Business Commons^™

An Examination Of Reverse Logistics Factors Impacting The 463-L Pallet Program, Andrew J. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

During peacetime operations, the process of tracking and managing 463-L assets within the Air Mobility Command airlift system results in infrequent imbalances or accountability issues. However, during contingency operations, AMC loses control of 463-L assets as they are turned over to the intra-theater distribution system. Since current contingency operations began in October of 2001, the Air Force has been unable to account for over 97,000 463-L pallets and 220,000 cargo nets. With a single pallet and net set costing over $1,300, the total value of the equipment unaccounted for exceeds $126 million. If not corrected, this failure to account for …

Pick-Up And Delivery: A Comparison Of Functional Alignments And The Impact On Customer Service And Vehicle Operator Utilization, Shawn K. Booher

Theses and Dissertations

The Chief of Staff Logistics Review of 1999 examined a multitude of process issues and their resulting impact on organizational structure. A resulting initiative was to transition the pick-up and delivery function from the Material Management flight (LGRM) to the Vehicle Operations section (LGRVO). The motivation of this initiative, more specifically referred to as Supply/Transportation Reengineering, was to streamline similar processes, and to effectively and efficiently utilize resources. The goal of this transition was to use fewer people and resources to provide pick-up and delivery service to wing customers with minimal adverse impact to customer service and to improve overall …

Air Force Jp-8 Fuel Distribution System: A Statistical Analysis To Determine Where And When To Sample, Eric J. Heath

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force Petroleum Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio collects JP-8 sampling data, but this data doesn't undergo analysis to determine the health of the base-level JP-8 fuel distribution system. Commanders possess no known confidence level when assessing base-level fuel health. Therefore, the objective of this research is to assess Air Force base-level fuel sampling data to determine the base-level sampling point that ensures a quality and healthy product at the aircraft. Also, this research seeks to identify how often correlation sampling should take place. Sample test pass rates are analyzed from three locations, receipt, storage, and vehicles/aircraft, …

A Case Study Of The Degree Of Collaboration Between Various Levels In The Reparable Chain In The United States Air Force, Robert A. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment and other logistics processes were developed in the commercial sector to reduce total system costs of production while simultaneously providing reduction in inventory levels, improved customer service levels, greater flexibility in scheduling, greater velocity of inventory through the pipeline, and, as a result, greater profitability (Ploos van Amstel, 1990:1). Many companies including Wal-Mart, Motorola, Target, Johnson & Johnson, and Kellogg's, just to name a few, have seen great achievements since implementing CPFR processes. Can these processes be applied to the Air Force supply chain? This thesis intends to examine the flows and relationships to identify …

Using Depot Inventory Position To Determine Transportation Mode Of Retrograde Reparable Assets, Edward C. Snow Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Air Force logistics policies direct the "expedited evacuation of repairables to the source of repair", in an effort to allow smaller inventories. Transportation Mode selection is based only on the asset itself. This focus works well when shipping assets out from the depot to a base. When a base ships an asset back to the depot however, the priority of the asset may not be the best way to select the transportation mode. The quantity of the assets at the depot may indicate that fast transportation is unnecessary. The depot may already have enough serviceable assets to meet demand or …

Managing Learning Resources For Consecutive Product Generations, Lieven Demeester, Mei Qi

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this paper, we study how a firm should allocate its learning resources when it is concurrently producing two consecutive generations of one product. We define learning resources as scarce firm-specific resources that a firm allocates towards the improvement of the cost, quality or timeliness of its existing products and processes. We use empirically tested models for demand substitution and learning curves to formulate this problem, and we present our results as propositions with regard to the optimal time at which a firm should direct all its learning resources to the newer product generation, depending on the substitution rate of …

K-Center Problems With Minimum Coverage, Andrew Lim, Brian Rodrigues, Fan Wang, Zhou Xu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In this work, we study an extension of the k-center facility location problem, where centers are required to service a minimum of clients. This problem is motivated by requirements to balance the workload of centers while allowing each center to cater to a spread of clients. We study three variants of this problem, all of which are shown to be -hard. In-approximation hardness and approximation algorithms with factors equal or close to the best lower bounds are provided. Generalizations, including vertex costs and vertex weights, are also studied.

The Effects Of Land Transport On Animal Welfare, D. M. Broom

Transport of Farm Animals Collection

Animal welfare during and as a result of transport can be assessed by using a range of behavioural, physiological, pathological and carcass-quality indicators that are described in this paper. Measures of the extent of any disease, injury or mortality resulting from, or exacerbated by, transport are important because health is an important part of welfare. Many of the indicators are measures of stress as they involve long-term adverse effects on the individual. Factors affecting the welfare of animals before, during and after transport which are discussed are: definition of the responsibilities and competence, attitudes to animals and need for training …

Economics Of Scale In The Us Truckload Industry, Adam Gray Bradford

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Influence Tactics And Contingency Factors On The Adoption And Diffusion Of Is/It Innovations In Social Networks, Anand Jeyaraj

Management Information Systems Faculty Publications

Despite considerable research on both adoption and diffusion of IS/IT innovations, there is a lack of coherent understanding of the processes by which innovations diffuse within social systems. This research proposes that the nature of the innovation diffusion process will depend on the characteristics of the innovation, the personal attributes of the individual, the interpersonal relationships, the composition of the social networks, and the specific influence tactics used by individuals. The empirical investigation involves a combination of three different research methods: meta-analysis, interpretive case studies, and simulation. The meta-analysis, at the organizational level, identifies the various factors (individual, dyad, social …

Information System Development Methodologies As Learning Systems, Anand Jeyaraj, Vicki L. Sauter

Management Information Systems Faculty Publications

Although information system development methodologies supposedly improve development processes and end-products, information systems have continued to fail. In practice, methodologies have not been universally accepted, and even when accepted, not consistently used. Often development teams adapt methodologies to respond to perceived problems in past applications and/or specifics of the project under consideration. While it is possible that a combination of these factors contributed to less-than-effective system development processes or final end-products, we believe that there may be a subtler explanation for such failures. Although methodologies recommend best practices for system development, they rarely prescribe mechanisms to capture or evaluate problems …

Investment Of Resources To Become Competitive: A Survey Of Polish Manufacturing Companies, Mark Wermus

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

In view of unprecedented transition of the Polish economy, the privatization of manufacturing organizations and the investment of foreign funds in Polish companies, we wanted to learn about manufacturing practices in Polish companies during the period of transition. Analyzing how the companies use forecasts and then where they allocate limited resources may help us to better understand the transition economy and estimate if the way they have chosen may lead them to become world class manufacturers. Poland is a gateway country to other countries in the Eastern European region and many companies in those countries will use the experience of …

Logistics Network Design With Differentiated Delivery Lead Time: A Chemical Industry Case Study, Michelle Lee Fong Cheong, Rohit Bhatnagar, Stephen C. Graves

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Most logistics network design models assume exogenous customer demand that is independent of the service time or level. This paper examines the benefits of segmenting demand according to lead-time sensitivity of customers. To capture lead-time sensitivity in the network design model, we use a facility grouping method to ensure that the different demand classes are satisfied on time. In addition, we perform a series of computational experiments to develop a set of managerial insights for the network design decision making process.

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 10 - Mother-Of-Pearl Shell (Pinctada Maxima): Stock Evaluation For Management And Future Harvesting In Western Australia, Anthony M. Hart, Kim J. Friedman

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

The West Australian Pearling industry is one of Australia's most valuable aquaculture industries, currently generating around $120 - $160 million annually. The majority of pearl shell used to culture pearls come from the pearling beds in the inshore waters near Broome. The fishery for pearl oysters preferentially targets smaller (120mm - 165mm DVM) shell (hereafter defined as 'culture' shell), that are more suitable for culturing of pearls, leaving larger MOP oysters (175mm+) on the pearling grounds. These larger pearl oysters, the majority of which are female (protandric hermaphrodites), form a major component of the broodstock for the

fishery. Although MOP …

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 8 - The Nutritional Management Of Barramundi, Brett Glencross

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

Barramundi nutrition research has been undertaken since 1988. Since that time the requirements for most nutrients, energy demand, ingredient utilisation and the effects of nutrition on flesh quality aspects have all been examined to varying extents.

Optimal protein content of diets has been shown to vary with diet energy density and also the size of fish which are being fed. Most studies have suggested a protein requirement from 45% to 55%. For small fish a protein to energy ratio of 25 to 30 g/MJ is suggested. Limited work has been done on fish larger than 500 g. The 10 essential …

The Role Of Manufacturing Flexibility On Product Platform Development, Soumen Ghosh, Byung Joon Park

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In recent years firms from a range of industries have responded to growing market uncertainty by investing heavily in manufacturing flexibility. Manufacturing Flexibility is understood as process flexibility, that is a process that results from being able to build different types of products on the same production line at the same time. One benefit of manufacturing flexibility is the reduction of change over cost from building one product to another. Flexible manufacturing also relieves the problem of overcapacity, since excessive overcapacity could be avoided through the introduction of flexible manufacturing plants. Recently, firms have examined a new concept of enabling …

A Comparison Of Implementation Issues And Strategies For Radio Frequency Identification Technologies Between The U.S. Military And Private Sector Organizations, Kristine M. O'Brien, Stephen M. Swartz

Journal of Transportation Management

The purpose of this research was to study the implementation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies used to track equipment and supplies. Current implementation issues and strategies for future use were collected from leading edge organizations from the military and private sector. A formal comparison found both similarities and differences between how industry and the Army are implementing and using RFID technologies in their supply chains and logistics networks. This article focuses on these similarities and differences, to include a gap between the Army and industry regarding RFID tag use and implementation, and a difference in the overall focus of …

The Profit Impact Of A Strategic Approach To Web Enhanced Services (Wes)—A Study Of The Motor Carrier Industry, Gregory M. Kellar, John Xiaoqun Zhang

Journal of Transportation Management

An increasing number of motor carriers offer web-enhanced services (WES) such as real-timetracking-and-tracing, on-line ordering, and conflict resolution. However, the burst of the Internet bubble raised questions as to whether investments in such Internet-related services increase corporate profitability (e.g., Nagarajan et al., 2000). This article studies financial and operational values that web-enhanced services add to publicly traded interstate trucking companies. Large companies offering WES were found to be more profitable than smaller companies in general, and they were more profitable than other large carriers not offering WES. Investments in WES appear to provide a strategic advantage specifically for large companies.

Meeting The Challenge Of Supply Chain Integration: Using Six Sigma For Process Improvement, Kathryn Dobie, Rhonda Hensley

Journal of Transportation Management

Increased performance expectations, a more complex operating environment, rising costs, and declining operating margins have become every day challenges for carrier management. In order to meet these challenges, business-as-usual is not an adequate response. The time has come to take a new look at the way thing are being done and the results that are being achieved. One method of making such an examination, Six Sigma, has produced extraordinary results for many of the manufacturing and service companies, large and small, that have implemented it. The introduction of Six Sigma as a means of examining and improving carrier service delivery …

Technology Based Supply Chain Training: Its Use And Effectiveness, Brian J. Gibson, Jonathan D. Whitaker

Journal of Transportation Management

Employee training is a huge business in the United States with spending in the neighborhood of $51 billion dollars. Over the last five years a growing proportion of training dollars have been committed to technology based training involving distance learning and e-learning. This article reports on the use of these innovative training methods in supply chain management and their impact on organizations in terms of cost effectiveness, time efficiency, skill development, and return on investment.

The Transportation And Warehousing Challenge For Multinational Corporations In China, Garland Chow, Charles Guowen Wang

Journal of Transportation Management

Logistics is a major challenge for multinational corporations seeking to do business in China. Transportation and warehousing are two core activities of logistics which will have to be outsourced or produced internally by foreign firms entering the China market. This paper focuses on road and rail transportation, the primary forms of transport utilized to move finished goods, as well as the warehousing and distribution center service sector. Trucking services and costs are observed to be poor by Western standards. There is no established less-than-truckload (LTL) industry and there are limited trucking networks offering one stop shipping across the country. None …

Hybrid Stochastic Models For Remaining Lifetime Prognosis, Steven M. Cox

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force is developing its next generation aircraft and is seeking to reduce the risk of catastrophic failures, maintenance activities, and the logistics footprint while improving its sortie generation rate through a process called autonomic logistics. Vital to the successful implementation of this process is remaining lifetime prognosis of critical aircraft components. Complicating this problem is the absence of failure time information; however, sensors located on the aircraft are providing degradation measures. This research has provided a method to address at least a portion of this problem by uniting analytical lifetime distribution models with environment and/or degradation …

Port Yard Storage Optimization, Ping Chen, Zhaohui Fu, Andrew Lim, Brian Rodrigues

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The port yard storage optimization problem (PYSOP) originates from space allocation needs at the Port of Singapore. Space allocated to cargo is to be minimized in a designated yard within a time interval. The problem is akin to a packing problem in space and time, but where shapes packed and constraints are particular to port operations. Further, space requests can change within the time interval in which it is requested. This basic problem is generic to port operations and may find applications elsewhere. The PYSOP is NP-hard, but we propose a number of metaheuristics. Extensive experiments were conducted and good …

Assessing Advanced Manufacturing Technologies: A New Approach Using The Analytic Network Process, Ozden Bayazit

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

This paper illustrates an application of the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to the decision by a tractor manufacturing company to implement flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). The ANP is a methodology recently introduced by Thomas L Saaty for multiple criteria problems where there is feedback and interdependence among decision attributes and alternatives. We determined the factors that affect the level of implementation of FMS by doing literature searches and further refined those factors through decision-making team's opinion. We ended up with 28 factors. The results of our decision model show that the company should not implement FMS with an overall priority …

Bec Metering Department New System Proposal, Bradley Godwin

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Free-Stall Dimensions: Effects On Preference And Stall Usage, Cassandra B. Tucker, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

In 2 experiments, free-stall dimensions were examined to determine how they affected stall preference, usage, cleanliness, and milk production in Holstein dairy cattle. In experiment 1, stall width (112 or 132 cm) and stall length (229 and 274 cm from curb to wall) were compared in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of stall treatments using 15 individually housed, non-lactating animals. Cows showed no clear preference for stall size as measured by lying time. When animals had no choice between stalls, average lying time was higher in the wide stalls than in the narrow stalls (10.8 vs. 9.6 ± 0.3 …

A Comparative Study Of Selected Measures Of Performance Of Organizations Before And After Obtaining Iso 9000 Certification As Compared To The S&P 500 Index, Gregory K. Arbuckle

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

"One of the most significant changes in international business is the recent movement toward quality awareness. Although still embryonic, acceptance of the importance of quality and reliability is being recognized as a critical factor for the sale of many products and services in business operations and in performance worldwide" (Joubert, 1998, ,i 1 ). Over time, there have been many management systems developed to improve quality such as TQM, Malcolm Baldrige and Six Sigma; two of the largest and/or newest being ISO 9000 and QS 9000. The literature is unclear as to which systems actually work and which do not. …

Basing Rate Adjustments For Motor Carriers On Statistical Evidence, L Douglas Smith, James F. Campbell, Ray Mundy

Journal of Transportation Management

Pricing services of motor carriers is a dynamic process, with continuous pressure from customers to offer competitive rates and discounts. This can lead to a profusion of special arrangements with rates that poorly reflect the services rendered. This article shows how standard database systems and statistical models can be used to extract useful information from bills of lading to assist in the pricing of freight services. Summaries of business performance are produced according to terminal facility, shipping origin, shipping destination, individual shipping lane and individual customer. User-friendly statistical models are constructed to produce benchmarks for rates and revenues considering the …

Depot Repair Capacity As A Criterion For Transportation Mode Selection In The Retrograde Movement Of Reparable Assets, William A. Cunningham, Stephen Swartz, Harold M. Kahler

Journal of Transportation Management

To support smaller reparable asset inventories, current Air Force logistics policies direct the “expedited evacuation of reparables ... to the source of repair.” Mode selection is based on the asset. Focusing on the asset is an efficient and effective method of getting assets to where they are needed in a timely manner in the forward portion of the supply pipeline. However, in the reverse portion of the pipeline, the demand for an asset may no longer be critical to how it is transported. The quantity of the asset at the depot may already exceed repair capacity. In this instance, rapid …

Carrier Scorecarding: Purposes, Processes, And Benefits, Brian J. Gibson, Jerry W. Wilson

Journal of Transportation Management

Carrier scorecarding programs (CSP’s) provide a formal, quantitative mechanism for use in assessing carrier performance. Such programs provide valuable input for carrier rationalization and contract development initiatives and can also serve as a key component of a Six Sigma program. In this study, the overall goal was to address three research questions. First, why are organizations adopting CSP’s? Second, how are organizations using carrier scorecarding to select and manage carriers? Finally, how does carrier scorecarding impact organizational performance? These questions were used to develop the set of research propositions that formed the basis for the investigation. In-depth case studies of …