Zucker,Zuckerwaren und künstliche Süßstoffe

European Food Research and Technology -     

A simulation based supply partner selection decision support tool for service provision in Dell

Partner selection is an important aspect of all outsourcing processes. Traditional partner selection typically involves steps to determine the criteria for outsourcing, followed by a qualification of potential suppliers and concluding with a final selection of partner(s). Reverse auctions (RAs) have widely been used for partner selection in recent times. However, RAs, although proven successful in initial price reduction strategies for product and service provision, can suffer from reduced effectiveness as the number of executions increases.This paper illustrates Dell’s experience of such diminishing returns for its outsourced after sales product repair service and presents the development of a new partner selection methodology, which incorporates a new process improvement stage to be executed in combination with the final selection phase. This new methodology is underpinned by the development of a computer based simulation supply partner selection decision support tool for service provision. The paper highlights the significant additional cost saving benefits and improvement in service achievable through the use of advanced simulation based decision supports.     

The illusion of requirements in software development

This viewpoint explores the possibility that many software development projects may have no useful requirements. Specifically, for problems (e.g., knowledge worker burnout) with two completely different solutions (e.g., better tool support or hire more employees), an analyst may state a goal (e.g., decrease work hours) but more specific desiderata are contingent on the chosen solution. Furthermore, without fully exploring the design space, the designer cannot be sure whether there exists another approach, which would achieve the goal without any commonality with known approaches. In these situations of sparse requirements, analysts may misrepresent design decisions as requirements, creating an illusion of requirements in software development.     

Composing fifth species counterpoint music with a variable neighborhood search algorithm

In this paper, a variable neighborhood search (VNS) algorithm is developed and analyzed that can generate fifth species counterpoint fragments. The existing species counterpoint rules are quantified and form the basis of the objective function used by the algorithm. The VNS developed in this research is a local search metaheuristic that starts from a randomly generated fragment and gradually improves this solution by changing one or two notes at a time. An in-depth statistical analysis reveals the significance as well as the optimal settings of the parameters of the VNS. The algorithm has been implemented in a user-friendly software environment called Optimuse. Optimuse allows a user to input basic characteristics such as length, key and mode. Based on this input, a fifth species counterpoint fragment is generated by the system that can be edited and played back immediately.