Job profiling: How artificial intelligence supports the management of complexity induced by product variety

Firms and supply chains (SC) increasingly are forced to customise products and optimise processes since today’s markets are, on average, more demanding in terms of both costs and customer satisfaction. Generally, when product variety (PV) increases not only improves sales performance, since products offered better fit customers’ expectations, but also increases the complexity in SC processes management, rising operational costs. For that reason, accurate management of product diversity is a fundamental point for the brands' success, which is why it is going to be investigated in that project. Moreover, firms’ managers apply strategies to mitigate or accommodate this complexity, avoiding the customer satisfaction and cost trade-off to remain competitive and survive. However, we were wondering if it is enough. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged to stay. Digitalisation era, data availability, and the improvement in computing power have boomed AI’s potential in improving systems, controlling processes, and tackling complexity. These strengths are suitable to help managers not only to tackle the complexity arising from PV but also to boost the supply chain performance (SCP

Internal Supply-chain Competition In Remanufacturing: Operations Strategies, Performance And Environmental Effects

This paper investigates the competitive and environmental effects of different operations strategies of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and semi-independent remanufacturers, which simultaneously cooperate and compete in different stages of a closed-loop supply chain. In particular, a co-opetitive situation, in which remanufacturing is undertaken only by retailers while the OEMs' role is restricted to recycling is considered. After adopting a resource-based perspective of competition, investigations are accomplished using system dynamics simulation modelling. The results of simulations indicate that, in the long run, OEMs, regardless of the operation strategy they adopt, are unable to (re)capture the market gained by the remanufacturers. However, some of these strategies contribute to the improvement of the environmental performance of the entire supply chain

SMEs e-business behaviour: a demographics and strategic analysis

The aim of this research was to understand the strategic uses of e-business systems and technologies by classifying companies and particularly small and medium businesses according to demographics as well as e-business behavior variables.The study was based on data from a large quantitative survey of European E-business W@tch for the period 2007 using questionnaire interviews (N=409). We employed two-step cluster analysis, multinomial logistic regression and stepwise descriminant analysis as the most appropriate methods for our analysis. The findings revealed six clusters associated to e-business adoption. The six groups differ in terms of demographic characteristics as well as e-business applications they use. We found that the following clusters exist: (a) Leaders: large companies that extensively use ebusiness in a strategic manner (b) innovators: use e-business in an way that allows them to innovate and differentiate from other companies (c Beginners: small and medium companies across all sectors that only recently start to use e-business (d) Unready Adopters: micro and small companies that lag behind (e) Late Adopters: small-size companies but larger that the Unready Adopters, that appear not to be interest in the advances of ICTs and (f) Laggards: micro companies with little use of e-business.The results of our survey can positively contribute to managers aiming to take advantage of technological advances in electronic business as well as to any researcher who study e-business management and applications

Impact of information exchange on supply chain strategies

Due to globalisation and the competition faced from Asian countries, there is an emergent need to investigate how to extend the limited capabilities of developing countries in order to survive in the market as well as reach global market. Developing countries play an important role as OEM units to provide global markets with under-brand names. Many difficulties face the industrial zones in these countries in their attempt to reach this target and these prevent them from providing their own brands. For example, many sectors in Egyptian industry are outperformed by Chinese competition and have even lost their domestic market share. Textiles are one of the most affected industries as a result of this competition. The risk of Egyptian fabrics vanishing from global markets is indicated by a huge reduction in export rate after the quota phase-out. Egyptian textile producers rely on global agreements to reach global markets. The period after the Multi-Fibre agreement shows an obvious drop in exportation rates till the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement was issued. Can the same scenario occur after QIZ quota phase-out? What should Egyptian fabric manufacturer do? Since the situation is alarming and may result in exporting the high quality Egyptian cotton to global markets instead of to its domestic manufacturers, the flood of Chinese fabrics in Egyptian Markets requires that the question “how to survive and compete with low-cost Chinese fabrics?” be investigated. The aim of the research was to investigate the deficiencies experienced by Egyptian firms trying to reach global markets and maintain their domestic market share. The research conducted an exploratory-explanatory empirical study to identify the major issues facing textile fabricators in Egyptian industrial zones. Case studies and a survey outcome were matched to provide validated empirical findings. An Interpretive Structuring Modelling approach was used to indicate the stages of supply chain deficiencies based on the case study findings. The major issues causing supply chain deficiencies are defined from the case study analysis and validated using the survey approach. The outcome of the empirical study indicates that supply chain design, integration and IT infrastructure are considered as major issues that lead to the existing deficiencies of the textile industry supply chain in Egypt despite the low level assigned to their importance. At the same time, production and procurement issues are considered as dependant on poor supply chain design, IT infrastructure and unreliable forecasting despite the high level assigned to their importance. A stage-based model for supply chain deficiencies in the Egyptian textile sector was highlighted in this study to indicate dependency and driving power among internal deficiencies. A framework, indicates supply chain deficiencies and their leading factors in Egypt, was concluded from this study. The study points out a number of external issues related to the surrounding environment and the government’s role in contributing to the aggravation of the existing deficiencies. The research uses simulation techniques to test the proposed solution that might provide better supply chain performance. A System Dynamic approach is used to model a case study of the investigated industry. Different scenarios of fulfilling local and international orders have been tested. These scenarios are represented in: expansion of production capacity, reduction of inventory levels or reduction of procurement time. Since addressing the internal deficiency, which empirical study respondents’ pointed out as being the most important one, could not provide an adaquate solution for the existing deficiencies, supply chain re-structuring to represent a collaborative pattern between partners was, therefore, tested and proved to have a great effect on supply chain performance. A collaborative pattern among supply chain partners indicated its positive impact on supply chain performance. The simulation experiments prove that the individual decisions of supply chain partners cannot bring about improvement to supply chain cost and responsiveness. The negative impact of an unreliable logistic system on supply chain performance was confirmed through the simulation experiments. The study provides the managerial levels in textile organisations with a solid causal basis for the supply chain deficiencies in the Egyptian textile sector. The outcome of the work can be employed by governmental authorities to address such difficulties and accelerate the growth of this sector globally. The thesis provides the fundamentals for investigating deficiencies in developing countries that might be extended by other researchers to investigate other defective sectors in Egypt and other developing countries

Exploring sources of competitive advantage in e-business applications: A cross-industries case study in mainland China

A review of existing literature revealed that little theoretical framework exists to capture e-business-enabled value creation through an integrated approach that includes the environmental view and resource-based view (RBV). Furthermore, little empirical research has been conducted to test these theoretical frameworks, in particular in the Chinese business context. The aim of this research is to extend the theoretical and practical understanding of e-business-enabled sources of competitive advantage (SCA) in China. The value chain (VC) concept, virtual value chain (VVC) framework and RBV were identified from the literature as the key constructs to underpin the theoretical basis. The research design used a qualitative research methodology consisting of indepth case studies of nine leading Chinese companies in three industries - housing development, manufacturing, and B2C. The principle finding is the formulation of a theoretical framework for investigating ebusiness value creations which integrates the key constructs of the VVC, online information capabilities (OIC), value system and RVB. This research also proposes a typology of five generic types of key e-business applications which states clearly the relationships between key e-business applications and SCA. Finally, this research demonstrates that e-business value creation features differently between two groups: Internet pragmatist and Internet pioneers. The research offers a number of contributions to the field of e-business value creation. Firstly, it introduces the concepts of OIC and value system to the VVC. It also provides empirical test of the analytical framework. In addition, this research provides an indepth understanding of the relationships between types of e-business applications and key SCA. Finally, this research identifies and explains the key differences and similarities between the three industries, within each industry, and between the two key groups

Performance measurement applications within the UK construction industry: A literature review

The significance of performance measurement (PM) in any organisation is long being realised. As a result PM has been incorporated in the management agenda. PM can be defined as a “process which determine how successful organisations or individuals in achieving their objectives”. Limitations of traditional performance measures challenged their application in the modern business environment. This stimulated towards a new era of PM, leading the path to the development of many PM frameworks. Research done during the past decades, revealed many issues in the UK construction industry. Thus, the industry is under tremendous pressure to improve its performance. This paper provides a literature review on the current applications in PM, highlighting the limitations of traditional measures, features of good PM systems. Further, the problems in the UK construction industry and PM applications have been discussed with the aim of identifying the issues which are not addressed from the current PM applications

Fashion Forecasting Example: Hope Sweden

Hope was founded in 2001 by Ann Ringstrand and Stefan Söderberg. Since then the company has grown rapidly. It has won many prestigious design awards and is considered one of the most promising Swedish fashion companies. To gain control of their expansion they needed a sales forecasting tool. The search for a suitable method started with Hope’s sales order history. Due to very short and irregular records showing no noticeable patterns, the information had to be left aside and considered as of no use for forecasting future sales. A sales forecasting benchmarking study was carried out among Hope’s competitors. It revealed how little faith was put into forecasting when it came to fashion. Production orders are always made upon known demand in Hope’s segment of the industry and that is why no one of the interrogated companies even considered forecasting. The theoretical study depicts fashion as an unpredictable and volatile industry where few rules apply. To unite the empirical findings of fashion articles with quantitative forecasting techniques has due to many factors shown to be difficult. A quantitative method requires often 20 time periods, for Hope corresponding to 10 years of history. An article rarely lasts more than a season and it would consequently have to be linked, subjectively, to a similar item. Furthermore the conditions are changing rapidly. Yesterday was yesterday and today the circumstances are new. The retail buyer function is essential to Hope’s sales forecasting. In the end it determines the sales results. Its function was closely investigated in the pursuit of universal behaviour that could be the foundation of a forecasting tool. The procurement investigation brought a buyer portrait far from the analytic and calculating purchaser in the little existing literature. Instead he was impulsive and intuitively deciding his shop’s assortment and quantities. According to retail buyers, sales history is of little use in the fast moving fashion business. They do not employ mathematical models, however still their experience is founded on in store sell-through figures. As the sales records available to Hope include the retailers’ forecasting error, they should not be utilised. The conclusion is that in order to improve forecasting methods, a closer relationship with the retailers is required. Even then, other precautions are necessitated to reduce the risk of predicting the volatile fashion market. By continuously sharing inventory numbers, two-ways, Hope can anticipate a sell out and restart its production in time. The importance of the forecast is thus reduced through an open and more flexible supply chain