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The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of a Brazilian steelmaking company’s reheating process of the hot rolling mill.

The research method is a quantitative modeling. The main research techniques are data envelopment analysis, TOBIT regression and simulation supported by artificial neural networks. The model’s input and output variables consist of the average billet weight, number of billets processed in a batch, gas consumption, thermal efficiency, backlog and production yield within a specific period. The analysis spans 20 months.

The key findings include an average current efficiency of 81%, identification of influential variables (average billet weight, billet count and gas consumption) and simulated analysis. Among the simulated scenarios, the most promising achieved an average efficiency of 95% through increased equipment availability and billet size.

Additional favorable simulated scenarios entail the utilization of higher pre-reheating temperatures for cold billets, representing a large amount of savings in gas consumption and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

This study’s primary innovation lies in providing steelmaking practitioners with a systematic approach to evaluating and enhancing the efficiency of reheating processes.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new framework for designing and implementing simple but effective advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems in glass container industry by means of spreadsheets.

The conceptual framework for APS system design is developed by integrating principles of end-user computing and mixed-integer programming (MIP). This framework comprises the APS implementation and its integration with enterprise resource planning systems. Such a proposal is applied in a real-world glass bottle manufacturer and its performance assessment is carried out by using metrics of the well-known supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model.

The case study shows that the framework application can improve the responsiveness of glass container supply chain (SC) as well as reduce significantly SC planning costs. A further assessment of the end-user computing satisfaction highlights the general acceptance of the framework.

The proposed framework can assist glass industry managers and practitioners to solve their complex production planning problem since custom solutions are not available for this sector. Another important implication is the possible generalization of the framework given that MIP models for production planning are currently available in the literature for different industries.

On the one hand, the new framework successfully integrates concepts of end-user computing and MIP bridging the gap between theory of aforementioned areas and their practical applications. On the other hand, the paper contributes to the scarce literature on performance evaluation of APS systems and their impact on production system performance. The novel APS gain analysis based on SCOR metrics ensures that the system potential benefits are aligned with the modern concepts of supply chain management.

The purpose of the present study is to identify and measure economically the losses related to inventory management in an oil refinery.

An exploratory case study was conducted to search for a better understanding of a phenomenon and its implications.

The results obtained based on the case study suggest the need to observe this phenomenon in other contexts and take managerial actions that will eliminate waste as one of the forms of generating value for the company. The results were related to each other and to the traditional metrics of inventory management and can be used as a base to improve mathematical and computational models for production planning and scheduling and also performance indicators.

No studies have been found that attempt to measure the economic losses derived from inventory management and their capacity in this environment.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the productive efficiency and the best operational practices in an armaments manufacturer.

A longitudinal case study is performed using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Using DEA, an assessment of six years in the company manufacturing process is conducted. The research aims at developing an internal benchmark on three production lines of the company.

The results show that only one of the three analyzed production lines increased efficiency over time. With this result, the most efficient production line may be used as a reference in relation to the best operational practices of the company. Moreover, it was found that the current indicators to evaluate efficiency are insufficient and may lead to wrong management decisions.

This research could allow a larger understanding of the factors that really contribute to increased operational efficiency. This is due to internal benchmark assist in the identification of the best practices. The identification of best practices can contribute to enhance the efficiency of inefficient operations without the need for external comparisons.

DEA contributes due to its robustness, for the evaluation of productive efficiency. One of the contributions of this study is to identify opportunities for improvement in key components of the operation through targets, internal benchmarking and robust assessment of productive efficiency.

Thermal spray processes have a broad application in both manufacturing and maintenance. Thermal spray is a group of processes in which metallic and nonmetallic materials, finely divided, are deposited on a prepared substrate forming a sprayed deposit. Many metals, ceramics, intermetallic compounds, some organic and some plastic glasses can be deposited by one or more of the various thermal spray techniques. Nowadays, thermal spray technology is of great importance in the search for engineering solutions to the increasing demands on technical and economic aspects of the industries in general. At the scene of a great variety of options it is fundamental to take into account the economic variables and productivity that often overlap pure technical solution. Thus, the study of deposition methods and material options for the same application becomes extremely relevant and timely. Polymer coatings have great potential to improve the performance of surfaces of light or heavy metals. The main objective of this work was to study the properties of thermal sprayed polymer coatings looking for the possibilities of applying this type of coating for tribological demand. From the obtained results, there is strong evidence that the use of flame sprayed polymer powders, mainly PEEK, with substrate preheating would have a good performance in wear and corrosion applications.

This paper studies the moderating effect of industry structure on strategy-performance relationships in international markets.

We have carried out a survey among a sample of German, Norwegian and Singaporean small and medium sized firms, and test – using structural equation modelling (EQS) – four hypotheses founded in industrial organisation,

We find that industry structure indeed matters. The general picture is that cautious internationalisation strategies are more effective in fragmented industries than in concentrated industries. Also, with somewhat more nuance, global marketing strategies – such as standardisation and integration – seem by and large to be more effective in concentrated industries than in fragmented industries.

The operationalisation of industry structure in an international context is challenging and we have deviated from the traditional Herfindahl–Hirschman Index. This may be a limitation but we also consider it a strength, given the weaknesses of this index in an international setting. The study is cross-sectional and should ideally follow each firm over time, again a challenging endeavour.

Despite a considerable amount of studies on strategy – performance relationships in international markets, there is no general agreement on the topic. We argue that a contingency approach needs to be taken, and that industry structure is one important factor not yet analysed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations in the Marketing/Operations interface through the analysis of data of the operational reality of a Brazilian company with a low technological intensity. The study aims to quantify and determine the impacts of marketing decisions on delivery performance and on flexibility of the operations area.

A longitudinal case study was conducted and the variables used in the model were derived from established theories and were evaluated with artificial neural networks. The case of a food manufacturing company was selected to reflect the relations in the marketing/operations interface of a low technological intensity enterprise.

The results show that the decisions on Place/Channel, Price and Product dimensions of marketing exert a significant impact on flexibility and delivery performance of the operation area.

The findings of the case study cannot be generalised and the outcomes are specific to just one firm. However, the approach lends itself to replication, particularly within low technological intensity companies.

Prior studies have focussed on coordination among functional areas as marketing and operations at higher levels of abstraction. The study contemplate empirical propositions through the data analysis of a company with a low technological intensity that can be used to improve managers' decisions and alignment in the Marketing/Operation Interface.

The purpose of this paper is to longitudinally assess the technical efficiency and productivity, considering investment projects and technological change, in a second-generation petrochemical company.

The study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) together with the Malmquist index to measure efficiency during the analysis periods. The working method consists of four main phases, namely development of the conceptual model, construction of the mathematical model, application of model to the case, and analysis of the results. The study utilizes a quantitative approach with descriptive goals seeking to evaluate the impacts of technical changes on the operational efficiency and productivity of the production process.

The use of DEA associated with the Malmquist index proved to be viable for analyzing a single company and identifying efficiency improvements, as well as the impacts of the learning process and the implementation of improvement projects. However, the results of the improvement projects and learning process were not representative and had no statistical significance on the actual change in efficiency of the company during the periods analyzed. For the case in question, the learning process and continuous improvement were not observed during all study periods.

The proposition that the improvement projects and investments implemented increased the efficiency of the company was rejected. Hence, with this work, it was possible to determine that the company unnecessarily invested resources in projects to increase efficiency. Furthermore, the company could have explored more internal resources before making significant investments in increased efficiency.

As for the value of this research in the theoretical and academic scope, this paper advances knowledge on the application of DEA because it proposes to establish an internal reference benchmarking for comparison. The literature contains few studies that analyze organizations using continuous processes, such as petrochemical processes, in longitudinal studies as a function of time, especially with the use of DEA.

This study aims to examine the impact of inbound logistics on dynamic supply chain capabilities and, subsequently, on supply chain resilience in the Vietnamese textile industry.

A conceptual framework based on a resource-based view was empirically tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling and data collected from 215 Vietnamese textile enterprises from December 2021 to March 2022.

The research shows that inbound logistics capability positively affects dynamic supply chain capabilities. In particular, the study has ratified reengineering as the chief factor that textile firms should consider when building a resilient supply chain.

This study considers the Vietnamese textile industry to assess the indirect effect of inbound logistics on supply chain resilience through dynamic supply chain capabilities in a theoretical sense while assisting managers in comprehending the functions of supply chain collaboration, agility and reengineering as the foundation for supply chain resilience in a managerial sense.