SEAWEED DODOL OF AULIA SARI SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISE PRODUCT QUALITY IMPROVEMENT USING KANO MODEL AND PRODUCT QUALITY DIMENSION INTEGRATION

Aulia Sari is the only business entity that produces seaweed dodol in Java island. Dodol sales number in West Java is quite high because it is one of the typical souvenirs of West Java. Seaweed dodol Aulia Sari with many benefits offered from seaweed, did not get a big selling number in Bandung as the city where the business entity is established. This research is intended to improve the product quality of seaweed dodol to increase customer satisfaction level using integration of Kano method and Product Quality dimension. Advantages of using Kano and dimensions of product quality in product development has been proven in several previous studies to improve the product performance. This study uses 4 product quality dimensions that have been adapted to the product in the form of food and 22 variable of products quality derived from the Voice of the Customer and integrated with Kano method. The purpose of this study is to get what factors are going to be maintained, improved or removed from seaweed dodol products of Aulia Sari SME

When remanufacturing meets product quality improvement: the impact of production cost

Remanufacturing as well as quality improvement are important activities to improve sustainability. However, when coexisting in one company, their interaction is not clear. On the one hand, past research found a positive impact of remanufacturing on product quality. On the other hand, remanufacturing was shown to be negatively affected by an industry technology trajectory of quality improvements. Using a stylized model of endogenous product quality improvement and remanufacturing we find that the main driver of the contradicting results is the change in manufacturing costs caused by improving product quality. A strong increase in manufacturing costs due to product quality improvement may induce the firm to take up remanufacturing when introducing the new product. Conversely, a small impact of product quality improvement on manufacturing costs reverses this effect and may indeed lead the firm to cease remanufacturing when introducing the new product. We find that the latter outcome is never beneficial from an environmental point of view, while the former always is. With endogeneous product quality improvement we then characterize conditions where a remanufacturing manufacturer would take a different product quality improvement decision than a non-remanufacturing manufacturer. We observe that remanufacturing stifles (stimulates) product quality improvement when manufacturing cost of quality improved product are low (high). Neither of the two results are exclusively beneficial or detrimental from an environmental perspective and we characterize the conditions under which product quality improvement is preferable

Welfare improving product bans

We formulate a model of vertical differentiation to evaluate the welfare effects of removing a low quality product from the market. The mechanism through which a welfare improvement might arise is simple: Once the low quality low cost alternative is banned, entry into the high quality segment becomes more likely. This in turn may lead to a significant reduction in the price of the high quality product. We find that such a ban might improve aggregate welfare when consumers value the higher quality more, the marginal cost of producing high quality is lower, the price of low quality is higher, and the price sensitivity for high quality is not too high

Better Late Than Early: Vertical Differentiation in the Adoption of a New Technology

After the initial breakthrough in the research phase of R&D a new product undergoes a process of change, improvement and adaptation to market conditions. We model the strategic behavior of firms in this development phase of R&D. We emphasize that a key dimension to this competition is the innovations that lead to product differentiation and quality improvement. In a duopoly model with a single adoption choice, we derive endogeneously the level and diversity of product innovations. We demonstrate the existence of equilibria in which one firm enters early with a low quality product while the other continues to develop the technology and eventually markets a high quality good. In such an equilibrium, no monopoly rent is dissipated and the later innovator makes more profits. Incumbent firms may well be the early innovators, contrary to the predictions of the hypothesis.

Quality improvement and network externalities

We analyse the optimal pricing choice of an incumbent firm that sells a good with network externalities and is threatened by the entry of a higher quality variant. In the framework of a vertical differentiation model, we find a necessary and sufficient condition under which quality improvement occurs as a result of this competition.Vertical product differentiation; network externalities; quality improvement

Integrated Approach to the Assessment of the Quality of Immunostimulatory Beverage "Immuno Plus"

Based on the methods of theoretical qualimetry there was carried out the complex assessment of the quality of immunostimulatory beverage “Immuno plus”. The hierarchic structure of the properties of ready product, including the organoleptic and physical-chemical parameters and also the ones of food and biological value was presented. It was demonstrated, that the improvement of consistence, homogeneity and steadiness of beverage can be explained by gluten that acts as a hydrocolloid and consumers estimate the beverage quality according to these very parameters. The profiles of vitamin and mineral composition of immunostimulatory beverage “Immuno plus” and also the content of irreplaceable acids in it were presented.The received complex parameter of the “Immuno plus” beverage quality proves the high quality of new product. The calculated competitiveness of enriched beverage is 1,5 higher comparing with the control sample. The calculations of competitiveness of the beverage of increased food and biological value according to the modeling method that includes the parameters of the product quality, information about the analogues of elaborated goods and principle of innovations were presented. It was established, that the immunostimulatory beverage “Immuno plus” can be competitive on the Ukrainian consumer market at the expanse of improvement of organoleptic parameters, increase of food fibers, vitamins and mineral substances content in it and also of the presence of prophylactic properties

Leveraging Unstructured Image Data for Product Quality Improvement

Recently, traditional quality assurance methods, which often require human expertise, have been accompanied by more automated methods that use machine learning technology. These methods offer manufacturers to reduce error rates and, consequently, to increase margins as well. In particular, predictive quality assurance (Pre QA) allows to minimize expenses by feeding back information from product returns and quality checks into the early product development. However, Pre QA requires detailed information about previous quality problems which is not always readily available in a structured form. In this paper, we therefore discuss the potential of leveraging initially unstructured information in the form of images, taken either during quality checks or by customers when returning a product, to the end of product quality improvement. We furthermore show how this might be realized in practice using the case of fashion manufacturing as an example

On production costs in vertical differentiation models

In this paper, we analyse the effects of the introduction of a unit production cost beside a fixed cost of quality improvement in a duopoly model of vertical product differentiation. Thanks to an original methodology, we show that a low unit cost tends to reduce product differentiation and thus prices, whereas a high unit cost leads to widen product differentiation and to increase prices

The Role of Quality Product in Sale Increase of Ulos at Boi Tulus Sianipar Weaving Fabric in Toba Samosir Regency

This research was conducted at one ULOS fabric (Boi Tulus Sianipar Weaving Fabric) in Toba Samosir Regency of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Every organization or company engages in product selling, creates strategies, or attempts aiming at increasing their sale or market. One of them which is discussed in this research is the implementation of quality product improvement in increasing product sale. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect or the role of quality product improvement in increasing its sale in Textile Fabric of Boi Tulus Sianipar in Toba Samosir regency. This research also concerns on unique product of one area compared with others. Based on the data gathered and data analysis, it is concluded that the improvement of quality product affects its sale