Cooperation models for Supply Chain Management

Working in Supply Chains or Supply Networks (SN) requires to efficiently manage the information flow all along the network, and as a consequence, to define efficient coordination/cooperation mechanisms between partners. This problem is usually considered according to two main points of view: centralised planning of the SN using an APS (Advanced Planning System), or point-to-point relationship, each point being possibly managed by an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. The autonomy of each partner makes the centralised planning solution difficult, while in point-to-point relationship, it seems to be implicitly considered that a high level plan (Sales and Operation Planning-SOP) is generated by the final assembler, like in the automotive or aircraft industry, and is used for building a Procurement Planning which is sent as forecasts to the partners/suppliers. Iteratively, this procurement planning should allow the suppliers themselves building their SOP, and then generating forecasts for their own suppliers. Therefore, the main stream of the information flow should cross the chain from its end to its beginning, whereas the material flow goes in the reverse direction. This global framework seems to be considered as consistent on its own, independently from the characteristics of the involved partners. After having performed a number of case studies in various SN, we do believe that the characteristics of the companies involved in the SN have a deep influence on information processing and especially on the way the procurement planning is built and processed, setting into question the ideal case of an unidirectional information flow. In this paper, we suggest to define taxonomies of companies which in our opinion influence information processing all along the SN. We then suggest a generic model for coordination based on these taxonomies. Typical coordination situations will be discussed in order to show that these models may provide an efficient way to improve the use of Information and Communication (IC) tools with the final goal to define more realistic Procurement Plans within the Supply Networks

Coordination model for Supply Chain Management (SCM): an example in the application of the production planning process

The coordination of companies in the supply chain (SC) is a pillar of achieving better overall performance. Although often studied, research does not usually take into account the influence of the relationships amongst companies in the supply chain. Marcotte et al. [1] propose a collaborative coordination model for the SCM. They suggest the taxonomy of collaborative situations which influence information processing all along the SC. They also propose reference models for coordination based on this taxonomy. In this paper, we illustrate information processing in the planning process in a supply chain, according to different collaborative situations and to the corresponding reference models. The objective of this paper is to illustrate by way of examples the benefit of each company to process information as it is proposed in the collaborative coordination model

Super-harmonically resonant swirling waves in longitudinally forced circular cylinders

Resonant sloshing in circular cylinders was studied by Faltinsen et al. (2016), whose theory was used to describe steady-state resonant waves due to time-harmonic container's elliptic orbits. In the limit of longitudinal container motions, a symmetry-breaking of the planar wave solution occurs, with clockwise and anti-clockwise swirling equally likely. In addition to this primary harmonic dynamics, previous experiments have unveiled that diverse super-harmonic dynamics are observable far from primary resonances. Among these, the so-called double-crest (DC) dynamics, first observed by Reclari et al. (2014) for rotary sloshing, is particularly relevant, as its manifestation is the most favored by the spatial structure of the external driving. Following Bongarzone et al. (2022a), in this work we develop a weakly nonlinear (WNL) analysis to describe the system response to super-harmonic longitudinal forcing. The resulting system of amplitude equations predicts that a planar wave symmetry-breaking via stable swirling may also occur under super-harmonic excitation. This finding is confirmed by our experimental observations, which identify three possible super-harmonic regimes, i.e. (i) stable planar DC waves, (ii) irregular motion and (iii) stable swirling DC waves, whose corresponding stability boundaries in the forcing frequency-amplitude plane quantitatively match the present theoretical estimates

Consensus group sessions: a useful method to reconcile stakeholders’ perspectives about network performance evaluation

Background: Having a common vision among network stakeholders is an important ingredient to developing a performance evaluation process. Consensus methods may be a viable means to reconcile the perceptions of different stakeholders about the dimensions to include in a performance evaluation framework. Objectives: To determine whether individual organizations within traumatic brain injury (TBI) networks differ in perceptions about the importance of performance dimensions for the evaluation of TBI networks and to explore the extent to which group consensus sessions could reconcile these perceptions. Methods: We used TRIAGE, a consensus technique that combines an individual and a group data collection phase to explore the perceptions of network stakeholders and to reach a consensus within structured group discussions. Results: One hundred and thirty-nine professionals from 43 organizations within eight TBI networks participated in the individual data collection; 62 professionals from these same organisations contributed to the group data collection. The extent of consensus based on questionnaire results (e.g. individual data collection) was low, however, 100% agreement was obtained for each network during the consensus group sessions. The median importance scores and mean ranks attributed to the dimensions by individuals compared to groups did not differ greatly. Group discussions were found useful in understanding the reasons motivating the scoring, for resolving differences among participants, and for harmonizing their values

Non-negative Matrix Factorization using Partial Prior Knowledge for Radiation Dosimetry

Hyperspectral unmixing aims at decomposing a given signal into its spectral signatures and its associated fractional abundances. To improve the accuracy of this decomposition, algorithms have included different assumptions depending on the application. The goal of this study is to develop a new unmixing algorithm that can be applied for the calibration of multi-point scintillation dosimeters used in the field of radiation therapy. This new algorithm is based on a non-negative matrix factorization. It incorporates a partial prior knowledge on both the abundances and the endmembers of a given signal. It is shown herein that, following a precise calibration routine, it is possible to use partial prior information about the fractional abundances, as well as on the endmembers, in order to perform a simplified yet precise calibration of these dosimeters. Validation and characterization of this algorithm is made using both simulations and experiments. The experimental validation shows an improvement in accuracy compared to previous algorithms with a mean spectral angle distance (SAD) on the estimated endmembers of 0.0766, leading to an average error of $(0.25 \pm 0.73)$ % on dose measurements.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

The adoption of open access scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities: some Influencing factors

Open access is a means for free availability of scholarly content via the internet. It is an emerging opportunity for wider and unlimited access to scholarly literature. Scholarly communication, through open access journals and self-arching, are the two main approaches of open access publishing. However, this mode of scholarly communication is not widely utilised in developing countries such as Tanzania. This article discusses the factors that influence the adoption of open access for scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities, based on a study conducted in 2008 using a survey questionnaire. A sample of 544 researchers, selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 1 088 researchers and 69 policymakers at six public universities in Tanzania, provided their views. It was evident from the findings that researchers’ internet usage skills and self-efficacy, social influence, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and the respondents’ general perceptions about open access were the positive factors likely to facilitate open access adoption. The current poor research conditions and researchers’ low internet self-efficacy (such as inadequate information search skills) were cited as the main hindrances for researchers to use open access outlets to access scholarly content. It is therefore recommended that university policies on scholarly communication should be revised to incorporate the use of open access publishing. Furthermore, universities should accelerate the establishment of institutional repositories, advocacy campaigns and training directed at researchers, policymakers, readers and information managers of scholarly content, and the improvement of internet speed through subscription to more bandwidth, so as to meet the demand from the scholarly communit

PlasmoDraft: a database of Plasmodium falciparum gene function predictions based on postgenomic data

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Of the 5 484 predicted proteins of <it>Plasmodium falciparum</it>, the main causative agent of malaria, about 60% do not have sufficient sequence similarity with proteins in other organisms to warrant provision of functional assignments. Non-homology methods are thus needed to obtain functional clues for these uncharacterized genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We present PlasmoDraft <url>http://atgc.lirmm.fr/PlasmoDraft/</url>, a database of Gene Ontology (GO) annotation predictions for <it>P. falciparum </it>genes based on postgenomic data. Predictions of PlasmoDraft are achieved with a <it>Guilt By Association </it>method named Gonna. This involves (1) a predictor that proposes GO annotations for a gene based on the similarity of its profile (measured with transcriptome, proteome or interactome data) with genes already annotated by GeneDB; (2) a procedure that estimates the confidence of the predictions achieved with each data source; (3) a procedure that combines all data sources to provide a global summary and confidence estimate of the predictions. Gonna has been applied to all <it>P. falciparum </it>genes using most publicly available transcriptome, proteome and interactome data sources. Gonna provides predictions for numerous genes without any annotations. For example, 2 434 genes without any annotations in the Biological Process ontology are associated with specific GO terms (<it>e.g</it>. Rosetting, Antigenic variation), and among these, 841 have confidence values above 50%. In the Cellular Component and Molecular Function ontologies, 1 905 and 1 540 uncharacterized genes are associated with specific GO terms, respectively (740 and 329 with confidence value above 50%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>All predictions along with their confidence values have been compiled in PlasmoDraft, which thus provides an extensive database of GO annotation predictions that can be achieved with these data sources. The database can be accessed in different ways. A global view allows for a quick inspection of the GO terms that are predicted with high confidence, depending on the various data sources. A gene view and a GO term view allow for the search of potential GO terms attached to a given gene, and genes that potentially belong to a given GO term.</p