Primjena ERP sustava za poboljšanje koordinacije internog dobavljačkog lanca

In today\u27s competitive global market, one of the most effective ways towards achieving competitive advantage has been the ability to accelerate the supply chain process through ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. ERP enables a more efficient internal and external supply chain. Enterprise resource planning system is an information system that manages all aspects of a business (production planning, sales, distribution, accounting, purchasing and customer services). Planning system is the core of an ERP system. The aim of this paper is to propose a hierarchical planning and scheduling model based on just-in-time principle to improve internal supply chain coordination for one-piece and small batch production. The model is implemented into the system ERPINS (Enterprise Resource Planning ININ Solutions) that is developed for metal processing industry, wood and food processing industry and construction industry.Na današnjem konkurentnom globalnom tržištu jedan od najučinkovitijih načina postizanja konkurentne prednosti je sposobnost ubrzanja procesa dobavljačkog lanca pomoću ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) sustava koji omogućava učinkovitiji interni i eksterni dobavljački lanac. Enterprise resource planning sustav je informacijski sustav koji upravlja svim aspektima poslovanja (planiranje proizvodnje, prodaja, distribucija, računovodstvo, nabava i korisničke usluge). Sustav planiranja je glavni dio ERP sustava. Cilj ovog rada je dati model višerazinskog planiranja i terminiranja koji je zasnovan na just-in-time principu sa svrhom poboljšane koordinacije internog dobavljačkog lanca za pojedinačnu i maloserijsku proizvodnju. Model je primijenjen u sustavu ERPINS (Enterprise Resource Planning ININ Solutions) razvijenom za metaloprerađivačku, drvnu, prehrambenu i građevinsku industriju

Outcomes of service encounter quality in a business-to-business context

Service encounter quality is an area of growing interest to researchers and managers alike, yet little is known about the effects of face-to-face service encounter quality within a business-to-business setting. In this paper, a psychometrically sound measure of such service encounter quality is proposed, and consequences of this construct are empirically assessed. Both a literature review and a dyadic in-depth interview approach were used to develop a conceptual framework and a pool of items to capture service encounter quality. A mail survey of customers was undertaken, and a response rate of 36% was obtained. Data analysis was conducted via confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings reveal a four-factor structure of service encounter quality, encompassing professionalism, civility, friendliness and competence dimensions. Service encounter quality was found to be directly related to customer satisfaction and service quality perceptions, and indirectly to loyalty. The importance of these findings for practitioners and for future research on service encounter quality is discussed

Propuesta metodológica para la elaboración de product and service agreements dentro de las redes de valor en el contexto colombiano

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo la construcción de una guía metodológica para la elaboración de Product and Service Agreements (PSA), que permita a empresas de cualquier naturaleza adecuar bajo una herramienta informática el PSA que se ajuste a sus necesidades, con el fin de mejorar las relaciones de los actores típicos que integran el upstream y el downstream en las redes de valor de la industria colombiana. Para el desarrollo de este trabajo de investigación se realizará una revisión de los marcos referenciales sobre PSA que aplican empresas de clase mundial. Estos marcos referenciales serán utilizados como estándar y/o benchmark con el fin de diagnosticar las prácticas aplicadas y los criterios más relevantes con respecto a la realización de PSA en la industria colombiana. Posteriormente se verificará por medio de entrevistas y encuestas el nivel de aplicación de PSA en las empresas colombianas que contratan o prestan servicios logísticos, de acuerdo a los criterios relevantes para la construcción de PSA y el nivel de aplicación según las mejores prácticas de clase mundial, determinando la brecha que existe entre los estándares de aplicación de PSA mundiales y los estándares que se aplican en la contratación de servicios y suministro de bienes en Colombia. Finalmente se desarrollará una guía metodológica apoyada en una herramienta informática que permita la construcción de un PSA para el contexto colombiano de acuerdo a estándares de clase mundial

Optimising Supply Chain Performance via Information Sharing and Coordinated Management

Supply chain management has attracted much attention in the last decade. There has been a noticeable shift from a traditional individual organisation-based management to an integrated management across the supply chain network since the end of the last century. The shift contributes to better decision making in the supply chain context, as it is necessary for a company to cooperate with other supply chain members by utilising relevant information such as inventory, demand and resource capacity. In other words, information sharing and coordinated management are essential mechanisms to improve supply chain performance. Supply chains may differ significantly in terms of industry sectors, geographic locations, and firm sizes. This study was based on case studies from small and medium sized manufacturing supply chains in People Republic of China. The study was motivated by the following facts. Firstly, small and medium enterprises have made a big contribution to China’s economic growth. Several studies revealed that most of the Chinese manufacturing enterprises became aware of the importance of supply chain management, but compared to western firms, the supply chain management level of Chinese firms had been lagging behind. Research on supply chain management and performance optimisation in Chinese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) was very scarce. Secondly, there had been plenty of studies in the literature that focused on two or three level supply chains whilst considering a number of uncertain factors (e.g. customer demand) or a single supply chain performance indicator (e.g. cost). However, the research on multiple stage supply chain systems with multiple uncertainties and multiple objectives based on real industrial cases had been spared and deserved more attention. One reason was due to the lack of reliable industrial data that required an enormous effort to collect the primary data and there was a serious concern about data confidentiality from the industry aspect. This study employed two SME manufacturing companies as case studies. The first one was in the Aluminium industry and another was in the Chemical industry. The aim was to better understand the characteristics of the supply chains in Chinese SMEs through performing in-depth case studies, and built models and tools to evaluate different strategies for improving their supply chain performance. The main contributions of this study included the following aspects. Firstly, this study generalised a supply chain model including a domestic supply chain part and an international supply chain part based on deep case studies with the emphasis on identifying key characteristics in the case supply chains, such as uncertainties, constraints and cost elements in association with flows and activities in the domestic supply chain and the international supply chain. Secondly, two important SCM issues, i.e. the integrated raw material procurement and finished goods production planning, and the international sales planning, were identified. Thirdly, mathematical models were formulated to represent the supply chain model taking into account multiple uncertainties. Fourthly, several operational strategies utilising the concepts of just-in-time, safety-stock/capacity, Kanban, and vendor managed inventory, were evaluated and compared with the case company's original strategy in various scenarios through simulation methods, which enabled quantification of the impact of information sharing on supply chain performance. Fifthly, a single objective genetic algorithm was developed to optimise the integrated raw material ordering and finished goods production decisions under (s, S) policy (a dynamic inventory control policy), which enabled the impact of coordinated management on supply chain performance to be quantified. Finally, a multiple objectives genetic algorithm considering both total supply chain cost and customer service level was developed to optimise the integrated raw material ordering and finished goods production with the international sales plan decisions under (s, S) policy in various scenarios. This also enabled the quantification of the impact of coordinated management on supply chain performances

Analysing sawnwood supply distribution in Finnish sawmilling industry with database approach

The thesis analyses sawnwood supply in the Finnish sawmilling industry using the database approach. The analyses help to understand the supply and demand of sawnwood between customers and sawmills. In the analyses two databases were used to examine the supply of sawnwood. In addition, the following three criteria were used: 1) quantity, 2) price and 3) quality. The study focused on a sample of 63,774 sales of over 19 million m3 sawnwood from 1995 to 2000. Quality in the thesis is defined in terms of dimensions, quality classes, end moisture contents and user segments. The coniferous species in the sample were Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies). Additionally, time series data about the consumption of coniferous sawnwood from the years between 1961 and 2002 was used in the study. The most essential new result of the thesis was that the features of sawnwood as a commodity product were clear in the sample from 1995 to 2000. Nevertheless, the marketing and the operations of the Finnish sawmilling industry at the time emphasised the features related to special and customer products. In 2002, the global consumption of coniferous sawnwood (CSW) was 283 million m3. The same year in Finland, the consumption of sawnwood increased to 1.02 m3 per capita, the highest in the world. Finland experienced a structural change in the sawnwood consumption between the periods of 1961-1996 and 1997-2002. From 1995 to 2000, sawnwood supply and sales from Finnish sawmills were largely limited to only a few volume dimensions. For pine, 20% of the number of dimensions encompassed 91% of volume and 90% of value. For spruce, 20% of the number of dimensions covered 82% of volume and 83% of value. The Pareto principle assumption applied to the distribution of sawnwood dimensions from the quantity (m3) and value (€) perspectives. There was a sawnwood market trend towards smaller batch sizes. It was observed that the end moisture content class MC 18% has a dominant position – over 90% – in the end moisture content distribution. The results supported the view that sawnwood supply consists mainly of a limited number standard products. Dimensions had big differences specific to country and species of timber. The basis price system worked by dimension, quality class and species with a defined basis of pine 50 × 150 mm U/S or similar. This system was used in the pricing of sawnwood in the Finnish sawmilling industry in 2000. In the analyses, the supply of sawnwood was divided according to end moisture content classes, countries, dimensions and segments. In the supply analyses, standard dimensions and qualities were linked with the standard moisture content classes as MC 18%. The results showed that the supply was greatest for standardised sawnwood. The supply and demand for special qualities increased particularly for pine. There was a correlation between sawnwood export countries, moisture content classes and end-user segments. The results showed that sawnwood user segmentation was still unfinished. The thesis seeks to present such methods that give relevant information to sawmills and other segments of the forest cluster. These useful methods include logistic regressions and other statistical tools. Applying these tools can give new insight into business management as well as the dynamics of the demand for sawnwood and other wood products.reviewe

Supply chain design: a conceptual model and tactical simulations

In current research literature, supply chain management (SCM) is a hot topic breaching the boundaries of many academic disciplines. SCM-related work can be found in the relevant literature for many disciplines. Supply chain management can be defined as effectively and efficiently managing the flows (information, financial and physical) in all stages of the supply chain to add value to end customers and gain profit for all firms in the chain. Supply chains involve multiple partners with the common goal to satisfy customer demand at a profit. While supply chains are not new, the way academics and practitioners view the need for and the means to manage these chains is relatively new. Very little literature can be found on designing supply chains from the ground up or what dimensions of supply chain management should be considered when designing a supply chain. Additionally, we have found that very few tools exist to help during the design phase of a supply chain. Moreover, very few tools exist that allow for comparing supply chain designs. We contribute to the current literature by determining which supply chain management dimensions should be considered during the design process. We employ text mining to create a supply chain design conceptual model and compare this model to existing supply chain models and reference frameworks. We continue to contribute to the current SCM literature by applying a creative application of concepts and results in the field of Stochastic Processes to build a custom simulator capable of comparing different supply chain designs and providing insights into how the different designs affect the supply chain’s total inventory cost. The simulator provides a mechanism for testing when real-time demand information is more beneficial than using first-come, first-serve (FCFS) order processing when the distributional form of lead-time demand is derived from the supply chain operating characteristics instead of using the assumption that lead-time demand distributions are known. We find that in many instances FCFS out-performs the use of real-time information in providing the lowest total inventory cost