DEA-based benchmarking models in supply chain management: an application-oriented literature review

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a mathematical methodology for benchmarking a group of entities in a group. The inputs of a DEA model are the resources that the entity consumes, and the outputs of the outputs are the desired outcomes generated by the entity, by using the inputs. DEA returns important benchmarking metrics, including efficiency score, reference set, and projections. While DEA has been extensively applied in supply chain management (SCM) as well as a diverse range of other fields, it is not clear what has been done in the literature in the past, especially given the domain, the model details, and the country of application. Also, it is not clear what would be an acceptable number of DMUs in comparison to existing research. This paper follows a recipe-based approach, listing the main characteristics of the DEA models for supply chain management. This way, practitioners in the field can build their own models without having to perform detailed literature search. Further guidelines are also provided in the paper for practitioners, regarding the application of DEA in SCM benchmarking

JTEC panel on display technologies in Japan

This report is one in a series of reports that describes research and development efforts in Japan in the area of display technologies. The following are included in this report: flat panel displays (technical findings, liquid crystal display development and production, large flat panel displays (FPD's), electroluminescent displays and plasma panels, infrastructure in Japan's FPD industry, market and projected sales, and new a-Si active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) factory); materials for flat panel displays (liquid crystal materials, and light-emissive display materials); manufacturing and infrastructure of active matrix liquid crystal displays (manufacturing logistics and equipment); passive matrix liquid crystal displays (LCD basics, twisted nematics LCD's, supertwisted nematic LCD's, ferroelectric LCD's, and a comparison of passive matrix LCD technology); active matrix technology (basic active matrix technology, investment environment, amorphous silicon, polysilicon, and commercial products and prototypes); and projection displays (comparison of Japanese and U.S. display research, and technical evaluation of work)

How do you evaluate logistics and supply chain performance? A review of the main methods and indicators

Despite of its origins, logistics concept is today strictly related to commercial activities. In particular, transport and logistics activities are more and more responsible for the success of a company, because their performance strongly influence customer loyalty. An efficient and updated supply chain performance assessment system is so essential for the financial wellness of a business. However, no many studies have been made on SC performance assessment and they have been all carried out lately. Starting from the definitions of logistics and supply chain, this paper presents a review of the main methods and tools used to evaluate supply chain performance. In particular, it focuses on the analysis of the main indicators used to assess logistics performance

Options Under Uncertainty: An Empirical Investigation of Patterns of Commitment in Display Technologies in the Flat Panel TV Set Industry

This dissertation considers fundamental questions about real options reasoning and its application in the face of uncertainty: do firms behave as real options reasoning predicts, and are there performance benefits from its application? The concept of uncertainty is further developed by considering two primary types: technological uncertainty and market needs uncertainty. A qualitative industry level historical case study is performed on the flat panel TV industry, chosen because it exhibits high technological uncertainty and low market needs uncertainty. Real options logic predicts, in such an industry, that firms will develop and maintain technology options until uncertainty is resolved. Firm level case studies for major incumbent Japanese TV set manufacturers and other relevant firms are performed. Comparison across the cases, and between several specific firms is conducted to test and further develop theory. The firms studied are found to generally behave as predicted by real options logic. Evidence from the study does not present a clear relation between options-related behavior and performance. Although this study identifies evidence not holding options can have large negative performance results, firms holding options as predicted by theory did not realize lasting performance improvements. With one exception, firms attempting to leverage technological capabilities into improved market positions were unable to realize durable improvements in their positions. The development and release of flat panel TV coincided with changes in performance for many firms in the industry; however, these performance changes were short lived. By the end of the study period, industry players had generally returned to the trajectories they were previously on. Between-case analysis of several outlying firms in the sample provides a rich and nuanced view of requirements for firms to dramatically improve performance in the face of high technological uncertainty in a market with very large size potential and relatively well-understood customer needs. This research contributes to the empirical literature on real options and is novel amongst academic research in its coverage of the flat panel display history using Japanese sources. Finally, this dissertation includes managerial implications regarding the usefulness of real options reasoning as well as practical issues in its implementation

A bibliometric analysis of selection of third-party logistics providers

19 páginasPurpose – To carry out a bibliometric review of third-party logistics service (3PLS) provider selection and identify the current stream of the field. Design/methodology/approach – Begins by setting the keywords for the search query to properly set the limit and scope of the research. The input selected for the study are papers, conference papers. Key indicators like publication productivity, citation, conceptual mapping, and research front are presented and discussed. The tools used for gathering the output were Rstudio and VosViewer. Findings: 3PLS provider selection is a topic studied mainly by surveys, case studies, and mathematical models' application. The selection decision is a multicriteria decisionmaking process and is mainly guided by quantitative models. Future research: 3PLS provider selection should include additional financial performance analysis. Last-mile distribution or collaborative distribution (covid19 as the main driver) and selection models applied to ecommerce could be developed. Practical implications: Managers could adapt the available publications and their models to their industry. Scholars can apply the model to different industries to set more robustness to the current conceptual and theoretical framework.Maestría en Gerencia InternacionalMagíster en Gerencia Internaciona

Rejuvenating the Developmental State in Taiwan: the Impacts of the EIA as an Environmental Governance (2006-2011)

Asian Tigers were sometimes referred to "developmental states" for they were capable of designing successful development agendas and implementing these plans with the compliance of private capital instead of simply regulating the market. However, with the fast democratic transition during the 1990s, the developmental state encountered serious challenges from business sectors, opposition parties and civil groups. Some literature suggested that this infiltration of private sector jeopardized the state's autonomy in formulating long-term plans. The chaotic policy process at the early stage of democratic transition revealed Taiwan state's capability in controlling developmental agendas has been weakened. If the developmental state of Taiwan ceased to function, in what way did it evolve? This dissertation aimed to answer this question by examining the role of the Taiwan state in promoting three major investments, the Formosa Steel-making Plant, the Central Taiwan Science Park in Holi-Chixing and Erlin, and the Eighth Petrochemical Plant, from 2006 to 2010. While developmental states were often argued incompatible with democratic regimes, this dissertation demonstrated that the status of Taiwan's developmental state remained firm after democratic transition given that the state was still autonomous in terms of defining and preserving national interests. Furthermore, it WAS the public participation and environmental institutional monitoring brought by democratic transition that reinforced the developmental state in Taiwan by correcting the state's errors in promoting those inefficient projects. Through the interdependent governance in the review mechanisms, these industrial programs based on outdated development agendas were smoothly postponed. Some programs were even called off by the corporations themselves. The democratic transition did not lessen politicians' pursuit of constant national economic development; moreover, it brought in correcting mechanisms and thus further reinforced the capacity of the developmental state in choosing developmental agendas

A Conceptual Framework of Reverse Logistics Impact on Firm Performance

This study aims to examine the reverse logistics factors that impact upon firm performance. We review reverse logistics factors under three research streams: (a) resource-based view of the firm, including: Firm strategy, Operations management, and Customer loyalty (b) relational theory, including: Supply chain efficiency, Supply chain collaboration, and institutional theory, including: Government support and Cultural alignment. We measured firm performance with 5 measures: profitability, cost, innovativeness, perceived competitive advantage, and perceived customer satisfaction. We discuss implications for research, policy and practice

Performance Measurement System Based on Supply Chain Operations Reference Model: Review and Proposal

Current study provides a performance measurement system (PMS) based on Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) adapted for the service sector. A systematic literature review was conducted on 16 performance measurement systems, which included 44 performance indicators and various performance metrics. Performance indicators and metrics were sorted according to conceptual similarities and then related to the five management processes intrinsic to SCOR model (plan, source, make, deliver and return). Indicators researched in a review of the literature were classified into six groups, namely, financial, velocity, sustainability, quality, resource utilization and customer services. The proposed PMS fills a gap in literature by forwarding a tool for the evaluation of the supply chain performance within the service sector

Evaluation of the applicability of design for six sigma to metal additive manufacturing technology

Design for Six Sigma has been applied in traditional and conventional manufacturing technologies to enhance both products and manufacturing processes. It has yielded great results and proven to be a key driver for quality improvement using Six Sigma strategy. Design for Six Sigma uses an organized methodology for designing new products and processes using statistical tools to minimize defects and process deviations. Modern manufacturing technologies such as Additive Manufacturing are complex and require a lot of consideration in terms of selected process parameters that affect part quality. The quality of the resultant parts in additive manufacturing is influenced and affected by the design of the parts to be fabricated, the build process and the chosen process parameters. Quality deviations in additive manufacturing can be observed within a batch of similar parts and from batch to batch production. Due to the complexity of Additive Manufacturing technology and its application, defect reduction remains a key barrier towards further acceptance in highly regulated industries. This paper aims to evaluate the applicability of design for Six Sigma principle to Additive Manufacturing. It seeks to outline how Design for Six Sigma can be applied to Additive Manufacturing to reduce variability and which tools can be used to enhance the quality of the resultant parts. The study critically reviews best practices for Design for Six Sigma to evaluate its applicability to modern manufacturing