Methodology for identifying and modeling the key logistics processes in agri-food supply chain

The main objective of this paper is the design of a systematic methodology for the identification and modeling of key logistics processes in the Agrifood Supply Chain. These processes include both inbound and supply chain - wide logistics activities and have a critical effect on the operational performance of an agrifood business entity. The proposed methodology should enable a company to: 1) Recognize its key logistics processes, 2) Prioritize them based on specific critical success factors, 3) Develop generic models by creating a number of UML diagrams and finally 4) Document them by the use of a pre-defined template. This methodology will act as a customized and easy-to-use tool for agrifood companies enabling them to design and apply an adequate number of standardized business processes based on their special needs

A Conceptual Framework for Business Intelligence Based on Activities Monitoring Systems

Abstract: Most enterprises have spent an enormous amount of money and time, managing information about their business elements. Such information is often scattered in disparate legacy, operational and enterprise information systems, appointing the aggregation of valuable information and decision-making support quite difficult. Business Intelligence (BI) and their associated processes and tools are helping enterprises to solve this problem. This paper presents the principles and challenges of BI domain and evaluates its current approaches. The limitations of the above approaches will provide the basis for the design and development of a framework that pursues real time insight to business information, as well as, instantaneous awareness and appropriate response to critical business events across the entire enterprise. The proposed framework is based on Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) systems paradigm and attempts to create a unified enterprise-reporting environment. It was applied in a large Northern Greek manufacturing company in the last six months

The current situation and the attitudes of judicial officials in Greece regarding their training needs

The education and training of the judiciary is an issue that concerns the quality and efficiency of the judicial system. The aim of this research is to investigate the current situation and attitudes of judicial officers of the criminal-civil courts, administrative courts, and prosecutors' offices in Greece regarding their training and education. They received this training both during their first period of appointment (introductory training) and during their period of service (continuing training). There is very little research on the training and education of judicial officials in Greece, which makes this research necessary. An online structured questionnaire, consisting of seven sections, was designed for the needs of the survey, which was answered by 273 respondents. The results of the survey indicate the absence of organized training by the judicial officers' branch, as well as the increase in the performance and effectiveness of judicial officers when they are trained. Finally, possible solutions and improvements for the education-training policy of judicial officials are proposed

Biomass supply chain event management

 D. K. Folinas1, D. D. Bochtis2, C. G. Sørensen2, P. Busato3(1. ATEI Thessaloniki, Department of Logistics, Greece; 2. Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle´ 20, P.O. box 50;   3. DEIAFA Department,Faculty of Agriculture, University of Turin, Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095, Grugliasco, Turin, Italy) Abstract: The biomass supply chain constitutes a system that is highly dynamic and stochastic.  The developed and proposed systems architectures for the management of the supply chains of typical industrial products do not directly apply to the case of the biomass supply chain

An XML Perspective in E-Financial Reporting Process

Abstract Nowadays it is particularly difficult for the financial decision

Confronting Pharmaceutical Products Selection Criteria: A comparative survey of consumers in Greece, France and Bulgaria

Purpose: The survey at hand explores the factors describing the consumers’ profile in the pharmaceutical markets of three European nations Design/methodology/approach: A primary research was carried out using questionnaires with a sample of citizens (pharmacy customers) in the capital of each nation and aiming to to determine the criteria motivating the customer/patient to purchase particular pharmaceutical preparations and the ultimate goal is to get an objective picture of the buying behavior of Greek, French and Bulgarian consumers Findings: Behavioral motives appear to be affected by health scientists, price, advertising, alternative available options and “public opinion”. Moreover, it appears that customers differ from one nation to the other but also between themselves, both with respect to their choices, as well as their special mode of action. Such individuality mainly results from the different levels of education and basic income of each pharmaceutical products consumer. Comparative study reveals that Frenchmen, Greeks and Bulgarians tend to agree in some common behavioral trends, yet substantially differ in issues of major importance. Research limitations/implications: Any research on the quantitative measurement of perceptions has inherent limitations as it rests on the subjective views and attitudes of the respondents. Additionally, some obstacles emerged in the course of the survey and in regard to the filling-out of the questionnaires in all three countries, thus account must be taken of the following limitations when interpreting the findings: (1) lack of detailed knowledge of the legislative framework for the supply of pharmaceutical products in Bulgaria and France; (2) rapid changes in external factors (legal-political-social) in the case of Greece; (3) inability of personal contact with every respondent in order to get a first-hand view of their “pharmaceutical behavior” and education, and (4) time and resources limitations dictated that the survey be carried out with respect to a very limited and small sample compared to the total population of Athens, Paris and Sofia. Originality/value: This research effort was motivated by former researches relating to the consumers of pharmaceutical products, the knowledge gap that was created with respect to this issue during the years of the financial and more general crisis and the continuous changes in the health system of Greece. The idea for a comparative survey then rested on the practical and substantial comparison of consumers from Greece and those from the two other nations. It was simultaneously reinforced by the fact that no other similar research effort (for Greece-France-Bulgaria) has been published in recent years

Green Supply Chain Management

Today, one of the top priorities of an organization’s modern corporate strategy is to portray itself as socially responsible and environmentally sustainable. As a focal point of sustainability initiatives, green supply chain management has emerged as a key strategy that can provide competitive advantages with significant parallel gains for company profitability. In designing a green supply chain, the intent is the adoption of comprehensive and cross-business sustainability principles, from the product conception stage to the end-of-life stage. In this context, green initiatives relate to tangible and intangible corporate benefits. Sustainability reports from numerous companies reveal that greening their supply chains has helped reduce operating cost, thus boosting effectiveness and efficiency while increasing sustainability of the business. Green Supply Chain Management provides a strategic overview of sustainable supply chain management, shedding light on the theoretical background and key principles of the topic. Specifically, this book covers various thematic areas including benefits and impact of green supply chain management; enablers and barriers on supply chain operations; inbound and outbound logistics considerations; and production, packaging and reverse logistics under the notion of "greening". The ultimate aim of this textbook is to highlight the challenges in the implementation of green supply chain management in modern companies and to provide a roadmap for decision-making in real-life cases. Combining chapter summaries and discussion questions, this book provides an accessible and student-friendly introduction to green supply change management and will be of great interest to students, scholars and practitioners in the fields of sustainable business and supply chain management

Design and development of an e-platform for supporting liquid food supply chain monitoring and traceability

In this paper, the deliverables of a research project are presented, which aims at the development of a web-based platform capable of supporting the traceability of liquid products like milk, wine and olive oil. First, it includes the design of a supply chain reference model and the identification of the data required for the efficient operation of the traceability system. The main elements of the proposed model defined in this paper are the entities, stages, events, and processes. The reference model consists of three distinct phases that represent stages of real-life supply chains. Each of these phases is defined by certain interactions between the above basic elements. Additionally, the proposed e-platform is based on the above reference model aiming to follow and register the production and distribution processes of the raw materials, semi-finals, and final products that are used in the examined industry

EXPLORING LINKS AMONG INVENTORY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN THE AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY INDUSTRY

The paper aims to investigate the effects of Inventory Turnover and Inventory Days on firm performance in the United Kingdom agricultural machinery industry by examining past literature reviews and empirical evidence of a primary research. Specific performance measures such as Earnings before Interest and Tax to Sales Ratio, Gross Profit to Sales Ratio, and Return on Assets are examined by conducting statistical analyses to determine the correlations between inventory and financial performance in agricultural machinery industry. The analysis of Inventory Turnover with financial performance measures doesn’t indicate any links between these variables. Furthermore, based on the results, Inventory Days plays a role in the financial performance of organisations however to varying degrees