An analysis on integrated supply chain management in academic university library

Supply chain management has been widely used in manufacturing industries and proven by researchers and practitioners as a best practice. It can satisfy stakeholders, increase revenues, and decrease the total costs. However, very few service industries, particularly the academic library, have implemented supply chain management. Several problems related to the academic library supply chain should be addressed, such as how to model the entities and their functions for the general practice of an academic library supply chain, and the linkage among these entities as an integrated model. This research develops an integrated academic library supply chain model, which can be used for the strategic planning of the academic library. It identifies entities and their functions for the academic library supply chain, constructs a conceptual model of the integrated supply chain of the academic library, and analyses the interrelationship among the newly developed model entities. This research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to achieve the research objectives. The process of identifying the entities and their functions of the academic library supply chain was accomplished by using a theoretical literature review and content analysis techniques. The proposed conceptual supply chain model was developed based on the system thinking method. Eventually, it was validated through the Fuzzy Delphi method, an expert judgment technique. Three conceptual models for the supply chain academic library were successfully developed: The Holistic View of Supply Chain Model for Academic Library, the Material Purchasing Decision Making Model, and the Integrated Academic Library Supply Chain Model. These three models were validated by the academic librarians. This research expands the knowledge of supply chain theory, particularly in the supply chain academic library. It also contributes to the academic library management in planning and formulating a roadmap for the library to increase its quality services for all stakeholders

What do we know about comparing aggregate and disaggregate forecasts?

This paper compares the performance of "aggregate" and "disaggregate" predictors in forecasting contemporaneously aggregated vector ARMA processes. An aggregate predictor is built by forecasting directly the aggregate process, as it results from contemporaneous aggregation of the data generating vector process. A disaggregate predictor is obtained by aggregating univariate forecasts for the individual components of the data generating vector process. The necessary and sufficient condition for the equality of mean squared errors associated with the two competing methods is provided in the bivariate VMA(1) case. Furthermore, it is argued that the condition of equality of predictors as stated in Lütkepohl (1984b, 1987, 2004) is only sufficient (not necessary) for the equality of mean squared errors. Finally, it is shown that the equality of forecasting accuracy for the two predictors can be achieved using specific assumptions on the parameters of the VMA(1) structure. Monte Carlo simulations are in line with the analytical results. An empirical application that involves the problem of forecasting the Italian monetary aggregate M1 in the pre-EMU period is presented to illustrate the main findings.contemporaneous aggregation, forecasting

Operational Research: Methods and Applications

Throughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include a variety of methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a diverse and wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first aims to summarise the up-to-date knowledge and provide an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion. It should be used as a point of reference or first-port-of-call for a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order

Operational research:methods and applications

Throughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include a variety of methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a diverse and wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first aims to summarise the up-to-date knowledge and provide an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion. It should be used as a point of reference or first-port-of-call for a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order

Operational Research: methods and applications

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordThroughout its history, Operational Research has evolved to include methods, models and algorithms that have been applied to a wide range of contexts. This encyclopedic article consists of two main sections: methods and applications. The first summarises the up-to-date knowledge and provides an overview of the state-of-the-art methods and key developments in the various subdomains of the field. The second offers a wide-ranging list of areas where Operational Research has been applied. The article is meant to be read in a nonlinear fashion and used as a point of reference by a diverse pool of readers: academics, researchers, students, and practitioners. The entries within the methods and applications sections are presented in alphabetical order. The authors dedicate this paper to the 2023 Turkey/Syria earthquake victims. We sincerely hope that advances in OR will play a role towards minimising the pain and suffering caused by this and future catastrophes