Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons^™

A Design Methodology To Optimize Supply Chain Network Performance, Dheeraporn Nippaya, J. David Porter

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Organizations are constantly looking for new ways to reduce costs while still providing high customer service levels to face stringent competitive environments and the ever- increasing market globalization. An alternative these organizations can pursue to respond to these challenges and to gain a competitive differentiation is to optimize their supply chain network (SCN). This research aims to develop an effective SCN design strategy to locate facilities (i.e., plants and distribution centers) and to balance the allocation of customers to these facilities to satisfy capacity limitations and customer demands with minimum total cost and maximum level of service. It is anticipated …

Economic And Performance Analysis Of Dual-Bay Vertical Lift Modules, Fabio Sgarbossa, Martina Calzavara, Alessandro Persona

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Warehouse picking is one of the most time and cost consuming activities in a warehouse, often requiring the presence of human operators, who travel within the aisles to retrieve the items needed by the customers. Several studies demonstrate that the travelling activity can represent even the 50% of the total picking time, with a subsequent creation of a separate storage and picking area for small objects. In the last years, new solutions for order picking systems have been developed, especially for small items. One of these solutions requires Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs), storage columns with extractable trays. In this paper, …

Collaborative Bots In Distribution Centers, Russell D. Meller, Dima Nazzal, Lisa M. Thomas

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This research investigates the business case for using autonomous collaborative robots (“bots”) in warehouses. Bots are designed to work collaboratively with human workers in warehouses to fill orders, primarily in e-commerce environments. In order-picking applications, a bot knows the location of every item in the warehouse, and when an item needs to be picked for an order, the bot navigates to that item and waits. Human workers are assigned to patrol specific zones, and when they see a bot waiting, the worker walks to the bot, reads the instructions off the screen, executes the task, and moves on. The bot …

A Performance Calculator For Shuttle-Based Storage And Retrieval System Design, Banu Yetkin Ekren, Anil Akpunar, Tone Lerher

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

In this study, we present an analytical model based tool that can estimate critical performance measures from a pre-defined shuttle-based storage and retrieval system (SBS/RS) design. SBS/RS is relatively a new automated storage and retrieval technology and mostly used for mini-load material handling. In this study, we develop an open queuing network model based tool estimating critical performance measures: the mean travel time of lifts/shuttles, utilization of lifts/shuttles, amount of energy consumption and energy regeneration per transaction, waiting times and number of jobs waiting in queues, etc., from a pre-defined SBS/RS design. By the developed tool, one can evaluate an …

Urban Parcel Logistics Hub And Network Design: The Impact Of Modularity And Hyperconnectivity, Benoit Montreuil, Shannon Buckley, Louis Faugere, Reem Khir, Shahab Derhami

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This paper examines how exploiting the hyperconnectivity and modularity concepts underpinning the Physical Internet enables the parcel logistics industry to meet the worldwide challenges to efficiently and sustainably offer faster and more precise deliveries across urban agglomerations, notably across the world’s megacities. It emphasizes disruptive transformations of package logistics hubs and networks, such as multi-tier world pixelization, multi-plane parcel logistics web, smart dynamic parcel routing and hub-based consolidation, and modular parcel containerization.

Dynamic Batching For Order Picking In Warehouses, Jelmer Pier Van Der Gaast, Bolor Jargalsaikhan, Kees Jan Roodbergen

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Dynamic batch picking is characterized by combining product demand from multiple customer orders into one pick tour where new orders are continuously received. Using modern order-picking aids, updated picking instructions can be included in the current pick tours which allows pickers to be re-routed to pick for new orders even when they already started a pick tour. We develop a mathematical model for dynamic batch picking that minimizes the order throughput time of incoming customer orders. In case of new order arrivals, we can quickly re-optimize the model and determine new updated pick tours. This allows for short order throughput …

Differences In The Throughput Performance Of The Warehouse Depending On The Quality Of The Calculation Parameters, David Sourek

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

This article explores the quality level of the parameters that are used to determine the throughput performance of the warehouse. In our model case, this is a rack warehouse where the storage and picking of goods is ensured by forklifts. All kind of goods are stored on pallets. The aim of our research is to assess to what extent the quality level (accuracy) of the description of warehouse processes influences the accuracy of the determination of the throughput performance of the warehouse. In the first part of the article, we defined the parameters and the ways in which different levels …

Evaluation Of Procurement Scenarios In One-Dimensional Cutting Stock Problem With A Random Demand Mix, Hüseyin Sarper, Nebojsa I. Jaksic

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The one-dimensional cutting stock problem describes the problem of cutting standard length stock material into various specified sizes while minimizing the material wasted (the remnant or drop as manufacturing terms). This computationally complex optimization problem has many manufacturing applications. One-dimensional cutting stock problems arise in many domains such as metal, paper, textile, and wood. To solve it, the problem is formulated as an integer linear model first, and then solved using a common optimizer software. This paper revisits the stochastic version of the problem and proposes a priority-based goal programming approach. Monte Carlo simulation is used to simulate several likely …

Contribution Of Physical Internet Containers To Mitigate The Risk Of Cargo Theft, Yanyan Yang, Eric Ballot, Miguel Gaston Cedillo-Campos

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Different from current dedicated goods distribution solutions, the goods in the Physical Internet are encapsulated in modular dimensioned standard easy-to-interlock smart containers in an open interconnected logistic system. This paper aims to study the performance of the application of this cross-chain innovative packaging solution, especially its potential against cargo theft risks. To attain this, both qualitative and quantitative studies are carried out. With a scenario-based cost-justification model, different case studies are examined. Results suggest that through the modularity and standardization, the application of Physical Internet Containers will significantly improve the logistics performance and reduce cargo theft risks.

A Framework For Modeling Material Handling With Decentralized Control, Kai Furmans, Kevin R. Gue

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Despite decades of research in material handling, the academic community still has no accepted way of describing material handling requirements in a way that machines and algorithms can process them. Such a “way of describing” requires a language with which to describe requirements, objects, relationships between objects, and so on. We propose a modeling framework that differs from existing research in two ways: First, we address material handling modeling from the bottom up rather than from the top down, meaning we define a set of elementary functions and then combine them into processes and more complex relationships that allow us …

Pull-Driven Order Fulfillment In Distribution Centers, Dima Nazzal, Shankar Shanmugasundaram, Sung Kim, Russell D. Meller

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

One of the challenges facing e-commerce fulfillment is the rigidity of the wave management system that often dictates a fixed batch size that must be processed before the next wave of orders is released. As a result, operation managers usually push multiple waves, which lead to accumulation at bottleneck resources, and poor synchronization at sortation engines. We demonstrate the power of operating an order fulfillment engine using the “pull” paradigm. We hypothesize that a pull-driven order fulfillment can meet the same throughput requirements achieved by the push-driven wave-based order fulfillment, but with higher speed, higher service levels, more level resource …

A Motion Capture System Framework For The Study Of Human Manufacturing Repetitive Motions, Francis Mendez, David Wierschem, Jesus Jimenez

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

Our research proposes a framework to obtain and analyze real time data concerning the dynamic and natural motion of individuals in manufacturing-like processes that involve human labor. The framework that we propose consists of five main components: a tracking system, a system of sensors, a processor that collects time series data, data processing and discovery module, and an alert or reporting component. Using motion capture cameras, data is collected on a variety of human subjects performing simulated labor-intensive manufacturing operations. This data is analyzed for identification of actual and optimal activity motions. This project has significant potential impact for contribution …

Digital Design Of Intralogistics Systems: Flexible And Agile Solution To Short-Cyclic Fluctuations, Anike Murrenhoff, Christoph Pott, Moritz Wernecke, Philipp-Akira Burger

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

In times of fast-paced, fluctuating and individual markets, intralogistics systems, such as warehouses, have to adapt to the resulting volatile performance demands dynamically. Hybrid systems, in which humans and machines work together efficiently and communicate in socio-technical networks, can be the answer to manage these high-frequency markets. Hybrid systems of the future need to adapt frequently and permanent change becomes the “new normal”. A one-time planning of warehousing systems upon first installation becomes obsolete. This results in the question of how to design and implement processes for future logistics systems in an agile way in order to exploit the flexibility …

Home Inventory Management And Last-Mile Logistics, Bhagyalakshmi V. Shrikrishna, Bharat Kulkarni, Michael G. Kay

15th IMHRC Proceedings (Savannah, Georgia. USA – 2018)

A study of the functioning of last-mile logistics in home inventory management is described. Different patterns of the household consumptions are studied and assumed in the interim. These consumption patterns then form the automatic grocery ordering system leading to what we would refer as a “home inventory management system.” In the futuristic world. This paper focuses on the impact of driverless delivery vehicles and drone delivery to satisfy the demand of the customers in a future scenario where orders are placed automatically by a home inventory management system.

A Comparative Analysis Of Three Major Transfer Airports In Northeast Asia Focusing On Incheon International Airport Using A Conjoint Analysis, Tae Won Chung, Yong Joo Lee, Hyun Mi Jang

Finance and Supply Chain Faculty Scholarship

Due mainly to the privatization and commercialization of airline companies and deregulation of the aviation rules, the demand for air transport has continuously been increasing. Airport authorities state that transfer passengers, who contribute to the large portion of the airports’ profits, are gaining much more importance, particularly in the Northeast Asia region where the air transport industry is very vital. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the competitiveness of IIA (Incheon International Airport) with other major airports located in Northeast Asia in passenger transfers made between Southeast Asia and China to North America using Conjoint Analysis. Results have indicated that …

A New Way To Improve Logistics Efficiency And Aircraft-Onground Recovery, Katia Regina Goncalves, Erica Maria Dias Ferreira Cruz Grudzinski, Fabio Pinto, Carlos Alberto De Queiroz, Gilson Macedo Dos Santos

Graduate Student Works

The objective of this project was to bring more efficiency to logistics, improving time of Aircraft-on-Ground (AOG) recovery and developing possible saving for airlines operations. There proposed goal was to develop a system that would allow airlines to easily visualize an available space at the aircraft cargo bay on a desired flight and book its company materials (COMAT) on it, still respecting all appropriate regulation and the final availability of space.

This project was inspired by an existing system called MyIDTravel that allows jointed airline’s personnel to buy available tickets with low fares. The objective was to develop something similar …

Geopolitics Of Rare Earth Elements, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Rare earth elements (REE) contain unique chemical physical properties such as lanthamum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise properties to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as IPhones, satellites, and military weapons systems as varied as Virginia-class fast attack submarines, DDG-51 Aegis destroyers, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and precision guided munitions. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant adverse economic, military, and …

Identification Of Reverse Engineering Candidates Utilizing Machine Learning And Aircraft Cannibalization Data, Marc Banghart

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

As military aircraft continue to remain in service and age, cannibalization of parts is increasing. Proactive identification of parts that are at high risk for cannibalization will inform engineering processes such as reverse engineering, thus allowing potentially reducing lead time to develop new parts. The research objective was to develop a causal structure that can be used for prediction of when cannibalization actions may occur. Bayesian networks allow encoding of causality between various descriptive features given a data set. The method utilized a tabu search algorithm, identified the underlying causal structure and the associated node probabilities. The method is then …

Essays In Measuring, Controlling, And Coordinating Supply Chain Inventory And Transportation Operations, Payam Parsa

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supply chain collaboration programs, such as continuous replenishment program (CRP), is among the most popular supply chain management practices. CRP is an arrangement between two partners in a supply chain to share information on a regular basis for lowering logistics costs while maintaining or increasing service levels. CRP shifts the replenishment responsibility to the upstream partner to avoid the bullwhip effect across the supply chain. This dissertation aims to quantify, measure, and expand the benefits of CRP for the purpose of reducing logistics cost and improving customer service. The developed models in this dissertation are all applied in different case …

Is It We Or They? The Effect Of Identity On Collaboration And Performance In Buyer-Supplier Relationships, Siqi Ma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today’s scale-driven and technology-intensive global economy, collaboration becomes the supply chain’s core capability (Liker and Choi, 2004). A well-developed ability to create and sustain fruitful collaborations gives companies a significant competitive advantage (Kanter, 1994). Retailers are increasingly relying on their suppliers to reduce costs, improve quality, and develop new processes and products faster than their rivals’ vendors can. On the other hand, suppliers benefit from retailers that they are able to monitor store-level demand in real time in order to ensure the top-selling items are in-stock or the accuracy and timeliness of retailer’s demand forecast. Previous literature has shown …

Decision Support System For Container Port Selection Using Multiple-Objective Decision Analysis, Rivelino De Icaza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ports are essential for maritime transportation and global supply chains since they are nodes that connect the sea- and land-based modes of transportation. With containerization and supply chains stimulating global trade, ports are challenged to adjust to changes in the market to create value to their customers. Therefore, this dissertation research focuses on the container port selection decision analysis to provide information to help shipping lines select the best port for their shipping networks. Since the problem is complex, dynamic, and involves multiple and conflicting criteria, the research proposes to use the multi-objective decision analysis with Value-Focused Thinking approach. The …

A Multi-Period Facility Location Model For Service Organizations Operating In A Competitive Environment., Sven W. Brose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis develops a multi-period, mathematical programming location model for facilities operating in a competitive environment. The objective is to maximize the profit in a variable demand environment. The solution of the problem can either be done in a robust or in a dynamic manner. A robust solution methodology forecasts the demand for all the periods in the planning horizon and provides a robust solution that may be suboptimal for any given period, but optimal when all the periods are taken into consideration. A problem with this approach is that it requires accurate forecast of demand for multiple periods into …

State-Led Approaches To Electronic Waste Management In The U.S.: A Study Of Stakeholder Involvement In Take-Back Legislation Efficiency, Ashley Elizabeth Westgate

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Information technology has proliferated over the past two decades, and waste from electronics represents the fastest growing waste stream in the world. The production and disposal of electronics, from cradle to grave, pose critical threats to human health and the environment. The management of electronic, or e-waste, streams poses a particular set of challenges for solid waste management, hazardous waste management, and economic development in the United States. As e-waste accumulates, state governments, municipalities and private landfills are refusing to accept the responsibility for its disposal. To address this problem, the federal and state governments must find a safe and …

Assimilation Of Tracking Technology In The Supply Chain, Rahul Basole, Maciek Nowak

Information Systems and Operations Management: Faculty Publications & Other Works

While tracking technology has become increasingly accessible, firms still struggle with deploying these technologies into the supply chain. Using the complementary perspectives of transaction cost and institutional theory, we develop an understanding of how supply network, product, and environmental characteristics jointly impact tracking technology assimilation. We empirically test our model on a global dataset of 535 supply chain executives and decision makers. The results suggest that assimilation is frequently initiated by an external stakeholder in a firm's supply chain and that firms must develop strong collaborative ties with their partners in order to take full advantage of this technology.

The Complementary Perspective Of System Of Systems In Collaboration, Integration, And Logistics: A Value-Chain Based Paradigm Of Supply Chain Management, Raed Jaradat, Frank Adams, Sawsan Abutabenjeh, Charles Keating

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The importance and complexity of the problems associated with coordinating multiple organizations to configure value propositions for customers has drawn the attention of multiple disciplines. In an effort to clarify and consolidate terms, this conceptual research examines both supply chain management (SCM) and system of systems (SoS) literature to postulate, from a value-chain perspective, what roles integration and collaboration play in helping supply chains satisfy customer requirements. A literature review analysis was used to identify the commonalities and differences between supply chain management and system of systems approaches to examining interfirm coordination of value creation efforts. Although a framework of …

Managing Cities With Urban Computing, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

SMU Professors Lau Hoong Chuin and Lim Yun Fong are combining their mathematical, computational and business know-how to address challenges facing the inner-city deliveries of orders and shipments.

See the papers:

• A rolling horizon auction mechanism and virtual pricing of shipping capacity for urban consolidation centers
• Achieving economic and environmental sustainabilities in urban consolidation center with bicriteria auction
• Retail precinct management: A case of commercial decentralization in Singapore

Development Of A Supplier Segmentation Method For Increased Resilience And Robustness: A Study Using Agent Based Modeling And Simulation, Adam J. Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Supply chain management is a complex process requiring the coordination of numerous decisions in the attempt to balance often-conflicting objectives such as quality, cost, and on-time delivery. To meet these and other objectives, a focal company must develop organized systems for establishing and managing its supplier relationships. A reliable, decision-support tool is needed for selecting the best procurement strategy for each supplier, given knowledge of the existing sourcing environment. Supplier segmentation is a well-established and resource-efficient tool used to identify procurement strategies for groups of suppliers with similar characteristics. However, the existing methods of segmentation generally select strategies that optimize …

A Method For Key Performance Indicator Assessment In Manufacturing Organizations, Patrick Hester, Barry Ezell, Andrew Collins, John Horst, Kaleen Lawsure

VMASC Publications

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are an essential element of an organization’s ability to monitor its strategic health, helping to ensure the strategic goals of the organization are achieved. However, KPI assessment and improvement is often an ad hoc and consultant-driven process rather than one undertaken using scientific principles. This paper outlines the development and subsequent deployment of a method for KPI assessment founded in scholarly literature and balancing practitioner concerns for ease of use. The proposed method draws heavily on organizational stakeholder involvement at varying levels throughout the KPI assessment process, improving current methods by introducing a mathematical foundation based …

Predicting The Performance Of Queues: A Data Analytic Approach, Kum Khiong Yang, Cayirli Tugba, Mei Wan Low

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Existing models of multi-server queues with system transience and non-standard assumptions are either too complex or restricted in their assumptions to be used broadly in practice. This paper proposes using data analytics, combining computer simulation to generate the data and an advanced non-linear regression technique called the Alternating Conditional Expectation (ACE) to construct a set of easy-to-use equations to predict the performance of queues with a scheduled start and end time. Our results show that the equations can accurately predict the queue performance as a function of the number of servers, mean arrival load, session length and service time variability. …

Applying Lean To The Ac-130 Maintenance Process For The Royal Saudi Air Force, Fisal A. Alzahrani

Theses and Dissertations

The ideas expressed in this research come from the researchers experiences working in the AC-130 maintenance squadron in the Royal Saudi Air Force. The AC-130 maintenance process is not currently being used as effectively as it could be to make AC-130 fully mission capable. That can be done by improving communication, reducing distances needed to move or transport anything during the maintenance process and by efficient use of the available qualified workforces, tools and equipment. Consideration is given to applying an existing management technique to the Royal Saudi Air Forces AC-130 Maintenance Squadrons. The selected technique is the Lean management …