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1 – 10 of over 13000Catherine Ma, David C. Chou and David C. Yen
Data warehousing is the technological trend for the corporate decision support process. This article investigates the current business environment of the data warehouse, including…
Abstract
Data warehousing is the technological trend for the corporate decision support process. This article investigates the current business environment of the data warehouse, including OLAP, data mining, data visualization and other technologies. This article also analyzes the importance of data warehouse management and maintenance and its future developments.
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Loay Salhieh, Safwan Altarazi and Ismail Abushaikha
This paper focuses on quantifying and ranking the “7-Deadly” Wastes in the warehouse environment. The purpose of this paper is to develop a prioritized road map that would guide…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper focuses on quantifying and ranking the “7-Deadly” Wastes in the warehouse environment. The purpose of this paper is to develop a prioritized road map that would guide the implementation of the “7-Deadly” Wastes and their related waste-reduction practices in a warehouse environment for improving warehouse operational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A four-stage approach was used to achieve the objectives of the study. A Delphi technique was employed to develop indicators of waste-reduction practices at the warehouse activities level and categorize them according to the “7-Deadly” wastes. Whereas categories ranked based on statistical analysis, a regression analysis was used to explore the impacts of this ranking.
Findings
The results of the regression analysis showed a significant influence of the ranked “7-Deadly” wastes on warehouse operational performance. The paper develops a road map for implementing waste-reduction practices in the warehouse.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a road map comprising warehouse waste categories. It develops an integrated approach to quantify, rank and prioritize initiatives to adopt the categories of the “7-Deadly” Wastes that would (not) affect warehouse operational performance.
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N. Faber, M.B.M. de Koster and A. Smidts
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how warehouse management, understood as a cluster of planning and control decisions and procedures, is organized and driven by task…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how warehouse management, understood as a cluster of planning and control decisions and procedures, is organized and driven by task complexity (TC) and market dynamics (MD).
Design/methodology/approach
A multi‐variable conceptual model is developed based on the literature and tested among 215 warehouses using a survey.
Findings
The results suggest that TC and MD are the main drivers of warehouse management, measured by planning extensiveness (PE), decision rules complexity, and control sophistication. Differences between production and distribution warehouses are found with respect to the relationship between assortment changes and PE. Furthermore, TC appears to be a main driver of the specificity of the warehouse management (information) system (WMS).
Research limitations/implications
This paper is based on 215 warehouses in The Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium); future research may test the model on a different sample. More research should be conducted to further validate the measures of the core dimensions of warehouse management.
Practical implications
Different levels of TC and MD characterize warehouses. Such a characterization is a first step in determining generic warehouse functionalities and helping managers to decide on the best software for their warehouse operations.
Originality/value
The paper defines the core dimensions of warehouse management, makes them measurable, tests them and assesses how these drivers impact specificity of WMS. The paper shows that PE in production warehouses is driven by different variables than in distribution centers.
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Marco Fabio Benaglia, Mei-Hui Chen, Shih-Hao Lu, Kune-Muh Tsai and Shih-Han Hung
This research investigates how to optimize storage location assignment to decrease the order picking time and the waiting time of orders in the staging area of low-temperature…
Abstract
Purpose
This research investigates how to optimize storage location assignment to decrease the order picking time and the waiting time of orders in the staging area of low-temperature logistics centers, with the goal of reducing food loss caused by temperature abuse.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors applied ABC clustering to the products in a simulated database of historical orders modeled after the actual order pattern of a large cold logistics company; then, the authors mined the association rules and calculated the sales volume correlation indices of the ordered products. Finally, the authors generated three different simulated order databases to compare order picking time and waiting time of orders in the staging area under eight different storage location assignment strategies.
Findings
All the eight proposed storage location assignment strategies significantly improve the order picking time (by up to 8%) and the waiting time of orders in the staging area (by up to 22%) compared with random placement.
Research limitations/implications
The results of this research are based on a case study and simulated data, which implies that, if the best performing strategies are applied to different environments, the extent of the improvements may vary. Additionally, the authors only considered specific settings in terms of order picker routing, zoning and batching: other settings may lead to different results.
Practical implications
A storage location assignment strategy that adopts dispersion and takes into consideration ABC clustering and shipping frequency provides the best performance in minimizing order picker's travel distance, order picking time, and waiting time of orders in the staging area. Other strategies may be a better fit if the company's objectives differ.
Originality/value
Previous research on optimal storage location assignment rarely considered item association rules based on sales volume correlation. This study combines such rules with several storage planning strategies, ABC clustering, and two warehouse layouts; then, it evaluates their performance compared to the random placement, to find which one minimizes the order picking time and the order waiting time in the staging area, with a 30-min time limit to preserve the integrity of the cold chain. Order picking under these conditions was rarely studied before, because they may be irrelevant when dealing with temperature-insensitive items but become critical in cold warehouses to prevent temperature abuse.
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Neil C. Herndon and Cecilia Chi‐Yin Yu
Retail technologies vary in their success in countries other than where they were developed to some degree based on the nature of the environment that they encounter. Elements…
Abstract
Retail technologies vary in their success in countries other than where they were developed to some degree based on the nature of the environment that they encounter. Elements that contribute to the success of a retailing form in one country's culture may be absent in the culture of another country making the international transfer of retailing technology less successful. This study examines the entry of warehouse clubs into the Asian environment in terms of how well this retail technology, primarily developed in the West, meets the needs of Chinese customers.
Caroline Morito Pereira, Rosley Anholon, Izabela Simon Rampasso, Osvaldo L.G. Quelhas, Walter Leal Filho and Luis Antonio Santa-Eulalia
This article aims to investigate the most applied lean warehouse practices in Brazilian warehouses.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to investigate the most applied lean warehouse practices in Brazilian warehouses.
Design/methodology/approach
To perform this research, three phases were conducted: a literature review, a multiple case study, and an analysis of lean warehouses practices implementation by an engineering committee. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Additionally, the study has an applied nature, with an exploratory and descriptive character.
Findings
Results showed that regardless of the type of criterion used, the most implanted practices are those that do not involve investments in technology. On the other hand, practices like RFID and Cross Docking systems were not found in any of the operations, which shows numerous possibilities for improvement.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this article is to initiate a debate about the management and productivity of Brazilian warehouses, a theme still little explored by the academic community despite the importance that the logistic scenario represents for Brazil as an emerging country and leader in Latin America, participating actively in several global supply chains.
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Alexander E. Ellinger, Andrea D. Ellinger and Scott B. Keller
To examine warehouse worker development associated with managerial coaching in the logistics industry.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine warehouse worker development associated with managerial coaching in the logistics industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Examine the efficacy of this developmental approach in a logistics context, a survey method was used to provide an overview of supervisors' coaching behavior at 18 distribution centers in the United States. Warehouse workers answered questions about their interactions with their supervisors and their own job satisfaction while supervisors answered questions pertaining to the job‐related performance of warehouse workers for whom they were directly responsible.
Findings
The study findings indicate that warehouse workers at these distribution centers encounter low levels of supervisory coaching behavior. However, despite these low levels, significant positive associations were found between supervisory coaching behavior, warehouse worker job satisfaction and supervisors' perceptions of their subordinates' job‐related performance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on the perceptions of respondents at the specific distribution centers in our study and therefore should not be interpreted as being generalizable. However, we hope that they will stimulate further empirical research on the growth, development and retention of front‐line logistics workers – an important, but relatively under‐researched, area of supply chain management.
Practical implications
The logistics industry is becoming progressively more service‐oriented and technologically‐driven and greater front‐line worker competence in these areas will be required for many firms to survive.
Originality/value
As the greatest aggregation of labor in the supply chain is in distribution center operations, our findings may encourage logistics organizations to evaluate the feasibility of adopting more people‐oriented supervisory approaches like coaching that focus on personnel development and the provision of more intrinsically‐rewarding work environments.
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Operations management.
Abstract
Subject area
Operations management.
Study level/applicability
Logistics, Warehousing, India.
Case overview
Joy Banerjee and Gaurav Tripathi have recently joined as Managers in the Planning Department at All India Warehousing Private Limited (AIWPL). Their on-job training is completed. They have met with almost all the officials at the warehouse, have interacted with labour to understand the company and its functions, and are planning to meet Kamlesh Patel, their Managing Director, to discuss the challenges and opportunities and to suggest strategies. Will they be able to make a satisfactory presentation to Kamlesh Patel on the company performance and the parameters that are going to be crucial to AIWPL's continued success? This case study may prove useful to practicing managers and management students on understanding the working of a family run private warehouse, business environment in the warehousing sector, use of technology and organizational capability to manage multi-product, multi-location warehouses.
Expected learning outcomes
To illustrate typical organizational responsibility structure at a private warehousing site. To illustrate the planning and administrative control mechanism in implementing strategy at a warehousing site. Offer students opportunity to understand and take view of a typical operational (project) structure. Opportunity for students to speculate adaptations in the wake of ever-changing business and company environment. Opportunity to introduce Logistic Scenario in India, warehousing technology and relate with the case in context.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
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Ismail Abushaikha, Loay Salhieh and Neil Towers
Recent literature recognizes the role of warehouses in enhancing the overall logistics performance. Thus, lean thinking has recently found its way in supporting warehouse and…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent literature recognizes the role of warehouses in enhancing the overall logistics performance. Thus, lean thinking has recently found its way in supporting warehouse and distribution centre operations. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships among warehouse waste reduction practices, warehouse operational performance, distribution performance and business performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-stage study was conducted. First, a Delphi technique was adopted to develop a relevant questionnaire. Second, this questionnaire was used to measure the degree of waste reduction in the different warehouse activities and to test the developed research hypotheses. The authors test the hypotheses with a sample of Middle Eastern warehouse operators.
Findings
There exists a positive relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and both warehouse operational performance and distribution performance. There was no direct relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and business performance. However, results revealed that the relationship between warehouse waste reduction level and business performance was mediated by warehouse operational performance and distribution performance.
Practical implications
The developed instrument provides a guide for logistics managers as to understand how to reduce waste in each warehousing activity. The results also inform logistics managers of how distribution performance can be improved through lean warehousing. The resulting performance improvements in the distribution operations will ultimately be reflected in the logistics performance of downstream retailers.
Originality/value
The study develops an original instrument for measuring waste reduction in warehouses, and provides insights into the evolving lean warehousing research area. This is the first scholarly work to uncover the relationships among warehouse waste reduction practices, warehouse operational performance, distribution performance and business performance.
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Robust and efficient warehouse management is pivotal to the success of contemporary logistics and business productivity. Given the recent technological revolutions and the rising…
Abstract
Purpose
Robust and efficient warehouse management is pivotal to the success of contemporary logistics and business productivity. Given the recent technological revolutions and the rising pressure for sustainable warehouse activities, the recent literature continues to grow on Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable warehousing. Following this, the review aims to explore current state-of-the-art, knowledge development, the focus of research, methodological development and knowledge gaps for more impactful future research on this important yet underexplored topic.
Design/methodology/approach
A widely accepted systematic literature review (SLR) methodology was employed on a sample of 46 articles retrieved from multiple search queries in the three large databases: Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar.
Findings
The authors’ analysis unveils several interesting findings: the positive linkage between various Industry 4.0 technologies and the three main pillars (economic, social, environmental) of sustainable warehousing; the paucity of large scale empirical research, specifically in the context of COVID-19; imbalance amid studies on three main aspects of warehouse sustainability; partial application of Industry 4.0 technologies; and disproportion in scholarly focus between numerous warehouse activities and Industry 4.0 technologies.
Practical implications
The authors integrate research findings from a pool of studies, thereby improving the understanding of practitioners on how different Industry 4.0 technologies relate to sustainable warehousing.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first SLR at the intersection of Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable warehousing. Our review expands the existing knowledge base, devises a conceptual framework and suggests avenues for fruitful future research on this emerging area.
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