Coordination of Supply Chain Networks and the Emergence of Mini-maestros

Abstract Companies recognize international sourcing as a business practice useful to reduce product prices, deal with supply shortages and identify new competitive suppliers. Effective international sourcing implies the integration and coordination of materials, processes, information flows and multiple producers at each buying location. Many companies do not have the capabilities or the willingness to develop and manage such sourcing networks; therefore, other entities have assumed these responsibilities. These coordinators are in charge of the integration of many suppliers to develop full-package production, serve as liaisons between suppliers’ capabilities and market demands, and provide the technical and financial support to sustain the sourcing network. The review of the industrial clustering and global supply chain literature allowed the identification of such coordinators in Mexico. The emergence and profile of these coordinators is associated with corporate strategies of multinational firms, the efforts of industrial groups, and the governmental policies for the development of dynamic industrial regions. This paper analyzes the characteristics of four coordination models identified in the Mexican context, focusing on their contribution to the participation and upgrading of national suppliers. The profile of the coordinator firm, the type of relations that this firm sustains with producers and the support offered to suppliers is also discussed. A particular emphasis is given to the fourth model where a third party, a knowledge and service company, assumes the coordinator role. The interest on this model is due to its novelty, the flexibility of the sourcing network, and the potential impact on regional development that could result from the intervention of a neutral third party as coordinator of the activities of multiple local and specialized suppliers

Un modelo bi-criterio para la ubicación de albergues, como parte de un plan de evacuación en caso de inundaciones

Una de las ciudades mexicanas afectada recurrentemente por inundaciones es la de Villahermosa, capital del Estado de Tabasco, el cual se ubica al sureste de la república mexicana. Las inundaciones frecuentes hacen necesario contar con un plan de ayuda para apoyar y garantizar la seguridad de la población afectada. El objetivo de esta investigación fue diseñar un plan de evacuación de la población en caso de inundación, el cual incluye: 1) la apertura de albergues y centros de distribución, con un inventario pre-posicionado de paquetes de ayuda y 2 la asignación de individuos a albergues y rutas para su evacuación.  Empleando Sistemas de Información Geográfica y software especializado se simularon tres escenarios de inundación para la ciudad de Villahermosa: tirante de agua de 80 centímetros, 2 y 4 metros para identificar instalaciones que pudieran acondicionarse como albergues o centros de distribución, rutas de evacuación y zonas de la ciudad que resultarían inundadas.  Esta información se utilizó como entrada de un modelo de programación lineal entera con dos objetivos: minimizar el tiempo total requerido para evacuar a las personas y minimizar el costo total de abrir albergues y centros de distribución, y de usar las rutas de comunicación para trasladar a la población y abastecer los albergues. Como estos son objetivos que están en conflicto, se generaron puntos selectos del frente de Pareto, mediante el método de los pesos y la ε-restricción, que corresponden a distintos planes preventivos de evacuación los que garantizan el uso óptimo de los recursos económicos. Los modelos se resolvieron empleando el Sistema General de Modelaje Algebraico; primero se obtuvo la solución de mínimo costo, que satisface todas las restricciones para después minimizar el tiempo total de evacuación. Los puntos generados representan, por tanto, opciones con costo diferente para evacuar a la totalidad de la población afectada, dependiendo de las exigencias en el tiempo total para completar la evacuación, las autoridades pueden elegir la opción de menor costo. Como a medida que aumenta el tirante de inundación es necesario abastecer más albergues y evacuar más personas, la dificultad para resolver los modelos de optimización fue mayor para el escenario de un tirante de agua de 4 metros. Las soluciones generadas para este escenario representaron una mejora al plan de evacuación implementado por las autoridades durante la inundación de 2007, que ha sido la más grave registrada para Villahermosa.One of the Mexican cities recurrently affected by floods is Villahermosa, capital of the state of Tabasco located at the Southeast of Mexico. The frequent floods make necessary to have a prevention strategy to assist the city’s inhabitants and guarantee their safety.  The objective of this research was to design an evacuation plan for the city’s inhabitants in case of a severe flood, this plan needs to specify: 1) the number and location of shelters and distribution centers with a pre-positioned inventory and 2) the assignment of individuals to shelters as well as the selection of evacuation routes. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and specialized software (ArcView and IDRISI) were used to simulate three different inundation scenarios for Villahermosa city: 80 centimeters, 2 and 4 meters of water flood and then identify sites that fulfill safety and capacity standards to be used as shelters or distribution centers; evacuation routes and city areas that may result inundated were also identified under each scenario. This information was used as entries for a integer linear programming (ILP) model with two objectives: minimize the total time required to evacuate all persons from the affected areas and minimize the total cost of furnishing shelters and distribution centers, and using the roads to evacuate the population and to transport supplies to the shelters. Since these two objectives are in conflict, selected points of the efficient frontier were obtained by using the weight method and ε-constraint; each solution represents an evacuation plan that makes optimal use of resources. The mathematical models were solved by using the General Algebraic Modeling System; first the minimal cost solution that satisfies all restrictions was generated, followed by the minimization of total evacuation. The solutions represent options of different costs to accomplish the evacuation of all affected inhabitants; depending on the total evacuation time desired, a particular plan may be chosen. As the height of the water flood increases, more shelters are required and more individuals need to be evacuated, in consequence the optimization models for the 4 meters scenario were more difficult to solve. In particular, the solutions generated under this scenario outperform the evacuation plan implemented by the designed authorities during the 2007 flood - the most severe inundation that affected Villahermosa in the past

CARB-ES-19 Multicenter Study of Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli From All Spanish Provinces Reveals Interregional Spread of High-Risk Clones Such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3

ObjectivesCARB-ES-19 is a comprehensive, multicenter, nationwide study integrating whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae (CP-Kpn) and E. coli (CP-Eco) to determine their incidence, geographical distribution, phylogeny, and resistance mechanisms in Spain.MethodsIn total, 71 hospitals, representing all 50 Spanish provinces, collected the first 10 isolates per hospital (February to May 2019); CPE isolates were first identified according to EUCAST (meropenem MIC > 0.12 mg/L with immunochromatography, colorimetric tests, carbapenem inactivation, or carbapenem hydrolysis with MALDI-TOF). Prevalence and incidence were calculated according to population denominators. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using the microdilution method (EUCAST). All 403 isolates collected were sequenced for high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing, core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST), and resistome analysis.ResultsIn total, 377 (93.5%) CP-Kpn and 26 (6.5%) CP-Eco isolates were collected from 62 (87.3%) hospitals in 46 (92%) provinces. CP-Kpn was more prevalent in the blood (5.8%, 50/853) than in the urine (1.4%, 201/14,464). The cumulative incidence for both CP-Kpn and CP-Eco was 0.05 per 100 admitted patients. The main carbapenemase genes identified in CP-Kpn were blaOXA–48 (263/377), blaKPC–3 (62/377), blaVIM–1 (28/377), and blaNDM–1 (12/377). All isolates were susceptible to at least two antibiotics. Interregional dissemination of eight high-risk CP-Kpn clones was detected, mainly ST307/OXA-48 (16.4%), ST11/OXA-48 (16.4%), and ST512-ST258/KPC (13.8%). ST512/KPC and ST15/OXA-48 were the most frequent bacteremia-causative clones. The average number of acquired resistance genes was higher in CP-Kpn (7.9) than in CP-Eco (5.5).ConclusionThis study serves as a first step toward WGS integration in the surveillance of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in Spain. We detected important epidemiological changes, including increased CP-Kpn and CP-Eco prevalence and incidence compared to previous studies, wide interregional dissemination, and increased dissemination of high-risk clones, such as ST307/OXA-48 and ST512/KPC-3

Developing entrepreneurship in primary schools. The Mexican experience of “My first enterprise: Entrepreneurship by playing”

“My first enterprise: Entrepreneurship by playing” is a Mexican educational sub-programme designed to promote entrepreneurship at the elementary level. The sub-programme led to the creation of 1327 minicompanies from 2009 to 2014, but a critical research question complementing these results is: how effective is the entrepreneur training sub-programme? A qualitative and quantitative assessment of the sub-programme demonstrated the critical role of tutors (teachers) and advisors, and revealed a significant improvement in the administrative knowledge and entrepreneurial skills of participants, along with a reinforcement of business values. © 2017 The Author

Coordination of Supply Chain Networks and the Emergence of Mini-maestros

Abstract Companies recognize international sourcing as a business practice useful to reduce product prices, deal with supply shortages and identify new competitive suppliers. Effective international sourcing implies the integration and coordination of materials, processes, information flows and multiple producers at each buying location. Many companies do not have the capabilities or the willingness to develop and manage such sourcing networks; therefore, other entities have assumed these responsibilities. These coordinators are in charge of the integration of many suppliers to develop full-package production, serve as liaisons between suppliers€٠ capabilities and market demands, and provide the technical and financial support to sustain the sourcing network. The review of the industrial clustering and global supply chain literature allowed the identification of such coordinators in Mexico. The emergence and profile of these coordinators is associated with corporate strategies of multinational firms, the efforts of industrial groups, and the governmental policies for the development of dynamic industrial regions. This paper analyzes the characteristics of four coordination models identified in the Mexican context, focusing on their contribution to the participation and upgrading of national suppliers. The profile of the coordinator firm, the type of relations that this firm sustains with producers and the support offered to suppliers is also discussed. A particular emphasis is given to the fourth model where a third party, a knowledge and service company, assumes the coordinator role. The interest on this model is due to its novelty, the flexibility of the sourcing network, and the potential impact on regional development that could result from the intervention of a neutral third party as coordinator of the activities of multiple local and specialized suppliers.Supply chain coordination, industrial clustering, global supply chain, supplier upgrading, advanced logistics services,

Un enfoque multicriterio para el diseño de una redpara el transporte de embarques internacionales

Un reto importante para los fabricantes de autopartes es coor-dinar el abastecimiento desde las diversas zonas geográficasen donde están ubicados sus proveedores. El objetivo de estainvestigación fue el diseño de una red para el servicio de trans-porte donde se consideren tanto el tiempo que los embarquesestán detenidos en aduanas y puntos de transbordo, como lasposibles demoras en la cadena de transporte debido al uso dedistintos modos de transporte. Para asegurar el mejor desempe-ño de la red se formuló un modelo de optimización que consi-dera dos criterios: costo y tiempo, cuya solución fue la estruc-tura de la cadena de transporte para una armadora ubicada enla zona industrial de Toluca que importa autopartes de EstadosUnidos de Norteamérica (E.E.U.U.) para comercializarlas en-tre diversos fabricantes de automóviles que operan en México.Se aprovechó la estructura del problema de optimización paraobtener problemas separables y resolverlo usando relajaciónLagrangiana. Se identificó un conjunto de posibles solucionespara la estructura de la cadena de transporte usando los méto-dos de las ponderaciones y de la ε-restricción; las solucionesobtenidas representan el conjunto de las mejores alternativas apartir de las cuales la gerencia de logística de la empresa puedeelegir la que mejor empata con las necesidades y metas de des-empeño logístico de la empresa

Reacciones del consumidor mexiquense hacia las faltantes en anaquel: ¿Qué factores intensifican las reacciones negativas hacia el detallista?

This study analyzes the reactions of customers to out-of-stocks in retailing stores, with the objective of supporting the design of strategies to increase customer retention and satisfaction. The theoretical framework was that of customer satisfaction and customer behavior, and a survey was applied at retail stores of distinctive profile to gather data of consumers' demographic and buying profiles along with behavioral reactions under an out-of-stock situation. The collected data was analyzed with the use of multiple statistical techniques. The analysis allows concluding that customers' gender, residence location, ticket value and store loyalty had a significant effect on their intention to switch to another store when some of the products in their shopping list are out of stock. The analysis of results not only identified customer segments but also types of stores more susceptible to being affected in their client base by the occurrence of out-of-stocks.Este estudio analiza las reacciones de los consumidores ante faltantes de anaquel en una empresa local del sector del comercio al menudeo con el propósito de apoyar en el diseño de estrategias para incrementar la satisfacción y retención de su clientela. Se tomaron como referencias teóricas la satisfacción y el comportamiento del consumidor; para ello, se realizó una encuesta en tiendas detallistas con distintos perfiles donde se recopilaron datos sobre el perfil demográfico y de compra de los consumidores, así como sus reacciones ante faltantes en la tienda. Cabe aclarar que los datos se analizaron a través de varias técnicas estadísticas. Se concluye que el género, lugar de residencia del cliente, valor de la compra y su lealtad a la tienda afectan significativamente su intención de cambiarla cuando ésta registra faltantes de los productos de su lista de compra. Los resultados obtenidos identifican no sólo segmentos de consumidores, sino también tipos de tiendas más sensibles a sufrir un deterioro en su base de clientes ante la ocurrencia de faltantes

The role of sourcing service agents in the competitiveness of Mexico as an international sourcing region

El objetivo de este trabajo fue el explorar y definir los servicios de abastecimiento de terceras partes mexicanas para proporcionar un mejor entendimiento en relación a cómo estos agentes contribuyen al atractivo del país como una región de producción de bajo-costo. Dada la naturaleza exploratoria del estudio, el estudio de caso fue el método cualitativo de investigación elegido. Dos compañías mexicanas asociadas a cadenas de suministro global de diferente tipo –impulsada por el producto e impulsada por el comprador- fueron seleccionadas como casos representativos. La información primaria fue recolectada a través de entrevistas personales a fondo, visitas en sitio y documentos secundarios. A partir del análisis de los dos casos se determina la estructura de gobierno en la cadena, la contribución que realizan las terceras partes a la integración de los proveedores locales a cadenas de suministro globales (CSG) así como el valor que sus servicios de tercerización del abasto representa para los compradores internacionales

¿Es la extensión de marca para productos saludables una estrategia adecuada cuando hay una alta asociación de la marca con productos no saludables?

Purpose – The objective of this paper was to explore which branding strategy (brand extension versus new brand) is most convenient for healthy products, by taking into account the effect that the perceived fit between the nutritional attributes of the regular products of the parent brand and the healthy extensions have on the credibility of the latter. Design/methodology/approach – The required information was obtained through personal interviews with 107 consumers resident in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. The type of study was exploratory-descriptive and focused on the manufactured snacks that are sold in Mexico. Findings – Reformulations of traditional snacks that are commercialized under the name of the parent brand have low credibility with respect to their nutritional value due to the high association between non-healthy attributes and the image of the parent brand. The snacks categorized as healthy are products with well differentiated ingredients but with low brand familiarity. Originality/value – The branding of healthy brands is an incipient area of research in marketing, and thus this paper contributes to the theoretical development of strategies for the commercialization of these brands.Objetivo – El objetivo de este trabajo fue explorar qué estrategia de comercialización de productos saludables (extensión de merca versus nueva marca) es más conveniente, considerando el efecto que el ajuste (fit) entre los atributos nutricionales de los productos usuales de la marca madre y las extensiones saludables puede tener sobre la credibilidad hacia estos últimos. Metodología – La información requerida se obtuvo a partir de encuestas personales a 107 consumidores residentes en la zona metropolitana de la ciudad de México. El estudio fue de tipo exploratorio descriptivo, y se enfocó en botanas manufacturadas que se venden en México. Resultados – Las botanas tradicionales reformuladas que se comercializan bajo el nombre de la marca madre, tienen una baja credibilidad en cuanto a su valor nutricional debido a la alta asociación entre los atributos no saludables con la imagen de la marca madre. Las botanas categorizadas como saludables son productos con ingredientes muy diferenciados, pero con un bajo reconocimiento de marca. Contribuciones – La gestión de marcas saludables es un área de investigación incipiente en mercadotecnia, por lo que este trabajo viene a impulsar el desarrollo teórico de estrategias para la comercialización de estas marcas