Customer Service Level Research Articles

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITIVENESS AND ITS IMPACT ON THE NATIONAL SECURITY OF THE STATE

It has been established that for many industry niches, not only the issue of increasing international competition of business entities is relevant, but also the raise in the number of internal competitors, as a result of the implementation of effective processes of an innovative nature, modernization, structural restructuring of business processes. It has been proven that another determining trend of competition processes at the level of business entities is the high pace of digitalization of the economy and technological changes, which are realized due to a significant reduction in the cycles of introducing innovative products and a significant change in the structure of relations between entities as a result of the introduction of digital platforms for the sale of goods and services and other IT technologies. The factors of competitiveness formation are added, taking into account the effect of factors on the distribution and use of resources, which, in turn, affect the level of competitiveness and national security of Ukraine. The classification features of competitiveness factors have been expanded, which will allow to determine the level of competitiveness and the main problems of activity, to strengthen competitive positions in the market, to form directions for improvement of activity and competitive advantages considering the national security of the state. Two groups of factors are distinguished, which have a greater influence on the level of competitiveness of products and, as a result, the level of national security of the state, to assess the competitive capabilities of products, product quality, the level of customer service, and the development opportunities of an individual enterprise within the limits of regional and national security of the state. A theory has been developed about the division of competitiveness factors into types of their consideration, which will strengthen the influence of positive factors and reduce the negative effect of some of them; will permit planning a high level of competitiveness in a given period in order to ensure the regional and national security of the state.

A memetic algorithm for integrated location-inventory problem to optimize the total cost and customer service level

A memetic algorithm for integrated location-inventory problem to optimize the total cost and customer service level

A memetic algorithm for integrated location-inventory problem to optimise the total cost and customer service level

A memetic algorithm for integrated location-inventory problem to optimise the total cost and customer service level

Formation of the innovative strategy for the development of the enterprise

The article examines the topical issue of effective elaboration of an innovative strategy for an operating trade enterprise and provides recommendations for its improvement. The efficiency of marketing research on the market of construction and finishing materials is analyzed, the goal of innovative renewal of the enterprise is determined, and the stages of elaboration, implementation, and analysis of relevant strategies are studied. Strategic management of innovative development is a dynamic response to the growth of market uncertainty. It allows choosing the best areas of activity and obtaining additional profits due to the disclosure of one’s own material resources and human capital. In this case, innovative strategies can be considered a perfect tool for business development, which indicates the importance of researching the chosen issue. The article shows that the Lviv trade enterprise TzOV “Kolir Bud” specialized in the wholesale trade of wood, building materials, and sanitary equipment, which positions itself as a company prioritizing an individual approach to each customer, successfully elaborates innovative strategies, effectively uses the results of market research, and analyzes the latest developments of manufacturers. The strategy chosen by the enterprise is proven to ensure its sustainable development when strategic management of innovations is oriented towards the achieving of future market advantages. Innovative strategies are elaborated at the enterprise with the aim to improve products, expand the range of services, and develop new models for end-users service using a personal approach to their requests. The planning of innovative strategies includes calculations of economic efficiency and generally aims to map an effective assortment policy, ensuring the proper level of customer service, maximizing profit, minimizing the level of risks, and ensuring sustainable growth of the enterprise’s capitalization. The selected innovative strategy can be considered a defensive one because it is primarily aimed at preserving the company’s stable market position. At the same time, the article reveals the problems related to innovative strategy elaboration, including the lack of feedback on the personnel development strategy and contradictions with operational needs regarding resource-saving.

Inventory Management: Bi-objective Optimization Models for Mass Customization

In recent years, the problem of establishing the inventory levels in the manufacturing industry has considerably worsened due to the accelerated growth in demand for customized products, this behavior in the customers has created heterogeneous and unstable demands too difficult to forecast generating an increase in inventory levels. In response to this behavior, the strategy that companies have commonly used to offer a wide variety of products to meet this demand is Mass Customization. However, this response has created products with shorter life cycles significantly increasing the risks and costs in inventories due to deterioration, re-manufacturing, and obsolescence. Little attention has been paid to determining inventory levels when a company uses mass customization as its main production strategy. This paper develops two bi-objective optimization models to determine the optimal inventory levels for those industries that, due to the nature of the product, use mass customization to meet the needs of their customers. The performance of the models is compared with the performance offered by the traditional continuous review (Q,R) policy, the results show a significant reduction in total inventory costs while maintaining high levels of customer service level.

The management of administrative indicators and the impact of COVID-19 on business, the case of the locality of Hecelchakán

The chaos that micro-businesses are going through due to the surprise of the mandatory temporary closure in the City of Hecelchakán, Campeche is exacerbated by the uncertainty of its employees. For this reason, it is urgent to describe the general administrative indicators of the micro-businesses of Hecelchakán. The study presented in this article is descriptive, the design is non-experimental transactional, the method was the study of the field and the technique is the survey, with the questionnaire as an instrument. The results indicate that the level of customer service in the electrical appliance micro-businesses in the town of Hecelchakán is good, although incomplete. 100% of them handle a guarantee on their products, which means a high possibility of demand. Three out of four businesses obtain their sales on credit and in cash. The current health situation put and continues to put household appliance micro-businesses at risk as these at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic were forced to temporarily close.

ANALISIS KEPUASAN WISATAWAN NUSANTARA YANG MENGGUNAKAN JASA CUSTOMER SERVICES DI LOMBOK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

This research aims to determine the satisfaction level of domestic tourists toward the service of customer services at Lombok International Airport. In this study, collecting data by observation, questionnaires, literature study and documentation. Determination of the sample using purposive sampling technique by distributing questionnaires to 100 respondents. The data analysis technique is conducted with the customer satisfaction index and importance performance analysis (IPA). The results showed that the average importance level of the indicator was 4.38 which was categorized as very important. Meanwhile, the performance level of customer services obtained an average score of 3.02 which is categorized as quite good. The calculation of the overall gap value obtained an average value of -1.36, which means that there is a gap between expectations and the performance of the officers. The calculation result of the customer satisfaction index is 60.36%, which means that tourists are quite satisfied with the service quality of customer services. The most important and high prioritized indicators are the politeness of officers in communicating, providing service according to SOP, ability to handle complaints, knowledge and insight of officers, as well as the ability of handling problems promptly. In order to improve the satisfaction level of the tourist.

КОНЦЕПТ «САМОСТІЙНА РОБОТА» В ПРОФЕСІЙНІЙ ПІДГОТОВЦІ МАЙБУТНІХ ФАХІВЦІВ СФЕРИ ОБСЛУГОВУВАННЯ

At the present stage of all industry spheres development, the service sector is a leader, because it trains specialists who are directly involved in the development of Ukraine's economy. The efficiency of the enterprise operation and the level of customer service depend on their competence, competitiveness, independence, speed of decision-making. The main task of high school is to teach applicants to work independently, look forward self-improvement, think creatively, be ready for innovation. That is why there is a need to strengthen the role of independent work of students, which is a key in the process of training future professionals capable of performing complex production tasks at a high professional level. The purpose of the article is to analyze the essence of the concepts «independent», «individual», «extracurricular» work, «self-education» and «independence»; characterize common and distinctive features; isolate our own vision of understanding the essence of the studied phenomena. We should note that the terms «independent work», «individual work», «extracurricular work», «self-education» and «independence» researchers have different meanings, because today there are many approaches to defining the essence of these concepts, and as a consequence – many interpretations, but there are not enough researches, which systematically presents the generalized scientific achievements on the essence of the studied concepts, their common and distinctive features. To understand the relationship between independent, individual work and self-education of students, it is necessary to consider the basic approaches to the definition of basic concepts in pedagogical science. The results of the analysis of the essence of independent, individual, extracurricular work, independence and self-education of the individual show that these are complex activities that can be interconnected, coincide at different stages of development or in general. Despite the different approaches to determining the essence of the studied phenomena, their structure contains the same components: subject, object, purpose, content, means, result. The paper presents an analysis of the psychological and pedagogical literature on the interpretation of the concepts being studied; common and distinctive features are singled out; substantiated own vision of the studied phenomena. Key words: independent work, individual work, extracurricular work, self-education, independence.

The influence of Internet banking services quality on e-customers’ satisfaction of Saudi banks: comparison study before and during COVID-19

PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to compare e-customer satisfaction in Saudi banks before and during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic by assessing the e-service quality dimension before and during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachTo examine e-customer satisfaction among Saudi bank e-customers, data were collected using convenience sampling methods utilizing two questionnaires before and during COVID-19, distributed to Saudi bank e-customers. The sample size of collecting data of 588 bank e-customers was analyzed through a well-known statistical technique, multiple regression and paired sample t-test, using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) software and Excel.FindingsIt is found that efficiency is the major determinant of e-customers’ satisfaction with banks in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi context is different from other countries. There are differences between the impact of Internet banking e-service quality on e-customer service before and during the COVID-19.Practical implicationsThis research has a crucial inference for the managerial level practically. This study has important implications for the banks to satisfy their e-customers by increasing customer service level and enhancing the interaction in the site to solve the e-customers problem immediately by creating an effective support team to encourage the effect of responsiveness. In particular, website managers should review their website framework and create an easily organized site for e-customers.Originality/valueThe research improves past studies' methodology by testing the impacts between the constructs before and during COVID-19. This research is a significant addition to the current literature collection.

Определение рациональных значений параметров контейнерного депо

Today, due to the increase in rail freight traffic, there is a shortage of containers, and the issue of shortage of containers has not been resolved for a long time. This substantiates the practical relevance of the study of container depots in railway transport. Another task is the development of mathematical models of the interconnection of the parameters of the container depot. Currently, there are several different methods and methods for calculating and determining the parameters of container sites, the analysis of which is given in the article. However, there is a need to supplement, clarify and unify the existing methods for calculating all kinds of parameters for a container depot, which justifies the theoretical relevance of the study. Connections with which the purpose of the article is to develop a methodology for the reliable determination of the most rational values of the parameters of the container terminal, thereby improving and increasing the level of customer service in transport in general. Research methods are based on a systematic analysis and generalization of existing methods and methods for calculating the capacity of container depots. The results of the study are presented by the developed methodology for determining the capacity of warehouses on railway transport, which provides a more qualified calculation and selection of container depot parameters, as well as a decrease in erroneous design decisions and an increase in the reliability of projects for the development and improvement of railway transport and the transport network as a whole.

FORMATION OF A RATIONAL ROUTE NETWORK FOR DELIVERY OF CONTAINERIZED CARGOES

The formation of a rational route network contributes to the timely and uninterrupted delivery of products and more efficient interaction of supplier organizations, recipient organizations and trucking organizations. However, at present, the issues of increasing the level of customer service, which in market conditions are closely related to the problem of service and quality of service, are becoming increasingly important. The quality of transportation should be understood as the ability of the trucking industry to meet the needs of enterprises and the public in transport services with minimal costs. Thus, there is a question of forming a rational route network, which would improve the quality of customer service with minimal costs. The use of economic and mathematical methods and information technologies in the formation of a rational route network allows to obtain a synergistic effect, namely by reducing overall costs, improve the quality of service. The formation of a rational route network according to the proposed algorithm allows to determine the cost of delivery of goods and the level of service of cargo owners with the specified number of dispatchers and cars at the enterprise and provide companies with practical recommendations on the number of dispatchers and cars needed to meet customer needs. service.

Analytical Assessment and Forecasting of the Volume and Structure of Foreign Economic Activity in Ukraine

At present, the problems of increasing the efficiency of foreign economic activity of enterprises are gaining special relevance. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the analytical assessment and development of forecasts of the volume and structure of foreign economic activity in Ukraine using economic and mathematical tools. The article established that forecasting as an effective tool for planning the foreign economic activities of enterprises allows for making informed management decisions when forming export strategies, identifying reserves for increasing the efficiency of the organization of international logistics activities, and optimizing the structure of export-import operations. This will contribute to the reduction of costs for foreign economic logistics activities and losses due to the optimization of flows and improvement of information support for their movement; increase in the quality of logistics service and the level of customer service, profitability from the sale of products and the level of competitiveness of enterprises on international sales markets. Keywords foreign economic activity, foreign trade, international logistics, customs logistics, customs policy, export policy, customs regime, transit regime, export, import, international economic partnership, cooperation, globalization, European integration.

ЛОГІСТИЧНІ ПІДХОДИ ДО ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ ЗБУТОВОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА

The competitive position of enterprises in today's market depends on their ability to ensure the availability of goods to consumers and the level of quality of their sales activities. The article outlines the peculiarities of logistics approaches to the sales activities of the enterprise from the standpoint of the organization of sweat processes. The purpose of the article is to develop a theory and develop principles of flow organization of sales activities of the enterprise. The methodological basis is the integrated use of ontological and epistemological approaches, general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge, as well as the provisions of modern concepts of logistics. The use of the flow organization of sales activities of the enterprise is based on the formation of a logistics chain and a single integrated system of flows – a set of objects connected in a certain way, moving in space and time and adapted to quantitative and qualitative transformations. The principles and criteria for evaluating the innovativeness of the flow organization of sales activities of the enterprise are substantiated. It is substantiated that innovation in modeling the flow organization of sales activities of the enterprise is manifested as follows: a minimum of total logistics costs; maximum value added at existing costs; elasticity of the logistics system, ie rapid adaptation to changes in the environment; consistency of resource (input) and information flows; total quality management. It is concluded that the application of logistics approaches to the organization of sales activities of the enterprise provides a holistic model of enterprise management, creates prerequisites for its economic development, increase sales based on accelerating material, information, resource and other flows, optimizing overall costs for a given level of customer service. Activation of basic factors of product competitiveness in the market.

The implications of batching in the bullwhip effect and customer service of closed-loop supply chains

Batching is a well-known cause of the bullwhip effect. Despite being very common in many industries to leverage economies of scale, it has been little explored due to its nonlinear complexity. This work examines how order-quantity batching affects the performance of closed-loop supply chains, which are gaining importance as a result of their environmental and economic value. Specifically, we analyse a hybrid system with both manufacturing and remanufacturing operations. We observe that, when an order-up-to policy is used in the serviceable inventory, bullwhip is always an increasing function of the batch size. Nevertheless, when a smoothing replenishment rule is used, the closed-loop supply chain behaves differently for low and high volumes of returns due to the different degrees of uncertainty they convey. In the high-volume case, batches should also be as small as possible. In contrast, in the low-volume case, bullwhip can be mitigated by setting the batch size to a divisor of the mean production rate. However, this may lower the customer service level achieved. We also find that reducing manufacturing batch sizes should be prioritised over remanufacturing ones when both are large. In the light of our results, we finally provide professionals with specific suggestions on how to better manage closed-loop supply chains where goods are produced and delivered in batches.

Coordinating visit interval and safety stock decisions in a two-level supply chain with shelf-life considerations

In many real-world situations, a distributor visits a downstream retailer to receive orders of products with fixed shelf-life and then delivers them after a lead-time. Under such circumstances, the retailer should determine its safety stock level by considering the demand uncertainty and the distributor's visit interval. In this paper, we coordinate the safety stock level of the retailer with the visit interval and the replenishment policy of the distributor, where the distributor is subject to two types of shelf-life constraints: (1) fixed shelf-life for the product, and (2) minimum remaining shelf life required by the retailer. A fair profit-sharing strategy is developed to coordinate the investigated SC and to encourage both members to participate in a joint decision-making scheme. The results reveal that the proposed coordination policy not only coordinates the SC of products with fixed shelf-life but also significantly improves the customer service level (CSL) and the profits of the entire SC and its agents. Further, sensitivity analyses have been carried out to analyze the performance of the proposed coordination model under different circumstances.

A comprehensive framework for sustainable closed-loop supply chain network design

Many companies face challenges in reducing their supply chain costs while increasing sustainability and customer service levels. A comprehensive framework for a sustainable closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network is a practical solution to these challenges. Hence, for the first time, this study considers an integrated multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MOMILP) model to design sustainable CLSC networks with cross-docking, location-inventory-routing, time window, supplier selection, order allocation, transportation modes with simultaneous pickup, and delivery under uncertainty. An intelligent simulation algorithm is proposed to produce CLSC network data with probabilistic distribution functions and feasible solution space. In addition, a fuzzy goal programming approach is proposed to solve the MOMILP model under uncertainty. Eight small and medium-size test problems are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed model with the simulated data in GAMS software. The results obtained from test problems and sensitivity analysis show the efficacy of the proposed model.

Integrating Mathematical and Simulation Approach for Optimizing Production and Distribution Planning With Lateral Transshipment in a Supply Chain

Supply chain planning aims to maximize the chain's profit and find an effective way to integrate production and distribution. A mathematical and simulation-based optimizations are two common disciplines in which this study integrates both of them together to consolidate their advantages. A mathematical model is formulated to find an optimal production-distribution plan. Then, the result is fed into a simulation model operating under uncertainty to verify the feasibility of the plan. Our integrated approach tries to find a feasible plan that satisfies both required customer service level and makespan limitation where safety stock is used to hedge against uncertainties, and lateral transshipment is used for emergency measures against excessive fluctuation of customer demand. A case study that optimizes the profit of an entire chain is used to demonstrate the algorithm. The outcomes of the study show that our proposed approach can yield feasible results (with near or even optimal solution) with much faster computational time as compared to the traditional simulation-based optimization.

An Efficient Algorithm Applied to Optimized Billing Sequencing

This paper addresses the Optimized Billing Sequencing (OBS) problem to maximize billing of the order portfolio of a typical Distribution Center (DC). This is a new problem in the literature, and the search for the best billing mix has generated demands for better optimization methods for DCs. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide an effective algorithm that presents quick and optimized solutions for higher-complexity OBS levels. This algorithm is called Iterative Greedy Algorithm (IGA-OBS), and its performance is compared to the genetic algorithm (GA-OBS) by Pinto and Nagano. Performance evaluations were carried out after intense computational experiments for problems with different complexity levels. The results demonstrate that the GA-OBS is limited to medium-size instances, whereas the IGA-OBS is better adapted to reality, providing OBS with solutions with satisfactory time and quality. The IGA-OBS enables managers to make decisions in a more agile and consistent way in terms of the trade-off between the level of customer service and the maximization of the financial result of DCs. This paper fills a gap in the literature, makes innovative contributions, and provides suggestions for further research aimed at developing more suitable optimization methods for OBS.

A Novel Methodology for Assessing and Modeling Manufacturing Processes

Historically, researchers and practitioners have often failed to consider all the areas, factors, and implications of a process within an integrated manufacturing model. Thus, the aim of this research was to propose a holistic approach to manufacturing processes in order to assess their status and performance to improve target indicators such as product quality. For this purpose, a conceptual model is designed by identifying areas, flows, and indicators that are relevant to the assessment of a manufacturing system. Moreover, using the conceptual model, manufacturing systems can be modeled considering all related flows and decision-making options in the respective areas of production, maintenance, and quality. As a result, this model serves as the basis for the integral management and control of manufacturing systems in digital twin models for the regulation of process stability and quality with maintenance strategies. Thus, an assessment based on the conceptual model improves the knowledge level of all elements involved in the manufacturing of a product according to the desired quality specifications. The continuous monitoring of all areas and flows together with the optimal strategies in the quality and maintenance areas can enable companies to increase their profitability and customer service level. In this context, the discussion section lists key decision aspects for the assessment and improvement of manufacturing systems, while also providing a methodological sequence to evaluate and improve manufacturing systems. In conclusion, the conceptual approach allows better decision making, ensuring continuous optimization along the manufacturing asset lifecycle and providing a unique selling proposition for equipment producers and service engineering suppliers, as well as for production and assembly companies.

A Model of Supplier Selection Under Vendor Managed Inventory Contract

VMI is the main concept for gaining accurate information and information sharing from customers to suppliers to achieve low safety stock levels, efficient inventory cost, and a reduction of ordering cost. There are many suppliers who supply spare part products under the VMI contract. Therefore, the company needs to make a decision for selecting a qualified supplier in order to improve customer service level and customer satisfaction. In addition, the uncertainty and vagueness of the expert's opinion is the prominent characteristic of the problem. Therefore an extensively used multi-criteria decision-making tool AHP can be utilized as an approach for supplier selection problems. This paper reveals the application of AHP model determining the best supplier with respect to selected criteria for selecting the best supplier under the VMI contract among the alternatives. There are criteria in this study namely quality, price, delivery, service, supplier’s background, and Information technology which include thirty subcriteria covers in the VMI contract. This research might be identified the critical criteria for supplier selection under the VMI contract.