Current Advancements of and Future Developments for Fourth Party Logistics in a Digital Future

This paper aims to analyze the potential future of the 4PL concept based on expert opinions with special regard to the influence of digitalization coming with a disruptive trans-formation of supply chains. Service arrangements, provider capabilities and benefits resulting from a 4PL partnership are compared in current and future configurations. The research follows an explorative mixed methods approach with semi structured interviews followed by an expert panel. This builds a basis for an online survey questionnaire to inquire on important future aspects for the 4PL concept by a sample of respondents from multinational companies. Our results show a clear trend away from simply organizing transportation and logistics activities towards the provision of an IT platform as well as further value-added service activities such as planning, analytics and monitoring. Along with this, IT capabilities appear to be an important differentiator for 4PL providers in the future. Moreover, relationships between 4PL providers and their clients become closer and more strategic, which leads to a customer valuing not only direct cost reductions but rather improvements resulting from optimized operations through superior analysis and planning functions

The role of supplier relationship platforms in supply chain management- the case of Ecratum

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Information Systems and Technologies ManagementThe term supply chain can be defined as a process in which suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers are working together during the whole process of manufacturing the product and delivering it to the end-user. More specifically, all parties are involved in various phases from getting the raw material, transforming this material into a product that will satisfy users' needs and make sure this product reaches the end customer (La Londe & Masters, 1994). However, even though supply chains are created with the main aim to reduce costs, find the right partners to deliver the products and stay competitive on the market, proper management is crucial for the successful operation. Supply chain management (hereinafter: SCM), is all about the right optimization and strategic planning to identify, acquire, gain, allocate and manage all the needed resources that are involved in the workflow of achieving strategic objectives (Flynn, Harding, Lallatin, Pohlig & Sturzl, 2006)

Rebel Foods’ Cloud Kitchen Technologies: Food for Thought?

This case study examines the India based cloud kitchens and food services provider Rebel Foods’ technology platforms. We document the development of the company from its foundation in 2004 and the role played by technology in enabling its various lines of business. We describe in detail the technology stack that drives the operations at Rebel Foods. We also present various emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotic process automation (RPA), blockchain and augmented reality (AR) that may be utilized by Rebel Foods to increase efficiency, build customer engagement and improve sales growth and profitability. We critically examine Rebel Foods’ current approach to technology and analyze the various technology options that the company may consider to drive its future strategy

A blockchain-IoT platform for the smart pallet pooling management

Pallet management as a backbone of logistics and supply chain activities is essential to supply chain parties, while a number of regulations, standards and operational constraints are considered in daily operations. In recent years, pallet pooling has been unconventionally advocated to manage pallets in a closed-loop system to enhance the sustainability and operational effectiveness, but pitfalls in terms of service reliability, quality compliance and pallet limitation when using a single service provider may occur. Therefore, this study incorporates a decentralisation mechanism into the pallet management to formulate a technological eco-system for pallet pooling, namely Pallet as a Service (PalletaaS), raised by the foundation of consortium blockchain and Internet of things (IoT). Consortium blockchain is regarded as the blockchain 3.0 to facilitate more industrial applications, except cryptocurrency, and the synergy of integrating a consortium blockchain and IoT is thus investigated. The corresponding layered architecture is proposed to structure the system deployment in the industry, in which the location-inventory-routing problem for pallet pooling is formulated. To demonstrate the values of this study, a case analysis to illustrate the human–computer interaction and pallet pooling operations is conducted. Overall, this study standardises the decentralised pallet management in the closed-loop mechanism, resulting in a constructive impact to sustainable development in the logistics industry

Identify the HR factors that affect employee turnover in MasterHouse restaurant.

For organisations that seek reduction in employee turnover, it is crucial to identify which specific factors have the greatest impact on the staff turnover rate of the organisation. Similarly, after identifying influencing factors, it is also very important to formulate HR processes and policies based on the actual situation of the organisation. The aim of this research is to identify the HR factors that affect employee turnover rate in MasterHouse restaurant. High employee turnover rate will affect the performance of the organisation’s employees and the decline of daily functions, it will also increase the cost of organisation recruitment on-boarding and training. The purpose of this research is to identify the specific factors that affect employee turnover in MasterHouse and develop a practical plan for MasterHouse restaurant to improve employee loyalty and reduce employee turnover through the organisation’s human resources processes and policies. This research will lead to an understanding of the factors affecting the turnover rate of MasterHouse through secondary research, then researchers will collect data through quantitative research, and develop a strategic plan for MasterHouse to reduce employee turnover. The researcher will use questionnaires to investigate the HR strategies of MasterHouse and employees’ views on MasterHouse current HR process and policies. This research will involve five factors that affect employee turnover rate: Long-term relationships, benchmark, work-life balance, talent management, rewards and motivation. The researcher then connected and compared survey results with information in the literature and developed a practical plan for MasterHouse to reduce employee turnover rate

Keeping profits in New Zealand

The tourism industry is the second biggest for New Zealand and is expected to regain the top spot if current, exponential growth continues. Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as those owned by Expedia Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc. facilitate this boom by encouraging travellers to visit beautiful locations, but are taking huge chunks of this income away from the local Gross-Domestic Product (GDP) in the commission they charge on every night of accommodation booked. One of the largest consumers of New Zealand’s tourism industry is Chinese nationals. This study looks at feasibility of a small player developing an app in a market full of large corporates that are dominating the playing field. The primary research used mixed methods and sought to reach 120 questionnaire respondents and 10 interview participants which uncovered thoughts on stakeholders on either side of the discussion, the China-based potential customers and the New Zealand-based accommodation providers. Preliminary results indicate that Chinese nationals are often likely to conduct thorough research when making decisions about international travel and a large portion are enthused about the prospect of regular international travel. Accommodation providers in New Zealand are rarely hesitant to support a local OTA as they are often frustrated with the poor service received from the large corporates. Developing an app that is based in China and attempts to market the New Zealand tourism industry will be a difficult proposition but is plausible with the implementation of a marketing plan that is strategically thought out

To find a better way of training and development for a small retail business in the health product industry

This research is aimed at finding out how to bring a better training and development process to a small retail business in the health product industry to increase the effectiveness of employees' performance. The study was carried out at Dekang Nutrition Ltd. Currently，it has set up three physical stores in Rototuna, Hamilton. Dekang also has a 300-square-metre warehouse and delivery centre at Te Rapa, and operates two sales platforms online. This research uses qualitative methods. The primary qualitative method that used is interview. The study found out that the type of training needed to be changed, as the current training system is not enough for employees to keep up with rapid changes in the external environment. It also provides an insight into the lack of systematic follow up. The study recommends Dekang to have a mentoring/buddy system for training and to develop an evaluation system for employees to have a clear idea of their own performance in a timely manner. Also, the study recommends that Dekang have a clear career pathway to help employees improve

Measuring level of satisfaction

Customers are the ones to judge their level of satisfaction. Now times have changed and organisations have realized the value of retaining customers. This project is about knowing the level of customer satisfaction in a dairy shop, Melville Price Cutter, situated at 17 Bader Street, Hamilton. The information was gained by doing a survey of 50 customers who came to the dairy. Results obtained from this survey showed that most of the customers visited the dairy twice a week. 35% of the surveyed people were visiting the shop twice a week. When asked why they visit the dairy for shopping, the majority answer was time and location. 40% of the customers thought going to the dairy was time saving or should be very quick. 30% used the dairy for shopping because of its location. Customers preferred the nearest location to shop at a dairy. The results showed that customers who came to the dairy were always in hurry. They did not have time to go to supermarkets, so they expected to get quick service from the dairy. Customer felt happy when they were served quickly and they did not have to be in a queue. They liked deals where they could take advantage of cheap prices

The drivers of motivation

This project has been completed for a medium-sized supermarket located on the southern side of Hamilton. They currently have 83 people employed to work there. The reason for researching the drivers of motivation is so employers can begin to understand the best ways to motivate their individual employees The aim of the project was to analyse what drives motivation in the workplace and to provide recommendations for the supermarket. Both a questionnaire and interview were used, the questionnaire with the purpose of gathering a large amount of quantitative data in a short period of time and the interview to build on the results received from the questionnaires and provide qualitative data. Only employees in the grocery and checkout departments were asked to participate. Results from the questionnaire and interview showed that when it came to store culture, most staff felt that it could improve, that the store’s values were not being displayed, and that if store culture improved they would be better motivated. The store culture was also identified as an important motivator, especially for the staff over 26 years of age. When data concerning training and development was analysed, it was found that both training and career development were important motivators, with most staff wishing to undertake training and/or career development opportunities if they arose. From the analyses of the results for the reward and recognition questions, the staff indicated they felt they were not valued as employees and would prefer to receive more feedback to help increase their motivation. Pay was the last motivator to be analysed. The respondents indicated that they felt an increase in their pay rate would improve their motivation. However, upon further analysis through the interview, it was found although initially they would be motivated whether this would permanently improve their motivation was questionable. There were three recommendations for the organisation. These were, to implement a reward and recognition programme that addressed meeting the three motivational needs of the staff mentioned above, rewards and recognition, pay, and training and development. The second was to improve store culture, which would involve taking existing store values and establishing them into everyday life at the supermarket, so they become a shared set of values by them team. The third was to undertake further research to investigate how the motivational needs for the supermarket industry, a typical low skill, entry level job may differ to that of a higher skill job