Business process re-engineering in the logistics industry: a study of implementation,success factors,and performance

As business process re-engineering (BPR) is an important foundation to ensure the success of enterprise systems, this study would like to investigate the relationships among BPR implementation, BPR success factors, and business performance for logistics companies. Our empirical findings show that BPR companies outperformed non-BPR companies, not only on information processing, technology applications, organisational structure, and co-ordination, but also on all of the major logistics operations. Comparing the different perceptions of the success factors for BPR, non-BPR companies place greater emphasis on the importance of employee involvement while BPR companies are more concerned about the influence of risk management. Our findings also suggest that management attitude towards BPR success factors could affect performance with regard to technology applications and logistics operations. Logistics companies which have not yet implemented the BPR approach could refer to our findings to evaluate the advantages of such an undertaking and to take care of those BPR success factors affecting performance before conducting BPR projects.     

企业物流系统的经济评价方法探析

文章通过对物流成本概念及其特性和物流成本系统化控制的分析,运用物流活动的经济评价的方法对物流系统的成本进行动态的经济评价,为企业提供物流成本控制与管理依据,以便企业能够及时准确的进行调整更有效更迅速的优化系统,使企业的物流成本大大降低,从而增强企业的竞争力。     

Influence of freight transport purchasing processes on logistical variables related to CO2 emissions: a case study in Sweden

Emissions from freight transport stem from logistical variables such as vehicle utilisation, fuel efficiency, and distance. The purpose is to determine how shippers’ freight transport purchasing processes influence logistical variables. A multiple case study of freight transport purchasing processes was conducted, based on interviews with transport purchasers and providers. Three causes of influence of shippers’ purchasing processes on logistical variables were found: specific requirements, network structure of transport providers, and scope of contract. Specifications by purchasers, especially time requirements, influence several logistical variables (‘mode used’, ‘length of haul’, ‘load factor’, ‘empty running’, and ‘fuel efficiency’). This paper clarifies the implications of transport purchasing on CO₂ emissions in terms of logistical variables, which are understood in transportation research and practice. It describes the effects of shippers’ requirements on transport providers’ execution of transport. The results provide a foundation for shippers to discuss their influence on logistical variables with transport providers.     

The performance of logistics service providers and the logistics costs of shippers: a comparative study of Finland and Switzerland

This article analyses the market dynamics between shippers in the manufacturing sector and logistics service providers (LSPs) in Finland and Switzerland, focusing on factors that are characteristic of the demand and supply sides of logistics markets such as performance indicators, financial ratios and relevant macroeconomic indicators. The development of shippers’ logistics costs over a period of ten years is analysed as a proxy for cost savings. This is mirrored against the development of the LSPs’ financial performance. The share of logistics costs in the turnover of Finnish shippers is consistently higher than that of their Swiss peers, whereas Finnish LSPs perform financially better than their Swiss peers. This implies that Finnish and Swiss logistics markets differ in terms of market power and interdependence between shippers and LSPs. The results indicate that the sub-regional interdependence and market power of LSPs, caused by a lack of competition, explain some of the differences in logistics costs.     

The prioritisation of service dimensions in logistics centres: a fuzzy quality function deployment methodology

This study takes a customer focus that prioritises the service-offering dimensions of logistics centres (LCs) by considering potential LC customer expectations. Applying a survey and a quality function deployment methodology to logistics service providers, the study explores, categorises and prioritises LC customer expectations and LC service characteristics. The results indicate that customer preferences mainly prioritise infrastructure, and warehouse and intermodal dimensions. However, when the cost dimension is included, higher utility values are delivered through soft service dimensions like value-added or standard services. LC investors or undertakers can use these results to guide their design of market offerings by using the same methodology to assess expectations in their target markets.     

Reverse logistics optimisation for waste collection and disposal in health institutions: the case of Turkey

Waste management in health institutions has become important in recent years because of the increase in population and industrialisation. Waste generated from health institutions has risks for human health and the environment. Therefore, this paper presents a reverse logistics optimisation for waste collection and disposal in Turkish health institutions. A multiperiod, multitype product waste reverse logistics network was designed to build an effective collection and disposal system for waste generated from health institutions in Turkey. A mixed integer linear programming model was developed to determine the optimal number and locations of the facilities for efficient waste management in health care by minimising the total cost. In this context, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the impact of the incremental changes of waste amounts on the optimal reverse logistics network. According to increasing waste amounts, the numbers of changes in facilities are analysed and strategies are specified.     

LCD检测车间物流系统计算机仿真

在讨论LCD检测车间生产过程的基础上，建立了系统仿真模型、编制了计算机仿真程序，并对LCD检验车间物流进行了分析，得出了最佳操作工配置方案。     

Goal setting barriers: a pharmaceutical sales force case study

Prior research has established that goal setting is one of the main processes for effective management of sales forces. Developing effective sales quotas has proved difficult mainly due to the complexity of the systems utilised in the process, the granularity of the data required and the lack of attention to implementation issues. This article is based on an in-depth study of a mid-size pharmaceutical company in Spain. Our research uncovered 11 key barriers that prevent effective development of sales quotas. The article sets out directions for further research and implications for practice.     

Outsourcing a satisfied and committed workforce: a trucking industry case study

The steady growth of R&;D costs and the increasingly widespread dissemination of information and communication technology over the past decade have resulted in the affirmation of the paradigm of open innovation, which consists in the continual expansion of access to sources of technological innovation outside the firm itself. Industrial companies are, in fact, turning more frequently to collaboration with university departments and other public and private research centers, and there is a notable increase in agreements regarding technological cooperation and the exchange of know-how between companies. In addition, recourse to highly specialized small research companies is on the rise. This is common, for example in the pharmaceutical sector and, more generally, in the area of biotechnological research. Furthermore, we are witnessing the development of the new role of innovation broker. These factors alter the traditional profile of company R&;D structures, within which the role of researchers and technologists often changes. In particular, matrix and network organizational models are on the increase, and the professional figures of ‘integrators of knowledge and expertise’ (T-men) are assuming major importance at the expense of traditional scientists. As a consequence, the model for training and managing scientific personnel tends to change. This model, as it moves away from the prevailing pattern adopted by firms in Anglophone countries, is continually drawing closer, even from a cultural standpoint, to the R&;D management approach found in the Japanese and German companies. The aim of this article is to investigate how the adoption of open innovation has changed the organizational structures of R&;D and altered the methods used in managing its personnel. The results of the study are based on the analysis of four case studies of Italian multinational firms operating in the pharmaceutical, food, specialty chemical, and aerospace industries.     

浅析北京市农产品物流系统的运营与发展

本文在运用系统观点分析北京市农产品物流发展现状的基础上,提出北京市农产品物流应该向农产品物流配送中心模式转型升级,发展"农超对接"、"农餐对接"、"社区直送"等新型流通模式,形成多渠道、多模式相互补充的农产品物流运营体系,并探讨了促进农产品物流发展的措施。     

物流英语跨文化适应案例模拟实训教学——以就业质量提升为重点的职业英语教学改革

国际物流行业的快速发展对从业人员的专业技能、英语交际能力、跨文化适应能力提出了迫切要求。文章分析了高职高专物流英语教学现状,阐明了跨文化意识培养对于提高物流人才英语交际能力和跨文化适应能力的重要意义,并提出以促进学生就业质量提升为目标的职业英语教学改革中应用案例模拟实训等教学方式方法培养提高学生的跨文化适应能力。     

A logistics model for emergency supply of critical items in the aftermath of a disaster

This paper proposes a logistics model for delivery of prioritized items in disaster relief operations. It considers multi-items, multi-vehicles, multi-periods, soft time windows, and a split delivery strategy scenario, and is formulated as a multi-objective integer programming model. To effectively solve this model we limit the number of available tours. Two heuristic approaches are introduced for this purpose. The first approach is based on a genetic algorithm, while the second approach is developed by decomposing the original problem. We compare these two approaches via a computational study. The multi-objective problem is converted to a single-objective problem by the weighted sum method. A case study is presented to illustrate the potential applicability of our model. Also, presented is a comparison of our model with that proposed in a recent paper by Balcik et al. [6]. The results show that our proposed model outperforms theirs in terms of delivering prioritized items over several time periods.     

Toward a conceptualization of supplier-switching processes in business relationships

This paper employs a practice perspective to study and conceptualize supplier-switching processes in business relationships. It is based on case study research of a company in the international marine industry, which intended to switch one of its key suppliers for a new one as a result of cost-cutting strategies and dissatisfaction with the old supplier. The case study describes the process, which ended with the old supplier being only partially switched. The findings show how (partial) switching from one supplier to another happened via three key sub-processes and associated practices, which the involved actors in the case drew upon in the switching process: (1) initiation – a process enabled by legitimizing and search practices; (2) substitution – a process enabled by transfer, translation, and transformation practices; and (3a) stabilization – a process enabled by institutionalizing practices; and (3b) restoration – a process whereby the old supplier is retained as a result of new conditions, this retention being enabled by certain repair practices. By identifying the processes and practices that enable switching to happen, the findings offer an initial conceptualization of supplier-switching processes, which comprises an important and heretofore underexplored aspect of supplier switching. The research highlights the importance of recognizing how relationships embedded in interorganizational routines are produced and reproduced in the switching process through the actions and interactions of the actors involved.     

The evolution of post-Soviet labour processes: a case study of the hollowing out of paternalism in Moldova

During the Soviet era, directors and workers derived mutual benefits from concealing true capacity, hoarding labour and just fulfilling an enterprise's plan. In an environment of labour shortages and guaranteed markets, managers used informal mechanisms to reward and retain good workers given the absence of unemployment and meaningful wage differentials as mechanisms to discipline workers. This cultivated a paternalistic set of relations between enterprise managers and workers, which, it is argued, are being hollowed out in the post-communist era. This is explored in a case study of evolving labour relations in Moldova. Casualization of the workforce has been used as a buffer against greater instability in both the supply of raw materials and demand. Such a strategy has become feasible as enterprises, such as the case-study firm, now have a large pool of external surplus labour on which they can draw. However, paternalism has not been hollowed out completely but rather a split-level realignment is identified.     

Performance evaluation of reverse logistics in food supply chains in a circular economy using system dynamics

Supply chains are composed of multiple stakeholders who have complex interrelationships. In addition, the forward and reverse flow of materials, information, human resources, and finance occurs among different stakeholders in closing the loop of supply chains. Reverse logistics (RL) activities are gaining importance in terms of size and quantity due to both economic and environmental concerns. These flows in RL in supply chains are both dynamic and complex in nature. Further, the environmental impact of RL activities has barely been considered in holistic way in available literature. In this study, a system dynamics model has been developed to analyze and comprehend the green performance of RL activities by predicting the environmental impact of RL activities. The proposed model has been validated by a case study in the context of a food supply chain. In the company where the case study is carried out, the environmental effects of RL activities have been analyzed. These activities in a food supply chain in terms of CO₂ (carbon dioxide), NO_x (nitrogen oxide), SO₂ (sulfur dioxide), and PM (particulate matter) emissions have been predicted through a system dynamics model for the years 2020 to 2024. The proposed methodology is applied in a food supply context, a major player in retail business, especially in emerging economies. According to our findings, the RL activities in a food supply chain can significantly contribute to green performance management by minimizing food waste and loss; hence, the environmental impacts of such activities should be closely examined from a managerial perspective.     

Minimisation of uncertainty in decision-making processes using optimised probabilistic Fuzzy Cognitive Maps: A case study for a rural sector

Several studies have focused on methods of increasing system and uncertainty knowledge for socio-economic and environmental policies; however, the nonlinearity and dynamism of real world increase the gap between uncertainty depiction and its evaluation in policy strategies. This work attempts to implement a methodology that is able to minimise uncertainty in decision support tools related to rural planning and management. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps, the Dempster–Shafer theory and nonlinear optimisation were applied to achieve the above-mentioned goal. The method was tested to describe suitable policies and intervention strategies to address the effects of the recent economic crisis in the agricultural sector.     

城市客运交通的发展与能源消费——分析与情景模拟

随着我国城市化水平不断提高,居民出行数量与质量要求增加,城市的机动交通活动更加频繁,由此引发的能源消费增加和污染等问题愈加严重.通过对不同类型城市的交通调查数据与统计资料的分析,讨论城市交通的能源消费现状,以补充现有交通统计的不足.并利用AIM/Enduse模型对未来进行耗能情景模拟,为政策制定提供依据.     

Estimating the impact of enterprise resource planning project management decisions on post-implementation maintenance costs: a case study using simulation modelling

Organisations often make implementation decisions with little consideration for the maintenance phase of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, resulting in significant recurring maintenance costs. Poor cost estimations are likely related to the lack of an appropriate framework for enterprise-wide pre-packaged software maintenance, which requires an ongoing relationship with the software vendor (Markus, M.L., Tanis, C., and Fenema, P.C., 2000 Markus, M. L., Tanis, C. and Fenema, P. C. 2000. Multisite ERP implementation. CACM, 43(4): 42–46. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Multisite ERP implementation. CACM, 43 (4), 42–46). The end result is that critical project decisions are made with little empirical data, resulting in substantial long-term cost impacts. The product of this research is a formal dynamic simulation model that enables theory testing, scenario exploration and policy analysis. The simulation model ERPMAINT1 was developed by combining and extending existing frameworks in several research domains, and by incorporating quantitative and qualitative case study data. The ERPMAINT1 model evaluates tradeoffs between different ERP project management decisions and their impact on post-implementation total cost of ownership (TCO). Through model simulations a variety of dynamic insights were revealed that could assist ERP project managers. Major findings from the simulation show that upfront investments in mentoring and system exposure translate to long-term cost savings. The findings also indicate that in addition to customisations, add-ons have a significant impact on TCO.     

Managerialisation processes and performance in arts organisations: the Archaelogical Museum of Bologna

The extension of management discourse to public-sector entities in Italy comes up against a particularly interesting case in museums and art organisations. Here more than anywhere else, perhaps, the rhetoric of managerialisation faces serious problems in understanding the nature of such anomalous organisations, and defining frameworks for representing their performances. In such a context management knowledge often leads to radical conflicts with well established professional discourses (museology, museography, history of art, etc.). Rather than a simplistic, pre-defined and ready-to-use exercise in “performance valuation”, the article suggests a more modest approach, processual in nature, whereby performance representation is open to dialogue with the basic features of the substantive culture of the professionals and the central role they still occupy in the management of these kinds of organisation.     

Demographic-economic analysis in a multi-zonal region: a case study of Nordrhein-Westfalen

"This paper develops a series of spatially-disaggregated demographic-economic models, based on an extended Leontief type input-output model. Travel between residence and place of work and residence and place of shopping is included in the models, and a detailed decomposition of a range of multipliers identified. A model explicitly involving travel to work is developed empirically for the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen in West Germany, and sets of multipliers presented which relate changes in demographic and economic variables in particular zones of the state with changes in economic output and employment-related variables in other zones."