The Strategic Supply Chain Management in the Digital Era, Tactical vs Strategic

The perspective of procurement and supply chain management is changing dramatically; traditionally, it was seen as a support function; however, the procurement function is receiving increased attention and investment as an essential contributor to the strategic success and a business enabler. While an end-to-end digital supply chain is an opportunity as it unleashes the next level of strategic growth and involves minimal investment in infrastructure, it is still a challenge to optimize and transform. Furthermore, the recent pandemics and geopolitical disruptions of Covid-19, the Ukraine-Russian war, Brexit and the US-China trade war; have structurally changed the global economy and revealed a new risk assessment that will result in the re-introduction of buffers, boundaries across industries and a partial return to regionalization with sort of de-globalization in which existing just-in-time getting replaced by just-in-case strategy

Optimising cost and availability estimates at the bidding stage of performance-based contracting

Performance-Based Contracting (PBC), e.g. Contracting for Availability (CfA), has been extensively applied in many industry sectors such as defence, aerospace and railway. Under PBC, complex support activities (e.g. maintenance, training, etc.) are outsourced, under mid to long term contracting arrangements, to maintain certain level of systems’ performance (e.g. availability). However, building robust cost and availability estimates is particularly challenging at the bidding stage because therei is lack of methods and limited availability of data for analysis. Driven by this contextual challenge this PhD aims to develop a process to simulate and optimise cost and availability estimates at the bidding stage of CfA. The research methodology follows a human-centred design approach, focusing on the end-user stakeholders. An interaction with seven manufacturing organisations involved in the bidding process of CfA enabled to identify the state-of-practice and the industry needs, and a review of literature in PBC and cost estimation enabled to identify the research gaps. A simulation model for cost and availability trade-off and estimation (CATECAB) has been developed, to support cost engineers during the bidding preparation. Also, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (EMOGA) has been developed to combine with the CATECAB and build a cost and availability estimation and optimisation model (CAEOCAB). Techniques such as Monte-Carlo simulation, bootstrapping resampling, multi-regression analysis and genetic algorithms have been applied. This model is able to estimate the optimal investment in the attributes that impact the availability of the systems, according to total contract cost, availability and duration targets. The validation of the models is performed by means of four case studies with twenty-one CfA scenarios, in the maritime and air domains. The outcomes indicate a representable accuracy for the estimates produced by the models, which has been considered suitable for the early stages of the bidding process

The role of e-procurement in purchasing management

This exposition summarises research published in several academic articles, in order to meet the requirements of PhD by publication. The focus of the work is on the role of electronic procurement in management of the purchasing function. From the late 1990s a number of independent e-procurement mechanisms were launched which offered potential benefits such as increased order accuracy, transaction efficiency and greater integration between trading partners. At the outset of this programme of research, e-procurement was therefore an emerging phenomenon with little academic research and presented an opportunity to investigate a largely unexplored area. Edmondson and McManus (2007) suggest that for nascent, as opposed to mature areas of research, where few formal constructs or measures exist, an exploratory, qualitative approach is required. This research followed such an approach through the use of case studies, involving observation, participation and interviews with key organisational actors. Each paper makes use of several cases in order to compare and contrast results from different organisations and to draw conclusions from multi-case analysis. The published articles focus on the impact of core applications within e-procurement, including online reverse auctions, electronic marketplaces, online catalogue sites, and buying systems covering the ‘requisition to pay’ cycle. The findings from the papers address a number of core themes in purchasing management. In considering buyer-supplier relationships, it was observed that such dyads are driven by traditional buyer negotiation factors such as segmentation, power and price and that use of eprocurement applications tended to enforce such traditional behaviours. In relation to the potential for integration, the study found that integration between firms was barely affected, as the concept of integration was neither an objective nor a business case driver for e-procurement adoption. This situation reflects the finding that procurement managers pursue functional targets rather than supply chain-level objectives. However, other significant effects from e-procurement adoption were noted such as the tendency by buyers to reduce supplier numbers and a move to re-engineer the procurement function in buying firms, through automating transactional processes. The research finds that e-procurement does not have a deterministic impact on purchasing management, and that it acts as an enabler to more effective management of the function though the way its different mechanisms are deployed. The exposition establishes that e-procurement is used in relation to supply conditions which are characterised by both ‘markets’ and ‘hierarchies’, but that it is the predefined purchasing strategy of the firm, rather than available technology solutions, which determines when markets and hierarchies are used. Additionally, an original model is introduced, focusing on developing an e-procurement policy which can support strategic purchasing goals. This model extrapolates findings from stages in the research, and marries together elements from various papers and frameworks therein, to produce some guidelines for adoption of this technology

Risks and Prospects of Smart Electric Grids Systems measured with Real Options

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National freight transport planning: towards a Strategic Planning Extranet Decision Support System (SPEDSS)

This thesis provides a `proof-of-concept' prototype and a design architecture for a Object Oriented (00) database towards the development of a Decision Support System (DSS) for the national freight transport planning problem. Both governments and industry require a Strategic Planning Extranet Decision Support System (SPEDSS) for their effective management of the national Freight Transport Networks (FTN). This thesis addresses the three key problems for the development of a SPEDSS to facilitate national strategic freight planning: 1) scope and scale of data available and required; 2) scope and scale of existing models; and 3) construction of the software. The research approach taken embodies systems thinking and includes the use of: Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOA/D) for problem encapsulation and database design; artificial neural network (and proposed rule extraction) for knowledge acquisition of the United States FTN data set; and an iterative Object Oriented (00) software design for the development of a `proof-of-concept' prototype. The research findings demonstrate that an 00 approach along with the use of 00 methodologies and technologies coupled with artificial neural networks (ANNs) offers a robust and flexible methodology for the analysis of the FTN problem domain and the design architecture of an Extranet based SPEDSS. The objectives of this research were to: 1) identify and analyse current problems and proposed solutions facing industry and governments in strategic transportation planning; 2) determine the functional requirements of an FTN SPEDSS; 3) perform a feasibility analysis for building a FTN SPEDSS `proof-of-concept' prototype and (00) database design; 4) develop a methodology for a national `internet-enabled' SPEDSS model and database; 5) construct a `proof-of-concept' prototype for a SPEDSS encapsulating identified user requirements; 6) develop a methodology to resolve the issue of the scale of data and data knowledge acquisition which would act as the `intelligence' within a SPDSS; 7) implement the data methodology using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) towards the validation of it; and 8) make recommendations for national freight transportation strategic planning and further research required to fulfil the needs of governments and industry. This thesis includes: an 00 database design for encapsulation of the FTN; an `internet-enabled' Dynamic Modelling Methodology (DMM) for the virtual modelling of the FTNs; a Unified Modelling Language (UML) `proof-of-concept' prototype; and conclusions and recommendations for further collaborative research are identified

Project Management Maturity in Local Government

Local Governments across NSW once again face the threat of forced amalgamations under the NSW State Governments Fit for the Future reforms package. Increased pressure from communities to deliver services, coupled with a future of reduced financial assistance from State Government has challenged the sector to improve their performance. For many Councils this is a paradigm shift from an ad hoc approach of project delivery toward organisational maturity. In order to do this Local Government practitioners must improve their Project Management practices to deliver projects that are environmentally and financially sustainable, with improved quality, lower risks and maintaining the balance of community needs and desires. This paper examines the current Project Management Maturity of the sector in the adoption of project management frameworks and practices. The research provides an initial benchmark of Councils practices and defines common strengths and weakness by comparing organisations within the sector. This research, participated in by project officers across 50 Councils, demonstrates that in most instances some form of project management is conducted but that there is little standardisation within or across organisations. The research is based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and assesses maturity in areas such as Project Scoping to Cost Management - some being found more mature than others across the sector. On the whole, the sector averages little more than level 2 of 5 in the adopted maturity scale. Procurement management has been found to be the most mature with other relative strengths in Time, Cost and Risk management. Quality, Human Resourcing and Communications management have been found as a weaknesses across the sector. The root cause for such results is currently speculative and will be the subject of further research. With regular benchmarking and analysis it is hoped that improvement can be realised across the sector and a Council-specific project management body of knowledge can be formed. An opportunity exists to build maturity in the sector and improve the success rate of the many projects Local Governments deliver

Foresight of aerospace and defence technologies in Greece up to 2020

Technology Foresight exammes the future of the Greek economy and in particular what the contribution of science and technology is to this. Greek Technology Foresight started in October 2001 as a programme co-financed by the European Union and the target was to create a functional view after two decades. The main purpose of this project is the identification of cost-effective Aerospace and Defence Technologies for Greece in the year 2020. Firstly, the capacity and capability of Greek industries and the research environment are examined in conjunction with the products demanded by Armed Forces. Secondly, comes the examination of all relevant factors (industry, university, government) which have a considerable contribution to research and innovation in order to promote networking and further institutional development. Research was absolutely necessary to foresee and evaluate specific technologies within a frame of long-term development strategy for the various stakeholders. This research area is directly related to my managerial role as I have been in charge of this programme during its implementation. The research methods employed are documentary evidence, interviews and the Delphi approach. Thus the data collected from a variety of sources ensure the qualitative character of the thesis. The main findings are that the outlined Aerospace and Defence technologies can playa decisive role in the three different scenarios for the future of the country and they are related to the outcomes of science and technology evolution. The general conclusion is that taking into consideration Technology Foresight results defence procurement could be managed better which would result an efficient contribution to national economy, an improvement in intra-community transfer and several benefits from export opportunities of dual-use products

The impact of market and entrepreneurial orientations on innovative marketing processes: The case of a large firm

Given the uncertainty, turbulence and intense competitiveness that characterizes today's markets, Entrepreneurship and Innovation suggest complementary approaches to Marketing Management that may have positive effects on a firm‟s performance and competitive advantage. Therefore it is necessary to understand the marketing processes that result from the interface between firms‟ Entrepreneurial Orientation and Market Orientation, within the scope of their organizational behaviors. As there is scarce empirical evidence on this subject in literature, this study follows a qualitative approach methodology by using a case study research strategy to explore these phenomena. Taking the example of a large company operating in the Portuguese Information Technology (IT) sector, this case study analyzes its marketing processes and subsequent outcomes in the marketplace, from evidence collected from in-depth interviews with its top management and two of its reference customers. These Marketing processes result from the interface between Entrepreneurial and Market Orientations, and therefore we will try to identify the influence of several factors on this interface. These comprise external market environment circumstances, as well as internal factors resulting from organizational architecture. We can find influencing effects from these factors, and observe that the firm‟s marketing processes leverage on innovation – either organizational, in their business model or of products/services – in order to acquire and maintain favorable positions in the market. This evidence raises new research alternatives and hypotheses for further development and operationalization of the Entrepreneurial Marketing Concept.Dada a natureza de incerteza, turbulência e intensa competitividade que caracteriza os mercados actuais, o empreendedorismo e a inovação apresentam abordagens complementares à gestão de Marketing que poderão ter efeitos positivos na performance e na criação de vantagens competitivas pelas empresas. Revela-se, pois, necessário compreender os processos de Marketing que resultam da interface entre a Orientação Empreendedora e a Orientação para o Mercado, no âmbito dos comportamentos organizacionais das empresas. Procurando complementar a escassa evidência empírica na literatura sobre este domínio, este estudo adopta uma abordagem de metodologia qualitativa através da pesquisa de caso de estudo para explorar estes fenómenos. Com o exemplo de uma grande empresa do sector das TI em Portugal, este caso de estudo analisa os processos de marketing e os seus resultados no mercado, a partir da evidência recolhida de entrevistas de profundidade com a gestão de topo e dois clientes de referência. Estes processos de Marketing resultam da interface entre as Orientações para o Empreendedorismo e para o Mercado, e assim tentamos identificar a influência de diversos factores sobre esta interface. Estes incluem circunstâncias da envolvente externa de mercado e factores internos resultantes da sua arquitectura organizacional. Verificamos existirem efeitos de influência destes factores, e observamos também que os processos de marketing da empresa alavancam na inovação – seja organizacional, de modelo de negócio ou de produto/serviço – para conquistarem e manterem posições favoráveis no mercado. Estas evidências suscitam novas alternativas e hipóteses de pesquisa para o desenvolvimento e operacionalização do conceito do Marketing do Empreendedorismo

Process for reducing preliminary engineering costs for multi-sided steel poles

Preliminary engineering for fabrication of multi-sided steel poles encompasses two efforts: planning to allocate available human and technical resources, and engineering design to deliver the most cost effective proposal. Steel pole companies strive to manage these efforts effectively, seeking to maximize the utilization of the available resources and workforce productivity. Managers need to be able to reduce costs associated with the preliminary design because there is no financial reward unless the company receives a contract for fabrication. The results reported here will enable engineers and managers to direct the resources where they are needed most and maximize productivity and efficiency. In the current state of practice, the entire pole must be designed in order to provide an accurate estimate of pole weight which is the primary driver of pole cost. This process usually takes in excess of an hour per pole. By streamlining this preliminary design process, engineers and managers are able to focus their time on more profitable efforts.The objective of this research is to reduce the amount of time spent in preliminary pole design. The methodology is based on developing predictive models using regression techniques that estimate pole weight as a function of several key parameters including pole height, "x-force", "y-force", "z-force", ice thickness, and wind speed. Design data were collected for over 300 multisided steel poles used in the electrical transmission industry in the United States. Results indicate that the predictive models account for approximately 87% of the variability in pole weight thus showing promise as a surrogate for the more time consuming current preliminary design process. In order to assess the time-saving effectiveness of the predictive models, value stream mapping was used to characterize the current preliminary pole design process versus the preliminary pole design process based on the predictive models. The purpose of value stream mapping is to determine pole design productivity, both before and after the predictive models are employed. The value stream map showed that utilizing the developed models would reduce the duration of the design and estimating process by approximately 20%. The validation process of the developed models showed that the models can provide consistency as well as accuracy that are better than the traditional process