Some contribution in operations research

Not availabl

A critical analysis of the relationship between business information system technology and supply chain management with special reference to optimum efficiency within large enterprises in the food and drug retail sector in KwaZulu-Natal.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between supply chain management and business information system technology within the food and drug retail sector with special reference to optimum efficiency. Business information system technology leverages information and knowledge sharing throughout the supply chain which enables them to respond more effectively to an ever-changing and volatile marketplace. The relationship between supply chain management and business information system technology is multi-faceted and complex in nature, and consequently, has the ability to penetrate every element of an organisation’s functionality. Furthermore, it has the ability to penetrate the functionality of an entire chain or network of suppliers and markets irrespective of their position around the globe. Supply Chain management literature teaches that optimisation within functional areas is not as effective as cross-optimisation across functions and supply chain networks. As supply chains rely on business information technology for crossoptimisation, optimum efficiency will always be a moving target for as long as business technology and supply chain management continue to break through new ground. In this research large food and drug supply chain networks and their business information system requirements, trends, influence, effect and constraints were reviewed, with special reference to creating optimum efficiency in their supply chain networks. This research was motivated by discussions with Pick ‘n Pay’s business information system’s service provider and their desire to optimise Pick ‘n Pay’s supply chain network efficiency in a highly price-competitive environment, resulting in an in-depth case study being carried out on Pick ‘n Pay (Pty) Ltd stores in KwaZulu-Natal. The review of literature suggests that cross-optimisation is only mutually beneficial within trust relationships that exhibit seamless flows of information throughout a supply chain. Data suggests that despite Pick ‘n Pay’s use of advanced business information system technology, Pick ‘n Pay together with the food and drug retail stores in South Africa have a long way to go on this issue

Management of a high mix production system with interdependent demands : modeling of stochastic demands and the concept of virtual profit as a decomposition tool

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2009.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-126).An optimized framework for the inventory control of a high mix production system has been designed in order to guarantee the optimal mix of items in stock in presence of correlated demands. The Virtual Profit concept was developed to measure the criticality of an item in presence of correlated demands. The introduction of the Virtual Profit in the optimization problem allowed the problem to be decomposed and the optimal control parameters to be computed separately. Demands were modeled based on the stochastic properties of the historical demand so that simulations could be performed using statistically generated orders. The simulations provided a validation of the proposed technique showing that, with the same size of inventory, considering the Virtual Profits instead of the real profits improves the quality of the solution, especially when low levels of inventory are kept.by Maria Carolina Serra.M.Eng

Sustainable Inventory Management Model for High-Volume Material with Limited Storage Space under Stochastic Demand and Supply

Inventory management and control has become an important management function, which is vital in ensuring the efficiency and profitability of a company’s operations. Hence, several research studies attempted to develop models to be used to minimise the quantities of excess inventory, in order to reduce their associated costs without compromising both operational efficiency and customers’ needs. The Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model is one of the most used of these models; however, this model has a number of limiting assumptions, which led to the development of a number of extensions for this model to increase its applicability to the modern-day business environment. Therefore, in this research study, a sustainable inventory management model is developed based on the EOQ concept to optimise the ordering and storage of large-volume inventory, which deteriorates over time, with limited storage space, such as steel, under stochastic demand, supply and backorders. Two control systems were developed and tested in this research study in order to select the most robust system: an open-loop system, based on direct control through which five different time series for each stochastic variable were generated, before an attempt to optimise the average profit was conducted; and a closed-loop system, which uses a neural network, depicting the different business and economic conditions associated with the steel manufacturing industry, to generate the optimal control parameters for each week across the entire planning horizon. A sensitivity analysis proved that the closed-loop neural network control system was more accurate in depicting real-life business conditions, and more robust in optimising the inventory management process for a large-volume, deteriorating item. Moreover, due to its advantages over other techniques, a meta-heuristic Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm was used to solve this model. This model is implemented throughout the research in the case of a steel manufacturing factory under different operational and extreme economic scenarios. As a result of the case study, the developed model proved its robustness and accuracy in managing the inventory of such a unique industry

Alignment of the supply and demand within a supply chain: A qualitative study

The dissertation "Alignment of supply and demand within a supply chain: a qualitative study” determines the causes of the misalignment between the supply and demand within a supply chain, with specific focus on Kraft Foods South Africa. The costs of a mismatch between supply and demand are growing in many industries. Companies have tried various approaches, however these approaches, while useful, have failed to address a number of the drivers of supply-demand mismatch. The literature study starts with an overview of supply chain management. The study covers the various concepts of supply chain management, the importance of supply chain performance, the challenges of managing supply chains, demand management, supply management, as well as the relationship between supply and demand. The literature study continues to cover the various concepts related to the alignment of supply and demand within a supply chain. The study covers the effects of the misalignment between supply and demand within a supply chain, traditional approaches to align supply and demand and the transformation to a more responsive organisation. The various approaches to decrease the supply and demand lead time gap are also discussed. The literature study concludes with an overview of the supply chain of Kraft Foods South Africa, as well as the global Kraft Foods organisation. The review covers the challenges, the sustainable growth plan, the organisational set-up, sources and product range, geographical layout, people, functions and technology involved in Kraft’s supply chain. The review concludes with an overview of the current alignment between supply and demand within Kraft Foods South Africa’s supply chain. Chapter five discusses the details of the research design and methodology that was followed in conducting the research. Chapter six indicates the findings of the structured interviews with the key players in Kraft Foods South Africa’s supply chain. Chapter seven makes certain recommendations for the supply chain of Kraft Foods South Africa that will assist in improving the alignment between supply and demand.Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2006.Business Managementunrestricte

Solving Multi-objective Integer Programs using Convex Preference Cones

Esta encuesta tiene dos objetivos: en primer lugar, identificar a los individuos que fueron víctimas de algún tipo de delito y la manera en que ocurrió el mismo. En segundo lugar, medir la eficacia de las distintas autoridades competentes una vez que los individuos denunciaron el delito que sufrieron. Adicionalmente la ENVEI busca indagar las percepciones que los ciudadanos tienen sobre las instituciones de justicia y el estado de derecho en Méxic

Application of Optimization in Production, Logistics, Inventory, Supply Chain Management and Block Chain

The evolution of industrial development since the 18th century is now experiencing the fourth industrial revolution. The effect of the development has propagated into almost every sector of the industry. From inventory to the circular economy, the effectiveness of technology has been fruitful for industry. The recent trends in research, with new ideas and methodologies, are included in this book. Several new ideas and business strategies are developed in the area of the supply chain management, logistics, optimization, and forecasting for the improvement of the economy of the society and the environment. The proposed technologies and ideas are either novel or help modify several other new ideas. Different real life problems with different dimensions are discussed in the book so that readers may connect with the recent issues in society and industry. The collection of the articles provides a glimpse into the new research trends in technology, business, and the environment