Supply and Value Chain Analysis in the Marketing of Marine Dried Fish in Bangladesh and Non Tariff Measures (NTMs) in International Trading

In Bangladesh 7.3 million people live in the coastal fishing villages whose livelihood someway depends on marine fishing. About 20 percent of total marine catch dried round the year and marketed both in domestic and international market. In the supply chain of marine dried fish marketing four intermediary stakeholders are involved between producers and consumers. Besides, involvement of backward stakeholders with the primary producer is considerably high that results 22 percent value addition to raw fish. The value addition is found highest 105 percent from wholesaler to retailer, followed by 90 percent from wholesaler to exporter. In long supply chain profitability is not as high as the value added. In contrary both the profit maximization and profit distribution are considerably higher in a short supply chain. Supermarket secure as high as 150 percent profit. In all cases, primary producers secure less profit, only 5 to 8 percent whereas their involvement in terms of labor, time etc. is the highest. The major cause of price exploitation is dadan (non institutional money lending) that make producers bound to go for 'conditional engagement' in fish drying business. In relation to dry fish export, the increasing non-tariff measures (NTMs) acts as critical barrier despite having huge international market demand. The WTO SPS and TBT agreements impose a bound obligation to the exporting member countries to improve food quality as per set international standard, but the compliance cost related to SPS obligation is too high, and the government is reluctant, otherwise unable to meet the set criteria. The study recommends appropriate policy intervention for financing dry fish producers and to strengthen domestic technical regulations to overcome technical barriers to dry fish trading in international market.International Relations/Trade,

Behaviour of infilled rehabilitation system with composites for steel pipe

Fibre-reinforced polymer-based composites are found effective and suitable for steel pipe repairs because of their unique advantages such as high strength, lightweight, non-corrosive, and fast and easy to handle. In this study, the behaviour of a new type of composite repair system for steel pipelines underwater, which is the grouted composite sleeve, was investigated. This type of repair system relies on the effective transfer of stresses from the steel pipe to the encircling composite sleeve through the grout infill. Research was therefore necessary in optimising the material and geometric properties of each component of this system in order to have a betterunderstanding on its overall behaviour and its effectiveness in repairing steel pipelines. An experimental study on the mechanical, thermal and shrinkage properties of five epoxy-based grouts commonly used for structural repair was conducted. Three grouts have compressive strength of more than 80 MPa and total shrinkages of only 2.77%, which were deemed applicable for structural repair of steel pipelines. Moreover, the glass transition temperature of these grouts ranges from 50 to 90oC. The inclusion of coarse filler significantly increased the modulus and compressive strength, and reduced the shrinkage, but also reduced the tensile strength. There was considerable reduction in mechanical properties due to hot-wet conditioning at 70oC. This is because of the plasticisation and weakening of the aggregate matrix debonding at a temperature close to the glass transition temperature. The glass fibre – vinyl ester composites considered in this study have strength and modulus suitable for sleeve in the grouted sleeve repair system. The tensile strength, modulus and interlaminar shear strength of this composite was 427 MPa, 25 GPa and 30 MPa, respectively and its glass transition temperature was 110oC. It absorbed only 0.22% of moisture after hot-wet conditioning of 3000 hours. More importantly, there was almost no change in the modulus and it retained sufficient tensile and interlaminar shear strength needed for a composite sleeve repair system even after exposure to moisture and elevated temperature of 80°C. The glass transition temperature decreased to 97°C after conditioning and reached saturation indicating that, the composite was suitable for pipeline repair in continuous service at higher temperature. A finite element analysis using a simplified 2D model was conducted to determine the effect of critical parameters on the behaviour of a grouted composite sleeve repair system. Grout modulus and thickness, and sleeve thickness were considered for the analysis. The results of the analyses indicated that the thinner and higher modulus grouts are more effective to transfer load from the steel to the sleeve than the thicker and lower modulus grouts. Similarly, a thicker sleeve reduced the level of stresses and strains in all the components of the repair. Based on the results of the analysis, it was recommended that a grout thickness of 20 mm with a modulus of at least 5 GPa was appropriate for an effective grouted repair system and for practical application. A full-scale 3D analysis was carried out to determine the effectiveness of the repair system for steel pipelines with a range of localised metal loss. The results of the analyses indicated that the modulus of the infill grout governs the load transfer between the steel and the sleeve, but the tensile strength governs the functionality of the system. The cracking of the grout resulted in a significant increase in the stress level in the steel pipeline and composite sleeve. The repair system using grout with a higher tensile strength provided a higher pipe capacity by utilising the plasticity of the steel, while the grout with a lower tensile strength cracks even before yielding of the yielding at a low applied internal pressure. Moreover, a thicker sleeve provided higher capacity in the repaired pipe, and both the carbon and glass fibre composites were found effective for composite sleeve repair system. Most importantly, it was determined that the considered grouted composite sleeve repair system can effectively reinstate the capacity of the pipelines with a localised defect of up to 70% metal loss. An improved understanding on the behaviour of the grouted composite sleeve repair system for pipeline with metal loss was achieved in this study, providing a base knowledge from which further research could continue. The results obtained provided important information on the optimal material properties of the infill grout and the composite sleeve for an effective repair system and the effect of different operating conditions on the overall behaviour of the repaired steel pipelines. These results are very valuable and will help researchers, engineers and stakeholders to consider the actual application and implementation of this new composite system in repairing steel pipeline

Applying Reverse Supply Chain in the Poultry Industry

As concern for the environment grows, the concept of reverse supply chain has gained increasing attention in business and academic circles. Attention to supply chain management has progressively amplified since the 1980s when firms realized mutual profitable relationships within and beyond their own organizations. In time, reverse supply chain issues also came to the fore with the focus on the environment, product return back, waste reduction, recycle and re-use. In this research project, the existing poultry industry in Bangladesh is used as a case study to explore a new model for reverse supply chain management. The objectives of this paper are twofold; first, it offers a review on existing reverse supply chain literature; second, it offers a conceptual reverse supply chain process model in the light of poultry industries in Bangladesh. The model has been developed through taking in-depth interviews with leading poultry entrepreneurs. The paper also focuses on three Rs (Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce) of reverse supply chain along with supply chain management in the root of poultry industry

POULTRY REVERSE SUPPLY CHAIN PROCESS CONVEYS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Environmental sustainability is eminent concept for the corporate industry to manage internal and external resources for contemporary and future generation. This valued concept make beneficiary to its follower in terms of environment friendly reputation and gaining extra profit. Reverse supply chain (RSC) is one of the divisions of supply chain management that deals product return, waste reduction, recycle and reuse. The researchers have preferred this potential area based on particular case industry to observe how reverse supply chain can be used to protect and improve environmental hazards. The objectives of this paper are twofold. First, it offers a literature review on sustainability along with environment and supply chain in conjunction with reverse supply chain issue. Second, it develops a sustainable environment friendly model based on reverse supply chain theory. Later, model has been fitted in simulation environment through Simul8 package. The paper ultimately focused on sustainability (only dealt with environmental domain) along with reverse supply chain process in the hub of poultry industry of Bangladesh

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SUCCESS FACTORS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Customer relationship management (CRM) can improve organization’s performance through applying customer knowledge and maintaining relationships with customers. Literature on CRM in an integrative fashion is sparse, rather issues are presented in isolation mostly focusing on technology ignoring other extra-organizational issues like social rapport and customer knowledge. Likewise, CRM success is poorly sketched and social rapport as a facilitator of knowledge generation has received little attention in the previous literature. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the role of CRM, customer knowledge and social rapport on CRM success. The present study considers the Resource-based view in developing CRM success framework. A Qualitative research approach has been taken in this study where ten customer-service managers of different telecom operators of Bangladesh have been interviewed. To identify the factors along with their associated variables and also to further develop a research model a content analysis technique has been utilized. The results of the interviews identified three factors affecting CRM success. This paper also highlights the research and managerial implications of the model.

A VENSIM BASED ANALYSIS FOR SUPPLY CHAIN MODEL

The emphasis on supply chain has increased in recent years among academic and industry circles. In this paper, a supply chain model will be developed based on a case study of the poultry industry under the Vensim environment. System dynamics, supply chain, design science and case method under positivist and quantitative paradigm will be studied to develop a simulation model. The objectives of this paper are to review literature, develop a Vensim based simulation supply chain model, and examine the model qualitatively and quantitatively. The model will be also briefly discussed in relation of among forward, reverse and mainstream supply chain of the case

Fibre composites for high pressure pipeline repairs, in-air and subsea: an overview

In 2001 it was reported that in North America alone, corrosion to the Oil & Gas pipeline distribution network cost approximately $2-3.3 billion per annum with 10% of that cost being associated with actual failure of the pipeline. In addition pipelines are also susceptible to erosion and mechanical damage producing further losses in pipe structural integrity. This results in high maintenance costs, possibility of adverse environmental consequences and the costly interruption to product transportation and distribution. The cost and technical challenges of adequately addressing repair are significant and greatly increase for underwater applications particularly with increasing water depth. It therefore induces the need of searching for alternative repair techniques involving new advanced materials for ease of installation and application against adverse environmental effects in the long run. Fibre composite materials provide excellent advantages over conventional metals in engineering practices for many decades. These advantages make fibre composite suitable candidate for effective repair technology. This paper provides a comprehensive review on the recent development and future prospect of using these materials for in-air and underwater pipeline external repairs. Various aspects of technical knowhow; benefits and shortcomings of the repair considerations are also presented

Reducing environmental hazards through reserve supply chain model

Environmental hazards transpire when industrial wastages are dumped illegally into vacant lands, rivers or low-lying areas. This is a major problem in developing, and less-developed countries where environmental regulations are not (or cannot be) strictly enforced. Researchers around the globe are conducting research to find various ways to minimize or eliminate industrial hazards. In this paper, we take a supply-chain approach and show how the concept of the reverse supply chain can be used to recycle industrial wastage into useful by-products. Our problem domain is poultry industry in Bangladesh. Using Simul8, a simulation model of reverse supply chain is developed for a large poultry plant in Bangladesh where poultry wastes are modelled to turn into various by-products. We use primary and secondary data to run the simulation model. Our results show that poultry wastes can indeed be processed to turn into various by products as bakery products, biogas, artificial charcoal, etc. The management of the poultry plant can use our results to develop policies to reduce poultry hazards and thus save the environment. We touch on research and managerial implications of our results

Assessing impact of micro finance on poverty alleviation - Bangladesh perspective

“Micro finance” or its major part “micro credit”, both used interchangeably, is an important institutional device for alleviating poverty of the poor people. Micro finance concept was first developed and initiated in Bangladesh in the late seventies with a view to help the people living below the poverty line. Since its inception to till date, there has been tremendous growth of organizations, known as MFIs (Micro Finance Institutions), in this field to deal with the micro finance/credit activities. Despite this, the poverty situation of the poor people who have already used the micro finance programs was not improved substantially. The few MFIs have their own programs to conduct survey on impact assessment of their individual micro credit activities. The present study will focus on the impact assessment of micro finance activities on some variables of poverty alleviation, the extent to which these programs helped loanees to become micro finance graduates and the relevant suggestions as to the success of the micro finance activities

A simulation supply chain model for a sustainable and environment friendly poultry industry: Insights from Bangladesh

The focuses on environment and reverse supply chain have increased in recent years among academic and industry circle. Yet, Bangladesh poultry is to achieve environmental sustainability in her extended forward and reverse supply chain. In this paper, supply chain model developed based on a case poultry industry. Design science and case method under positivist and quantitative paradigm followed to develop simulation model using simul8 application to fit the real poultry case. The objectives of this paper are to review literature, develop simulation supply chain model and later tested it through historic data. The results briefly discussed and model capturing the relationship among forward, reverse and mainstream supply chain of the case. Different random trial runs of the simulation model have shown in the result section to find out optimality