ERP research,development and implementation in China: an overview

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a highly integrated enterprise information system that manages all aspects of the business operations of an enterprise including production planning, purchasing, engineering design, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, accounting and customer service. In the last two decades, Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) and ERP have been successfully introduced into Chinese industry. Supported by sponsored research programmes, the research outcomes on ERP systems by Chinese academic researchers have been directly supporting the Chinese ERP software industry. An overview of ERP research and its development and implementation in China will be given here. The research trend of ERP systems will also be discussed.     

Patent Information Centres – value added services through the network

An Employment and Economic Development Center (EED-Center) is a regional service point where the services of three departments of state are integrated to the same regional customer service center in the province. The ministries are the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Labour.The service concept of the centers will upgrade the quality of the services aimed especially at starting SMEs and for those who are developing their operations or products.The leading principle in establishing the EED-Center has been one-stop-shop-principle, in other words, you can get all services from the same spot. This principle has strengthened remarkably now that the services of National Board of Patents and Registration are available in EED-Centers.The co-operation started during the autumn 1998 and now SMEs can have the following services in all 15 EED-centers:

• trade register information services,

• trade register official notices and advisory services,

• patent applications, advisory services for applying for a patent,

• utility model, trade mark, design model, application and advisory services.

Five of the 15 EED-centers are committed to become Patent Information Centers, and in those centers we have built up a service based on video/PC contentions, shared databases and the services of examining engineers in FIPO. The service is aimed at the SMEs starting their business or developing their operations or products. The service concept consists of three different services:

• pre-evaluation of product-idea,

• examination of technical solution,

• technical evaluation of project proposal.

All services will be provided during a videosession between a customer, EED-Center-company analyst and the examining engineer in FIPO.The video connection is created between the FIPO and Patent Information Center with three fold ISDN-speed (384 Kb) on a standard PC, and during the session the examining engineer will connect to EPOQUE and share the data with the customer.The project is in the pilot-phase. After that we will make a decision on how to continue with the concept.     

Single-ended loop make-up identification-part I: a method of analyzing TDR measurements

Loop qualification consists of determining whether a loop can support digital subscriber line (DSL) services or not, and generally, the estimate of the transfer function is sufficient for such purposes. Loop qualification is one of the most important steps that service providers need to address in deploying DSL technology. In this paper, a solution to a more ambitious problem-single-ended automatic loop make-up identification, i.e., the determination of the length and the gauge of all loop sections (including bridged taps) via single-ended testing without human intervention-is proposed. Loop make-up identification will allow operators to more accurately qualify a loop for DSL service and to update and reorder telephone-company loop records, which can be accessed to support engineering, provisioning, and maintenance operations. Despite its potential importance, the possibility of achieving loop make-up identification via single-ended measurements has seldom been addressed in the literature. The use of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements, which are analyzed by a novel step-by-step maximum-likelihood (ML) algorithm, is proposed here to achieve accurate loop make-up identification. In this paper, the proposed algorithm needs no a priori information, whereas in Part II of this study, a means to reduce the computation time of the identification algorithm will be provided, and the case where a statistical characterization of the loop may be available prior to testing will also be considered.     

Quality and reliability assessment of hardware and software during the total product life cycle

A major challenge for the computer industry is the need for the development and implementation of an engineering languge which provides continuous linkages and measurement between the customer and all engineering functions internal to the company. Such a language would allow information solution developers and information service providers to be able to continuously monitor the quality and reliability performance of integrated hardware and software products during the complete product life cycle. A quantitative engineering language needs to be developed to provide seamless and continuous linkages between the customer—the user of integrated computer systems—and all of the engineering development and manufacturing functions tasked with designing and building solutions which meet customer needs. A methodology is proposed which addresses this challenge by the implementation of two metrics: total defects per unit (TDU) and the annual rate of events (ARE). These two metrics can measure all hardware, software and computer integration events during the total product life cycle. A methodology is presented which provides a rigorous translation of the ARE metric, monitored at the customer site, into the traditional reliability metrics used by engineering and manufacturing. Algorithms are presented which directly translate AREs into mean time between failures (MTBF), mean time between parts replacement (MTBPR) and mean time between system interruptions (MTBSI). The ARE metric meets the customer requirement of being able to clearly focus on the reliability and availability performance of total systems as a result of hardware and software components, the user interface, and environmental factors. The paper discusses the development and application of integrated TDU and ARE metrics and shows how the total product life cycle quality and reliability of a complex integrated computer and communications solution can be efficiently monitored and managed for improvement during design, manufacturing, and installation performance in an integrated customer environment.     

Customer satisfaction with bank services: The role of cloud services,security, e-learning and service quality

The banking industry is rapidly developing to utilize e-banking as an efficient and suitable tool to satisfy customers. Online banking service is the general service suggested by customary banks to provide faster and more reliable services for customers. With fast technology improvement, e-banking has been utilized to absorb subscribers and conduct banking transactions. Still, the major problem with e-banking is satisfying customers who are now using Internet banking. Customer satisfaction is a significant factor in helping banks to keep their competitive advantage. Therefore, the present investigation aims to examine the factors influencing the satisfaction of customer with e-banking services. Four factors that can drive customer satisfaction towards e-banking are cloud services, security, e-learning, and service quality. This study has utilized the structural equation modeling method to evaluate the causal model with the measurement model's validity and reliability. The research model is analyzed based on the data which are collected from the questionnaires using SMART PLS 3.2. The results have shown that cloud services, security, e-learning, and service quality are four significant factors influencing customer satisfaction in using Internet banking services.     

Delivery of pre‐stored videos for mobile clients with insufficient playback buffer and bounded delay guarantee

Abstract

A deterministic service model assisted by a sufficiently large playback buffer space can provide bounded delay guarantees for video packets and simplify network resource management. However, many popular mobile terminals do not have sufficient memory capacity for deterministic video services since the embedded memory is limited and needs to be shared by numerous software programs and masses of personal data. This paper improves the traditional deterministic modeling approach for delivering pre‐stored videos to mobile clients with QoS guarantees. The limitation of playback buffer space, the network delay jitter, the processing load of resource management, and the QoS guarantee are considered in the proposed mechanism. Some traffic smoothing operations are integrated into the proposed mechanism for reducing the playback buffer demand and data rate variation. This paper further proposes a smart video frame skip algorithm, originating at the sender for preventing possible overflow problems due to insufficient playback buffer space. The algorithm can determine the most suitable temporal range for skipping frames and prevent arbitrary discarding from inappropriate video frames such as I‐frames on the client side. Simulation results reveal that the proposed mechanism can effectively remedy situations of insufficient playback buffer space while still maintaining the advantages of deterministic services.     

How does manufacturing service perceived value influence customer satisfaction? An investigation of global semiconductor industry

Customer satisfaction is an important strategic performance which is influenced by service experience and perceived value. This study proposed a model to postulate, and statistically test, the relationship between value drivers and customers’ perceived value of semiconductor manufacturing services, and the impact of perceived value on customer satisfaction. The research results showed that perceived value and value drivers are significantly different among services. Line services have a more significant influence on customer satisfaction than support services. Customer firm type and geographical location have a significant influence on value perception and preference, and on the relationship between service value and customer satisfaction. This study suggests that semiconductor manufacturing service providers should deliver right value proposition to enhance satisfaction for different customer firm types in varying regions, and design customised service portfolios with various value foci to differentiate them and gain a competitive advantage.     

Route to profitable European PATLIB centres with a process orientated business model in intellectual property services

Patent information centres in Europe (PATLIB) have to reorganise their business model because of the changing market situation for information services in Europe. It is shown, that the present approach only covers a small segment of the information service market and results in low accessible market volumes for PATLIB centres. Furthermore free-of-charge web-based patent information tends to result in difficulties to achieve cost covering prices for PATLIB services. The future PATLIB market situation can be summarised as expecting danger of reduced economic viability. Based on the specific PATLIB centre characteristics a redesign of business model is described. To generate a profitable future perspective it is necessary to focus on customer relationship marketing (CRM) for the main customer, respectively the business potential of small and medium enterprise (SME) environment. Six steps are proposed for the reorganisation into IP service centres. The first two steps are the orientation along the SME-customers IP value chain and a process oriented marketing approach. The next two steps are basic business models to meet the new process orientation. Finally the necessity and the arrangement of a tight European service network to offer top quality customer services and redesigned marketing activities is described.     

Analysis of a dual-balance high-resistance bridge at 10 TΩ

The NIST guarded active-arm bridge, using a third DC source and a second detector to balance the guard network, is described. Improvements to the NIST active-arm bridge and the design and construction of improved high resistance standards have facilitated the extension of NIST calibration services to the 10 TΩ decade of resistance. The 10 TΩ calibration service has been offered as a special test for NIST customers; the 100 TΩ special test will be available later this year. To ensure the quality of the measurements provided to the customer and to evaluate the bridge, many verifications including the use of check standards, redundant measurement systems, and multiple bridge ratios have been used. Analysis techniques described for the 10 TΩ decade of resistance can also be applied to the 100 TΩ decade of resistance     

Integrated availability model based on performance of computer networks

An efficient computer network can realize bulk data transfer and real time control with high reliability and precision. Its availability is dependent on its topological structure and network services performed simultaneously. To explore the dynamic interactions between software and hardware failures, generalized stochastic petri net (GSPN) is adopted to model the availability of nodes in the network, and then the study is developed through path selection and service performance evaluation. Network performance indices such as throughput and time delay can be obtained by modeling the network service with queueing theory. With Power formula, this paper presents an integrated availability model. This model considers both topological connectivity and operational performance, developing the availability analysis from the viewpoint of a user.     

PSS modularisation: a customer-driven integrated approach

The shift from product ownership to integrated solutions (Product-Service Systems (PSSs)) is expected to lead to a higher customer satisfaction in many cases compared to providing products and services separately. PSS providers are required to add more value to the products they offer, as well as to augment and diversify the services related to these products. To deal with this complex task, this paper proposes a practical methodology to support manufacturers in designing services related to the proper functioning of their products fulfilling customers’ needs and expectations. This approach is based on the synergic use of Quality Function Deployment for PSS (QFDforPSS), Axiomatic Design (AD) and the service blueprint tools, providing a correlation between the customers’ expectations, the PSS components and the PSS modules. The methodology was verified by means of a service modularisation for PSS at a company operating in the biomedical sector. While the proposed approach needs to be validated through further studies in different contexts, its positive results in reducing both the risk of overdesigning and the possibility of creating design conflicts can contribute practically to the scientific knowledge on the development of integrated solutions.     

Beefing up operations in service firms

Many articles exhort service firm managers to empower workers and first-line supervisors, exploit technology, focus on the customer, and, above all, provide outstanding service. This article proposes a framework to help you evaluate your company's competitive standing in each of these areas. It discusses four types of companies on a continuum, from the company that is simply "available for service" to the firm that delivers world class service. The authors focus on operations, the function that controls the service encounter, and apply the manufacturing strategy paradigm to services as a means of implementing change.     

Stakeholder involvement in software system development – Insights into the influence of product-service ratio

Software systems have a growing importance in how services are delivered in the present-day. New methods and technologies are constantly introduced for realizing novel services in a wide range of industries. In this study, stakeholder involvement in the development of financial service software system is examined, as software has been integral to the delivery of financial services. Two projects are selected for their varying degrees of product and service content. Both teams used an adapted stakeholder identification framework developed for the healthcare industry to identify stakeholders and their involvement need in the development projects. The suitability of this framework for financial service software development, and the differences in stakeholders for the development of new software systems of dissimilar product-service mix are discussed in the paper. Four insights into the influence of product-service ratio in stakeholder involvement are gained in the perspectives of product quality, relationship management, product support by customer, and service delivery process.     

Proceedings Reviews

Abstract:

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a systematic process for capturing and integrating the voice of the customer into every aspect of the design and delivery of products and services. Understanding customer wants or needs is crucial to the successful design and development of new products and services. QFD is a system that utilizes customer demand information to design products or services that will meet a client's mission. In addition, the process prioritizes and deploys these customer-driven characteristics throughout the product or service development to meet the customer needs, wants, and expectations. QFD determines effective development targets for the prioritized product and service characteristics. The QFD process has been used and documented extensively in product development. The service industry, however, lacks in the application of this process. The purpose of this article is to show practitioners and researchers how this process, in its entirety, can be used as a planning process to link customer requirements and service characteristics in the service industry. A case study was developed in which QFD was applied to develop recommendations for the American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM) in an effort to increase customer satisfaction and to identify opportunities to improve member benefits. The results of this study are applicable to any organization to improve the design and delivery of products and service regardless of industry.     

Assessing the impact of drop-shipping fulfilment operations on the upstream supply chain

The use of drop-shipping strategies, the practice where end-consumer orders are fulfilled directly from upstream suppliers upon a retailer’s request, has grown in popularity. Due in large part to the growth of online retailing and the increased focus on integrated omni-channel fulfilment, retailers continue to express the strategic urgency of drop-shipping operations. In a broader sense, the concept of drop-shipping represents a new and emerging aspect of the supply chain triad phenomenon, where a buyer contracts with a supplier to deliver services directly to the buyer’s customer. In order to more fully understand the operational nuances and upstream impacts of triadic service supply chain relationships, we adopt a qualitative research methodology to investigate suppliers in the service triad, a perspective that has been, to-date, under-researched. By exploring these issues in the context of the drop-shipping service triad, we more specifically shed light on the processes and operational challenges that suppliers face when assuming the bridge position in drop-shipping service triads. Therefore, this research extends the current drop-shipping literature by shifting the research focus away from retailers to suppliers; and hence, shifting the focus from strategic use of drop-shipping towards a more tactical/operational perspective by exploring those who carry out drop-shipping operations.     

Developing and marketing patent information services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Birmingham, UK

The Patent Information Service of Birmingham Central Library was re-assessed in the light of changing customer requirements and new opportunities to better meet those needs. A substantial funding injection enabled research to be carried out and the results put into practice, e.g., in expanding the range of services – with particular emphasis on helping small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses, and in positive marketing of the services, rather than the previous passive provision of services. The resulting integrated business and intellectual property service was then re-branded as ‘Business Insight' and given wide promotion in the Birmingham area.     

住宅区多元物业服务与供应链管理的整合研究

在新的竞争环境下物业服务可以采取多元化物业服务策略对物业服务的业务流程和供应链进行集成。本文讨论了物业服务多元化的概念、物业服务供应链的构建、维护和运作管理等问题,特别是将客户关系管理理念和方法引入到物业服务供应链中充当集成的使能器,具有一定的现实意义。     

Semi-open queuing networks: a review of stochastic models,solution methods and new research areas

Capturing the waiting times (at an external queue) for a customer to access a movable resource is an important step towards measuring customer service and system performance in manufacturing, logistics, communication and health care systems. Such waiting time measures are typically used for sizing resource and buffer capacities, and thereby minimising customer waiting time probabilities. In this regard, semi-open queuing networks (SOQNs), which decouple the arriving customers/transactions from the network resources using a synchronisation station (also known as a semaphore queue), can potentially capture the customer/transaction waiting times/costs more precisely and provide a rich network modelling construct. Hence, modelling manufacturing or service systems using SOQNs is an important step towards measuring customer flow times (sojourn times) wherein the customer waiting times at an external queue are a critical component. In this paper, we present several stochastic models for manufacturing and service systems using SOQNs and also discuss the potential applications of SOQNs. We then review the solution methods for SOQNs and also compare the numerical accuracies for three promising methods. Finally, we include the potential research areas in SOQNs.     

The value of integrating order picking and vehicle routing decisions in a B2C e-commerce environment

In B2C e-commerce sales, customers expect a fast and low-cost delivery. To be able to fulfil these customer expectations, both warehouse and distribution operations have to be performed in an efficient and effective way. Ideally, these two supply chain functions should be considered simultaneously in an integrated problem since they are interrelated. In this paper, a record-to-record travel algorithm is proposed to solve the integrated order picking-vehicle routing problem (I-OP-VRP). Experiments with both small-size and large-size instances are conducted. Furthermore, the integrated approach is compared with an approach in which both problems are solved sequentially. Results show that integration leads to increased service levels, i.e. it allows to shorten the time between placing an order and receiving the goods. On top, the integrated approach leads to costs savings of on average 1.8%. Thus, integration is indispensable for a fast and cost-efficient delivery of goods.     

Plug-n-Play Smart Sensor Network With Dynamic Web Service

In this paper, the authors present an implementation of a plug-n-play web sensor based on a web service approach, utilizing the extensible markup language, which is an open-source software, to exchange information and adopting a low-cost hardware. After an introduction to the web service technology, the problem of the dynamic services and one possible solution will be presented. The proposed solution allows us to have, at all times, an overview of the state of connected sensors and of the available services. Thus, when a new sensor is inserted in the network, its services are automatically “published” without reconfiguring the net; this is important with sensor networks, which are frequently upgraded. The sensor is presented in the framework of a hierarchical distributed system for metrological monitoring applications. Particular attention is devoted to synchronization problems among all composing devices of the proposed distributed system, taking into account the characteristics of main synchronization standards. Measurement results supplied by the sensors are made available as web services so that all users can build up their own applications. To show some preliminary results of the proposed distributed monitoring network, the monitoring of rms values in three-phase power networks was analyzed. A proper synchronization protocol was adopted in order to synchronize the different hardware sections of a sensor to perform a particular measurement.