Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons^™

Logistics Network Design With Supplier Consolidation Hubs And Multiple Shipment Options, Michelle L. F. Cheong, Rohit Bhatnagar, Stephen C. Graves

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

An important service provided by third-party logistics (3PL) firms is to manage the inbound logistics of raw materials and components from multiple suppliers to several manufacturing plants. A key challenge for these 3PL firms is to determine how to coordinate and consolidate the transportation flow, so as to get the best overall logistics performance. One tactic is to establish consolidation hubs that collect shipments from several suppliers, consolidate these shipments, and direct the consolidated shipments to the appropriate manufacturing plant. We consider the network design problem to implement this tactic, namely deciding the number, location and operation of consolidation hubs …

Real-Time Supply Chain Control Via Multi-Agent Adjustable Autonomy, Hoong Chuin Lau, Lucas Agussurja, Ramesh Thangarajoo

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Real-time supply chain management in a rapidly changing environment requires reactive and dynamic collaboration among participating entities. In this work, we model supply chain as a multi-agent system where agents are subject to an adjustable autonomy. The autonomy of an agent refers to its capability to make and influence decisions within a multi-agent system. Adjustable autonomy means changing the autonomy of the agents during runtime as a response to changes in the environment. In the context of a supply chain, different entities will have different autonomy levels and objective functions as the environment changes, and the goal is to design …

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.

Bec Metering Department New System Proposal, Bradley Godwin

Honors Capstones

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

Cio Lateral Influence Behaviors: Gaining Peers' Commitment To Strategic Information Systems, Harvey Enns, Sid L. Huff, Christopher A. Higgins

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

In order to develop and bring to fruition strategic information systems (SIS) projects, chief information officers (CIOs) must be able to effectively influence their peers. This research examines the relationship between CIO influence behaviors and the successfulness of influence outcomes, utilizing a revised model initially developed by Yukl (1994). Focused interviews were first conducted with CIOs and their peers to gain insights into the phenomenon. A survey instrument was then developed and distributed to a sample of CIO and peer executive pairs to gather data with which to test a research model. A total of 69 pairs of surveys were …

Combining Two Heuristics To Solve A Supply Chain Optimization Problem, Hoong Chuin Lau, Yuyue Song

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we consider a real-life supply chain optimization problem concerned with supplying a product from multiple warehouses to multiple geographically dispersed retailers. Each retailer faces a deterministic and period-dependent demand over some finite planning horizon. The demand of each retailer is satisfied by the supply from some predetermined warehouse through a fleet of vehicles which are only available within certain time windows at each period. Our goal is to identify a combined inventory and routing schedule such that the system-wide total cost over the planning horizon is minimised. This problem in essence is an amalgamation of two classical …

Mobile Commerce Applications In Supply Chain Management, Keng Siau, Zixing Shen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As wireless technologies evolve, the coming mobile revolution will bring dramatic and fundamental changes to supply chain management. When complete, the revolution will impact numerous facets of organizational life. It will provide important data in real time to assist decision makers, exert great influence on the ways businesses communicate and develop relationships with consumers and suppliers, and ultimately transform the way we manage the supply chain. This paper examines issues in integrating mobile commerce and supply chain management. The paper discusses issues such as the absence of killer applications, mobile device limitations, networking problems, infrastructure constraints, security concerns, and user …

The Development Of An Enterprise Supply Chain Model For Naval Warship Construction, Rex A. Wallen

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The utilization of computer simulation in the shipbuilding industry is not a new concept and many shipyards in the US and around the world are using simulation tools in a variety of ways with various levels of success. In other industries, computer simulation has proven itself as a powerful tool for reducing non-value added activities and promises to become more prominent in its use as a resource management tool. Its use in the manufacturing of outfitting components in the construction of Naval warships has had limited success due mainly to the inherent nature of ship construction, especially shipyards engaged in …

Pricing And Product Mix Optimization In Freight Transportation, Michael F. Gorman

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

We propose improved pricing and market mix can improve the profitability of the freight transportation provider through the reduction of equipment repositioning costs. We hypothesize that because of complexities surrounding pricing and equipment repositioning costing, existing pricing strategies in freight transportation fail to fully consider these costs. We test this hypothesis in an applied setting in which Monte Carlo simulation captures the stochasticity of market conditions inherent in the problem. We use a heuristic to improve the nondifferentiable, discontinuous objective function.

Our results from test cases show with high confidence that current prices are not optimal, as indicated by a …

Supply Chain Management In Manufacturing Industry : A Study Of The Implementation Strategy Of Xyz Technology (M) Sdn. Bhd., Tiong Fock Poh

Student Works (2000-2009)

Advancement of technology and globalization pressure cause a lot of companies seek for a better manufacturing technology and operation management. One of the latest management tools that become hot topics to overcome this issue is Supply Chain Management. About 50 years ago, Forrester (1958) introduced a new theory of cross function management, but it was not been given much attention until last 10 years. Supply chain is not something new to the operation management. The differences of Forrester theory is the synergy of all operation management to get a dynamics and better result that is why the word of "management" …

Inventory Management System For Fcsit, Poh Ling Ong

Student Works (2000-2009)

The inventory management system is a client server system with the objective to computerize and enhance the inventory management system for Faculty Computer Science and Information Technology (FCSIT). The server side contains all related basic inventory management rules, documents, and database. Meanwhile the client consists two sections, which are User and Administrator. The User section allows user to browse through the faculty information and search available items. The Administrator section is for the system administrator to perform all administrative tasks namely maintaining the inventory database. The inventory management system for faculty was developed using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 to create …

E-Inventori Kolej Kediaman Seksyen 17, Abdullah Ahmad Sobri

Student Works (2000-2009)

Cara penyampaian dan penyimpanan maklumat I data adalah berbeza dari masa ke semasa. Jika dahulu maklumat disimpan di dalam fail dan disusun dalam laci atau kabinet dan kebanyakan maklumat yang difailkan ini akhinya akan menjadi usang apabila disimpan terlalu lama dan himpunan maklumat yang banyak juga menjadi masalah kerana kekurangan ruang untuk menyimpan maklumat. Akhinya kebanyakan maklumat ini akan dilupuskan apabila ia tidak diperlukan lagi. Seperti mana yang telah kita ketahui, maklumat merupakan sumber rujukan yang penting dalam kehidupan harian kita. Tiada maklumat yang terlalu usang untuk dibuat rujukan. Oleh itu. teknik penyimpanan dan penyampaian data yang berkesan merupakan keperluan …

Sistem Pengurusan Kemudahan Sekolah, Farn Lok

Student Works (2000-2009)

Facility Management System (FMS) is a window-based system developed with the objectives of implementing the task of daily operation needs of small to medium size secondary school. It supports the inventory, usage and maintenance tracking, booking functionality of a typical secondary school. To maximize the effectiveness, FMS provides a computerized interface that greatly simplify information generation which enables decision maker to creatively approach, analyze and uncovering transaction problems and opportunities. Since the local architecture forms the core of the system, research was conducted into the local computing concepts. Through the course of FMS development, it is proven that management rules …

Bookshop Inventory Management System (Bims) /, Loong Po Chang

Student Works (2000-2009)

All undergraduates of the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya are required to carry out a final year thesis project in computer or information technology related topic during their 3 years course in the university. This subject is one of the conditions must be fulfilled before they graduate. This final year thesis project takes 2 semesters and brings out 9 credit hours of total 120 credit hours. I, one of the students in the faculty, propose Bookshop Inventory Management System (BIMS) as my thesis title. I was assigned to and placed under the supervision of Prof …

Sistem Inventori Kolej Kediaman Tun Ahmad Zaidi, Ali Ayuniza

Student Works (2000-2009)

Latihan ilmiah merupakan kursus yang ditawarkan kepada pelajar Sarjana Muda Teknologi Maklumat Universiti Malaya bagi Tahap Akhir sebagai syarat utama fakulti. Kursus ini meliputi pembangunan sistem komputer yang ditawarkan oleh pensyarah-pensyarah fakulti. Bagi latihan ini, pembangunan Sistem Inventori Kolej Kediaman (SIKK) telah dipilih dan ia tertumpu kepada Kolej Kediaman Tun Ahmad Zaidi (Kolej 10) Universiti Malaya. Kursus ini terbahagi kepada Latihan llmiah 1 dan Latihan Ilmiah 2 yang masing-masing ditawarkan pada semester I dan semester 2. Kedua-dua kursus ini adalah saling berkait, dan wajib diambil untuk memenuhi syarat latihan ilmiah. Projek ini ditawarkan oleh Puan Nor Edzan Che Nasir di …

Electronic Bookstore, Wai Yin Choy

Student Works (2000-2009)

The e-Bookstore is a web application of electronic commerce which simulates an electronic bookstore. This project will complement the traditional way of doing business in a bookstore. The University Bookstore in the University of Malaya will be the target client for this Project. The e-Bookstore will enable university students and lecturers to have a more pleasant book shopping experience by leveraging on the benefits of the Internet to provide a virtual bookstore on the World Wide Web. Users of the web site will be able to conduct basic book shopping activities like book browsing, book searching, online ordering and placing …

Office Equipment Inventory System, Meng Hai Teh

Student Works (2000-2009)

This report was based on the final year project as a partial requirement for the degree of information technology. It’s describing the office equipment inventory system that will be developing. This report contains 4 chapters which are introduction of the project, literature review, methodology and system analysis and system design. Office equipment inventory system is a sub system of the e-Faculty project. e-Faculty project is a project that will bring faculty science computer and information technology to the electronic era. The objective of e-Faculty is to bring faculty become an electronic effective faculty. The purpose of develop the office equipment …

Collaborative Model And Algorithms For Supporting Real-Time Distribution Logistics Systems, Hoong Chuin Lau, Qi Zhang Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We study a complex optimization problem that arises due to an emerging trend in distribution logistics. The 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. We describe a collaborative approach to solve this problem in real-time. The novelty of our approach lies in the tight algorithmic integration between two sub-problems, and suggests an elegant scheme to deal with other integrated optimization problems of the same nature. For first sub-problem, we will present two algorithms: a complete mathematical model integrating integer programming with constraint …

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 …

Automated Manpower Rostering: Techniques And Experience, C. M. Khoong, Hoong Chuin Lau, L. W. Chew

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We present ROMAN, a comprehensive, generic manpower rostering toolkit that successfully handles a wide spectrum of work policies found in service organizations. We review the use of various techniques and methodologies in the toolkit that contribute to its robustness and efficiency, and relate experience gained in addressing manpower rostering problems in industry.

An Analysis Of The Root Causes Of Delays And Deficiencies In The Development Of Embedded Software For Air Force Weapon Systems, Jay R. Hopkins, Curtis De Keyrel

Theses and Dissertations

The importance of embedded software, used in every subsystem of ah major weapon systems used by the United States Air Force, has increased drastically over the last decades. However, in spite of the regulations currently in existence, developing and acquiring software which meets the user requirements within the original cost and schedule estimates continues to be difficult. At the same time, the Air Force has pushed to improve the development process with the Total Quality Management TQM program. The primary method used to improve the process has been to create metrics, collect data on these metrics, and then perform a …

Computerized Vehicle Routing Programs And Their Effect On Vehicle Utilization In The Air Force, Rex E. Adee, William G. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if a commercial computerized vehicle routing program improves vehicle utilization for an Air Force base transportation organization. First, the researchers investigate current routing procedures of Air Force base transportation organizations. Second, researchers identify a commercial computerized vehicle routing program that enables the authors to conduct a comparison of vehicle utilization rates between an Air Force base transportation organization and commercial computerized vehicle routing programs. The study reveals that implementing a computerized vehicle routing program in place of a manual routing procedure does not improve vehicle utilization. However, the study reveals some limitations …

Award Fee In Software Acquisition, Mark T. Hunter

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research effort was to determine, in general terms, what contractual tools are available to influence contractor performance during the software development process and, specifically, whether or not award fee contracts are appropriate tools. First, a qualitative, in depth literature review was done. Next, personal interviews were conducted with Program Directors and Deputy Program Directors at Aeronautical Systems Center, Electronic Systems Center, and Space and Missiles Systems Center. Then, after the results were summarized, the data was analyzed and findings were made. Findings include: award fee was found to be the most flexible provision in the FAR …

The Application Of Function Points To Predict Source Lines Of Code For Software Development, Garland S. Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the results of using function point analysis-based estimates to predict source lines of code (SLOC) for software development projects. The majority of software cost and effort estimating parametric tools are categorized as SLOC-based, meaning SLOC is the primary input. Early in a program, an accurate estimate of SLOC is difficult to project. Function points, another parametric software estimating tool, bases software cost and effort estimates on the functionality of a system. This functionality is described by documents available early in a program. Using a modeling methodology, the research focuses on function point's ability to accurately estimate SLOC …

Investigative Search Of Quality Historical Software Support Cost Data And Software Support Cost-Related Data, Brent L. Barber

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine what software support cost data and software support cost-related data should and can be collected by the Air Force. In addition, the study was to determine how the subject data should be collected. The collection of this data is necessary in order to measure the accuracy and calibration requirements of the software support cost models used by the Air Force. The study found there was no standard set of data items, and no standard procedures in place for the collection of this data. In most cases data were available or easily accessible, …

An Expert System Job Aid For Users Of The Automated Scheduling Module, Kevin A. Gore

Theses and Dissertations

This research developed an Expert System for novice aircraft maintenance schedulers (AFSC: 392XX) with little experience using the Automated Scheduling Module (ASM). First, an in-depth literature review was completed. Next, personal interviews were conducted with an ASM expert and other 392XX personnel. Prototypes using VP-Expert and KnowledgePro shells were created. The knowledgePro shell was selected to create the ASM Job Aid, combining the knowledge of the expert and AFM 66-279. The program was verified, validated, and favorably reviewed by 392XX personnel. Recommendations include: The Air Force Logistics Management Center (AFLMC) examine the ASM Job AId and develop a Performance Support …

An Application Of Artificial Intelligence Technology Within The Standard Base Supply System, Richard G. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the feasibility of applying artificial intelligence technology within the Standard Base Supply System (SBSS). With assembly endless reductions in manpower authorizations within the SBSS and the potential for a continued loss of expert knowledge, the use of knowledge-based system (KBSs) was examined to determine if these systems could alleviate this of manpower. Literature related to the fields of artificial intelligence, expert systems, and KBSs was traced, yielding a methodology for identifying candidate problems, and for the development, verification, and validation of prototype KBSs. This methodology was then employed within the research, culminating in the creation, verification, and …

Enhancing Manufacturing Planning And Control Systems Through Artificial Intelligence Techniques, Ronald S. Dattero, John J. Kanet, Edna M. White

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

Manufacturing planning and control systems are currently dominated by systems based upon Material Requirements Planning (MRP). MRP systems have a number of fundamental flaws. A potential alternative to MRP systems is suggested after research into the economic batch scheduling problem.

Based on the ideas of economic batch scheduling, and enhanced through artificial intelligence techniques, an alternative approach to manufacturing planning and control is developed. A framework for future research on this alternative to MRP is presented.