Determining the Efficiency of the Government of Ghana’s Network of Grain Storage Facilities

Governments in developing countries design networks of grain storage facilities to help farmers store excess agricultural produce to prepare for climate induced crop failures. The efficiency of such networks has serious economic and food security implications on respective countries. Periodic review of the efficiency of such networks is necessary to identify lapses and opportunities for optimization. Past studies on efficiency of networksof facilities, which usually assume scenarios peculiar to the developed world used data that are usually unavailable or unreliable in developing countries. This work therefore developed an integrated approach that relies solely on readily available and reliable governmental and open source data to compute the short and long-term efficiencies of networks of grain storage facilities. This approach was used to analyze the efficiency of the government of Ghana’s network of forty-eight grain storage facilities. A transportation model was used to compute the total transportation cost within the existing network. A P-median model was then used to develop and compute the transportation cost of a theoretically optimal network. Outputs from a forecasting model were used with the transportation andP-median models to study the short and long-term efficiencies of the existing and optimal networks. The average short and long term efficiencies of the existing network were 66% and 26% respectively. The study also investigated the efficiencies of a rank network which is created by siting GSF’s in only high grain production districts. The short and long-term efficiencies of this network were 87% and 72% respectively. The study showed that Ghana’s GSFs were sub-optimally sited hence farmers would have to travel excessively longer distances than necessary to use it. This offers some explanation for its low patronage. Furthermore, the study shows that a rank network was not as efficient as the optimal network. This study therefore demonstrates the use of this integrated approach coupledwith readily available data to analyze networks of grain storage facilities in developing countries

A decision support system assessing the trust level in supply chains based on information sharing dimensions

Assessing customer trust in suppliers with regards to its influencing factors is an important open issue in supply chain management literature. In this paper, a customer trust index is designed as the trust level arising from the information sharing degree and quality, related to the information shared by a supplier with his customer. The customer trust level is evaluated using a fuzzy decision support system integrating information sharing dimensions. The core is a rule-based system designed using the results of questionnaires and interviews with supply chain experts. Several tests were generated in order to analyze the impact of the different information sharing attributes on the customer trust index. The developed approach is then applied to a real supply chain from the textile industry. Results show large differences of weight and impact between the different information-related factors that build the customer trust index. It is also shown that the proposed system has an important role in ensuring the objectivity of the trust assessment process and in helping decision makers evaluate their business partners. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Benefícios da Implementação de um Sistema de Gestão de Transportes. Estudo de Caso

Na época em que vivemos, quem não evolui através da procura por uma posição superior, comparativamente com os seus concorrentes diretos, dificilmente sobrevive. É por isso que muitas empresas procuram, cada vez mais, ferramentas ou mesmo metodologias que possibilitem obter uma maior produtividade a baixo custo. Deste modo, a preocupação das empresas recai em novas formas de competir e serem eficientes nos mercados em que atuam, tendo em conta toda a concorrência e ofertas que os mercados hoje em dia disponibilizam. Por vezes bastante agressiva, a rápida resposta às necessidades de ser competitivo passou a ser o foco mais importante. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo analisar os benefícios da implementação de um sistema de gestão de transportes numa empresa (Siemens Logistics), que passará a ser designada por “Empresa” ao longo da dissertação. O sistema de gestão de transporte, está desenvolvido, sendo o objetivo disponibilizá-lo em 2022. Numa primeira fase, através de reuniões, entrevistas e um questionário, foi possível identificar os processos da empresa e as atividades que os constituem. Foi possível ainda, quantificar os tempos consumidos nas atividades e determinar aquelas que são críticas e eventualmente influenciadas com a implementação de um sistema de gestão de transportes. Numa segunda fase, é caracterizado o sistema de gestão de transportes AX4, baseado no conceito de nuvem digital, com o intuito de alcançar a integração digital – a fusão dos mundos físico e virtual – ao longo da cadeia de abastecimento. O sistema AX4 interliga os vários intervenientes e ambientes do sistema, como diferentes tipos de transporte, onde quer que estejam, em redes globais de cadeias de abastecimento. O seu potencial integrador dinamiza processos e permite a normalização através das fronteiras corporativas, linguísticas e nacionais: fácil, rápida e flexível. O tempo que um produto demora, desde o produtor até ao consumidor final tem que ser o menor possível. Por isso, a gestão da cadeia de abastecimento e a logística, associadas à metodologia de melhoria contínua e conjugadas com sistemas de informação, possibilitam essa mais-valia às empresas. Numa terceira fase, é apresentado um questionário à Empresa, que permitiu analisar os tempos consumidos por cada atividade, tendo sido definidos dois KPI, o número de trabalhadores reduzidos e o tempo poupado por trabalhador. Por outro lado, através do Diagrama de Pareto, identificaram-se as atividades críticas que são mais influenciadas com a implementação do Sistema AX4. Na última fase identificaram-se propostas de melhoria para a empresa, que permitem integrar num só sistema, vários softwares que são atualmente utilizados pela Empresa, tais como o Mindsphere, que permite armazenar informação e Big Data derivada do software Sigfox, que permite utilizar sensores para rastrear encomendas, registar temperaturas ou vibração excessiva de equipamentos. Por outro lado, abdicar da utilização de alguns softwares como o (System Application and Products) SAP ou o Transport Request Management (TRM), que acarretam custos acrescidos à Empresa devido à compra de licenças.In the times we live in today, those who do not evolve through the search for a superior position compared to their direct competitors, hardly survive. That is why many companies are increasingly looking for more tools or even methodologies that enable them to obtain greater productivity at a lower cost. Considering this, companies are concerned with new ways of competing and being efficient in the markets in which they operate, taking into account all the competition and offers that the markets have today. Sometimes quite aggressive, the quick response to the needs of being competitive became the most important focus. This dissertation aims to analyze the benefits of implementing a transport management system in a company (Siemens Logistics) that will be designated as Company throughout the dissertation. The transport management system has been developed, and the objective is to make it available in 2022. In a first phase, through meetings, interviews and a questionnaire, it was possible to identify the company's processes and the activities that constitute them. It was also possible to quantify the time consumed in activities and determine those that are critical and eventually influenced by the implementation of a transport management system. In a second phase, the AX4 transport management system is characterized, based on the concept of digital cloud, with the aim of achieving digital integration – the fusion of the physical and virtual worlds along the supply chain. The AX4 system interconnects the various system actors and environments, such as different types of transport, wherever they are, in global supply chain networks. Its integrative potential streamlines process and allows for standardization across corporate, linguistic and national boundaries: easy, fast and flexible. The time it takes for a product, to go from the producer to the final consumer, must be as short as possible and it is both the management of supply chains and logistics associated with the continuous improvement methodology and application of information systems, that enables companies to obtain that added value. In a third phase, a questionnaire is presented to the company, which allowed to analyze the times occupied by each activity, through two KPI, the number of workers reduced and time saved per worker. In the other hand, through the Pareto Diagram, it was possible to identify the critical activities that will be more influenced by the implementation of the AX4 System. In the last phase, improvement proposals were identified for the company, which allowed the integration in a single system various software that are currently used by the Company, such as Mindsphere, which allows storing information and Big Data, derived from the Sigfox software, which allows the use of sensors to track orders, recording temperatures or excessive equipment vibration. On the other hand, refrain from using some software such as SAP (System Application and Products) or Transport Request Management (TRM), which entail increased costs to the Company due to the purchase of licenses

Tedarik zincirinde bilgi paylaşımının işletme performansına etkileri

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Günümüz küresel ekonomisinde hayatta kalmak ve yarışmak için, imalat sektörü üretmeye, paylaşmaya, günümüze yaymaya ve uygun bilgi ve bilişime şiddetle ihtiyaç duymaktadır. Artık organizasyonlar arasındaki farklılığı belirleyen en önemli faktör bilgi akışıdır. Tedarik Zinciri Yönetimi (TZY) firmaların performansları açısından önem kazanmıştır. Tedarik zinciri (TZ) içerisinde, karşılıklı güven olgusu geliştirilerek, doğru ve kaliteli bilginin paylaşılması, böylece esnek ve çevik firma yapılarına ulaşılması zincirin performansını olumlu yönde etkileyecektir. Bu sayede, daha esnek ve çevik firma yapıları, sürekli değişen ve gittikçe belirsiz bir hal alan müşteri ihtiyaçlarına daha hızlı cevap verecektir. TZY performansının artması firma performansını artırmaktadır. Performansın ölçülmesi, bir faaliyetin etkinliğini ve verimliliğini ölçme süreci olarak tanımlanabilir. Performans ölçümü ve bu değişkenler, faaliyetlerin gelecekteki konumunun belirlenmesi, performansının değerlendirilmesi ve amaçların ortaya konulabilmesi için aktif bir rol oynamaktadır. Dolayısıyla tedarik zincirinde bilgi paylaşımının performans ölçüm ve değerlendirme kriterlerinin doğru belirlenmesi, tedarik zinciri üyelerinin tamamını ve tedarikçilerle başlayan ve son kullanıcılarla son bulan sürecin içerisinde bütün paydaşları ilgilendirmektedir. Tedarik zinciri süreci ve bilgi paylaşımı günümüz tedarik zincirinde kritik rol oynamaktadır. TZY'nde önceki araştırmalar, çeşitli tedarik zinciri süreçlerini ve bilgi paylaşımının farklı yönleri ayrı ayrı incelenmiştir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma tedarik zinciri süreci, bilgi paylaşımı, tedarik zinciri esnekliği, çevresel belirsizlikler ve işletme performansı arasındaki ilişkileri incelemek için kapsamlı bir çerçeve önermektedir. Bu çalışma ile tedarik zinciri sürecinde bilgi paylaşımının işletme performansına etkilerinin değerlendirilmesine ilişkin değişkenler belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca işletme performansının değerlendirilmesine yönelik Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli (YEM) ve Yapay Sinir Ağı (YSA) şeklinde iki aşamalı yöntem kullanılmıştır. Çalışmamızda, işletme performans ölçüleri olarak maliyet, esneklik, cevap verme, teslimat ve finansal performans şeklinde 5 farklı model oluşturulmuştur. Elde edilen modeller önce YEM ile test edilmiş ve YEM'den elde edilen veriler YSA için girdi olarak alınıp Matlab programı kullanılarak YSA modelleri gizli değişkenler arası ilişkileri daha güçlü şekilde tahmin ettiği görülmüştür.The manufacturing sector heavily needs producing, sharing, bringing to the present, appropriate information and informatics in order to survive and compete in today's global economy. Now, the most important factor determining the difference between organizations is the information flow. Supply Chain Management (SCM) has gained significance in terms of company performances. Within the supply chain (SC), sharing correct and quality information, and thus, achieving flexible and agile company structures by developing the phenomenon of mutual trust will affect the performance of the chain positively. In this way, more flexible and agile company structures will enable responding to customer needs, which are continuously changing and gradually becoming unclear, more quickly. An increase in the SCM performance enhancees the company performance. The measurement of the performance can be defined as the measuring process of the efficiency and productivity of an activity. Performance measurement and these variables play an active role in determining the future position of activities, evaluating the performance and setting the objectives. Therefore, the accurate determination of the performance measurement and evaluation criteria of information sharing in the supply chain interests all the members of the supply chain and all the shareholders within the process which begins with suppliers and ends with end-users. The supply chain process and information sharing play a critical role in the supply chain nowadays. Previous studies on SCM investigated various supply chain processes and different aspects of information sharing separately. Therefore, an extensive framework is suggested this time to examine the relationships between the supply chain process, information sharing, supply chain flexibility, environmental uncertainties and business performance. In this study, variables have been determined regarding the evaluation of the effects of information sharing on business performance in the supply chain process. Moreover, a two-stage method was used for the evaluation of business performance as the Structural Equation Model (SEM) and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). In the present study, 5 different models were established as the business performance measures: cost, flexibility, responding, delivery and financial performance. The models obtained were first tested with SEM, and the data obtained from SEM were taken as input for the ANN, and it was then observed by using the Matlab software that the ANN models estimated the relationships between the latent variables more strongl

Collaborative Arrangements and the State of Trust between SMEs and Large Companies in Mandated Business Interactions

The focus of this study is to explore trust between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large companies in interorganizational relationships (IORs) that are mandated by government policy. Due to the important contribution made by SMEs to national economies and to the fact that their growth is pivotal for entrepreneurial activities, many governments have made significant efforts to enhance their performance. However, SMEs are constrained by their lack of resources and experience. Some countries have required large companies to collaborate with SMEs to overcome these constraints. Whilst much attention has been devoted to trust in relationships of choice between SMEs and large companies, scant attention has been paid to the state of trust in mandated business interactions. This study explores the state of trust between large companies and SMEs companies in mandated business interactions, identifying those factors that influence trust between them. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with 25 key managers from large companies and SMEs were conducted in Oman which has a policy of mandated IORs. The interview data were analyzed thematically. The key findings resulted in a new contextual concept of trust, a refinement of classical trust indicators by which the presence of trust in IORs can be more appropriately detected and the development of a model embracing factors which were found to influence trust. Several new factors not previously commented on in the literature were identified in this study. The findings provide theoretical and practical contributions with recommendations for policy, practice and further research.Ministry of Manpower, Oman