Refurbishment or quality recovery: joint quality and pricing decisions for new product development

Refurbishment and quality recovery, as two important strategies of reverse logistics, have been widely used for consumer durables, especially consumer electronics. This trend is driven by manufacturers’ profit-seeking behaviours and the increasing environmental concerns of society. This study investigates and compares the optimal emergence of these two strategies when product quality is endogenous. Model analyses provide several notable insights. First, we find that the refurbishment strategy dominates the quality recovery strategy when the fraction of the recoverable quality-inducing components in the defective product is low enough. Moreover, when the refurbishment strategy emerges as the optimum, the quality and price of the new product as well as the total realised sales of both new and refurbished products are consistently higher than those with the quality recovery strategy. In addition, when either the refurbishment or quality recovery strategy emerges as the optimum, the overall consumer surplus is also enhanced. Finally, in the model generalisation, we show that a synthetic strategy with which some of the returned defective products are refurbished and others are remanufactured through quality recovery can certainly increase the manufacturers’ profit compared to either one of them when the fraction of the recoverable quality-inducing components in the defective product is moderate.     

基于双边市场理论的云制造平台定价策略

基于双边市场理论,分析了垄断的云制造平台在收取会员费和交易费模式下的最优定价策略,并利用数值仿真分析了两种收费模式下平台最优利润的差异。结果表明:两种模式下的单边最优定价均与缴费方的自网络外部性系数和免费方的交叉网络外部性系数负相关,与免费方用户数量正相关,双边最优定价受各参数影响方向取决于供需方各参数的相对大小;单边定价对象为用户数量相对较多一方,平台两边用户数量相对平衡时,单边最优定价等于双边最优定价,双边定价时的平台最优利润高于单边定价;最优定价策略由平台内交易次数决定,交易次数较多时双边收取交易费模式更优,交易次数较少时双边收取会员费更优,交易次数临界值取决于平台内网络效应和用户数量。     

基于顾客退货的风险规避型双渠道供应链最优策略

在随机市场需求条件下,考虑风险规避型双渠道供应链中存在顾客退货时的最优决策问题,决策变量为两个渠道的商品售价和制造商批发价。以集中决策时的最优决策作为比较标杆,重点利用均值—方差方法分析了分散决策时风险规避型制造商和零售商的最优决策。结合灵敏度分析和数值试验,讨论了分散决策下的风险规避度,以及市场需求波动和顾客退货率对最优决策的影响。结果表明,高退货率不利于零售商、制造商及整个供应链的收益;风险规避度对收益的影响不是一成不变的,与需求波动大小有关;分散决策虽然引起了双边际效应,但制造商风险规避度的增加将降低双边际效应的负面影响。     

Generating synthetic benchmark circuits for accelerated life testing of field programmable gate arrays using genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization

Accelerated life testing (ALT) of a field programmable gate array (FPGA) requires it to be configured with a circuit that satisfies multiple criteria. Hand-crafting such a circuit is a herculean task as many components of the criteria are orthogonal to each other demanding a complex multivariate optimization. This paper presents an evolutionary algorithm aided by particle swarm optimization methodology to generate synthetic benchmark circuits (SBC) that can be used for ALT of FPGAs. The proposed algorithm was used to generate a SBC for ALT of a commercial FPGA. The generated SBC when compared with a hand-crafted one, demonstrated to be more suitable for ALT, measured in terms of meeting the multiple criteria. The SBC generated by the proposed technique utilizes 8.37% more resources; operates at a maximum frequency which is 40% higher; and has 7.75% higher switching activity than the hand-crafted one reported in the literature. The hand-crafted circuit is very specific to the particular device of that family of FPGAs, whereas the proposed algorithm is device-independent. In addition, it took several man months to hand-craft the SBC, whereas the proposed algorithm took less than half-a-day.     

基于分级存储的石油勘探地震处理应用研究

石油勘探中“两宽一高”采集技术的深入应用，对地震资料并行处理能力提出了更高的要求，针对存储对地震资料处理应用的影响进行研究。为提高各类应用的运算效率，设计并实现了基于SSD、集群NAS多级分层存储地震资料处理方法，针对高IOPS应用、大数据块并行应用进行算法流程级设计。通过DD与IOZONE基准测试、两种应用实际运行效果，验证了设计方案具备在地震资料处理中应用效率与性价比上的优势，适用于勘探数据中心地震资料处理，具有一定的普适性。     

基于2D激光扫描的基准检测技术研究

在机器人自动制孔系统中,基准孔检测的准确性会直接影响整个机器人制孔过程的位置精度。为获取基准孔孔位准确信息,采用激光扫描的方式对基准孔进行检测。设计了2D线激光扫描在基准平面内点云的三维转化方法,通过分析基准孔在扫描仪坐标系下点云的分布特点,提出了一种基于坐标差值的基准孔边界提取算法。通过设定相邻点云在线激光扫描仪坐标系下z轴的坐标差值获取边界点,实验验证该算法能有效地去除点云中的噪声点,获取准确的基准孔边缘特征信息,进而得到准确的基准孔孔位信息。     

基于PSCAD/EMTDC软件的高压直流输电仿真教学研究

针对“高压直流输电”课程教学过程中,高压直流系统控制原理复杂抽象,直观上难以理解的特点,本文通过运用PSCAD/EMTDC仿真软件,基于CIGRE HVDC标准测试模型,对高压直流输电系统在整流侧和逆变侧交流系统分别发生故障时的运行特性进行仿真测试。教学实践表明,PSCAD/EMTDC软件的应用加强了学生对理论知识的理解,激发和培养了学生的学习兴趣和动手实践能力,有效地提升了教学效果。     

Malaysia’s electricity market structure in transition

The Malaysian electricity industry evolved from a vertically integrated utility into a single-buyer model, which considered a precursor to deregulation and a competitive market. This study considers electricity sector reform in Malaysia and proposes a market structure for the industry. We focus on the single-buyer model and the pool model for the analysis with the recommendation on reform stages required to ensure a smooth and successful market transition. A smooth transition from regulated market into deregulated market will ensure market stability and sustainability of the energy market. It will also provide enough time for the market participants to adapt and transit from regulated to deregulated energy market.     

Ramsey pricing: Its uses and limits

Since 1980, the idea of ‘Ramsey pricing’ has attained a marked vogue in the literature on utility pricing and deregulation in the USA. It seems to offer a simple rule - the ‘inverseelasticity’ rule -for reaching efficient price structures in multi-product firms. It has been applied particularly to utility firms in the electric and telecommunications industries, as well as to pipelines, railroads, airlines and other deregulated industries. Despite its proponents' great enthusiasm for the idea, there are a number of serious limits and problems. I will review these in this paper, trying to draw a balanced judgment about this economic tool. It is a flawed tool, and some of its defects appear to be crippling if not fatal.     

论工程计价定额在工程交易价格形成中的地位、作用

文章通过对工程量清单计价模式下工程计价定额和工程交易价格概念、性质、作用的阐述,进一步探讨了工程交易价格形成过程及其清单计价招投标所起的促进作用,并着重论述了工程计价定额在工程交易价格形成中的地位和作用。