Supply chain management of blood products: a literature review.

This paper presents a review of the literature on inventory and supply chain management of blood products. First, we identify different perspectives on approaches to classifying the existing material. Each perspective is presented as a table in which the classification is displayed. The classification choices are exemplified through the citation of key references or by expounding the features of the perspective. The main contribution of this review is to facilitate the tracing of published work in relevant fields of interest, as well as identifying trends and indicating which areas should be subject to future research.OR in health services; Supply chain management; Inventory; Blood products; Literature review;

Optimising supermarket promotions of fast moving consumer goods using disaggregated sales data: A case study of Tesco and their small and medium sized suppliers

The use of price promotions for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG’s) by supermarkets has increased substantially over the last decade, with significant implications for all stakeholders (suppliers, service providers & retailers) in terms of profitability and waste. The overall impact of price promotions depends on the complex interplay of demand and supply side factors, which has received limited attention in the academic literature. There is anecdotal evidence that in many cases, and particularly for products supplied by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), price promotions are implemented with limited understanding of these factors, resulting in missed opportunities for sales and the generation of avoidable promotional waste. This is particularly dangerous for SMEs who are often operating with tight margins and limited resources. A better understanding of consumer demand, through the use of disaggregated sales data (by shopper segment and store type) can facilitate more accurate forecasting of promotional uplifts and more effective allocation of stock, to maximise promotional sales and minimise promotional waste. However, there is little evidence that disaggregated data is widely or routinely used by supermarkets or their suppliers, particularly for those products supplied by SMEs. Moreover, the bulk of the published research regarding the impact of price promotions is either focussed on modelling consumer response, using claimed behaviour or highly aggregated scanner data or replenishment processes (frameworks and models) that bear little resemblance to the way in which the majority of food SMEs operate. This thesis explores the scope for improving the planning and execution of supermarket promotions, in the specific context of products supplied by SME, through the use of dis-aggregated sales data to forecast promotional sales and allocate promotional stock. An innovative case study methodology is used combining qualitative research to explore the promotional processes used by SMEs supplying the UK’s largest supermarket, Tesco, and simulation modelling, using supermarket loyalty card data and store level sales data, to estimate short term promotional impacts under different scenarios and derive optimize stock allocations using mixed integer linear programming (MILP). ii The results suggest that promotions are often designed, planned and executed with little formalised analysis or use of dis-aggregated sales data and with limited consideration of the interplay between supply and demand. The simulation modelling and MILP demonstrate the benefits of using supermarket loyalty card data and store level sales data to forecast demand and allocate stocks, through higher promotional uplifts and reduced levels of promotional wast

Alternative Sources of Energy Modeling, Automation, Optimal Planning and Operation

An economic development model analyzes the adoption of alternative strategy capable of leveraging the economy, based essentially on RES. The combination of wind turbine, PV installation with new technology battery energy storage, DSM network and RES forecasting algorithms maximizes RES integration in isolated islands. An innovative model of power system (PS) imbalances is presented, which aims to capture various features of the stochastic behavior of imbalances and to reduce in average reserve requirements and PS risk. Deep learning techniques for medium-term wind speed and solar irradiance forecasting are presented, using for first time a specific cloud index. Scalability-replicability of the FLEXITRANSTORE technology innovations integrates hardware-software solutions in all areas of the transmission system and the wholesale markets, promoting increased RES. A deep learning and GIS approach are combined for the optimal positioning of wave energy converters. An innovative methodology to hybridize battery-based energy storage using supercapacitors for smoother power profile, a new control scheme and battery degradation mechanism and their economic viability are presented. An innovative module-level photovoltaic (PV) architecture in parallel configuration is introduced maximizing power extraction under partial shading. A new method for detecting demagnetization faults in axial flux permanent magnet synchronous wind generators is presented. The stochastic operating temperature (OT) optimization integrated with Markov Chain simulation ascertains a more accurate OT for guiding the coal gasification practice

The Effect of Promotion Integration Strategy on Sales Performance in the Context of Multiple Platforms: Considering the Moderating Effect of Platform’s Market Demand

Price and promotion strategy have been widely discussed in multi-channel retailing, but little study was focused on the promotion strategy in the context of multiple platforms. Through transaction data from a company’s different platforms, our study investigated the impact of promotion integration strategy on company’s overall sales performance on different platforms. Combined with platform’s index data about product market demand, the moderating effect of platform’s market demand was further evaluated. Using a fixed-effect model, our research found the positive effect of promotion timing integration and the negative effect of promotion depth integration on sales performance. We also found the moderating effect of platform’s market demand. Thus, our study generates important theoretical and practical implications for managing promotion activity on multiple platforms

Human Aspect on Chain of Custody (CoC) System Performance

The tropical forests cover 24% of tropical land area. They are the most productive terrestrial ecosystems on earth with high priorities for biodiversity conservation. These forests store a substantial amount of carbon in biomass and soil, and they also regulate the transfer of carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2). Indonesia is having the third tropical forest area in the world after Brazil and Congo. Over 50 years forest has been felled both legally as well as illegally. High rate of forest degradation resulted from unsustainable forest management, rampant illegal logging, forest area encroachment, conversion and natural disaster. All urges rapid improvement of management system of Indonesia’s forest resources (Holmes, 2002). Forest certification is one tool that can support the achievement of sustainable forest management goal. Under current operation of join certification protocol between the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) in Indonesia, forest management units must be able to show the required performance indicated in LEI criteria and indicator as well as FSC principles and criteria to attain certification of their products. The gap between current practices and performance required by forest certifications schemes is still enormous. The performance of forest certification system from LEI is determined very much by the human that is involved in the process of planning and operation. The name of certification system is chain of custody (CoC) certification. CoC operation involves activities such as tracing raw material from the forest to the factory, through shipping and manufacturing, to the final end product. In all of the above processes, the roles of human are critical, although the specific roles played from one process to another are different. In this paper we present an identification of human aspect and other factors that predominantly affect CoC system performance

Forecasting: theory and practice

Forecasting has always been in the forefront of decision making and planning. The uncertainty that surrounds the future is both exciting and challenging, with individuals and organisations seeking to minimise risks and maximise utilities. The lack of a free-lunch theorem implies the need for a diverse set of forecasting methods to tackle an array of applications. This unique article provides a non-systematic review of the theory and the practice of forecasting. We offer a wide range of theoretical, state-of-the-art models, methods, principles, and approaches to prepare, produce, organise, and evaluate forecasts. We then demonstrate how such theoretical concepts are applied in a variety of real-life contexts, including operations, economics, finance, energy, environment, and social good. We do not claim that this review is an exhaustive list of methods and applications. The list was compiled based on the expertise and interests of the authors. However, we wish that our encyclopedic presentation will offer a point of reference for the rich work that has been undertaken over the last decades, with some key insights for the future of the forecasting theory and practice

Breadth and Depth of Promotional Sales in Food Retailing

Temporary price reductions (sales) as a means of promotion have become an increasingly important tool in the marketing mix of food retailers around the world. This paper investigates the retailers' pricing strategy by explicitly accounting for the multi-product nature of retailing. We find that retailers systematically adjust the breadth and depth of sales over time and they respond aggressively to their rivals' promotional activities. Finally, the breadth and depth of sales are found to be substitutes in the set of the available strategies to increase the store traffic. (authors' abstract