Business Commons^™

The Use Of Edi And Internet Technologies In The U.S. Motor Carrier Industry, Richard L. Clarke

Journal of Transportation Management

Computer to computer data exchange by companies in a supply chain have been wellrecognized as an effective means of reducing cost and decreasing paperwork errors. In many cases, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers have become electronically linked to better manage inventory, ordering, and billing information. However, supply chains, by definition, also include common carriers that move goods between supply chain partners but may not have a long-term relationship with either the shipper or his customers. This could be the missing or weak link in an otherwise effective supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to examine the state-of-the-art of EDI …

The Relationship Between The Functional Orientation Of Senior Managers And Service Quality In Ltl Motor Carriers, Patricia M. Poli, Carl A. Scheraga

Journal of Transportation Management

This study utilizes data envelopment analysis to examine the relationship between the functional heterogeneity of senior LTL motor carrier managers’ departmental positions and the relative efficiency of their companies in the production of quality customer service. Three measures from the Quest for Quality annual survey are utilized to measure customer satisfaction: on-time performance, value, and customer service. It is shown that data envelopment analysis can be used to assist LTL motor carriers in benchmarking the configuration of their managerial hierarchies against their peers in order to achieve the goal of customer satisfaction. The results of the present study confirm that …

Analyzing The Evolution Of Class I Ltl Motor Carriers: An Examination Of Expansion Into Warehousing, Joe B. Hanna, Arnold B. Maltz

Journal of Transportation Management

The current research uses Porter’s differentiation strategy framework to examine Class I LTL motor carrier service expansion habits over the last twenty years. The examination focuses on carriers bundling transportation and warehousing services together to help differentiate their service offerings from competitors. Results indicate that carriers are expanding service offerings to include warehousing services and are providing significant value-added services to customers. Continuous growth in warehouse service expansion was evident from passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 to the mid-90’s.

An Evaluation Of Liner Strategies In The Context Of Contemporary Supply Chain Management Practices, Shashi Kumar

Journal of Transportation Management

Academic researchers published a sophisticated model of world class logistics in 1995 and recently updated it with a model of 21st century logistics. Although such practices are yet to be perfected in the real world, it provides a yardstick for measuring logistical excellence. An innovative world class firm will pursue sustainable competitive advantage through wellintegrated global supply chains. As liner operators are vital members of global supply chains, their contemporary strategies need particular scrutiny to identify elements of congruence or non-congruence. The paper discusses generic liner strategies and identifies the ideal strategy congruent with contemporary supply chain management practices.

Provision Of Professional Training To Meet Global Procurement Challenges In Hong Kong, Chi Shun, Josephine Kea

International Vocational Education and Training Association (IVETA) Conference

The technology today is so fast that quickly changes the traditional business process. Supply chain management is becoming the profession of the future – an extension of buyers’ job. New professional education in purchasing and supply management should be demanded by Hong Kong’s business world to maintain its status as a global procurement centre and a commercial window of China

Supply-Chain Synchronization: Lessons From Hyundai Motor Company, Chan K. Hahn, Edward A. Duplaga, Janet L. Hartley

Management Faculty Publications

One of the challenges of supply-chain management is developing ways to effectively integrate activities across organizations on the supply chain. Hyundai Motor Company developed mechanisms to coordinate production planning and scheduling activities among supply-chain members. Hyundai Motor's production-and-sales-control (P/SC) department uses regularly scheduled cross-functional meetings and scheduling policies to coordinate supply-chain activities. When implementing this process, the P/SC department overcame structural, environ mental, and behavioral problems. Although Hyundai manage ment concedes that the process is not perfect, communication among supply-chain members has improved, and the P/SC group has successfully promoted mutual understanding and respect among functional areas. The primary benefit, …

Commercial Irrigation And Nutrition Practices For Strawberries In Western Australia, D. Phillips, D. Gatter, T. Calder, D. Pitman

Horticulture research reports

Irrigation practices employed by five commercial strawberry growers on sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain near Perth Western Australia were monitored for two consecutive seasons, 1995 and 1996 during the Spring production period.

Nutritional practices for the same grower group plus one Albany grower were monitored by plant, soil and sap analysis at 14 day intervals throughout the 1996 season.

Irrigation records showed that market quality strawberries could be produced at this time of year (August to December in Perth) on soils with very poor water retention properties with an average crop factor(E Pan) for the season of 0.7 …

Vulnerability Analysis: A Tool For Survival, S D Kshirsagar

IIMB Management Review

Managers are often reluctant to tread the unknown path. They do not even try to foresee the unknown. But what you do not foresee can hurt you, and refusing to anticipate the future may lead to major problems and even extinction.

Forward Engineering For Strategic Gearing: The Indian Tea Industry, Subhash Sharma

IIMB Management Review

Forward engineering provides a foundational premise for the strategic gearing of an organisation, keeping in view its existing and new capabilities with respect to current and anticipated challenges in a competitive environment.

Management Development And Retention Programs In U.S. Third-Party Logistics Firms, Robert Lorin Cook, Brian J. Gibson

Journal of Transportation Management

To provide quality logistics services, it is essential for third-party logistics (3PL) firms to develop an effective human resource program that ensures successful development and retention of qualified managers. By reporting the results of a survey of current U.S. 3PL firm development and retention practices and experiences regarding junior managers, this article provides a benchmark for 3PL firm managers who seek to improve management development and retention programs. Efforts to improve human resource programs should focus on improving orientation programs, mentoring, job enrichment, formal career planning, job relocation assignments, educational support, training and compensation.

Examining America’S Logistics Programs Via The Internet, Joe B. Hanna, William Compton

Journal of Transportation Management

This study uses the Internet and a two phase methodology to help gain insight into the current state of America’s logistics programs. Phase I examines logistics program structure while phase II employs a modified, electronic version of the Delphi technique to help examine global logistics education practices. The results of the research indicate that, while key differences exist in America’s logistics programs, academicians of the discipline largely agree on the relative importance of key functional areas of the discipline. However, a potential gap may exist between the skills addressed in logistics and business education programs and the skills required for …

Cheating Via Online Paper Mills In Logistics Education, Kathleen H. Gruben, Cathy Owens Swift, Luther (Trey) Denton

Journal of Transportation Management

The growth of e-business is providing businesses and entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop niches targeting one of the largest groups of Internet users: university students. Unfortunately, one of these niches is online term paper mills, where students can purchase university quality term papers and then submit them in class as their own work. The purpose of this paper is (1) to identify what online term paper services are available; (2) to determine how many logistics term papers are offered by these services; and, (3) to suggest strategies that can be used by logistics faculty to suppress use of these materials.

The Usage Of Mobile Communication Systems In The Trucking Industry, R Stephen Parker, John L. Kent, Karl B. Manrodt

Journal of Transportation Management

This article reports the findings of a mobile communications survey mailed out to over 2,000 trucking firms. The findings indicate that 68% of respondents use some form of mobile communication system in their firm. Various types of mobile communication systems were reported, including two-way pagers, one-way pagers, cell phones, two-way radio, and satellite communications. Additionally, implementation decision factors for mobile communication systems were evaluated for both users and non-users of mobile communication systems.

Terrorism And The Global Supply Chain: Where Are Your Weak Links?, Kathryn Dobie, L Milton Glisson, James Grant

Journal of Transportation Management

For many years, managers have chosen to ignore the risks associated with acts of terrorism that can potentially and catastrophically affect the global supply chain. As producers and suppliers become more tightly tied through long term relationships, common communications and information technology, events affecting one member of the supply chain can have a profound impact on the ability of the rest of the network to operate. The purpose of this discourse is to highlight the linkages which leave a supply chain vulnerable in the case of direct or indirect disruption caused by unexpected terrorist activity.

Floor Temperature Preference Of Sows At Farrowing, P. A. Phillips, D. Fraser, B. Pawluczuk

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

A preference testing apparatus was used to provide sows with continuous access to three identical farrowing crates, each with a different floor temperature. The concrete floor under each crate contained copper pipe through which temperature-controlled water was circulated to achieve unoccupied floor temperatures of 22°C (± 3.5), 29°C (± 1) and 35°C (± 1). Eighteen sows were tested in the apparatus. Video recording was used to determine sow position from 7 days before farrowing (Days ‒7 to ‒1) to 14 days after (Days 1 to 14). On Days ‒7 to ‒1, sows showed no significant preference among the three temperatures …

The Horizontal Organization; By Frank Ostroff, London: Oxford University Press, 1999, Ganesh Jejurikar

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Corporate Culture And Organisational Performance: A Comparative Study Of Manufacturing Organisations, Indu Saxena

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

Using Rsm, Doe, And Linear Regression To Develop A Metamodel To Predict Cargo Delivery Of A Time Phase Force Deployment Document, Kenneth S. Browne

Theses and Dissertations

Air Mobility Command (AMC) uses the Airlift Flow Model as their primary tool to estimate the amount of cargo delivered in a Time Phase Force Deployment Document (TPFDD). The primary objective of this research was an exploratory investigation in the development of a metamodel to predict the amount of cargo delivered from a TPFDD by AMC into a theater. In creating a valid metamodel the analyst would be able to quickly provide the decision-maker with accurate insights should input parameters change. This would save valuable time and replace the need to physically change the input parameters and re-run the simulation. …

The Distributor’S Three-Dimensional Pallet-Packing Problem: A Mathematical Formulation And Heuristic Solution Approach, Brian P. Ballew

Theses and Dissertations

It is through practice and experience Air Force loadmasters are able to pack the Air Force standard HCU-6/E (463L) pallets efficiently. Although the loadmasters perform their jobs exceptionally well, the Air Force is in search of a model that will more efficiently pack the pallets. We have developed a mathematical formulation of the three-dimensional pallet-packing problem which minimizes the amount of unused space on a pallet. The formulation ensures each box is packed with the correct volume and dimensions, and ensures the volume of all the boxes packed is less than the available pallet volume. Additionally, the formulation ensures that …

A Combined Inventory And Delivery Model For Repairable Items, Bahtiyar Eren

Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, logistics analysts have treated the delivery problem separate from the inventory and repair problems. In other words, each of these three problems-delivery, inventory, and repair-are treated individually. We combine the vehicle routing problems and inventory allocation problems in a single formulation. Furthermore, lateral re-supply is considered, in that supplies are not only available from the main depot, but also from other bases. After we get the lateral re-supply information, we set a delivery allocation plan out of the main depot. Such allocations are then delivered via vehicles stationed at the main depot. There is a repair capability for each …

Supply Chain Analysis And Management, Vikas Chandra

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Electronic Commerce On Business-Level Strategies, Ann L. Fruhling, Lester A. Digman

Interdisciplinary Informatics Faculty Publications

This paper examines the impact of electronic commerce on business-level strategies. The paper examines electronic commerce (E.C) from the perspective of intra-business E.C., business-to-business E.C., business-to-consumer E.C., and value/supply chain management. Business-level strategies are considered to include: added-value, differentiation, cost leadership, focus, and growth source. The paper concludes that E-commerce will have significant impacts on each of the business-level strategic areas.

A Strategic Analysis Of Powder Coating Industry In Malaysia : A Case Study Of Ici-Nof Powder Coatings (M) Sdn. Bhd, Meng San Tay

Student Works (2000-2009)

The powder coating industry in Malaysia has increasingly replaced the traditional liquid paints in metal-based industries due to its environmental friend liness, governmental legislation and improved technology. The powder coating industry had grown steadily in the early 1990's in tandem with the Malaysian economic performance. The high growth rate of the industry has attracted new entrants to set up manufacturing plants in the country. However, the unprecedented currency crisis in 1997 has drastically reduced the market size and demand. Faced with an overcapacity scenario, the players are scrambling for market shares by competing heavily in price. The research aims to …

Productivity And Quality Relationship In Manufacturing, Weng Hon Low

Student Works (2000-2009)

Over the past decade, quality and productivity has played a pivotal role in hastening industrialization prosperity in Malaysia. Improving quality is one important way to maintain a competitive position in today's markets. Productivity is in the news these days as an effective means of counteracting the downward effects of various other important economic forces. There is a clear positive relationship between quality and productivity. Generally, when quality increases, waste is eliminated, so will productivity increase as well. However, some researchers view quality and productivity move in opposite directions. There is a trade-off between quality and productivity. It is thus the …

The Impact Of Airline Alliances On Airlines, Saadah Huda Sholah

Student Works (2000-2009)

The study is aim at analysing airline alliances and their effect on the airlines. The effects of alliances on the factors critical to the choice of airline were ambiguous. An alliance's effect on conveniency, schedules, levels of service, reliability and other critical issues depends on the strategic decisions taken by the alliance partners. The only critical factor that is affected positively by the alliance almost without exception is the Frequent Flyer Programme that gains momentum with increased route network density. The business strategy of airlines forming collaborative alliances with each other to extend market reach, control costs and to limit …

Effects Of Globalization On The Sustainablity Of A Manufacturing Company A Case Study, Chai Hong Yeow

Student Works (2000-2009)

This case study addressed the issue of globalization effect on a Malaysian company. Business world become borderless especially with the recent advancement of telecommunication and computer technology. The case analyzed the effect of globalization on a cocoa manufacturing company. The top management has been given a business scenario using a case study methodology. ln this case analysis, in depth investigation on the management obstacles as result of globalization and strategy formulation are required to provide a remedy to the management challenges faced by the company. The analysis was performed using situation analysis, industry analysis and value chain analysis framework developed …

Grocery Retailing In Malaysia : Improvements Through Ecr Application, Nikki Siew Hong Lee

Student Works (2000-2009)

The increasing population of sophisticated consumers is demanding for more quality, variety and service but for less money and time. This emerging pattern of consumers demanding more for less - is an issue facing the increasingly competitive grocery industry today. The increasing number and importance of large multi-national retailers in Asia during the last 5 years is further challenging the grocery business. Certainly, the ambience of the front store of a Tops or a Carrefour is as appealing as in shops anywhere. But peer into the back room, go round the yard, follow the delivery trucks and we are back …

Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh (Tqm) : Sokongan Pengurusan Atasan Berdasarkan Persepsi Kakitangan Di Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, Ahmad Shukri Hj. Abdul Aziz

Student Works (2000-2009)

Kajian ini adalah berkenaan dengan Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh (TQM) Konsep dan sistem ini telah diperkenalkan kepada Perkhidmatan Awam Malaysia pada pertengahan tahun 1992. Maka, kini sudah hampir lapan tahun ianya diperkenalkan kepada sektor awam. Kajian ini telah menumpukan kepada elemen Sokongan Pengurusan Atasan iaitu salah satu elemen yang terkandung di dalam TQM. Kajian ini telah dijalankan di Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL). Kajian yang dijalankan adalah untuk melihat tahap Sokongan Pengurusan Atasan dalam amalan Pengurusan Kualiti Menyeluruh. Oleh itu, kajian ini memberi fokus terhadap elemen-elemen yang terdapat di dalam Sokongan Pengurusan Atasan itu sendiri berdasarkan kepada hasil rumusan kajian PKPA …

Solving A Supply Chain Optimization Problem Collaboratively, Hoong Chuin Lau, A. L. C. Lim, Q Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We propose a novel algorithmic framework to solve an integrated planning and scheduling problem in supply chain management. This problem involves the integration of an inventory management problem and the vehicle routing problem with time windows, both of which are known to be NP-hard. Under this framework, algorithms that solve the underlying sub-problems collaborate rigorously yet in a computationally efficient manner to arrive at a good solution. We will then present two algorithms to solve the inventory management problem: a complete mathematical model integrating integer programming with constraint programming, and an incomplete algorithm based on tabu search. We present experimental …

The Indian Passenger Car Market: Outlook For Maruti, Sooraj Bhat, Puneet Dhamija

IIMB Management Review

The Indian passenger car industry was, until the 80s, the domain of the Ambassador. In December 1983, the first car rolled out from Maruti's plant at Gurgaon, marking the beginning of a revolution in the Indian automobile industry. Today, Maruti boasts almost 80% of the market share by volume. But in the new liberalised regime, with increasing competition including that of several world class players in the market, Maruti no longer commands a monopoly. Sooraj Bhat and Puneet Dhamija study the industry and Maruti's practices and conclude that unless they are able to change with the changing market and adhere …