Stock-market related price determination in consideration of time dynamic cost factors

Providing their customers with the most accurate pricing has become one of the key competitive factors ensuring commercial success for tool and mould manufacturers. However, time dynamic costs influence the pricing calculations significantly, indeed, they are rarely taken into consideration adequately. This paper presents an approach which allows to improve conventional tool performances by developing a novel forecasting method which combines mechanisms related to the stock market with techniques of stochastic prediction methods.DFG/DE 447/72-

Design and financial aspects of the end-of-life management of telecommunications products

As a result of legislation the electronics industry faces product takeback and recycling. It is therefore important to understand the environmental burden caused by discarded consumer electronics and also how to better manage raw materials. The thesis begins with a review of current environmental issues from the viewpoint of the electronics industry. This shows that there are many complex interactions to be considered within any environmental framework particularly those between legislation, technology and business. Consideration of the drivers indicates that work should focus on the design understanding required to allow product life extension as well as current strategies addressing the reprocessing of used products. The body of the thesis therefore has two themes, both of which use telecommunications products, telephones, as their exemplar. The first theme, the design issues related to the end-of-life management is explored via a benchmarking study of eight telephones from European (UK and Germany) and Far Eastern suppliers (China and Malaysia). This study allowed the generation of design rules for such products. The work also examined the impact of design changes to improve end-of-life practices on manufacturing costs in Europe and the Pacific Rim to indicate the constraints of labour and investment costs. The second theme links the business and technological issues faced in the endof- life (EOL) management of electronic products. The EOL options considered are: resale, remanufacturing, recycling, disposal and to a limited extent, upgrading. Building on the technological understanding generated in the first theme accurate economic models are derived, based on commercial data, for exemplar telephone products that reflect the activities within each option. The potential revenue from each option indicates preferred design strategies and the models can therefore help resolve some of the uncertainties faced by decision makers. The thesis closes by identifying that the design rules and financial models are particularly appropriate for mature products such as the telephones used as exemplars, further research is therefore necessary to extend the existing work to high added value products

A Case Study for Financial Feasibility of Automated Costing Support in A Small Machine Shop

A knowledge-based cost estimating expert system is chosen by a Mexican machine shop. Differences between the traditional experience-based system employed and the automated system are studied. Data is gathered to analyze time effectiveness, accuracy and payback of the software. Data from seventy part models is recorded to study the time experiment, and data from fifty part models is used to study the accuracy and consistency. Data is analyzed by calculating mean, standard deviation, and test of hypothesis. The results indicate that the software is faster than the traditional quoting system; however, the payback point is high. Also, results show the software has a smaller average time-to-manufacture percentage difference between the automated system and the actual time-to-manufacture (TTM) compared to the percentage difference between the traditional’s TTM and actual TTMs, and this difference is statistically significant. The standard deviation for the automated system is also less implying better consistency

Technology commercialisation and intellectual property rights in Ghana

By an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, CSIR Act 521 of 1996, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, Ghana’s main R&D Organisation was re-established with a new mandate to conduct market-oriented, demand-driven research and also to commercialise the research results & technologies developed. The CSIR was tasked to recover three-quarters of its annual operating expenses through contract research and services. Over five years of implementation, what are the experiences? This paper looks at the implementation process, the attitude of research scientists towards the change and the impact of the commercialisation process on the socio-economic development of Ghana. The constraint of commercialisation including inadequate intellectual property laws is discussed. The intellectual property rights protection from the perspective of a developing country is also discussed. Intellectual property-related laws cannot remain static in a world where economic development is becoming increasingly technology-based. Intellectual property laws are going to be more stringent and stricter in the days to come, offering more opportunities and challenges.Intellectual Property Protection; Commercialization; Tripps; Ghana

Study on Development Strategies of a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise in Dynamic Environment

Master's thesis in Technology and Operation ManagementThe role of SMEs in promoting economic prosperity and solving employment has become increasingly evident. In the large-scale trade of industrial products, SMEs can also play their unique role and form a new impetus for economic development. SMEs are highly permeable, flexible and innovative, and can meet social demands from a more nuanced perspective. SME development is also a very valuable research topic. This paper is based on a small and medium-sized industrial enterprise, through the study of its development, sort out strategies suitable for SMEs. It provides theoretical guidance and practical reference of the development strategies for innovative SMEs, and promotes the sound development of SMEs. However, the survival and development of SMEs must first solve the marketing problem. Without purchase order, everything cannot be discussed. SMEs must avoid weaknesses and create innovative business models. Through market-based strategies, they can do market segmentation, market selection, and market positioning. Combine with product strategies, price strategies, channel strategies, and promotion strategies, they can survive in the gap between large companies; and to meet the special demands of customers and achieve sustainable development. In this paper, Company A is selected as a research case. As a small and medium-sized industrial trading company, company A is different from an industrial product manufacturing company. It faces greater pressure for survival in the fierce market competition but also has a wide range of opportunities for development. My work further clarifies Company A‟s market positioning and strategy selection, hoping by analyzing Company A's target-oriented markets and target market strategies to demonstrate Company A‟s 4P combination strategies including quality, service, brand and new product of Product strategy; going-rate, perceived value, market penetration, price mantissa, special customer, quantity discount and cash discount of Pricing strategy; conventional channels, website, social platform, local cooperation, channel member and international marketing of Place strategy; personnel promotion, network promotion, public relations and advertising of Promotion strategy. In order to guarantee the implementation of the development strategies of Company A, supporting measures are proposed by my work in terms of resource advantages, organizational structure, information management, financing channels, team building, and corporate culture. It also points out that SMEs face great opportunities for development. SME‟s development strategies should focus on customer value, continue to innovate, and make a good integration between products and markets

Product-service system inventory control: manufacturing perspectives

This thesis explores the role of Inventory Control in Product Service System (PSS) applications within manufacturing contexts. This research led to a new approach for dealing with inventory control and contributes to understanding of the PSS paradigm in manufacturing industries. PSS embraces the product and service continuum as one system; meanwhile, Inventory Control has led to substantial improvements in performance across many industries. PSS and Inventory Control have for many years been recognized in the scientific literature and by industry as enablers of manufacturing operations. Most studies in the field of PSS and Inventory Control have only focussed on its individual scenarios; little is known about where the boundaries of PSS should lie as it needs to integrate both external and internal elements in managing PSS Inventory Control. To date, very little research has been reported related to inventory control in product-service systems from manufacturing operations perspectives. Research has been done in three stages: (1) PSS characteristics were synthesised from the literature; (2) current industry example of PSS inventory were investigated through a survey; four case studies were developed; (3) uncertainty elements were identified from the literature related to the current PSS Inventory Control scenario and these were evaluated, developed and validated producing a generic model. The research carried out involved collecting primary data from qualitative research conducted through four case studies with companies in the United Kingdom and Malaysia; and information from secondary sources; utilising techniques such as survey, interview, matrix and modelling language method. This thesis contributes to the current PSS research by developing a generic model of PSS Inventory Control from manufacturing operations perspectives and a PSS Inventory Control (PSSIC) Framework

The Contribution of Design Discipline in Business Decisions through Design-Oriented Production Diversification: A Case Study in Italian Furniture Sector

Firm diversification is a growth strategy that allows firms to launch new products in untapped markets to increase revenue. It is the identified approach where industrial designers can contribute to exploring new tactical assets. The paper analyses the design-oriented diversification of a furniture company in Italy, where Design played a crucial role in positioning new demands. The tool applied to display the current and the feasible product portfolio is the Product Space. The company has leveraged its know-how on bent glass to produce iconic objects, winning prestigious design awards