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Article
Publication date: 16 March 2012

S.I. Lao, K.L. Choy, G.T.S. Ho and Richard C.M. Yam

The purpose of this paper is to propose a real‐time food receiving operations management system (RFRS), focusing on demonstrating the use of a case‐based reasoning (CBR) and radio…

1164

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a real‐time food receiving operations management system (RFRS), focusing on demonstrating the use of a case‐based reasoning (CBR) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in managing the complex food receiving activities in distribution centers, to deal with the global concerns in food safety management.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed system includes a CBR engine for generating customized operating procedures by retrieving and analyzing relevant knowledge stored in the database and case library. In addition, RFID technology is adopted to gather real‐time inventory information for visualizing inventories, work stations, and equipment status.

Findings

The significance and contribution of RFRS in the context of managing unstructured operations in distribution centers for the food receiving process are demonstrated by adopting the system in one of the Hong Kong‐based logistics companies. The achieved improvement of order fulfillment helps achieve a systematic management in operations process flow. Moreover, the time saving in resource assignment helps improve the operations efficiency of the receiving zone. Hence, the decrease in the faults of quality checking helps improve the service and quality level. All of the above demonstrate the feasibility of the RFID‐based decision support system.

Originality/value

A superior method for the management of quality control and service of the receiving process is essential for the success of food distribution centers. However, the complexity of these management processes increases with the rise of customization of service in the supply chain. Hence, such increase in the operation complexity leads to the increase in operation time and, consequently, a decrease in the service quality. The real‐time food receiving operations management system proposed in this paper integrated RFID and case‐based reasoning technology in dealing with food warehouse receiving operation assignment. This is a brand new application combining the two technologies in the field of food reception in warehouses. With the support of the system, the efficiency and the customer satisfaction are improved.

Article
Publication date: 25 October 2011

S.I. Lao, K.L. Choy, G.T.S. Ho, Y.C. Tsim and C.K.H. Lee

With the increasing concerns about food management, attention is placed on the monitoring of different potential risk factors for food handling. Therefore, the purpose of this…

2371

Abstract

Purpose

With the increasing concerns about food management, attention is placed on the monitoring of different potential risk factors for food handling. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a system that helps facilitate and improve the quality of decision making, reduces the level of substandard goods, and facilitates data capturing and manipulation, to help a warehouses improve quality assurance in the inventory‐receiving process with the support of technology.

Design/methodology/approach

This system consists of three modules, which integrate the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, case‐based reasoning (CBR), and fuzzy reasoning (FR) technique to help monitor food quality assurance activities. In the first module, the data collection module, raw warehouse and work station information are collected. In the second module, the data sorting module, the collected data are stored in a database. In this module, data are decoded, and the coding stored in the RFID tags are transformed into meaningful information. The last module is the decision‐making module, through which the operation guidelines and optimal storage conditions are determined.

Findings

To validate the feasibility of the proposed system, a case study was conducted in food manufacturing companies. A pilot run of the system revealed that the performance of the receiving operation assignment and food quality assurance activities improved significantly.

Originality/value

In summary, the major contribution of this paper is to develop an effective infrastructure for managing food‐receiving process and facilitating decision making in quality assurance. Integrating CBR and FR techniques to improve the quality of decision making on food inventories is an emerging idea. The system development roadmap demonstrates the way to future research opportunities for managing food inventories in the receiving operations and implementing artificial intelligent techniques in the logistics industry.

Details

Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, vol. 22 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-038X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Joakim Hans Kembro, Veronica Danielsson and Granit Smajli

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how modern network video technology could be used to improve different warehouse types and operations and how barriers may prevent its…

2918

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how modern network video technology could be used to improve different warehouse types and operations and how barriers may prevent its implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory multiple-case study with nine case companies was conducted, including on-site visits, interviews, questionnaires and a workshop.

Findings

The authors identified 12 video applications that could improve warehouse operations by making them safer, faster, more transparent and more reliable than they are at present. The authors found that video applications complemented existing information technology and offered a new dimension that provided the real-time analysis of different activities in warehouse operations. The main barriers to implementing video technology included uncertain return on investment, staff integrity, union restrictions and integration with other systems.

Research limitations/implications

The study contributes to the literature by exploring how information technology could be used to improve warehouse operations and by developing a classification matrix that outlines the video applications that suit the warehouse type and operation. Building on the contingency theory, the authors also described a conceptual framework for guiding future relevant research on warehousing.

Practical implications

Video technology provides an opportunity to improve efficiency and cut costs in warehouse operations, which could contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the company and the supply chain. However, several barriers must be overcome to enable its implementation. Furthermore, competing technologies, such as augmented reality and the internet of things, are being developed in parallel.

Social implications

The identified video applications could help to increase safety, sustainability and traceability in warehouse operations and, potentially, across the entire supply chain.

Originality/value

This research is the first to explore the potential of introducing video applications to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of various warehouse types and operations.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 47 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 17 July 2024

Amanda Curry

This paper analyzes the ways in which accounting enables operations managers to enter and perform multiple roles in their interplay with organizational groups on the shop floor…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper analyzes the ways in which accounting enables operations managers to enter and perform multiple roles in their interplay with organizational groups on the shop floor and in management, and the associated negotiations that operations managers have with “the self.”

Design/methodology/approach

Using field-based studies in a mining organization, the study draws on Goffman’s backstage–frontstage metaphor to analyze how operations managers enter and perform several roles with the aid of accounting.

Findings

The findings show that accounting legitimizes operations managers when they cross organizational boundaries, as accounting gives them an “entry ticket” that legitimizes their presence with the group. Accounting further allows operations managers to embrace more than one role by “putting on a mask” to become an outsider or insider in relation to a group. In performing their roles, operations managers exhibit varying attributes and knowledge. Accounting can thereby be withheld from, or shared with, organizational groups. The illusion of accounting as deterministic presented frontstage is not necessarily negotiated that way backstage. Rather, alternatives discussed backstage often become silenced in the frontstage performance. The study concludes that operations managers cross boundaries, embrace roles and exert agency as they navigate with accounting, enrolling it into their performance simultaneously as they backstage reflect upon accounting and its role for their everyday work.

Originality/value

This study relies on the frontstage/backstage metaphor to visualize the discrepancies in how accounting is enrolled into role performances and how seemingly categorical fronts do not necessarily share that dominant position backstage.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 37 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 June 2019

Ebba Eriksson, Andreas Norrman and Joakim Kembro

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how grocery retailers configure their online fulfilment centres (OFC) as they move towards an omni-channel structure and what…

6666

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how grocery retailers configure their online fulfilment centres (OFC) as they move towards an omni-channel structure and what contextual factors influence their decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory case study with three grocery retailers in the Nordic countries was conducted. The study investigates the current OFC configurations and identifies nine important contextual factors.

Findings

This study shows the importance of understanding the changes that omni-channel retailing entails for an OFC configuration. Nine contextual factors were identified. Several of the factors are found in previous theory, but this paper extends the knowledge of how they affect the configuration of an OFC in grocery retail. The changes in, for example, order characteristics create different requirements for picking, packing, sorting and shipping when compared with traditional distribution centres (DC). Although representing a separate flow for online fulfilment, OFC configuration depends on how the other logistics flows from the DC to stores are designed.

Research limitations/implications

To support further theory development, nine contextual factors and their relationship to OFC configurations are proposed.

Practical implications

This study provides managerial value in two ways. First, grocery retailers with one or more OFCs can benchmark existing solutions using the empirical case descriptions. Second, the findings provide grocery retailers with knowledge of how to configure an OFC.

Originality/value

The literature lacks a holistic approach towards how grocery retailers configure their OFCs and what factors affect these decisions. This study provides the first in-depth analysis of how the omni-channel context affects the configuration of all the aspects of an OFC.

Details

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, vol. 47 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 December 2019

Joakim Hans Kembro and Andreas Norrman

The purpose of this study is to explore warehouse configuration in omni-channel retailing.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore warehouse configuration in omni-channel retailing.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple case study is conducted with six large omni-channel retailers from three different sectors.

Findings

The study shows an increase in the number, variation and frequency of flows passing through omni-channel warehouses. Along with an increased variety of stock keeping units (including singles vs multipacks), there is an increase in the complexity of planning and coordination of order fulfillment. Retailers test a mix of different solutions for storage and picking and partly shift focus to advanced sorting operations. The companies already have or plan to invest in substantial automation systems, which emphasize the importance of capturing and using accurate master data.

Research limitations/implications

The study highlights the need to understand the interrelations and co-development of configuration elements in omni-channel warehousing. The findings also suggest that a successful transformation requires increased collaboration with upstream and downstream partners. Conceptual models are developed to illustrate strategies and development paths in omni-channel warehousing, and suggestions for future research are summarized in a research agenda. A research limitation is the focus on Swedish retailers in three sectors (fashion, consumer electronics and DIY/construction material). Future studies can include additional sectors, extend the geographical scope and explore cross-regional differences.

Practical implications

As one of the few deeper case studies on omni-channel warehousing, practitioners will find new configurations described and analyzed here. Along with conceptual models, a synthesis of challenges and potential solutions are presented to support retailers’ practical analysis and decision making.

Originality/value

This is one of the first multiple case studies that go deeper into omni-channel warehouse configuration, which is of increasing importance to both scholars and practitioners in the field.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 50 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1972

MAX L. DENSMORE and JOHN R. GRABNER

A hidden enemy of distribution efficiency is at work in almost all distribution systems. It causes increased distribution costs, yet, in many firms, seldom receives much…

Abstract

A hidden enemy of distribution efficiency is at work in almost all distribution systems. It causes increased distribution costs, yet, in many firms, seldom receives much management attention. Who, or what, is this hidden enemy? Quite simply, it is goods which require return to the vendor or adjustment of sales terms once they have been received by a customer.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0020-7527

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1993

Louis Giust

Describes the evolution, concept and strategies of just‐in‐time(JIT) manufacturing, focusing on the application of material handlingwithin a JIT environment. Argues that a dynamic…

Abstract

Describes the evolution, concept and strategies of just‐in‐time (JIT) manufacturing, focusing on the application of material handling within a JIT environment. Argues that a dynamic and ever‐changing environment requires an understanding of JIT principles: all companies are not just a separate collection of internal functions; they are a system in which the flows of information, material, manpower and money determine the basic tendencies towards growth, fluctuation and even decline. Explores the inter‐relationships between an organization′s operations and the interactions of the production‐distribution system through the re‐creation and testing of a production‐distribution model diagram. Lastly, assesses the possible effects of JIT strategies on manufacturing and distribution companies in the Single European Market of 1993.

Details

Logistics Information Management, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-6053

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 March 2023

Soroosh Saghiri, Emel Aktas and Maryam Mohammadipour

Perishable inventory management for the grocery sector has become more challenging with extended omnichannel activities and emerging consumer expectations. This paper aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

Perishable inventory management for the grocery sector has become more challenging with extended omnichannel activities and emerging consumer expectations. This paper aims to identify and formalize key performance measures of omnichannel perishable inventory management (OCPI) and explore the influence of operational and market-related factors on these measures.

Design/methodology/approach

The inductive approach of this research synthesizes three performance measures (product waste, lost sales and freshness) and four influencing factors (channel effect, demand variability, product perishability and shelf life visibility) for OCPI, through industry investigation, expert interviews and a systematic literature review. Treating OCPI as a complex adaptive system and considering its transaction costs, this paper formalizes the OCPI performance measures and their influencing factors in two statements and four propositions, which are then tested through numerical analysis with simulation.

Findings

Product waste, lost sales and freshness are identified as distinctive OCPI performance measures, which are influenced by product perishability, shelf life visibility, demand variability and channel effects. The OCPI sensitivity to those influencing factors is diverse, whereas those factors are found to moderate each other's effects.

Practical implications

To manage perishables more effectively, with less waste and lost sales for the business and fresher products for the consumer, omnichannel firms need to consider store and online channel requirements and strive to reduce demand variability, extend product shelf life and facilitate item-level shelf life visibility. While flexible logistics capacity and dynamic pricing can mitigate demand variability, the product shelf life extension needs modifications in product design, production, or storage conditions. OCPI executives can also increase the product shelf life visibility through advanced stock monitoring/tracking technologies (e.g. smart tags or more comprehensive barcodes), particularly for the online channel which demands fresher products.

Originality/value

This paper provides a novel theoretical view on perishables in omnichannel systems. It specifies the OCPI performance, beyond typical inventory policies for cost minimization, while discussing its sensitivity to operations and market factors.

Details

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 43 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1993

Louis Giust

Discusses the misconceptions about just‐in‐time (JIT) manufacturingwhich have developed since its inception in the mid‐1960s and withrespect to its application to at least four…

Abstract

Discusses the misconceptions about just‐in‐time (JIT) manufacturing which have developed since its inception in the mid‐1960s and with respect to its application to at least four different manufacturing strategies: scale‐based, focused factories, variety‐driven and, now, time‐based. Outlines the core elements of the JIT concept and several of the primary misconceptions. Introduces a production‐distribution model to illustrate JIT practices in the context of industrial dynamics. If the essential paradigm of JIT and industrial dynamics is missed, this will lead many firms to erroneous application and conclusions about JIT′s effectiveness. JIT manufacturing in the EC has that potential. Provides a forecast of the probable effects and conditions within the Common Market.

Details

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 23 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0960-0035

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 124000