Bottled Water Logistics and Forecasting

CASE OVERVIEW This case presents an interesting and very real dilemma: In 2005, Walmart committed to selling “products that sustain people and the environment.” However, despite environmental and social concerns of the category that include energy required for transport and storage, the plastic used for bottling, the potential lack of purity due to chemicals leeching from the plastic, massive waste, and the cost relative to tap water, consumers want and continue to buy bottled water. Thus the espoused goals of the company are in seeming conflict with its business model. Bottled water is an item under public scrutiny, and producers were already working on solutions such as less plastic in bottles. But what responsibility does Walmart have? Lee Scott provided the answer to this dilemma in his interview with the Wall Street Journal when he said that as long as consumers demanded bottled water, Walmart would sell it. With that backdrop, what can managers do? Overall, the case implies four possible approaches to this challenge: discontinue selling all bottled water products; change consumer demand; redesign the supply network; or Improve forecasting

Bottled Water Mini Case

CASE OVERVIEW This case presents an interesting and very real dilemma: In 2005, Walmart committed to selling “products that sustain people and the environment.” However, despite environmental and social concerns of the category that include energy required for transport and storage, the plastic used for bottling, the potential lack of purity due to chemicals leeching from the plastic, massive waste, and the cost relative to tap water, consumers want and continue to buy bottled water. Thus the espoused goals of the company are in seeming conflict with its business model. Bottled water is an item under public scrutiny, and producers were already working on solutions such as less plastic in bottles. But what responsibility does Walmart have? Lee Scott provided the answer to this dilemma in his interview with the Wall Street Journal when he said that as long as consumers demanded bottled water, Walmart would sell it. With that backdrop, what can managers do? Overall, the case implies four possible approaches to this challenge: discontinue selling all bottled water products; change consumer demand; redesign the supply network; or improve forecasting. This case is not designed for full forecasting analysis

THE IMPACT OF MALICIOUS AGENTS ON THE ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY 1

Abstract In this paper, a competitive software market that includes horizontal and quality differentiation, as well as a negative network effect driven by the presence of malicious agents, is modeled. Software products with larger installed bases, and therefore more potential computers to attack, present more appealing targets for malicious agents. One finding is that software firms may profit from increased malicious activity. Software products in a more competitive market are less 1 Peter Gutmann was the accepting senior editor for this paper. Lech Janczewski served as the associate editor. The appendix for this paper is located in the "Online Supplements" section of the MIS Quarterly's website (http://www.misq.org). likely to invest in security, while monopolistic or niche products are likely to be more secure from malicious attack. The results provide insights for IS managers considering enterprise software adoption

Model of dynamic allocation of storage places in Cross Docking centers

Este trabajo describe una metodología para la asignación de lugares de almacenamiento temporal en centros tipo Cross Docking, para lo cual se desarrolla un modelo cuyo principal aporte es la asignación dinámica de productos entrantes a estos lugares de almacenamiento. El modelo minimiza los costos asociados al inventario final de los productos y los costos asociados a las distancias recorridas por unidad de carga. Se logra, además, una reducción del tiempo de permanencia y una aceleración del flujo de los productos desde la recepción hasta el despacho. Como principal conclusión, se identifica la importancia de las asignaciones puerta a puerta, en la reducción de los costos.This paper describes the methodology applicable to temporary storage in Cross Docking centers using a mathematical model. This model favors the dynamic allocation of storage places to incoming products in Cross Docking centers, reducing the costs associated with the final inventory of each of the products and the costs associated with the distances covered by each load unit. It also achieves a reduction in the time of permanence and an acceleration of the flow of products from reception to dispatch

Extending the Decision-Making Capabilities in Remanufacturing Service Contracts by Using Symbiotic Simulation

Remanufacturing is a critical enabler of a resource efficient manufacturing industry that has long been associated with high value products. Over time, the commercial relationship between customers and service providers has been made through the fulfilment of rights and obligations under remanufacturing service contracts. Nonetheless, financial analysis to evaluate the contract terms and conditions are becoming increasingly difficult to conduct due to complex decision problems inherent in remanufacturing systems. In order to achieve better and safer decision-making to shape the business strategies, remanufacturers often employ computer-based simulation tools to assess contractual obligations and customers’ needs. This paper discusses the roles of a symbiotic simulation system (SSS) in supporting decision-making in remanufacturing systems. An industrial case study of power transformer remanufacturing illustrates how SSS can support contract remanufacturers in managing service contracts planning and execution. By linking the simulation model to the physical system, it has been demonstrated that the capabilities of the remanufacturers to make critical decisions throughout the entire service contract period can be extended

A review of the state of the art in tools and techniques used to evaluate remanufacturing feasibility

Remanufacturing often seems a sensible approach for companies looking to adopt sustainable business plans to achieve long term success. However, remanufacturing must not be treated as a panacea for achieving a sustainable business, as issues such as market demand, product design, end of life condition and information uncertainty can affect the success of a remanufacturing endeavour. Businesses therefore need to carefully assess the feasibility of adopting remanufacturing before committing to a particular activity or strategy. To aid this decision process, a number of tools and techniques have been published by academics. However, there is currently not a formal review and comparison of these tools and how they relate to the decision process. The main research objective of this study has therefore been to identify tools and methods which have been developed within academia to support the decision process of assessing and evaluating the viability of conducting remanufacturing, and evaluate how they have met the requirements of the decision stage. This has been achieved by conducting a content analysis. Three bibliographic databases were searched (Compendex, Web of Science and Scopus) using a structured keyword search to identify relevant literature. The identified tools were then split into 6 categories based upon the specific decision stages and applications, then evaluated against a set of key criteria which are, the decision factors (economic, environmental, social) and the inclusion of uncertainty. The key finding of this study has been that although decision factors are generally well covered, operational tools and the use of uncertainty are often neglected

The Impact of Malicious Agents on the Enterprise Software Industry

In this paper, a competitive software market that includes horizontal and quality differentiation, as well as a negative network effect driven by the presence of malicious agents, is modeled. Software products with larger installed bases, and therefore more potential computers to attack, present more appealing targets for malicious agents. One finding is that software firms may profit from increased malicious activity. Software products in a more competitive market are less likely to invest in security, while monopolistic or niche products are likely to be more secure from malicious attack. The results provide insights for IS managers considering enterprise software adoption