Mitigating supply chain uncertainty and risk through logistics innovation capability

This paper aims to develop a framework for mitigating supply chain uncertainty and risk by adopting logistics innovation capability. Due to the increased globalised supply chain operations, logistics and transport industries now face more supply chain uncertainties and risks than ever. Managing these supply chain uncertainties and risks is a priority task to logistics and transport managers. Based on resource based review, logistics innovation capability provides valuable insight into mitigating supply chain uncertainty and risk. This paper focuses on the relationship between logistics innovation capability and supply chain uncertainty and risk. This would illustrate the potential solutions for mitigating supply chain uncertainty and risk systematically. In addition to make a contribution for development supply chain uncertainty and risk management strategy

The effects of information and communication technologies on the evolution of new organisational forms

Over recent decades a significant part of research in organisational sociology has focused on how new organisational forms evolve. Despite a wide range of theoretical perspectives there is no consensus on how new forms of organisation emerge. Various internal and external variables have contributed to the evolution of new organisational forms. Previous research has focused on identifying the contexts, processes and variables that are associated with the emergence of these organisational forms. This study aims to address the existing gap in the literature by developing a theoretical model by which the relationships among specific attributes of ICT (upstream factors) and attributes of NOFs (downstream factors) that emerge as a result impacts of ICTs become clear. The business strategy, IT strategy, ICT capabilities, IT strategic alignment and management support were among the initial factors in the model. Following the review of literature four underlying factors were recognised as having an impact on the dimensions of NOFs. Hence, business strategy, IT strategy, IT strategic alignment, ICT capabilities, and top management support were the research constructs in the proposed model. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 3248 Australian CEOs on September 2006. Of the surveys emailed, 317 were completed and returned. Of the 317, five questionnaires were rejected because many items were left blank. Usable responses totalled 312, thus, the final response rate was 9.6 percent. This study consisted of two main phases: the first phase involved both the development of a research instrument and a theoretical model explaining the relationship between ICTs and NOFs. In the second stage the measurement model and structural model (hypotheses testing) were tested using Structural Equation Modelling. Results from this study uncovered several implications. First, the level of strategic alignment was significantly correlated with the attributes of NOFs. The current study provided an explanation for the way the IT strategic alignment could ultimately affect the evolution of the attributes of NOFs. This is consistent with previous researches in IT research. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between business strategy and any of attributes of NOFs. However, compared to business strategy, IT strategy had significant relationships with categories of attributes in forms of proactiveness and aggressivenes

Multi-objective decision analytics for short-notice bushfire evacuation: An Australian case study

This paper develops a multi-objective optimisation model to compute resource allocation,shelter assignment and routing options to evacuate late evacuees from affected areas to shelters.Three bushfire scenarios are analysed to incorporate constraints of restricted time-window and potential road disruptions.Capacity and number of rescue vehicles and shelters are other constraints that are identical in all scenarios.The proposed mathematical model is solved by ?-constraint approach.Objective functions are simultaneously optimised to maximise the total number of evacuees and assigned rescue vehicles and shelters.We argue that this model provides a scenario-based decision-making platform to aid minimise resource utilisation and maximise coverage of late evacuees

Lazada's last mile: Where no e-commerce company in Vietnam had gone before

Aim/Purpose: This case study examines the last-mile logistics model as implemented by Lazada Vietnam, as well as the logistics challenges in the local business environment that led the e-commerce company to dually employ the inventory/retail model and the marketplace model for delivering orders to online customers in Vietnam in search of the way to perfect their last-mile logistics. Background: For electronic commerce companies aiming to be successful in customer service, what academics and practitioners refer to as 'last-mile logistics' is the one moment of truth, when deliveries have to be planned tactically and exactly, so that orders are delivered to customers at the right time, right place, right quantity, right quality, and ultimately at the right cost. When deciphering this type of supply chain, i.e., one that is e-commerce- driven, last-mile logistics is the one segment of the product flow that directly interacts with the ultimate customer, but many times is the one segment that is the most problematic and less efficient to implement well. Lazada Group, a German e-commerce company, discovered the serious complications of 'last-mile logistics' when they first entered Vietnam in 2013

ProtoDESI: First On-Sky Technology Demonstration for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the universe using the baryon acoustic oscillations technique. The spectra of 35 million galaxies and quasars over 14,000 square degrees will be measured during a 5-year survey. A new prime focus corrector for the Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory will deliver light to 5,000 individually targeted fiber-fed robotic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broadband multi-object spectrographs. We describe the ProtoDESI experiment, that was installed and commissioned on the 4-m Mayall telescope from August 14 to September 30, 2016. ProtoDESI was an on-sky technology demonstration with the goal to reduce technical risks associated with aligning optical fibers with targets using robotic fiber positioners and maintaining the stability required to operate DESI. The ProtoDESI prime focus instrument, consisting of three fiber positioners, illuminated fiducials, and a guide camera, was installed behind the existing Mosaic corrector on the Mayall telescope. A Fiber View Camera was mounted in the Cassegrain cage of the telescope and provided feedback metrology for positioning the fibers. ProtoDESI also provided a platform for early integration of hardware with the DESI Instrument Control System that controls the subsystems, provides communication with the Telescope Control System, and collects instrument telemetry data. Lacking a spectrograph, ProtoDESI monitored the output of the fibers using a Fiber Photometry Camera mounted on the prime focus instrument. ProtoDESI was successful in acquiring targets with the robotically positioned fibers and demonstrated that the DESI guiding requirements can be met.Comment: Accepted versio

Preparation and characterization of carbon nanofluid by a plasma arc nanoparticles synthesis system

Heat dissipation from electrical appliances is a significant issue with contemporary electrical devices. One factor in the improvement of heat dissipation is the heat transfer performance of the working fluid. In this study, we used plasma arc technology to produce a nanofluid of carbon nanoparticles dispersed in distilled water. In a one-step synthesis, carbon was simultaneously heated and vaporized in the chamber, the carbon vapor and particles were then carried to a collector, where cooling furnished the desired carbon/water nanofluid. The particle size and shape were determined using the light-scattering size analyzer, SEM, and TEM. Crystal morphology was examined by XRD. Finally, the characterization include thermal conductivity, viscosity, density and electric conductivity were evaluated by suitable instruments under different temperatures. The thermal conductivity of carbon/water nanofluid increased by about 25% at 50°C compared to distilled water. The experimental results demonstrated excellent thermal conductivity and feasibility for manufacturing of carbon/water nanofluids

Experimental and theoretical studies of nanofluid thermal conductivity enhancement: a review

Nanofluids, i.e., well-dispersed (metallic) nanoparticles at low- volume fractions in liquids, may enhance the mixture's thermal conductivity, knf, over the base-fluid values. Thus, they are potentially useful for advanced cooling of micro-systems. Focusing mainly on dilute suspensions of well-dispersed spherical nanoparticles in water or ethylene glycol, recent experimental observations, associated measurement techniques, and new theories as well as useful correlations have been reviewed

Quais as principais características organizacionais das empresas dos diferentes segmentos da construção civil?

Resumo Neste artigo os autores se propõem a identificar os fatores que definem as principais características organizacionais de empresas do subsetor da construção civil, localizadas em Curitiba e região metropolitana, assim como verificar as diferenças existentes entre os cinco segmentos de atividade mais relevantes desse mercado: residencial, industrial e comercial, infraestrutura, serviços especializados e construção industrializada. Para tanto, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa exploratória e de natureza quantitativa, em nível de mestrado. O método survey foi escolhido como procedimento principal para este estudo, permitindo a obtenção de dados primários por meio da aplicação de um questionário em um grupo de 118 empresas. Esse questionário procurou identificar o perfil da organização e as características organizacionais das empresas avaliadas. Os dados foram analisados com a aplicação de técnicas multivariadas de análise fatorial e análise discriminante. A análise fatorial evidenciou as estratégias de melhoria, o comportamento do indivíduo no trabalho, a estrutura de funcionamento, a dinâmica de crescimento, o estilo de gestão, as relações interpessoais e o posicionamento da empresa perante o mercado como fatores determinantes. A análise discriminante apontou significativa homogeneidade no desenvolvimento organizacional das empresas que representam os diferentes segmentos de atividade

Overview of the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys

The DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys (http://legacysurvey.org/) are a combination of three public projects (the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey, the Beijing–Arizona Sky Survey, and the Mayall z-band Legacy Survey) that will jointly image ≈14,000 deg2 of the extragalactic sky visible from the northern hemisphere in three optical bands (g, r, and z) using telescopes at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The combined survey footprint is split into two contiguous areas by the Galactic plane. The optical imaging is conducted using a unique strategy of dynamically adjusting the exposure times and pointing selection during observing that results in a survey of nearly uniform depth. In addition to calibrated images, the project is delivering a catalog, constructed by using a probabilistic inference-based approach to estimate source shapes and brightnesses. The catalog includes photometry from the grz optical bands and from four mid-infrared bands (at 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 μm) observed by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite during its full operational lifetime. The project plans two public data releases each year. All the software used to generate the catalogs is also released with the data. This paper provides an overview of the Legacy Surveys project