Container drayage problem with flexible orders and its near real-time solution strategies

This article studies a container drayage problem with flexible orders defined by using requiring and releasing attributes as a unified formulation of various order types. A determined-activities-on-vertex (DAOV) graph introduces a temporary vertex set to formulate different truck statuses. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model based on the DAOV graph. Four strategies including a window partition based (WPB) strategy are presented and evaluated extensively to solve the problem. Results indicate that the WPB method could solve the problem effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, this method is robust considering the operating time biases compared to other algorithms.     

The Internet of Things: Are you ready for what’s coming?

Are you ready for what’s coming? As senior managers look to connect products, processes, and services to the growing field of the Internet of Things (IoT), this is an important preliminary question. Leveraging the IoT for firm benefit involves revisiting certain ideas that may have gone unquestioned for a long time. In this article, we begin by reviewing the complexity of the IoT, the complexities of an increasingly interconnected environment, and the increasing need to develop partnerships in order to create innovative solutions. We then offer practical insights from a case in which three actors with reciprocal specialties cooperated to create an IoT solution in the form of a connected appliance. While a shared spirit of optimism prevailed throughout the endeavor, reaching the finish line meant jumping a few hurdles along the way. Finally, we describe a number of fundamental issues related to business models, partnership strategy, data ownership, and technology diffusion that every enterprise should address before diving headfirst into the Internet of Things.     

中国城市物联网产业发展水平测度及比较

依据中国《物联网"十二五"发展规划》制定的物联网产业统计口径,结合物联网产业链结构的特征,设计包括5个一级指标和20个二级指标的物联网产业发展水平评价指标体系,运用层次分析法(AHP)确定指标权重,以14家物联网上市公司数据为基础,考量中国18个主要城市2009~2011年物联网产业水平。结果显示:整体上,中国物联网产业水平呈上升趋势;东、中、西部地区物联网产业发展水平存在差异;不同城市物联网产业发展的优势不同。     

A systematic review of a digital twin city: A new pattern of urban governance toward smart cities

Many countries and governments consider smart cities a solution to global warming, population growth, and resource depletion. Numerous challenges arise while creating a smart city. Digital twins, along with the Internet of Things, fifth-generation wireless systems, blockchain, collaborative computing, simulation, and artificial intelligence technologies, offer great potential in the transformation of the current urban governance paradigm toward smart cities. In this paper, the concept of a digital twin city (DTC) is proposed. The characteristics, key technologies, and application scenarios of a DTC are elaborated upon. Further, we discuss the theories, research directions, and framework regarding DTCs.     

Advanced manufacturing systems: supply–demand matching of manufacturing resource based on complex networks and Internet of Things

ABSTRACT

After investigation on the existing advanced manufacturing systems (AMSs), it is found that supply–demand matching of manufacturing resource is one of the common issues to be addressed in all AMSs, and methods for addressing this issue have evolved from P2P (peer-to-peer)-based, to information centre-based, and to platform (or system)-based matching, and are moving towards socialisation and service-based solutions. In order to adapt to this trend, a new method for manufacturing resource supply–demand matching based on complex networks and Internet of Things (IoT) is proposed, and a four-layered architecture for implementing this method is designed. In this method, IoT technology is employed to realise the intelligent perception and accessing of various manufacturing resources and capabilities (MR&C), which enables logical aggregation of various distributed MR&C in the form of services. Then complex networks model and theory are used to realise the efficient manufacturing service management, optimal-allocation, and supply–demand matching. In this article, the specific key technologies for implementing the method are presented, including key technologies for manufacturing service generation and aggregation, manufacturing demand/task management, supply–demand matching of MR&C in the form of services, and value/utility adding based on manufacturing service network (MSN), manufacturing task network (MTN) and manufacturing enterprises collaborative network (ECN).     

Exploring the key services and players in the smart car market

The traditional role of cars as a means of transport is now expected to undergo major changes as a result of the emerging smart car industry, whereby connection to the Internet can not only improve traffic safety by enabling self-driving but also entertain passengers. Under these circumstances, it is important to explore the killer services that are expected to be in high demand by consumers and keystone players in the emerging market. This study identifies the promising services from a consumer's perspective using analytic hierarchy process analysis and examines experts' views on which industries and firms, as keystone players, are expected to provide the competitive killer services in the market. The results show that the service that consumers find the most important is driving assistance, followed by infotainment and Internet of Things hubs. Meanwhile, the experts rank the importance of industrial player as in the order of Information Technology device manufacturers, followed by platform providers, automobile manufacturers, and network providers, while at the company level, the rank is in the order of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Naver, and SK Telecom, respectively. These findings show that consumers regard smart cars as futuristic vehicles, yet continue to emphasize their conventional value as a means of transport, while the experts expect that among the various industry players, IT companies are most likely to enable the concept of the smart car to become a reality.     

Making sense of the impact of the internet of things on Purchasing and Supply Management:A tension perspective

The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming how industries operate. It impacts on firms’ supply networks, business processes and business models. This article describes how the IoT influences the Purchasing and Supply Management (PSM) function. Our findings based on interviews and workshop with more than 200 senior European purchasing managers from large corporations suggest that PSM has opportunities to support the development of IoT solutions within firms which are required to work with dynamic and complex markets. At the same time, the IoT supports the development of a more capable and efficient PSM organisation. As part of this early stage theory building effort, we outline scenarios for the future of the PSM function. This leads us to reflect on how PSM leaders manage IoT-related tensions by means of differentiation and integration tactics.     

How and what to study about IoT: Research trends and future directions from the perspective of social science

The Internet of Things (IoT), as a new growth engine of the information and communications technology industry, has sparked global enthusiasm. However, academic deliberation has concentrated on technological aspects, discounting the multifaceted nature of IoT. Therefore, we reviewed non-technical papers to examine the current status of scholarly discourse and applied analytic hierarchy process models to assess the priorities for future IoT research. Although papers in science and engineering fields were excluded, analysis of 300 articles showed that a considerable number of papers were written by engineers, mainly concerning industrial content. Experts perceived that systematic methods and tangible subjects were the most necessary to motivate research in the social sciences sector. Multidisciplinary research was considered important regardless of the research disciplines, and user study was assigned a particularly large weight. According to the results, implications and suggestions for future IoT research are discussed.     

基于物联网的智慧物流

阐述了物联网与智慧物流的内在联系,创新性地提出了智慧物流的沙漏型体系架构,系统分析了智慧物流应用到的物联网关键技术,并通过循环控制模型来概括智慧物流的运作过程。     

Study on the contract characteristics of Internet architecture

The importance of Internet architecture goes beyond the technical aspects. The architecture of Internet has a profound influence on the Internet-based economy in term of how the profits are shared by different market participants (Internet Server Provider, Internet Content Provider), since it is the physical foundation upon which the profit-sharing contracts are derived. In order to facilitate the continuing growth of the Internet, it is necessary to systematically study factors that curtail the Internet-based economy including the existing Internet architecture. In this paper, we used transaction cost economics and contract economics as new tools to analyse the contracts derived from the current Internet architecture. This study sheds light on how the macro characteristics of Internet architecture effect the microeconomical decisions of market participants. Based on the existing Internet architecture, we discuss the possibility of promoting Internet-based economy by encouraging user to connect their private stub network to the Internet and giving the user more right of self-governing.