Modeling of expert system of quality standard in supply chain

The quality of the products is tremendously hard to retain and even goes out of control when excess links of supply chains are involved in the process and if the quality standards and requirements of the products and parts are neglected. As a result, it is highly necessary to set up an expert system to combine all parts, such as but not limited to: technical standards, experiences of processing and manufacturing involved, the standard rules, and characteristic of parts, etc. together in the form of a knowledge base, so as to inquire and deduce known and unknown standards of products and parts in a timely and effectively manner. This knowledge base is then stored with relational database, relational calculus to be inquired and similarity to be deduced, and these can further form new rules by inductive learning as described in this paper.     

A supply chain disruption recovery strategy considering product change under COVID-19

A recent global outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to massive supply chain disruption, resulting in difficulties for manufacturers on recovering their supply chains in a short term. This paper presents a supply chain disruption recovery strategy with the motivation of changing the original product type to cope with that. In order to maximize the total profit from product changes, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed with combining emergency procurement on the supply side and product changes by the manufacturer as well as backorder price compensation on the demand side. The model uses a heuristic algorithm based on ILOG CPLEX toolbox. Experimental results show that the proposed disruption recovery strategy can effectively reduce the profit loss of manufacturer due to late delivery and order cancellation. It is observed that the impact of supply chain disruptions is reduced. The proposed model can offer a potentially useful tool to help the manufacturers decide on the optimal recovery strategy whenever the supply chain system experiences a sudden massive disruption.     

Coordinating product, process, and supply chain decisions: A constraint satisfaction approach

The importance of coordinating product, process, and supply chain (PPSC) decisions has received much attention and popularity in academia and industry alike. This paper formulates PPSC coordination as a factory loading allocation problem (FLAP) from a constraint satisfaction perspective. A domain-based FLAP reference model is proposed for the conceptualization of a multi-site manufacturing supply chain, considering multiple domains, network structures, product characteristics, decision variables, along with various constraints. A decision propagation structure (DPS) incorporating with a connectionist approach is developed based on the concept of constraint heuristic search to facilitate the exploration of solution spaces. A case study in a multi-national company is presented to illustrate the FLAP framework, which implies practical insights into PPSC coordination.     

A system dynamics framework for integrated reverse supply chain with three way recovery and product exchange policy

With the technological advancements and rapid changes in demand pattern, diverse ranges of products are entering into the market with reduced lifecycle which leads to the environmental disasters. The awareness of product take-back and recovery has been increasing in various supply chains not only due to the obligation imposed by legislation but also competitive economics worldwide. In this paper, we develop a system dynamics framework for a closed-loop supply chain network with product exchange and three way recovery policy, namely; product remanufacturing, component reuse and remanufacturing, and raw material recovery. In the simulation study, we investigate the significance of various factors including product exchange, collection and remanufacturing; their interactions and the type of their impact on bullwhip and profitability through sensitivity and statistical analysis. Our results suggest that the inclusion of three way recovery in reverse channel and product exchange policy in the forward channel reduce the order variation and bullwhip effect at both retailer and distributor level and increases the profitability of RL operations. In addition, we redefine the reverse logistics framework with “open-loop” in which the remanufactured products are redistributed only in the secondary market and compare the performance of open-loop model with that of closed-loop. Extended numerical investigation provides insights to the decision makers regarding the actions which can lead to better performance of the system.     

Operationalised product quality models and assessment: The Quamoco approach

ContextSoftware quality models provide either abstract quality characteristics or concrete quality measurements; there is no seamless integration of these two aspects. Quality assessment approaches are, hence, also very specific or remain abstract. Reasons for this include the complexity of quality and the various quality profiles in different domains which make it difficult to build operationalised quality models.ObjectiveIn the project Quamoco, we developed a comprehensive approach aimed at closing this gap.MethodThe project combined constructive research, which involved a broad range of quality experts from academia and industry in workshops, sprint work and reviews, with empirical studies. All deliverables within the project were peer-reviewed by two project members from a different area. Most deliverables were developed in two or three iterations and underwent an evaluation.ResultsWe contribute a comprehensive quality modelling and assessment approach: (1) A meta quality model defines the structure of operationalised quality models. It includes the concept of a product factor, which bridges the gap between concrete measurements and abstract quality aspects, and allows modularisation to create modules for specific domains. (2) A largely technology-independent base quality model reduces the effort and complexity of building quality models for specific domains. For Java and C# systems, we refined it with about 300 concrete product factors and 500 measures. (3) A concrete and comprehensive quality assessment approach makes use of the concepts in the meta-model. (4) An empirical evaluation of the above results using real-world software systems showed: (a) The assessment results using the base model largely match the expectations of experts for the corresponding systems. (b) The approach and models are well understood by practitioners and considered to be both consistent and well suited for getting an overall view on the quality of a software product. The validity of the base quality model could not be shown conclusively, however. (5) The extensive, open-source tool support is in a mature state. (6) The model for embedded software systems is a proof-of-concept for domain-specific quality models.ConclusionWe provide a broad basis for the development and application of quality models in industrial practice as well as a basis for further extension, validation and comparison with other approaches in research.     

物流服务供应链的质量协调研究

基于演化博弈论的研究方法,构建了物流服务供应链质量协调的演化博弈模型,并对该模型进行了分析。研究结果表明,影响物流服务供应链质量协调的因素有协调成本、额外收益、违约成本、超额收益、投诉概率、声誉损失和损失分摊系数等,通过调整这些参数的大小,可以有效促进物流服务供应链的质量协调。     

基于拉格朗日松弛的供应链合作生产计划模型研究

为解决供应链生产计划协调问题,通过市场价格和中间库存因素使供应链上下游企业结合成一个整体,建立一种供应链上下游一体化计划模型,从整体考虑供应链合作计划问题．为获取问题的可行解,采用拉格朗日松弛技术进行优化,为供应链上下游企业在信息共享条件下实现“多赢”目标,提供了理论依据．仿真结果验证了模型和算法的有效性．     

基于损失厌恶型零售商的易逝品供应链价格补贴契约研究

在前景理论框架下,探讨了存在缺货损失下的由损失厌恶型零售商和风险中性型供应商组成的供应链价格补贴契约设计,研究了供应商为风险中性时,损失厌恶型零售商分别在批发价格契约和价格补贴契约下的订货行为.研究结果表明,损失厌恶型的零售商在批发价格契约下的订货可能偏离系统最优订货,供应商通过价格补贴契约可以协调整个供应链.最后通过算例分析,验证了价格补贴契约在协调供应链中的有效性.     

A closed loop supply chain under retail price and product quality dependent demand

The importance of remanufacturing of used products, maintaining the same quality as new ones has been widely recognized in practice. In this paper, we address a closed loop supply chain where the manufacturer manufactures a product with a decent quality acceptable to customers, and sells it through a retailer in the market. A third party collects the used products from consumers and sends to the manufacturer. The manufacturer re-manufactures the used product and the quality of remanufactured product is the same as that of the manufactured one. For such a closed loop supply chain, we construct five different scenarios – centralized, decentralized or Nash game and three different Stackelberg games, led by the manufacturer, retailer and third party respectively. We compare the optimal results to find out the best decentralized scenario out of the four mentioned. A numerical example is taken to study the impacts of product quality on demand as well as optimal decisions and investigate sensitivity of some key model-parameters.     

SCOlog: A logic-based approach to analysing supply chain operation dynamics

In a complex business world, characterised by globalisation and rapid rhythms of change, understanding supply chain (SC) operation dynamics is crucial. This paper describes a logic-based approach to analysing SC operation dynamics, named SCOlog. SC operation is modelled in a declarative fashion and it is simulated following rule-based execution semantics. This approach facilitates the automated explanation of simulated SC operational behaviours and performance. The automated explanation support provided by SCOlog is found to improve the understanding of the domain for non-SCM experts. Furthermore, SCOlog allows for maintainability and reusability.     

A review of supply chain complexity drivers

Studies on supply chain complexity mainly use the static and dynamic complexity distinction. While static complexity describes the structure of the supply chain, the number and the variety of its components and strengths of interactions between these; the dynamic complexity represents the uncertainty in the supply chain and involves the aspects of time and randomness. This distinction is also valid when classifying the drivers of supply chain complexity according to the way they are generated. Supply chain complexity drivers (e.g., number/variety of suppliers, number/variety of customers, number/variety of interactions, conflicting policies, demand amplification, differing/conflicting/non-synchronized decisions and actions, incompatible IT systems) play a significant and varying role in dealing with complexity of the different types of supply chains (e.g., food, chemical, electronics, automotive).     

A systematic approach for supply chain improvement using design structure matrix

Supply chain is a complex system that involves many system elements from various functional areas. Performance of a supply chain heavily depends on the effectiveness of communication and coordination among these system elements and functional areas. However, a large and complex supply chain usually makes it difficult to coordinate and thus degrades its performance. This paper focuses on the development of a systematic approach with the following objectives: (1) to identify and quantify the interactions among the system elements in a supply chain; (2) to decompose the large interdependent group of system elements into smaller and manageable sub-groups; and thus (3) to improve the structure of the supply chain system. A supply chain system is first decomposed into subsystems and system elements from which the interactions (i.e., independent, dependent and interdependent relationships) are studied and documented by design structure matrix (DSM). Next, the interaction strengths among the related system elements are quantified. Cluster analysis is used to decompose the large interdependent group into smaller ones in order to provide a better supply chain system structure. The effectiveness of this systematic approach is demonstrated by an illustrative example. The result shows that it is able to improve the system structure of a supply chain that will be useful for the supply chain reengineering.     

Towards a framework of critical success factors for implementing supply chain information systems

Supply chain information systems (SCISs) have emerged as the core of successful management in supply chains. However, the difficulties of SCIS implementations have been widely cited in the literature. Research on the critical success factors (CSFs) for SCIS implementation is rather scarce and fragmented. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to compile a framework of CSFs for implementing SCISs. Based on 10 key articles focusing on ERP implementations, we have built a list of critical success factors as a starting point for the SCIS literature search. Thereafter, based on 21 SCIS articles, CSFs for supply chain information system implementation have been defined. The analysis showed that some CSFs have been ignored and important supply chain characteristics have been overlooked. Moreover, it is not always easy for project managers to know how to implement and apply CSFs in practice.     

An agent-based framework for collaborative negotiation in the global manufacturing supply chain network

This paper applies the multi-agent system paradigm to collaborative negotiation in a global manufacturing supply chain network. Multi-agent computational environments are suitable for dealing with a broad class of coordination and negotiation issues involving multiple autonomous or semiautonomous problem solving agents. An agent-based multi-contract negotiation system is proposed for global manufacturing supply chain coordination. Also reported is a case study of mobile phone global manufacturing supply chain management.     

Quantifying suppliers’ product quality and delivery performance: A sourcing policy decision model

This paper provides buying firms with a useful sourcing policy decision tool to help them determine an optimum set of suppliers when a number of sourcing alternatives exist. We propose a probabilistic cost model in which suppliers’ quality performance is measured by inconformity of the end product measurements and delivery performance is estimated based on the suppliers’ expected delivery earliness and tardiness. The model is then empirically tested, utilizing the parameters obtained from one US mechanical component manufacturing company. The results from the case analysis indicate that single sourcing could be a cost effective policy but is not a panacea when the buying firm pursues product quality and delivery excellence. A prerequisite condition for the success of single sourcing practices is a low incoming quality variation within a group of single-source suppliers.     

An agent-based approach for e-manufacturing and supply chain integration

A major problem facing manufacturing organisations is how to provide efficient and cost-effective responses to the unpredictable changes taking place in a global market. This problem is made difficult by the complexity of supply chain networks coupled with the complexity of individual manufacturing systems within supply chains. Current systems such as manufacturing execution systems (MES), supply chain management (SCM) systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems do not provide adequate facilities for addressing this problem. This paper presents an approach that would enable manufacturing organisations to dynamically and cost-effectively integrate, optimise, configure, simulate, restructure and control not only their own manufacturing systems but also their supply networks, in a co-ordinated manner to cope with the dynamic changes occurring in a global market. This is realised by a synergy of two emerging manufacturing concepts: Agent-based agile manufacturing systems and e-manufacturing. The concept is to represent a complex manufacturing system and its supply network with an agent-based modelling and simulation architecture and to dynamically generate alternative scenarios with respect to planning, scheduling, configuration and restructure of both the manufacturing system and its supply network based on the coordinated interactions amongst agents.     

Analysis on the effects of stock sharing on supply chain

Considering a two-period, two-part supply chain consisting of one supplier and multi-retailers, this paper studies the effects of stock sharing among retailers on the supply chain. By establishing analysis model and using simulation method, the effects of stock sharing mode and also the traditional mode without stock sharing on retailer, supplier and the whole supply chain’s performance are analyzed. The research results show that when supplier is in a dominant position, although only under certain conditions the stock sharing can stimulate retailer to increase order volume and make supplier to gain a better profit, it always make the profitability of retailer and supplier better than in the traditional mode. When supplier is in a dominant position, stock sharing can always stimulate retailer to increase their order volume, and the profitability of the retailer, supplier and the whole supply chain is always better than the traditional mode situation without stock sharing.     

Information technology, operational, and management competencies for supply chain agility: Findings from case studies

Given the growing emphasis on the need for supply chain agility to sustain competitive advantage, this study explores the impact of the relationship between supply chain competence and supply chain agility on firm performance. Although the influence of supply chain agility on firm performance has been acknowledged, this study further articulates the relationship from the perspective of inter-organizational collaboration. We develop a conceptual model based on the resource-based view and employ a multi-case study method in this exploratory research. Our findings highlight the importance of distinguishing the difference between supply chain agility and supply chain competence and their impact on firm performance. This study contributes to the growing body of conceptual and empirical literature on supply chain agility and adds to the understanding of the complexity of supply chain competence.     

Power-based supplier selection in product development projects

As stronger supplier might exert their power to influence a product development project for their own benefit, business negotiations will be more efficient if the customer has a clear understanding of its power with regards to each of its potential suppliers. This article takes the customer perspective in dealing with supplier selection and proposes a method to estimate the power of a customer versus potential suppliers. Based on an evaluation of their power, potential suppliers are then ranked. This selection procedure is illustrated with an example and evaluated against a case study taken from academic literature.     

The antecedent factors on trust and commitment in supply chain relationships

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the role of information sharing, information quality, and information availability in the development of trust and commitment in supply chain relationships. Samples were gathered in Taiwan and Canada using a field questionnaire. Multiple regression and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. It was found that there is a positive relationship between the level of quality, and availability, and the level of trust; information sharing and commitment. Additionally, results revealed that country moderates the relationship between information sharing and trust.