Search results

The purpose of this paper is to cast light on the nature of the digitalization process that occurs when digital technologies are adopted in buyer–seller relationships.

The study features a case study from the steel processing industry.

The present research builds on and extends the interaction approach to the context of buyer–seller relationship digitalization process. The study explicates the interrelated elements of digital infrastructure, digital communication and degree of digitalization of the buyer–seller relationship.

The study aims at theoretical generalization and thus produces conceptual understanding that is to some extent applicable to various contexts. The generalization of the empirical insights to other process-focused industries is to some extent possible. However, further research in versatile empirical contexts is needed to validate the results.

For managers, the study presents a success case of digital technologies use for improving a buyer–seller relationship.

The originality of the present research is in the way it depicts how a buyer–seller relationship is gradually digitalized in successive digital technology adoptions, that is, a virtuous cycle of digitalization, that creates and alters the digital infrastructure and digital communication processes between the buyer and the seller resulting in different outcomes (degrees of digitalization in the buyer–seller relationship).

Earth retaining and structural foundation works are commonly built from rolled steel piling products which are designed and manufactured to cover a wide range of structural applications. Product data must not only provide design and application information, but also steel corrosion rates in the full range of service environments and, in this context, the corrosion of steel piling has been extensively studied both from examinations of actual structures and from more fundamental studies. Corrosion researches cover both corrosion‐protected and bare steel piling and, in order to appreciate fully the value of these researches, a simplified but adequate explanation of steel corrosion is given.

Increased demand for galvanized sheet and coil steel has led a major firm in this field to install a continuous hot‐dip galvanizing line at its Shotton works near Chester, increasing their production capacity by 50%. Incorporating the latest advances, which include an entirely new method of cooling the coil and sheet within the furnace, the line is highly automated and has a top speed of 150 ft./min. It is the fourth to be installed at Shotton.

The properties of the recently developed alloy SAF 2304 and of other duplex stainless steels are reviewed. When stress corrosion cracking is a potential problem, this group of alloys offers advantages as compared to the standard austenitic stainless steels AISI 304†316. This is even more true when the high yield strength and the physical properties of the duplex stainless steels can be utilized. When duplex stainless steels do not have sufficient corrosion resistance, Sanicro 28 is a suitable material selection.

Successful corporate turnarounds occur, thus avoiding liquidation, but historical examples are few. In late nineteenth century France Henri Fayol became managing director (CEO) of a vertically integrated iron and steel firm and made various decisions that retrieved the firm from the brink of liquidation. In examining his career, the competitive nature of the industry, and his decisions, it is suggested that he employed a deliberate and comprehensive corporate strategy to guide the firm toward its objectives. While he developed his theory of management from these experiences and claimed that its application was the primary cause of the turnaround, this paper suggests that there were several other factors at work.

The construction of the early platforms in the North Sea often stretched materials technology to its limits and sometimes beyond them. There are many instances where major pumps or piping systems have had to be replaced either because the original materials were not sufficient for the duty or because the process fluids have become more corrosive during the life of the oilfield. The paper reviews the considerable work that has been carried out in recent years specially directed at developing stainless steels capable of withstanding a number of the harsh corrosion environments met on off‐shore platforms. The latest stainless steels are able to withstand all the standard seawater duties without suffering from localised pitting or crevice corrosion. Their resistance to hydrogen sulphide stress corrosion means they can cope with the most sour process fluids at present met in the North Sea.

On show for the first time, a new and unique super lightweight headset to be known as the Minilite will be the main feature of the Amplivox Communications stand at the Paris Salon.

Examines the use of Product Life Cycle (PLC) in analyzing the rise and fall in product demand. Applies the cycle stages: product development, introduction, growth, maturity, decline to the demand behaviour of industrial materials such as steel, aluminium, titanium. Relates the demand pattern of the Gross Domestic Product and the relative development of the national economy, e.g. USA. Concludes that the PLC invariably parallels the GDP.

Andrews, by 1887, had already made a significant contribution to the knowledge of corrosion science and at this time, decided to investigate the effect of magnetisation on the relative electrochemical position of a pair of bright iron bars, one magnetised by a coil, the other not magnetised, when simultaneously exposed in circuit to the action of various powerful oxidising agents and saline solutions.