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Discusses TQM (total quality management) and considers whether it is just a new fad and another buzzword. TQM is described as a focused, customizable process that allows the user to take one step at a time towards improvement. It should not be considered a fad, but an improvement process; and it is not “a” tool, but rather the process of using several tools to achieve its ends. Sets forth a simple definition of TQM and explores what TQM means to a potential user. Distinguishes TQM from other current trends (e.g. just‐in‐time and activity‐based costing systems) with which it is sometimes conjoined.

Takes the development of a new optimization process for production scheduling and develops it into a systematic‐mathematical algorithm. Tests this algorithm against a simulated production environment and compares the generated schedules against those generated by EOQ, MRP, JIT, and OPT. The result is that bottleneck allocation methodology (BAM), with its critical resource based capacity scheduling out‐performs these other models in an intermittent demand discrete manufacturing environment.

Manufacturing and the manufacturing process have changed dramatically over the last ten years. The measurement and data collection systems stemming from the accounting, finance, and data processing organizations have not only resisted this change, but also, in some cases, have prevented improvements. This resistance stems primarily from outsiders’ (MIS or accounting staffs, etc.) lack of understanding of the changes. Another reason for this resistance is that manufacturers are frustrated with the inconsistency (seeming lack of direction) of many of these changes. However, all manufacturers are being forced to react to some general areas of change, in spite of the on‐again, off‐again fads. These directions of change will be the focus of this paper. Additionally, this paper will analyze the accounting interface changes that need to be considered as a result of these trends.

A review of recent literature is presented relating to general Just‐in‐Time (JIT) philosophy, its supply bases and on the formalised and mathematical models. JIT has become a subject of much interest and some little controversy in recent years and has attracted the interest of many major manufacturing organisations in the West as well as in Japan where it was originally developed. A growing and developing literature on this subject has been published particularly since the late 1970s. An attempt is made to draw major conclusions regarding benefits and relevance to Western manufacturing industry.

Not all problems are solvable using traditional problem‐solving or research methodologies, primarily because the problem defies definition. Backward Utopian Iteration suggests the use of the systems approach to solving these problems by focusing on the goal or output of the system.

Gives a critical review of the existing literature on just‐in‐time manufacturing. Suggests a relevant literature classification scheme, followed by subsections on each class and offers critical comments. Also identifies the possible research portfolios after an explanation of the gap existing between theory and practice.

Considering the relevance of operational excellence as a business strategy, organizations are striving to improve themselves by adopting best practices and universally accepted principles through the process of continuous improvement, and these principles should be embedded in the culture of an organization. Organizations pursue to align themselves by continuously improving their processes by adopting scientifically proven techniques and cultural transformation throughout the organization. However, there is a lack of scientific instruments for the assessment of operational excellence. The objective of this study is to develop a scale for the assessment of practices of operational excellence principles in the organizations. Further reliability and validity of the developed scale are measured by testing the relationship between Human Resource Practices (HRP) and Operational Excellence (OE).

This study comprises quantitative design through exploratory and confirmatory studies and also includes qualitative analysis to develop a scale for the assessment of Operational Excellence (OE). Interviews from industry experts have been conducted to identify the major components for which organizations are striving for OE. Previous literature and excellence models, especially principles of the Shingo Operational Excellence Model (SOEM), have been reviewed and considered to finalize the scale items. Data were collected in two stages from both Telecommunication subsectors (Cellular Mobile Operators and Fixed Local Loop Operators) of Pakistan through the cross-sectional survey. In the first stage, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the sample of 611 respondents from both Cellular Mobile and Fixed Local Loop operators of Pakistan. In the second stage, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the sample of 423 respondents from the Fixed local loop operators. EFA was conducted by using SPSS version 23 to finalize the OE scale, and for confirmatory factor analysis, PLS-SEM using Smart PLS was used to confirm the reliability and validity of the OE Scale.

The results of EFA reveal that OE is a multidimensional construct with three dimensions and 23 items. The dimensions of the developed OE Scale explored in this study are cultural enablers (CE), continuous process improvement (CPI) and enterprise alignment (EA). The confirmatory factor analysis of OE confirmed the scale dimensionality, reliability and validity along with the hypothesis testing to measure the impact of antecedent variable HRP on OE.

Organizations pursue to improve and align their operational processes but usually unable to confirm the implementation of their desired objectives. Based on the developed OE scale, managers may assess the implementation of OE principles in their organizations. This research has been conducted in the telecommunication sector of Pakistan only, and the developed instrument needs to be further tested in other organizations.

The instrument developed in this study will help both researchers and practitioners to assess the principles of operational excellence in their organizations and enable them to design the strategies for improving organizational performance.

The results of this study will create awareness about the principles of operational excellence. The developed OE instrument will assist in identifying the gaps in organizational norms and values from the perspective of paying respect to every individual inside and outside the organization. OE instrument will be further helpful in the identification and assurance of health, safety, protection of the environment and community issues.

This study provides a reliable and validated scale for the scientific area of operation management and helps managers with the assessment of operational excellence in their organizations. This newly developed scale is also valid to test and use in different studies and industries by researchers and practitioners.

This paper aims to enhance the responsiveness of enterprises with regard to delivery schedules in a supply chain. Based on the observations in industry, it seems that companies often re‐negotiate their due‐dates. These phenomena have begun to appear only recently, as a result of the advancements of information technology and flexibility in the supply chain. However, these due‐date re‐negotiation processes are haphazard and ad hoc in nature, and a formal process is needed to respond to market fluctuations more quickly. In this paper, a re‐negotiable order processing method is developed that can change the already‐assigned due‐dates or allow partial shipments to increase the flexibility of firm response to a rush order from a prior customer (PC).

A due‐date re‐negotiation process is defined and a formal system for handling customer orders is proposed. The new data and business process integration model are proposed for the due‐date re‐negotiation process based on RosettaNet's Partner Interface Processes. Web services and ubiquitous computing technologies are used in the proposed system architecture to allow for responsive sales order management.

The paper shows that assigned due‐dates can also be re‐negotiated by enhancing the connectivity and visibility of the supply chain with co‐operative customers. In the early stage of the product life cycle or high‐regional demand variation environments, it is better to re‐negotiate due‐dates than to meet scheduled due‐dates.

In some instances, meeting the due‐date requested by a customer relates to the success or failure of a particular sales order. The proposed re‐negotiation method could help the sales offices of the MF to respond to PC requests quickly and flexibly. Rush orders from PC might be acceptable based on the slack gained through the re‐negotiation of co‐operative customers' assigned orders.

There has been a considerable volume of studies on the due‐date assignment, order releasing, and scheduling problems. However, these previous studies considered due‐dates as exogenous parameters or fixed endogenous variables. In this paper, the assigned due‐dates for pre‐contracted co‐operative customers are considered as re‐negotiable variables. On the other hand, most studies on ubiquitous computing technologies, especially those relate to radio frequency identification (RFID), have focused mostly on asset management and processing time reduction. This paper suggests other benefits of increased visibility and traceability of RFID technology in enhancing responsiveness and flexibility in the sales order management system.

Manufacturing organizations and networks are heavily dependent on the flow of information within and across organization boundaries. A disruption in information flow might interrupt the operations of the organization and make management even more difficult. The purpose of this paper is to incorporate information theory approach to investigate the perturbation introduced into a manufacturing organization as a result of disruption in the flow of critical information needed in manufacturing operations.

This study proposes the use of entropy theory to assess the level of risk introduced by different sources of perturbation into the material flow stream and the use of discrete event simulation to investigate the impact of the resulting disruption on collaborating members.

The result of the analysis carried out on the effect of system failure on supply chain performance revealed that the retailer experiences the most uncertainty in the supply chain while the holding cost constitutes the most unpredictable cost measure when a system failure breach occurs. For the manufacturer and wholesaler, the holding cost is responsible for most of the uncertainty in predicting the impact of the threat on inventory management cost, while the backlog cost holds the highest complexity level for the retailer.

Once this methodology is well developed for use in industrial networks, it can serve as a risk assessment, risk monitoring and risk prediction tool. The paper also calls for a proactive approach to disruption risk management.

This paper proposes a novel approach to assess the impact of information disruption, using entropy theory coupled with simulation methodology.

Compares the research done in the area of JIT implementation in the past decade, identifies critical JIT elements, and groups the elements into broader factors. An extensive literature search was conducted to identify over 130 JIT implementation articles published in both professional journals and proceedings. Initial screening process led to the identification of 105 JIT implementation research articles published since 1980. Each of these 105 articles was reviewed to identify 28 JIT implementation elements. These JIT implementation elements are subsequently grouped into five broader factors. Criteria as the measure of importance of these elements was based on the frequency of citation. The results obtained from this research show that elimination of waste and production strategy are the most specific critical factors of JIT implementation. Followed by three other critical factors: quality control and quality improvement, management commitment and employee participation, and vendor/supplier participation.