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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between customer order lead time (COLT) and the price sensitivity of an electrical equipment manufacturer company. In consequence, it examines two research questions in terms of COLT, price and profitability level and to ensure the validity and practical justification of these research questions.

In this research the authors have used a case study approach where three business measures, namely COLT, price and the profitability level of a case company were investigated and analyzed critically. These measures were implemented through four different customer segments with two production lines of the case company. Data were collected from the company's order delivery database from the period 2006 to 2008. In addition, different experimental data were collected through interviewing and reviewing the results of the data analysis with the unit managers.

In this paper the authors have observed the correlation between the price, profit and COLT with all four customer segments in both the production lines of the case company. From the case data, the authors concluded that the customer did not pay more when the COLT is shorter than with the average time. It is also noticeable that the profit margin is higher for the case company to handle COLT with shorter lead time than the average order delivery lead time.

More case examples might be helpful to motivate the managers to accept the research outcomes.

The concept of the company's COLT in relation to the price and profitability level supports organizational managers in their decision‐making process in terms of productivity level and the company's growth. It will motivate the managers to make tradeoffs among various developmental measures.

This paper implemented a unique approach for measuring the significant level of price and profitability level over COLT. From the outcomes of this study, it is observed that the price correlated positively with the COLT and has a direct and significant impact on it. When the price is increased the COLT is also increased. It is also noticed that the products of the case company which offered shorter lead times were on average also more profitable, even though there were no significant differences in average pricing between the customer segments.

Seeks to establish the most appropriate measures of TQM success, and to assess by how much the rate of success improves when these measures are used. Describes in outline a study carried out at Colt International using the Baldrige framework. The level of quality was measured secretly at Colt, then the improvement measured after the Baldrige monitors were displayed. Quantitative measures were used, supported by qualitative observation. A t‐test was used to calculate the significance level of the results. The scope covered 37 teams across operations, technical, commercial and administrative departments within an industrial company. Results show a 10‐15 per cent improvement per month, with a 65 per cent level of confidence. Recommends that quantitative measures based on Baldrige should be a key part of all TQM programmes.

The aim of this empirical paper is to study information sharing in fresh food supply chains, with a specific goal of reducing waste and facilitating sustainable performance. The study focuses on material and information flow issues, specifically on sharing demand and shelf‐life data.

This work has been designed as an exploratory case study in three fresh food supply chains, milk, fresh fish, and fresh poultry, in the Nordic countries. The cases are based on interviews and data from the databases of the companies involved. Each case focuses on analyzing information flow, particularly the current order patterns and forecasting and planning process, and material flow, focusing on the supply chain structure. In two cases significant changes have been made to forecasting processes and material flow, while the third case intends to identify the most beneficial uses of shared information to create a sustainable fresh food supply chain.

The performance of the perishable food chain can be improved by more efficient information sharing. The key to improved operations is how and for which purposes the shared data should be used. In addition, changes in the supply chain structure were needed to speed up the deliveries and ensure shelf availability. The cross‐case analysis revealed that improved performance was obtained with parallel changes in information sharing and usage and in material flow.

Few studies approach the problem of waste and sustainability from an integrated supply chain perspective. This paper links data sharing with the sustainability performance of the supply chain as a whole.

The purpose of this paper is to show how yield management and dynamic pricing, which originated in the airline industry, are now diffusing in other service industries. The aim is to demonstrate that these techniques can be profitably applied to telecommunications and similar sectors and to examine the particular conditions of their implementation, development and efficiency.

The main concepts of yield management, dynamic pricing and CRM are carefully scrutinized. Also discussed is the concept of natural demand curve that aims at reaching a better compromise between the capacity of a company and the demand in an environment where services cannot be sold in advance. In order to sustain the analysis and demonstrate its managerial implications, five case studies are presented that exemplify some aspects of yield management techniques in the telecommunication sector.

Since the telecommunications are undergoing a process of increased competition and dynamic convergence, yield management techniques can help telecom operators to optimize the benefits they can derive from a subtle management of information networks and partnerships. However, such an approach is more difficult to implement in the telecommunication industry than in the airlines sector because of the difficulty to control (and sometimes refuse) network access to customers.

Capacity and revenue management become critical differentiation factors in improving service quality, loyalty and profitability. Given the increase in competitive pressure, the main objective of operators to sell customer access database to potential partners represents a radical change in the nature of financial and information flows and leads to a “customized management of services supply”.

Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship, Britain's “apprenticeship” system of qualification gave way to formal library school education, and a new category of “non‐professional staff” was created, of people who were unwilling or unable to proceed to graduate‐level qualification. The development of non‐professional certificates of competence in the UK is described against parallel developments in the US, Canada and Australia; the COMLA training modules are also examined. The theoretical and practical issues surrounding training are discussed, training schemes and qualifications in the four countries analysed, and the relative merits of in‐house training and external certificate programmes argued.

DEVALUATION is not a soft option, an easy escape route from our afflictions. Neither is it a source of pride to citizens of a land of whom a famous American wrote last century: ‘The strength of England lies in the omnipotence of her industry’. The reasons for it are complex and in part international in origin, but the stark fact is that events drove the country ineluctably towards a crisis from which devaluation was the only way out.

The purpose of this practice briefing paper is to provide an exploratory review of the sustainability agendas being addressed and publicly reported by the UK's leading data centre operators.

The paper begins with a short discussion of the characteristics of sustainability and an outline of the origins and development of data centres within the UK. The paper draws its empirical material from the most recent information on sustainability posted on the UK's leading data centre operators' corporate web sites.

The findings reveal that all the UK's leading data centre operators provide only limited information on their commitment to sustainability with the dominant focus being on its environmental dimension and with little attention being paid to social and economic issues. More critically the authors argue that these commitments are driven more by the search for efficiency gains, that they are couched within existing business models centred on continuing growth and that as such the UK's leading data centre operators are pursuing a “weak” rather than a “strong” model of sustainability.

The paper suggests that leading data centre operating companies may need to extend their sustainability reporting and to introduce external assurance procedures.

The paper provides an accessible review of the sustainability agendas being pursued by the UK's leading data centre operators and as such it will interest academics, students and practitioners interested in both sustainability and data centre operations and developments.

Examines Spain’s problems in implementing regulatory reform and offers suggestions for addressing them. Hopes to be instructive to other countries embarking on regulatory reform. Concludes that other countries should concentrate on problems on implementation that they are likely to face and should be prepared for.

This article aims to document and analyze how E. Remington & Sons built a valuable firearms brand through its advertising in the period 1854-1888.

The study uses qualitative methods. Primary source documents include newspapers, journals, and catalogs. The advertising analyzed came primarily from three periodicals – Harper's Weekly, The Army Navy Journal, and American Agriculturalist – that together reached a broad audience of American firearms consumers.

Advertising to both civilian and military markets, Remington used a number of appeals including expert testimonials, fears of robbery and home invasion, and boasts of quality, military contracts, and honors from shooting competitions. Until the late 1870s, Remington used manufacturer's advertising more than its competitors.

Business historians have not seriously addressed Remington or other gun advertising and branding during the nineteenth century, while firearms historians have largely relegated these ads and other promotional ephemera to illustrative accessory roles, not as subjects of independent consideration. By investigating the rise of this important firearms brand, the research sheds light on the evolution of the American firearms industry and the prevailing gun culture.