port community systems (PCS) towards a vast network of interlinked locations in Europe.