What attracts vehicle consumers’ buying:A Saaty scale-based VIKOR (SSC-VIKOR) approach from after-sales textual perspective?

Purpose: The increasingly booming e-commerce development has stimulated vehicle consumers to express individual reviews through online forum. The purpose of this paper is to probe into the vehicle consumer consumption behavior and make recommendations for potential consumers from textual comments viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach: A big data analytic-based approach is designed to discover vehicle consumer consumption behavior from online perspective. To reduce subjectivity of expert-based approaches, a parallel Naïve Bayes approach is designed to analyze the sentiment analysis, and the Saaty scale-based (SSC) scoring rule is employed to obtain specific sentimental value of attribute class, contributing to the multi-grade sentiment classification. To achieve the intelligent recommendation for potential vehicle customers, a novel SSC-VIKOR approach is developed to prioritize vehicle brand candidates from a big data analytical viewpoint. Findings: The big data analytics argue that “cost-effectiveness” characteristic is the most important factor that vehicle consumers care, and the data mining results enable automakers to better understand consumer consumption behavior. Research limitations/implications: The case study illustrates the effectiveness of the integrated method, contributing to much more precise operations management on marketing strategy, quality improvement and intelligent recommendation. Originality/value: Researches of consumer consumption behavior are usually based on survey-based methods, and mostly previous studies about comments analysis focus on binary analysis. The hybrid SSC-VIKOR approach is developed to fill the gap from the big data perspective

Factors affecting the decision making of out-sourcing in textile in Pakistan

This research provided the study of importance of factors affecting the decision making of out-sourcing & supplier performance in Textiles domain. The textile market of USA is the scope of this research. The basis of this study allowed comprehending the importance / weight of factors of out-sourcing (including Delivery, Flexibility, Cost, Quality & Reliability) varied according to the buyers needs. Buyer’s needs some factors were high weight / importance for one buyer and at the same time the same factors were low weight / for another buyer. It delineated the root to supply chain managers and experts for textiles industry for taking the right strategic decision for out-sourcing in today’s competitive market.Decision Making of Out-Sourcing, Out-Sourcing, Supply Chain Management.

Optimização da estratégia de serviço pós-venda da Peruza

The aim of the study is to develop and optimize the process of after-sales from PERUZA, a Latvian company inserted in the food industry specializes in manufacturing equipment for processing and transforming the fish. The company produces and commercializes its products in the Latvian market as well as in international markets such as Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. The after-sales activities of a manufacturing company plays an important role in the success of the business, as after the machine is purchased the quality of the service offered is the gate for new purchases and good feedbacks that spread among the markets and increase the reliability and reputation of both product and company. The project was developed based on a research-action methodology through a six-month internship in Latvia. During that period multiple activities were performed that allowed to acquire enough information and knowledge to develop a new strategy aiming to increase the after-sales revenues and the relationship with the existing clients. To begin the study, the current after-sales process was analyzed in order to identify the issues and possible improvement opportunities that could be implemented later on. From that analysis and after some discussions with the department managers it was carried an analysis that aimed to understand the customer's opinion of the current after-sales services offered. With the data collected and analyzed a series of improvement proposals was made and discussed with the company manager to obtain its approval for the further actions. At a later stage of the internship new improvements were implemented such as the introduction of new services, development of new process diagrams and optimizations of the spare parts management strategy. To conclude the study the new services were offered and presented to the customers and the trial period for the new after sales methodology started. During that time PERUZA collected information based on the feedback of the customers and continued to work on optimized the new strategy implemented, aiming to achieve a stage where the process is capable of increasing the company’s revenues as well as keeping a good reputation and reliability of its products and services offered.O objetivo do estudo é desenvolver e otimizar o processo de pós-venda da PERUZA, uma empresa letã inserida na indústria de alimentos, especializada na fabricação de equipamentos para processamento e transformação do peixe. A empresa produz e comercializa os seus produtos no mercado da Letónia, bem como em mercados internacionais como o Sudeste Asiático, Europa e América do Norte. As atividades de pós-venda de uma empresa de produção desempenham um papel importante no sucesso dos negócios, pois, após a compra da máquina, a qualidade do serviço oferecido é a porta para novas compras e bons feedbacks que se espalham pelos mercados e aumentam a confiança e reputação do produto e da empresa. O projeto foi desenvolvido com base numa metodologia de pesquisa-ação através de um estágio de seis meses na Letónia. Durante esse período, foram realizadas diversas atividades que permitiram adquirir informações e conhecimentos suficientes para desenvolver uma nova estratégia, visando aumentar as receitas pós-venda e o relacionamento com os clientes existentes. Para iniciar o estudo, o atual processo de pós-venda foi analisado para identificar os problemas e possíveis oportunidades de melhoria que poderiam ser implementadas posteriormente. A partir dessa análise e após algumas discussões com os gerentes de departamento, foi realizada uma análise que visava entender a opinião do cliente sobre os atuais serviços pós-venda oferecidos. Com os dados coletados e analisados, uma série de propostas de melhoria foram feitas e discutidas com o gerente da empresa para obter a sua aprovação para novas ações. Numa fase posterior do estágio, novas melhorias foram implementadas, como a introdução de novos serviços, o desenvolvimento de novos diagramas de processo e as otimizações da estratégia de gerenciamento de peças de reposição. Para concluir o estudo, os novos serviços foram oferecidos e apresentados aos clientes e o período de teste para a nova metodologia pós-venda foi iniciada. Durante esse período, a PERUZA coletou informações com base no feedback dos clientes e continuou a trabalhar na otimização da nova estratégia implementada, com o objetivo de alcançar uma etapa em que o processo seja capaz de aumentar as receitas da empresa, além de manter uma boa reputação e confiança dos seus produtos e serviços oferecidos

Outsourcing and acquisition models comparison related to IT supplier selection decision analysis

This paper presents a comparison of acquisition models related to decision analysis of IT supplier selection. The main standards are: Capability Maturity Model Integration for Acquisition (CMMI-ACQ), ISO / IEC 12207 Information Technology / Software Life Cycle Processes, IEEE 1062 Recommended Practice for Software Acquisition, the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide. The objective of this paper is to compare the previous models to find the advantages and disadvantages of them for the future development of a decision model for IT supplier selection

Remanufacturing and product design: designing for the 7th generation

The following is taken directly from the research report. This report investigates Design for Remanufacture in terms of both detailed product design and the business context in which Design for Remanufacture may operate. Key Study Objectives • To understand the link between design and remanufacture • To understand how Design for Remanufacture can lead to increased innovation and Sustainable Development (SD) • To identify proactive strategies to further Design for Remanufactur

Expert Elicitation for Reliable System Design

This paper reviews the role of expert judgement to support reliability assessments within the systems engineering design process. Generic design processes are described to give the context and a discussion is given about the nature of the reliability assessments required in the different systems engineering phases. It is argued that, as far as meeting reliability requirements is concerned, the whole design process is more akin to a statistical control process than to a straightforward statistical problem of assessing an unknown distribution. This leads to features of the expert judgement problem in the design context which are substantially different from those seen, for example, in risk assessment. In particular, the role of experts in problem structuring and in developing failure mitigation options is much more prominent, and there is a need to take into account the reliability potential for future mitigation measures downstream in the system life cycle. An overview is given of the stakeholders typically involved in large scale systems engineering design projects, and this is used to argue the need for methods that expose potential judgemental biases in order to generate analyses that can be said to provide rational consensus about uncertainties. Finally, a number of key points are developed with the aim of moving toward a framework that provides a holistic method for tracking reliability assessment through the design process.Comment: This paper commented in: [arXiv:0708.0285], [arXiv:0708.0287], [arXiv:0708.0288]. Rejoinder in [arXiv:0708.0293]. Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/088342306000000510 in the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

After sales service: key settings for improving profitability and customer satisfaction

This paper presents a performed study to develop and improve the process of after sales of a Latvian company specialized in manufacturing fish processing equipment. The project was developed based on an action- research methodology. During the first stage of the study, the current after sales process was analysed to identify the issues and possible improvement opportunities that could be implemented later on. Data were collected through surveys and analysed, resulting in a series of improvement proposals discussed with the board of the company. At a later stage of the study, improvements were implemented such as the introduction of new services, development of new process diagrams and improvements of the spare parts management strategy. To conclude the study, the new services were offered and presented to customers and the trial period for the new after sales methodology was started.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A system perspective on warranty problems within a supply chain

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2005 [first author]; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, February 2006 [second author].Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-113).Warranty is important financially to American manufacturers, especially automotive companies. Carmakers and suppliers must work aggressively to improve their warranty management approach as warranty cost often equals or exceeds their investment in engineering. This thesis focuses on studying warranty management in a supply chain from a systems perspective. Warranty data in the automotive industry, focused upon a "Tier one" supplier, is analyzed to obtain general warranty trends and typical failure types. Following the data analysis and hypothesis formation, a sequential series of surveys and interviews within the supplier are conducted in attempt to determine the root causes of warranty failures. A major finding of the study is the lack of a cross-company and long-term approach for dealing with warranty. Other root causes (though not as deeply imbedded as that noted first) include the lack of design discipline, design knowledge, and resources in the product development process. In addition, unclear accountability, poor communication, and lack of a supplier management process delay the warranty resolution process. Furthermore, the culture and mindset in an organization is a critical element in effective warranty management. A reactive warranty firefighting mindset is inadequate to attack the significant warranty issues. Based upon solving the root causes found in the research, the thesis provides five specific recommendations. These recommendations appear likely to be useful to a wide variety of automotive companies as well as manufacturers in other industries.by Wei Shen and Wangquan (Winston) Cheng.S.M

Application of the three realities approach to customer complaints analysis in the motorcycles industry

This work main objective is to adapt and apply the three realities approach (Gemba, Genbutsu, and Genjitsu) to the analysis of field quality problems in a motorcycle industry and gain advantage with regard to the quality of the product on the market (quality management) and transfer to partners financial responsibilities regarding the origins of these problems (management of warranty costs). The three realities approach and other quality methodologies adapted for this work are presented. After the characterization of the context of the case study, a plan for implementation is defined. Based on the plan, development work focused primarily on obtaining the results of the parts analysis (Genbutsu) and in loco analysis (Gemba). The latter is crucial to determine the process to deal with the responsibilities of costs and quality field problems. After the plan implementation, the results obtained are assessed, particularly regarding the management of warranty costs, which are reduced one third, through the provision of responsibilities between suppliers and internal sectors of the company. Similarly, quality management is evaluated through the results of the in loco processes analysis (Gemba), culminating with the results of decision-making (Genjitsu) for corrective actions, improvement and containment, as well as, the determination of its cost/benefit.This work is financed with FEDER Funds by Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade – COMPETE and by National Funds by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Project: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER- 02267