This paper studied the problem of determining the optimal inventory level to meet the customer service target level in a situation where the customer demand for each branch of a nationwide retailer is uncertain. To this end, ISR (In-Stock Ratio) was defined as a key management indicator (KPI) that can be used from the perspective of a nationwide retailer such as Samsung, LG, or Apple that sells goods at branches nationwide. An optimization model was established to allow the retailer to minimize the total amount of inventory held at each branch while meeting the customer service target level defined as the average ISR. This paper proves that there is always an optimal solution in the model and expresses the optimal solution in a generalized form using the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker condition regardless of the shape of the probability distribution of customer demand. In addition, this paper studied the case where customer demand follows a specific probability distribution such as a normal distribution, and an expression representing the optimal inventory level for this case was derived.

To meet rapidly changing market demands, manufacturers strive to increase both of productivity and diversity at the same time. As a part of those effort, they are applying flexible manufacturing systems that produce multiple types and/or options of products at a single production line. This paper studies such flexible manufacturing system with multiple types of products, multiple Bernoulli reliability machines and dedicated buffers between them for each of product types. As one of the prevalent control policies, priority based policy is applied at each machines to select the product to be processed. To analyze such system and its performance measures exactly, Markov chain models are applied. Because it is too complex to define all relative transient and its probabilities for each state, an algorithm to update transient state probability are introduced. Based on the steady state probability, some performance measures such as production rate, WIP-based measures, blocking probability and starvation probability are derived. Some system properties are also addressed. There is a property of non-conservation of flow, which means the product ratio at the input flow is not conserved at the succeeding flows. In addition, it is also found that increased buffer capacity does not guarantee improved production rate in this system.

Currently many companies are interested in reduction of the carbon emissions associated with their supply chain activities such as transportation and operations. Operational decisions, such as modifications in order quantities could an effective way in reducing carbon emissions in the supply chain. Cap-and-trade regulation, sometimes called emissions trading, is a market-based tool to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Under cap-and-trade regulation, emission credits are allocated to the firms and the firms trades emissions under cap-and-trade schemes. In this paper, we propose a single-manufacturer single-buyer two-echelon supply chain problem under the cap-and-trade mechanism incorporating the carbon emissions caused by transportation and warehousing activities where a single manufacturer produces a family of items in order to deliver a family of items to a single buyer at a fixed interval of time for effective implementation of Just-In-Time (JIT) Purchasing. An integrated multi-product lot-splitting model of facilitating multiple shipments in small lots between buyer and manufacturer is developed in a JIT Purchasing environment. Also, an iterative heuristic algorithm is developed to derive the common order interval, the number of intervals for each product and the number of shipments between the buyer and the manufacturer during the common interval. A numerical example is given to illustrate the savings in reduction of total cost and carbon emissions by the inventory model incorporating cap-and-trade mechanism compared to the classical inventory model. The proposed inventory model could be useful for the practical solution of two-echelon supply chain inventory problem under cap-and-trade mechanism.

In pursuing carbon emission reduction efforts, companies have focused for the most part on reducing emissions due to the more efficient equipment and facilities. However they overlook a significant source of carbon emissions, one that is driven by operational policies. Currently companies are looking for solutions to reduce carbon emissions associated with their operations. Operational adjustments, such as modifications in order quantities could an effective way in reducing carbon emissions in the supply chain. Also, Cap-and-Trade mechanism is generally accepted as on of the most effective market-based mechanism to reduce carbon emissions. In this paper, we investigate a supply chain with single manufacturer and multiple retailers multi-product inventory model under the cap-and-trade system incorporating the carbon emissions caused by transportation and warehousing activities. Also, we provide an iterative solution algorithm and derive the common order interval and the number of intervals for each product. We show by numerical example that the inventory model incorporating cap & trade mechanism can reduce total cost and carbon emissions compared to the classical inventory model. Using the numerical examples, we also investigates different carbon price on the performance of the inventory model.

Researchers have yet to investigate whether it is beneficial for exporters to engage in greater levels of product adaptation in their export operations, or whether there is some limit to the amount of adaptation exporters should engage in. We posit that customer value creation, a central marketing concept and a mechanism to achieving market and financial goals in business to business markets, is a core outcome of export product adaptation activities. In order to explore the routes by which adaptation may shape export customer value creation, we adopt a multi-faceted conceptualization of firm-level product adaptation, comprising export product adaptation (i) quantity, (ii) intensity and (iii) novelty. Drawing on survey data from 249 Finnish exporters involved in business-to-business activities, we find evidence to support the claim that the impact of export product adaptation on export customer value creation is contingent on various factors, and we identify instances where greater adaptation is beneficial for export customer value creation, and instances where greater export product adaptation is potentially harmful for export customer value creation.

The purposes of this study were to investigate the influences of channel assessments on the usage of multi-channels by product types, and the differences in the usage of multi-channels among product types in buying decision making process for fashion products. Data were collected from 510 consumers in their 20s to 50s with purchasing experiences through multi-channel distribution system and living in Seoul and Kyunggi province; 491 were analyzed after deleting incomplete questionnaires. Factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis by using SPSS 18.0. The results were as follows: 5 factors were extracted for channel assessment: utility, accuracy, risk, price benefit and sharing information. Price benefits, utility and sharing information for online channel tended to influence positively on the usage of online channel and online+offline channels. Accuracy and low perceived risk of offline influenced positively on offline and on+offline channel usages. The usage levels of on-line and off-line channels for cosmetics were significantly lower than the usage levels for clothes and accessories on information search, evaluation of alternatives, and purchase stages. Significant differences were also found in the usage levels of multi-channels (on+off-line) on information search and evaluation of alternatives stages. The usage levels of the multi-channels for clothes were the highest followed by those of accessories and cosmetics in order.

The side wall thickness variation of the product to the process of ironing and the die pad was studied using a progressive die of the multi-stage drawing product in the process of ironing and the die pad. Experimental results because ironing is possible to increase the side wall thickness of the product is applied to the intermediate drawing process rather than applied in the initial process. The roundness and concentricity were easy control. A die pad is applied to a stand pad to the sixth step from the first step. The seventh step and the eighth step are applied integrated pad. The integrated pad of the seventh step and the eighth step appeared to be advantageous to control the roundness and concentricity.

Real estate housing market in former USSR was highly regulated and standardized in terms of product offering. Transition economy slightly changes this situation – consumers start to demand the new quality of housing while developers begin to implement the advanced building technologies and change the product attributes. The structure of consumers’ preferences forms product utility, which could be measured by using decompositional methods. We implement hierarchical information integration approach that let us represent the real estate housing object utility as a sum of part-worth utilities of various attributes. Using special research design we estimate the utility of current market offer. The results highlight that the reason of poor sales performance could underlie in the gap between consumers’ preferences and real estate housing items configuration.

Supply Chain Management(SCM) is getting important, because size of the company is getting bigger and the kinds of product are various. In the case of manufacturing corporation, for the optimization of SCM, we have to make production and distribution plan by considering the various fluctuation in the aspect of integration. In this paper, first, It proposed the reasonable operational way of the SCM about when the customer’s demanding is various and demanding expectation fluctuates in capacity standardization of producer stage. Second, the paper proposed the management way for demanding by considering confirmed demanding information, related inventory expense and demanding shortage expense when we make production and distribution plan. The paper applied the genetic algorithm proved for current usefulness. it proposed the optimal operational way for SCM by dividing into 2 ways for dealing with the duration of confirmed demanding information and various fluctuation.

본 논문은 (1 : 1 : N) 재고모형에 대한 복수제품의 순환생산 및 배송 일정계획을 수립하는 연구를 수행하였다. 세부적으로 공급자가 원자재를 생산자에게 배송하면, 생산자는 순환생산방식을 활용하여 복수의 제품을 생산하여 N 구매자에게 배송하는 상황을 고려하고 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 공급자, 생산자, 구매자를 포함하는 시스템 전체의 비용을 최소화하는 계획을 수립하는 것이다. 최적해가 가지는 몇 가지 특성들을 분석하고, 이를 통해서 단계적인 휴리스틱 절

본 연구에서는 fMRI 기법을 활용하여 제품과 공감각적 은유가 적용된 제품 디자인에 표현된 미각적 요소와의 적합성 수준이 제품에 대한 신경학적 반응과 제품평가에 미치는 영향에 대하여 알아보고자 하였다. 사전조사를 통해 미각적 요소와 제품 간의 적합성 정도에 따라 제품디자인을 두 그룹으로 나누었다. 총 40개의 제품디자인이 실험자극물로 사용되었다. 총 15명의 건강한 오른손잡이 대학생들이 실험에 참가하였다. 실험은 총 2세션으로 구성되어 있고, fMRI scanning session에서 참가자들은 제품디자인을 관찰하였고, post-scanning session에는 제품디자인에 대한 선호도와 구매의도를 측정하였다. 실험결과 적합성이 높은 제품디자인이 낮은 제품디자인보다 선호도, 구매의도 모두 높게 나타났다. 뇌 반응의 경우 긍정적 보상과 관련된 미상핵(Caudate nucleus)과 피각(putamen) 영역이 적합성이 높은 조건의 제품디자인에서 더 많이 활성화 되는 것으로 나타났다.

Most approaches for continuous review inventory problem need tables for loss function and cumulative standard normal distribution. Furthermore, it is time-consuming to calculate order quantity (Q) and reorder point (r) iteratively until required values ar

Using this model, SN ratio of taguchi method for each of subjective factors as well as values of weights are used in this comprehensive positioning method for product. A example is presented to illustrate the model and to show a rank reversal when compared to a model that eliminates the highest and lowest customers' values allocating the weights and the subjective factors.

  In this paper, we consider an inventory system where a single supplier purchases and processes raw materials into finished goods in order to deliver finished goods to a single buyer for effective implementation of Just-In-Time Purchasing. An integrated

This paper presents a collaborative product development architecture (cPDA) using multi-agents which provides a framework for the design and analysis tools to effectively communicate and collaborate. This paper addresses two key issues. One is concerned with product visualization and real-time collaboration over the Internet. It discusses the light-weight geometric representation of the product information for efficient transmission and sharing over the Internet. The other is concerned with the collaborative process management using multi-agents. The collaborative product development process is globally managed by the process manager, but locally managed by agent interactions, which combines the advantage of the hierarchical management of the process with the heterarchical one.

Purpose - This study illustrates research product industrial engineering, which needs to be promoted to encourage knowledge intensive businesses. Research traditions related to industrial business products and a fuzzy multi criteria decision approach in technology management for product design industries have undergone continuous changes over time. However, there is no clarity on the present situation, and there is a need to reform business enterprises. Research design, data, and methodology - Using fuzzy theory and appraising multi-goal plans, the manner of promoting the competitive advantage of industrial businesses is analyzed using a case study. In the case study, various aspects are examined, such as product design and manufacture, fuzzy set decisions with multi attribute policy making, flaws in the present system, and a review of the related literature. Results - New fuzzy and multi criteria designs can improve the existing keyboard by solving product problems, resulting in a clear and durable typeface for a creative LED keyboard. Conclusion - Using a fuzzy set with multi attribute policymaking influences the achievements appraisal system and can help achieve the anticipated strategy goal of product design.