The boomerang returns? Accounting for the impact of uncertainties on the dynamics of remanufacturing systems

Recent years have witnessed companies abandon traditional open-loop supply chain structures in favour of closed-loop variants, in a bid to mitigate environmental impacts and exploit economic opportunities. Central to the closed-loop paradigm is remanufacturing: the restoration of used products to useful life. While this operational model has huge potential to extend product life-cycles, the collection and recovery processes diminish the effectiveness of existing control mechanisms for open-loop systems. We systematically review the literature in the field of closed-loop supply chain dynamics, which explores the time-varying interactions of material and information flows in the different elements of remanufacturing supply chains. We supplement this with further reviews of what we call the three ‘pillars’ of such systems, i.e. forecasting, collection, and inventory and production control. This provides us with an interdisciplinary lens to investigate how a ‘boomerang’ effect (i.e. sale, consumption, and return processes) impacts on the behaviour of the closed-loop system and to understand how it can be controlled. To facilitate this, we contrast closed-loop supply chain dynamics research to the well-developed research in each pillar; explore how different disciplines have accommodated the supply, process, demand, and control uncertainties; and provide insights for future research on the dynamics of remanufacturing systems

Planification tactique-opérationnelle des chaînes d'approvisionnement durables en boucle fermée (logistique inverse)

La dégradation des ressources naturelles et la pollution de l’environnement obligent les entreprises à se préoccuper des impacts néfastes que peuvent causer leurs activités sur l’environnement. Cette nouvelle façon de penser est essentielle pour atteindre un succès durable des chaînes d’approvisionnement. Par conséquent, étudier le cycle de vie des produits fabriqués peut aider les entreprises à avancer économiquement, puisque beaucoup de ces produits usagés peuvent être recyclés. Les gestionnaires se sont donc penchés sur la planification des chaînes d’approvisionnement durable en boucle fermée. Celle-ci permet de gérer conjointement le flux direct et le flux inverse des réseaux logistiques de façon à rentabiliser les produits en fin de vie. Ce faisant, les entreprises peuvent générer des profits sans causer des dommages à leur entourage et ainsi perdurer dans le temps. C’est dans cette logique que s’inscrit ce travail de recherche, visant plus particulièrement l’optimisation conjointe de la production de nouveaux produits et du recyclage des produits usagés. Dans ce travail, nous avons effectué une étude récente de la littérature dans le but d’analyser les différents modèles d’optimisation présentés par les chercheurs et de proposer un modèle efficace. Après avoir fait une étude de la littérature, nous avons mis en place deux modèles mathématiques : un modèle permettant d’analyser les décisions tactiques d’une chaîne approvisionnement en boucle fermée et un modèle qui tient compte des décisions opérationnelles dans la même chaîne. Le raisonnement appliqué est décrit comme suit. Tout d’abord, il faut effectuer la résolution du premier modèle mathématique permettant d’établir le plan optimal d’approvisionnement et de production dans le cas où les usines étudiées ne sont pas soumises aux phénomènes aléatoires de pannes et de réparations et ainsi valider les résultats par des analyses de sensibilité. Ensuite, on doit procéder à la résolution du deuxième modèle mis en place lorsque les usines sont soumises à des phénomènes aléatoires de pannes et de réparations. La robustesse de ce modèle est aussi testée par une des analyses de sensibilité

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Sustainable supply chain management: a case study of a sustainable chocolate supply chain network

The purpose of this thesis was to understand how sustainable supply chain management processes are managed in practice given the variations in sustainability principles. The Global Supply Chain Forum’s Supply Chain Management Framework was used to focus the study by examining how its elements (network structure, management component and business processes) interact with sustainability. There is evidence of a paradigm shift as evidenced in how the two concepts of sustainability and SCM merge. This justified the framework’s elements being re-examined in the context of sustainability to understand how the elements change. However, there is no body of research that examines processes unique to SSCM. Furthermore, knowing how to manage these in practice, required an understanding of why and how different stakeholders behave. This needed a network view of multiple stakeholders, but limited research exists on end-to-end supply chain networks. Moreover, there is limited research on the management of diverse sustainability principles and the coordination of multiple stakeholders engaged in these. A single explanatory case study of a network and its nodes was selected as a method to explain how stakeholders behave through the proximity of network determinants. Two units of analysis (the network and the organisation) were used to examine organisational orientation and stakeholder network theory. This resulted in theoretical propositions and conceptual framework that explained a spectrum of sustainability principles, a model of sustainability business processes and phases of management, and archetypes of practice and complimentary typologies. The main contributions of the research were twofold: It mapped and modelled an end-to-end supply chain network and provided a SSCM framework. In doing so, it built theory by offering a model of key business processes in SSCM, taxonomic classes of SSCM practices, eco-centric theory, pre-competitive collaboration, concurrence, and leveraging interorganisational clusters to manipulate sustainability principles

The contribution of the new Institutional economics in order to avoid opportunistic behaviour in the Packaging supply chain. A business process oriented analysis of the forthcoming german ink ordinance to avoid food safety scares.

Purpose – The thesis aims to explain how the theory of New Institutional Economics can be applied to inspire and develop our understanding of the dynamics surrounding the German paper based packaging supply chain (PPSC) behaviours and relationships in view of the future German Ink as well as Mineral Oil Ordinance and its expected European spill over. Design/Methodology – A meticulous survey of the literature is applied. The study underlying this thesis conducted a research design embedding the selection of participants and inducting them into the research processes by pre-tasking, drafting and executing expert interviews as well as obtaining feedback for respondent validation. The interviewees were representatives of the most central actors in the decision-making process. Seventeen senior managing directors or chairperson of industrial packaging associations on national and European level. The research involved five focus groups: systemic industrial associations (n=5), ancillary suppliers of fibre based packaging (n=2), independent or corporate packaging supplier (n=5), food packers or manufactures on international level (n=2) and industry-oriented consultants (n=3). Findings –The author posits that NIE theory provides valuable insights for relationship engineering within supply chains where social, legal and behavioural dynamics dominate. The findings and conclusions of this research foster valuable information and concrete recommendations for PPSC in Germany. The findings have significance for those who administrate as managers and contribute to the rare body of literature relating the law bill of the expected German Ink and Mineral Oil Ordinances in a business process context. Practical Implications – It is a serious and critical job and duty for managers to conclude and mitigate issues in time to come. The set of NIE theories purvey this demand by providing them with useful tools to respond. The recommendations are related to all decision makers and stakeholders to ensure the success of their business processes within the PPSC.Administración y Dirección de Empresa

Friction Force Microscopy of Deep Drawing Made Surfaces

Aim of this paper is to contribute to micro-tribology understanding and friction in micro-scale interpretation in case of metal beverage production, particularly the deep drawing process of cans. In order to bridging the gap between engineering and trial-and-error principles, an experimental AFM-based micro-tribological approach is adopted. For that purpose, the can’s surfaces are imaged with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the frictional force signal is measured with frictional force microscopy (FFM). In both techniques, the sample surface is scanned with a stylus attached to a cantilever. Vertical motion of the cantilever is recorded in AFM and horizontal motion is recorded in FFM. The presented work evaluates friction over a micro-scale on various samples gathered from cylindrical, bottom and round parts of cans, made of same the material but with different deep drawing process parameters. The main idea is to link the experimental observation with the manufacturing process. Results presented here can advance the knowledge in order to comprehend the tribological phenomena at the contact scales, too small for conventional tribology

Towards a Conceptual Design of an Intelligent Material Transport Based on Machine Learning and Axiomatic Design Theory

Reliable and efficient material transport is one of the basic requirements that affect productivity in sheet metal industry. This paper presents a methodology for conceptual design of intelligent material transport using mobile robot, based on axiomatic design theory, graph theory and artificial intelligence. Developed control algorithm was implemented and tested on the mobile robot system Khepera II within the laboratory model of manufacturing environment. Matlab© software package was used for manufacturing process simulation, implementation of search algorithms and neural network training. Experimental results clearly show that intelligent mobile robot can learn and predict optimal material transport flows thanks to the use of artificial neural networks. Achieved positioning error of mobile robot indicates that conceptual design approach can be used for material transport and handling tasks in intelligent manufacturing systems

Towards a Conceptual Design of an Intelligent Material Transport Based on Machine Learning and Axiomatic Design Theory

Reliable and efficient material transport is one of the basic requirements that affect productivity in sheet metal industry. This paper presents a methodology for conceptual design of intelligent material transport using mobile robot, based on axiomatic design theory, graph theory and artificial intelligence. Developed control algorithm was implemented and tested on the mobile robot system Khepera II within the laboratory model of manufacturing environment. Matlab© software package was used for manufacturing process simulation, implementation of search algorithms and neural network training. Experimental results clearly show that intelligent mobile robot can learn and predict optimal material transport flows thanks to the use of artificial neural networks. Achieved positioning error of mobile robot indicates that conceptual design approach can be used for material transport and handling tasks in intelligent manufacturing systems

Knowledge and Management Models for Sustainable Growth

In the last years sustainability has become a topic of global concern and a key issue in the strategic agenda of both business organizations and public authorities and organisations. Significant changes in business landscape, the emergence of new technology, including social media, the pressure of new social concerns, have called into question established conceptualizations of competitiveness, wealth creation and growth. New and unaddressed set of issues regarding how private and public organisations manage and invest their resources to create sustainable value have brought to light. In particular the increasing focus on environmental and social themes has suggested new dimensions to be taken into account in the value creation dynamics, both at organisations and communities level. For companies the need of integrating corporate social and environmental responsibility issues into strategy and daily business operations, pose profound challenges, which, in turn, involve numerous processes and complex decisions influenced by many stakeholders. Facing these challenges calls for the creation, use and exploitation of new knowledge as well as the development of proper management models, approaches and tools aimed to contribute to the development and realization of environmentally and socially sustainable business strategies and practices