Computer Simulation as a Medium for Teaching Inventory Management in Food Systems Administration

A conceptual framework was developed incorporating computer simulation as an instructional medium for teaching conceptual thinking and techniques for decision making and problem solving needed for inventory management. With this framework as a guide, an individualized instruction unit was designed and implemented for teaching cognitive learning. Fifty-two food systems administration students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, evaluated the effectiveness of the individualized study unit (experimental method) as opposed to the traditional lecture (control) method in teaching inventory management principles. A pretest was administered to each student in selected junior and senior courses prior to the teaching unit. A posttest was given three weeks after the pretest and following the teaching unit; then again, as a retention test, five weeks later. The student\u27s prior exposure to inventory management principles, evaluation of teaching method and amount of time spent in the learning process were analyzed in relation to test scores. Test scores indicated that the vertical transfer of cognitive knowledge from the recall level to the problem solving level for inventory management principles was evident for students using the experimental method. These scores also showed that students in the senior course utilized the experimental method more effectively for achieving cognitive learning than did students in the junior courses. Posttest scores compared to retention test scores showed that the experimental method did influence student retention for the recall of inventory management principles as well as for the application of these principles towards solving a problem. The student\u27s prior exposure to inventory management principles, evaluation of teaching method and time spent in the learning process did not affect cognitive learning or retention of knowledge for the principles. This study does show that the individualized instruction unit with computer simulation could be used for teaching conceptual thinking and techniques for decision making and problem solving needed for inventory management

THREE ESSAYS ON VENDOR MANAGED INVENTORY IN SUPPLY CHAINS

Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), Consignment Inventory (CI) and a combination of both (C&VMI) are supply-chain sourcing agreements between a vendor and customer. VMI allows the vendor to initiate orders on behalf of the customer. In CI, the customer pays for the goods supplied by the vendor only upon use. The vendor under C&VMI decides customer-replenishments, and owns the goods replenished until they are deployed by the customer. Our thesis studies these agreements in three essays. The first essay considers a vendor V that manufactures a particular product at a unique location. That item is sold to a single retailer, the customer C. Three cases are treated in detail: Independent decision making (no agreement between the parties); VMI, whereby the supplier V initiates orders on behalf of C; and Central decision making (both Vendor and Customer are controlled by the same corporate entity). Values of some cost parameters may vary between the three cases, and each case may cause a different actor to be responsible for particular expenses. Under a constant demand rate, optimal solutions are obtained analytically for the customer's order quantity, the vendor's production quantity, hence the parties' individual and total costs in the three cases. Inequalities are obtained to delineate those situations in which VMI is beneficial. The problem setting in the second essay is the same with that of Essay 1, but the sourcing agreements investigated are now CI and C&VMI. In CI, as in the usual independent-sourcing approach, the customer has authority over the timing and quantity of replenishments. CI seems to favour the customer because, in addition, he pays for the goods only upon use. Under a C&VMI agreement, the vendor still owns the goods at the customer's premises, but at least can determine how much to store there. The second essay thus contrasts the cases CI and C&VMI, and compares each of them to a no-agreement case. General conditions under which those cases create benefits for the vendor, the customer and the whole chain are determined. Essay 3 investigates VMI and C&VMI separately for a vendor and multiple customers who face time-varying, but deterministic demand for a single product. In any of those agreements, the vendor seeks the best set of customers to achieve economies of scale. MIP models are developed to find that set of customers, and to determine the vendor's optimal production, transportation, and customer-replenishment quantities. The model for VMI is solved using a heuristic that produces two sub-models, and uses hierarchical solution approach for production, customer-replenishment and transportation decisions. C&VMI model is solved using Lagrangian relaxation. Various numerical examples are used to test the solution approaches used. In the mean time, the customers can guarantee to be no worse off under VMI or C&VMI than the no-agreement case by setting the right levels of maximum inventory. A model to determine those levels and a solution algorithm are also proposed in Essay 3. The first two essays can help a vendor or customer in a supply chain to determine the least costly sourcing option, which depends on the relative values of various cost parameters. A vendor with multiple customers can make use of the results in the third essay, which reveal the best possible economies of scale under VMI or C&VMI. Those customers can guarantee to be no worse of than traditional sourcing when they set the proposed levels of maximum inventory

Process improvement for inventory management in a Fast Moving Consumer Goods company

Fast Moving Consumer Goods(FMCG) usually refers to those commodities that are used for a short period of time, have low value, are easy to consume, have a wide distribution of consumers, have a high frequency of purchase, and have a long purchase duration. Company A is a distributor of FMCG and has a large warehouse in BCN, has more than 20,000 types inventory in there, for example, smoking accessories, stationery, toys, hardware, light bulbs, toiletries, candles, kitchen utensils, tableware, etc. The customer of company A are those Bazar(Shop that sell FMCG) in Barcelona. At present, there are some problems in the A company's inventory management, moreover physical inventory and inventory data do not match. On the other hand, there are some items with inventory overstock and others with stock shortage. Therefore, how to improve inventory control has become a problem that Company A has to solve. The aim of the project is to improve inventory management of company A. Because this company has more than 20,000 types inventory, so I chose a goods with the most obvious inventory problems the plastic products

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing

Operations research: a definition and analysis for management

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston Universit

Working Capital Management of Fertilizer Industry of Gujarat

Not availabl

The impact of replenishment rules with endogenous lead times on supply chain performance..

In dit proefschrift beperken we ons tot een basis supply chain met één klant en één producent. We bestuderen verschillende bestelpolit ieken van de klant, en meten de impact van deze bestelregels op de produ ctie van de producent. We modelleren het productieproces als een wachtli jn- of queueing model. Uit de analyse van dit productiemodel vinden we de levertijden, die op hun beurt gebruikt worden in het voorra admodel van de klant. De methodologie die hiervoor gebruikt wordt, is tw eevoudig. Enerzijds maken we gebruik van statistische technieken om de v oorraad te beheren en bestellingen te plaatsen. Anderzijds maken we gebr uik van wachtlijntheorie en Markov ketens om de doorlooptijden te bepale n. Eerst onderzoeken we een eenvoudige "chase sales" bestelpolit iek: de klant plaatst elke periode een bestelling die gelijk is aan de c onsumentenvraag. We ontwikkelen een efficiënte procedure om de impact va n deze bestelregel op de doorlooptijden te berekenen op basis van

Design requirements for SRB production control system. Volume 5: Appendices

A questionnaire to be used to screen potential candidate production control software packages is presented

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing.Business cycles; Ideology; Science; Voting; Welfare measurement

Mathematics in the Supply Chain

[no abstract available