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The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically validate a model for assessing demand planning maturity in organisations.

The authors developed a maturity assessment model for demand planning through iterations of theoretical and empirical work, combining insights from literature and practitioners. An online survey is developed to validate the model using data from different industries.

The authors identify six dimensions of demand planning maturity: data management, the use of forecasting methods, the forecasting system, performance management, the organisation and people management. The empirical study indicates that demand data are well managed and organisation readiness is high, yet improvements in the forecasting system and the management of forecast performance are needed. The results show a positive relationship between the size of an organisation and its demand planning maturity.

The contribution of this work is to propose an assessment model and survey instrument for demand planning maturity. This will help the practitioner to understand the current level of maturity of the demand planning process, reflect on the desired level and develop action plans to close the gap.

There is broad literature on process maturity assessment in general and on sales and operations planning (S&OP) maturity in particular. However, there is no comprehensive model for assessing the maturity of demand planning, which is a specific and critical process within the overall S&OP process. The authors fill this gap by offering a demand planning maturity model.

This paper aims to assess the policy framework and planning regarding research data management (RDM) in university libraries of Pakistan.

Data were collected from 30 Higher Education Commission high ranking university libraries by using mixed method explanatory sequential design.

The results indicate that library heads just heard about RDM, but there was lack of knowledge and awareness. Few libraries were at the planning stage. Other major challenges including lack of willingness, motivation and coordination with researchers, non-availability of skillful professional and support staff, poor infrastructure and networking were found in this regard.

This is the first study of its kind that explores the planning and policy development regarding RDM in university libraries of Pakistan.

This paper aims to understand the current development situation of scientific data management policy in China, analyze the content structure of the policy and provide a theoretical basis for the improvement and optimization of the policy system.

China's scientific data management policies were obtained through various channels such as searching government websites and policy and legal database, and 209 policies were finally identified as the sample for analysis after being screened and integrated. A three-dimensional framework was constructed based on the perspective of policy tools, combining stakeholder and lifecycle theories. And the content of policy texts was coded and quantitatively analyzed according to this framework.

China's scientific data management policies can be divided into four stages according to the time sequence: infancy, preliminary exploration, comprehensive promotion and key implementation. The policies use a combination of three types of policy tools: supply-side, environmental-side and demand-side, involving multiple stakeholders and covering all stages of the lifecycle. But policy tools and their application to stakeholders and lifecycle stages are imbalanced. The development of future scientific data management policy should strengthen the balance of policy tools, promote the participation of multiple subjects and focus on the supervision of the whole lifecycle.

This paper constructs a three-dimensional analytical framework and uses content analysis to quantitatively analyze scientific data management policy texts, extending the research perspective and research content in the field of scientific data management. The study identifies policy focuses and proposes several strategies that will help optimize the scientific data management policy.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the prerequisites and effects of centralised supply chain planning at IKEA, and to explore how the planning process, planning system, and planning organization make up a centralised planning approach.

The paper is based on a longitudinal case study of IKEA's implementation of global supply chain planning. The literature review generated a framework which identifies prerequisites for, approaches to, and the effects of and obstacles to centralised supply chain planning. This framework was used to analyse IKEA's supply chain planning before and after the implementation. Finally, the authors reflected upon the learning from IKEA and refined the framework.

A number of prerequisites for centralised supply chain planning were identified: functional products, vertical integration, a dominating organization possessing the power and competence to enforce the implementation, and the use of one planning domain possessing all critical planning information. The direct effects of centralised supply chain planning were related to supply chain integration, standardisation, specialisation, and learning effects. Implementing centralised supply chain planning in an appropriate planning context led to several operational performance improvements. Obstacles were mainly related to human and organizational, as well as to software and data issues.

This is a first approach towards development of a framework of how to design, use and benefit from centralised supply chain planning. The developed conceptual model, which is refined through the case study, offers some generalizability in researching centralised supply chain planning.

The findings show that centralised supply chain planning is a necessity for a large and growing, global supply chain striving for low‐cost production and efficiency.

IKEA is a unique case with its supply chain characteristics and recently implemented planning concept.

The purpose of this paper is to chart the development of research data management services within the University of Bristol, from the initial Jisc-funded project, through to pilot service and planned core funding of the service.

The paper provides a case study of the approach of the University of Bristol Library service to develop a sustainable Research Data Service.

It outlines the services developed during the project and pilot phases of the service. In particular it focuses on the sustainability planning to ensure that research data management is embedded as a core university service.

The case study provides practical advice and valuable insights into the issues and experiences of ensuring that research data management is properly valued and supported within universities.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution to date and future directions in research data policy, infrastructure, skills development and advisory services in an Australian university, with a focus on the role of librarians.

The authors have been involved in the development of research data services at Griffith, and the case study presents observations and reflections arising from their first-hand experiences.

Griffith University’s organisational structure and “whole-of-enterprise” approach has facilitated service development to support research data. Fostering strong national partnerships has also accelerated development of institutional capability. Policies and strategies are supported by pragmatic best practice guidelines aimed directly at researchers. Iterative software development and a commitment to well-supported enterprise infrastructure enable the provision of a range of data management solutions. Training programs, repository support and data planning services are still relatively immature. Griffith recognises that information services staff (including librarians) will need more opportunities to develop knowledge and skills to support these services as they evolve.

This case study provides examples of library-led and library-supported activities that could be used for comparative purposes by other libraries. At the same time, it provides a critical perspective by contrasting areas of good practice within the University with those of less satisfactory progress. While other institutions may have different constraints or opportunities, some of the major concepts within this paper may prove useful to advance the development of research data capability and capacity across the library profession.

Propelled by fast-evolving computational technology and cloud-based data storage, the increasing ease in research data collection is outstripping the capacity in research data service (RDS) in academic institutions. To illustrate the challenges and opportunities in providing RDS, the author provides a systematic review of the RDS offered in academic institutions and libraries by combining existing literature and survey data collected from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). In addition, the RDS websites of 2013 ARL survey-participating institutions are also examined. The aim of the paper is to provide an environmental scan of the current state of RDS provision in academic institutions, to add to the body of knowledge of RDS development, and to inform and enable academic libraries to make strategic RDS plans.

The paper analyzes the strategies used and levels of RDS provided by reviewing recent literature, exploiting existing survey data from ARL and ACRL, and examining RDS websites of the 2013 ARL survey-participating institutions, in areas that reflect the life cycle of RDS provision including research data management planning, metadata consultation and tool provision, data archiving, institutional repository provision and data sharing and access.

The overall offerings of the library-led research data services in ARL research-intensive institutions have shown signs of increasing. Increased engagement and expanded scope and level of services are two noticeable trends in academic library RDS provision. Academic libraries are taking advantage of open access repositories by advising researchers to use the available resources alongside their local repositories for data safe-keeping and sharing. Discussions on RDS policy and infrastructure development are inadequate or largely non-existent.

Through systematically reviewing current literature, drawing on the results of available surveys on RDS offerings by academic libraries conducted between 2009 and 2014 and examining and further reviewing the websites of these 2013 ARL survey-participating institutions, the author presents the current state of academic library activities in RDS provision, and provides a critical evaluation of the scope and level of services currently being offered in academic libraries, and the opportunities in RDS development, to add to the body of knowledge of RDS provision by academic institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the information landscape of organizations by focusing on the evolution of the fields of so‐called records management and data management.

The author draws on his personal experience with the National Archives of Canada.

Records management and data management quite literally mean the same thing. There is no “gap”, as indicated in the title. The only gaps that exist are in the perceptions of what each concept means and the functions and status of the information jurisdictions that have claimed each for their own.

The paper recommends an integration of what has been perceived to be the disparate fields of records management and data management, finding that records or data should be managed from a global and corporately defined perspective

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the context affects successful use of advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems in sales and operations planning (S&OP) processes, and how individual, technological, and organizational (ITO) dimensions affect this procedure.

This is a qualitative case study of two APS system-supported S&OP processes. The work aims to generate propositions concerning the relationships among the use of APS system, the context, ITO dimensions, and fulfillment of S&OP aims.

Use of APS systems was especially appropriate in support of S&OP processes in complex planning environments and when S&OP aims were ambitious. ITO dimensions were important influences on successful APS system use in most contexts. APS systems were not considered appropriate when having S&OP processes with ambitious aims and low individual and organizational maturities. Use of APS systems was also inappropriate when the extent of technological maturity was minimal. S&OP processes with ambitious aims, operating within a complex planning environment, are difficult if not impossible to implement without the support of APS systems.

The suggestions on when APS systems should be used in different S&OP environments will be useful to companies implementing or about to implement APS systems.

APS systems offer great potential if they are effectively used to support S&OP, still the use of APS system in S&OP is unexplored. The paper shows how the context and the ITO dimensions affect the successful use of APS systems in S&OP processes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore tactical planning in grocery retailing and propose how process and integration mechanisms from sales and operations planning (S&OP) can enhance retail tactical planning.

This work follows an explorative design with case studies from the grocery retailing industry in Finland, Norway, and the UK.

The tactical planning process focuses on demand management and securing product availability from suppliers in order to reach sales targets. Less attention is directed toward balancing supply and demand or toward providing a single plan to guide company operations. Planning appeared to be functionally oriented with limited coordination between functional plans, but it did include external integration that improved forecast accuracy.

The study involves grocery retailer cases with variable levels of S&OP maturity. The propositions need to be investigated further through action research or additional case studies to confirm their validity.

The study proposes a design of an S&OP process in retailing and propositions for improving tactical planning integration.

The study complements research on retail tactical planning by taking planning process and integration viewpoints. The research suggests that retailers would benefit from a formal and company-wide S&OP process to unify different market-oriented plans to a single set of numbers, thus better balancing supply and demand without sacrificing the emphasis on demand planning.