Food Supply Chain through Ongoing Evolution: Lessons from Continuous Transformations

Considering their constant evolution and transformation, in this Special Issue, several authors provide contributions bringing light to different aspects related to food supply chains, based on several conceptual frameworks, agri-food areas and contexts, as well as multiple levels of analysis. In this book, the promotion of win–win investments in Brazil’s Agribusiness is discussed, as well as how family farmers can thrive in commodity markets in long agribusiness supply chains. The Logic of Collective Action for Rural Warehouse Condominiums, which is a new configuration in the agribusiness supply chain, is also addressed. In this book, the Brazilian Jabuticaba Supply Chain is analyzed through a multi-methodological approach. The role of logistics in food-waste reduction for wholesalers and small retailers of fruits and vegetables is also presented. The issue of transparency in global agribusiness in the Brazilian soybean supply chain is discussed based on companies’ accountability. Finally, the transformation of the food supply chain through technology and future research directions are highlighted in this Special Issue. This book aims to assist students, researchers and practitioners interested in the evolution and transformations of food supply chains

Bridging Bays, Bridging Borders: Global Justice and Community Organizing in the San Francisco Bay Area

We offer this document as our own effort to build the inclusion and understandings that will help both communities and leaders recognize the grassroots wisdom and issues that could help us realize the positive impacts from globalization and minimize the negative aspects that have concerned us all. Another world is possible, but it is up to us to build it

Comparison of dashboard-based and balanced scorecard-based corporate performance management system

Under current hypercompetitive and technology driven economic environment, more companies are using a corporate performance management (CPM) system to gain more accurate understandings of the company goals and strategies and to craft methods of achieving those goals and strategies. While CPM systems are generally implemented in two approaches: dashboard approach and scorecard approach, very few studies examine the effectiveness of each type of CPM systems implementation. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a dashboard based and a balanced scorecard based corporate performance management system. The effectiveness is examined through management effectiveness, degree of employee involvement, and usability --Abstract, page iii

DERIVATIONS OF INITIAL DATA WAREHOUSE STRUCTURE BY MAPPING OPERATIONAL DATABASE ON TRANSACTION PATTERNS

Data warehouses improve the quality of integrated information in the organization for decision-making. The data for the data warehouse comes from online transaction systems. Typically, an involved process of analysis precedes the actual design phase of a data warehouse (1999). The analysis process becomes more difficult because of the costs involved in hiring experienced staff and the privacy issues arising from the use of external consultants (2000). Peter Coad’s transaction pattern (2000) is a higher-level description of a generic business process (or a template) that has helped in the analysis and design of a wide range of business domains. The thesis of this paper is that the mapping of the operational databases on the transaction pattern facilitates the derivation of initial data warehouse structure. During the mapping process, the relationships, roles and attributes of the players defined by the transaction pattern help us in identifying the instances of the pattern in the database. Through these instances, we can then derive the initial data warehouse structure i.e. the attributes of the fact and dimension table(s). The data warehouse structure thus derived reduces the need for an extensive information analysis of the needs of the user and the dependency on the experienced personnel for data warehouse development. This paper proposes a three-step derivation methodology that is illustrated using a case study of an organization’s operational database

Implementing an SQL Based ETL Platform for Business Intelligence Solution

Internship Report presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThe exponential growth and development of information technology in the last twenty years has compelled most industry segments to shift from focusing on core business to adopting digitally sophisticated and data-driven processes. Those who have followed its growth have benefited, but unfortunately, just a small percentage of them do. Having information systems that just hold a vast volume of data is no longer sufficient for businesses. To gain a competitive advantage, these businesses must make well-informed decisions. Every firm, regardless of industry, has access to a wealth of data that it can utilize to its advantage. This is where Business Intelligence comes in. Business intelligence enables these companies to make better use of their data by providing previously unusable data in an intelligible and interpretable format. This internship report aims to cover the development of the data warehousing and data analytics for HROps, a product owned by BI4ALL. HROps is being developed with the goal of facilitating, centralizing, and making people management processes in organizations more efficient. I will be working on a low-cost SQL based ETL Framework using T-SQL for developing standard ETL processes. I will also be working and creating Power BI dashboards and reports to gather useful information from the data collected

Metaheuristic Approaches For Estimating In-Kind Food Donations Availability And Scheduling Food Bank Vehicles

Food banks provide services that allow households facing food insecurity to receive nutritious food items. Food banks, however, experience operational challenges as a result of constrained and uncertain supply and complex routing challenges. The goal of this research is to explore opportunities to enhance food bank operations through metaheuristic forecasting and scheduling practices. Knowledge discovery methods and supervised machine learning are used to forecast food availability at supermarkets. In particular, a quasi-greedy algorithm which selects multi-layer perceptron models to represent food availability is introduced. In addition, a new classification of the vehicle routing problem is proposed to manage the distribution and collection of food items. In particular, variants of the periodic vehicle routing problem backhauls are introduced. In addition to discussing model formulations for the routing problems, a hybrid genetic algorithm is introduced which finds good solutions for larger problem instances in a reasonable computation time

Internationalization of China’s medical device industry: a case study in Brazil

Purpose The singularity of being the first Chinese manufacturer of drug-eluting stents to arrive in Brazil and the country being selected as the company's first experience outside its home country motivated the interest in the study of this case, vis-à-vis with the characteristic of internationalization medical device companies according to the Uppsala model. Considering this context, the following research question was outlined: “How did Microport internationalize before the distribution of its stents product in Brazil?” The aim of the study is to investigate Microport's internationalization process for the distribution of its drug-eluting stents in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory research under the qualitative method was adopted. It chose the single case study as a procedure for data collection, as it is a revealing, exemplary subject that offers opportunities for access to unusual research. The company MicroPort was chosen because in the period when Chinese medical device companies were focused on gaining market share in China, MicroPort began its international expansion, choosing Brazil as the first country to have its own subsidiary. It consists in the case of the internationalization of a high-tech EMNE in an emerging country that has institutional and cultural differences. Findings Taking advantage of new technology in highly internationalized environments favors its insertion; the internationalization of medical technology can expand according to the Uppsala Model, which does not explain internationalization, but rather its evolution. Cultural and behavioral issues reinforce that the development of the market for medical devices depends on local perspectives and values. The formation of an ecosystem in the local market for internationalization is observed. One implication of the study is that MicroPort's experience and the application of the Uppsala model for international expansion can serve as an important learning experience for Brazilian multinational companies. Research limitations/implications Empirical analysis carried out in the context of a single company. Although the results can be used as lessons learned from the application of the Uppsala model for international expansion of EMNE in an emerging market, caution should be exercised when generalizing its findings. Future studies could carry out comparative cases considering other emerging multinational companies, from the same sector or even from different industries, investing in other emerging markets. There is a limitation of the fact that the case studied does not explore the concepts of the later stages of the Uppsala model. Practical implications High-tech EMNEs internationalizing in other markets need to adopt aggressive strategies. The need to adopt different strategies for supply chain operations according to the specificities of the markets in which they operate. Important contributions to the Uppsala model, with regard to the process of passing stages, learning and networking. The findings of this study have similarities to the process described as a sequence of distinct phases of activities. Social implications A local top management team is essential to deal with institutional issues of government agencies when EMNE is internationalized in a culturally distant market. When there are major institutional differences between the country of origin and the host country, the autonomy in the management of the foreign subsidiary positively influences the acceleration of the internationalization process of companies in the high-tech sector. When there are major institutional differences between the country of origin and the country of destination, the use of local social networks positively influences the acceleration of the internationalization process of companies in the high-technology sector. Originality/value Regardless of these limitations, the study provided an exciting case of internationalization of a Chinese company in Brazil operating in a high-tech medical sector. The challenges for the internationalization of EMNEs continue, which makes it opportune for future studies to include more research in this area. The propositions suggested in the study may be the first step

Business Plan for the Southwest Regional Spaceport: Executive Summary

A proposal for a commercial, full-service launch, tracking, and recovery complex for Reusable Launch Vehicles in New Mexico is presented. Vision, mission, business definition, competitive advantages, and business approach are formulated. Management plan and team structure are detailed, and anticipated market is described. Finance and marketing plans are presented. Financial analysis is performed