Omnichannel Value Chain: Mapping Digital Technologies for Channel Integration Activities

In order to provide a seamless customer experience, researchers and practitioners have proposed creation of an omnichannel retailing environment by integrating online and offline channels. Channel integration necessitates use of digital technologies and there are myriads of technological solutions available. However, retailers are struggling with selection and implementation of suitable technologies to add value through channel integration. Despite the strong practical need, this issue has not been effectively addressed in the academic literature. This paper presents an omnichannel value chain underpinned by Porter’s value chain model. We identify ten channel integration activities for value creation by carrying out a synthesis of current research on omnichannel retailing. Enabling digital technologies are then mapped to these activities using technology implementation examples and provide a guideline for retailers to select appropriate technologies for the identified value creation activities

Increasing information intensity in industrial services: towards Industrial Internet and Industrie 4.0 servitizing industrial OEMs

Digitization has been transforming organizations for decades, but only recently has the general interest turned to digitization in industrial context. It has been proposed that new technologies are driving towards the next industrial revolution, having profound economic implications. This discussion is referred as Industrie 4.0 or Industrial Internet by industry practitioners. Information is the key enabler and resource that companies use in achieving the higher productivity levels that the Industrial Internet promises. Industrial processes are often highly complex and companies are continually seeking to improve the efficiency of these processes. In this work, many companies use services from various service providers, notably those of original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Over time, many OEMs have transformed from goods producers to advanced solutions providers, supporting their clients e.g., in asset availability with maintenance services and improving their process efficiency with consultancy services. Academic research has been interested in this transformation of OEMs towards service providers, but the role of information and related technologies have not been addressed in any satisfying depth. This thesis investigates the impacts of the proposed industrial revolution from the OEM perspective, focusing on industrial services. Although focused on OEMs, most of the study's findings should be valuable also for other industrial value network participants. An abstract concept termed "information intensity" is developed and applied to avoid restricting the focus to contemporary development only. A broad, multidisciplinary literature review synthetizes existing knowledge on the topic, and a case study on a process manufacturing sector OEM provides further perspectives contributing to the discussion on servitization. It was found that various sectors and service types differ greatly in the scale of benefits that increased information intensity offers. Especially in manufacturing, very high efficiency levels have been achieved relatively early, offering less radical improvement opportunities when compared to e.g., fleet management. In mature sectors, client focus on cost efficiency may also push service market backwards to lower information intensity services. A conceptual division into thing- and system-oriented businesses is proposed, structuring topic discussion and research. Information-based businesses build on contextual expertise, protecting OEMs from disruption from IT-sector companies. However, the competitive environment is becoming more complex, and many players will be trying to encapsulate the service networks. Information may enable sector-specific OEMs to vertically expand further towards client processes while the largest cross-sector OEMs may drive ecosystem development forward horizontally. Basic services are becoming commoditized and consumerized. Importance of service network orchestration increases. Industrial digitization is rapidly evolving, and an understanding of its technical and conceptual foundations would benefit both industry practitioners and academicians. The concept of information intensity provides a novel perspective on advanced services and offers an analytical tool with which to investigate digitization also outside this context. Findings have practical relevance and they contribute theoretically to services transformation and service strategy topics within the discourse on servitization, as well as others focusing on industrial sectors and digitization

Impact of Industrial Internet related tecnologies to the business and business models

Industrial Internet is one of the most talking topics in the recent years in both practical implications and literature reviews being a new paradigm for almost all industry sectors. It has been defined as the next industrial revolution since it opens a new and wide range of possibilities to the actual industry. This is possi-ble through the latest advancements and trends of some key technologies such as sensors, actuators, RFID, communication technologies, cloud computing and big data analytics. Industrial Internet is supposed to revolutionize the business and the business models through new valuable information that was not availa-ble before due to the new huge amounts of accurate data that can be collected out of the machines, devices, processes and products. This thesis aims to develop a better understanding of the impact of the major Industrial Internet technologies to the business and business models of mid-sized production line manufacturers. The current study started with a literature review, investigating the Industrial Internet concept and background as well as some other basic related concepts such as IoT, Industry 4.0, CPS and Smart Manufacturing. The differences between them were established and the oppor-tunities and risks related to Industrial Internet among the literature were identi-fied. The key Industrial Internet technologies were reviewed and categorized, and the basic functionalities, capabilities and optimization levels were defined. Finally, the BM literature was also reviewed and the Business Model Canvas framework was selected in order to carry out the last part of the interviews re-lated to the impact of data and information to the business model components. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with three mid-sized pro-duction line manufacturers’ representatives. The interview structure was divided into three parts: risks and opportunities perception, perceived impact to the business model components and role of the data and information in the busi-ness and industry. The results showed that Industrial Internet is perceived to have a big impact in the business and business model components and also that the opportunities of it, seem to be clearer that the risks which can be translated into the willingness of the companies to adopt Industrial Internet and to start offering innovative business models

Proceedings of the 2nd Conference on Production Systems and Logistics (CPSL 2021)

Proceedings of the CPSL 202

The dynamics and strategic analysis of wireless communications technology in the healthcare industry

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-99).The healthcare industry like other industry is on the cross roads as a result of rising demand for healthcare delivery and service, the industry is facing declining revenues and increasing cost. As a result, one of the industry's strategic arsenal to avert the continual declines in revenue and increases operating cost is to effectively use modern technology in form of wireless computing and communications technology to change the paradigm shift to improve outcomes of clinical services, enhance physician and nurse productivity and work flow efficiency, reduce supply chain cost, improve revenue collection and practice profitability. This report presents the dynamic and strategic analysis of wireless communications technology in the healthcare industry, by first evaluating the wireless technologies, industry standards and regulations, applicable standards for the healthcare information systems and innovative healthcare technologies.(cont.) Based on an in-depth technical analysis of the wireless technology, I analyzed the market and industry by applying frameworks including Porter's 5 forces and The Delta model and system dynamics models presented to illustrate contributing factors affecting new technology adoption in the healthcare industry and a holistic view of a healthcare IT system architecture. Lastly, I analyzed emerging wireless technologies including WiMAX, UltraWide -Band and RFID, and reviewed market opportunities in the healthcare industry through 2011.by John K. Eyemaro.S.M

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

Radio frequency identification and time-driven activity based costing: RFID-TDABC

This thesis extends the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) data for accounting of warehouse costs and services. Time Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) methodology is enhanced with the real-time collected RFID data about duration of warehouse activities. This allows warehouse managers to have an accurate and instant calculations of costs. The RFID enhanced TDABC (RFID-TDABC) is proposed as a novel application of the RFID technology. Application of RFID-TDABC in a warehouse is implemented on warehouse processes of a case study company. Implementation covers receiving, put-away, order picking, and despatching. RFID technology is commonly used for the identification and tracking items. The use of the RFID generated information with the TDABC can be successfully extended to the area of costing. This RFID-TDABC costing model will benefit warehouse managers with accurate and instant calculations of costs. Although the study is limited in the scope to applying presented RFIDTDABC model only to warehouse operations of a SME company, RFIDTDABC concept will be of value to both academics and practitioners by showing how warehouse costs can be accurately measured by using this approach. Providing better understanding of incurred costs may result in a further optimisation of warehousing operations, lowering costs of activities, and thus provide competitive pricing to customers