Customer Service Requirements Research Articles

Study of New Material Management System in Construction Sector

Construction is a major component, which forms 45% to 50% of the country’s development activity. Construction materials and components contribute about 50% to 60% of the total value of construction. There will be some difficulty in defining construction materials. Some are exclusively used in construction and others in other industries also. Some form heavy percentage and some very minor percentage, but critical in their nature and affect the construction activity. The management and control of inventory is a problem common to all organizations in any sector of the economy. The wealth of shareholders also lies in the warehouse. More than 60% of working capital is normally being invested in the inventory. There can be disadvantages in holding either too much or too little inventory. Therefore inventory management is primarily concerned with obtaining correct balance between two extremes. Inventory management involves the development and administration of policies, system and procedures which will minimizes total cost relative to inventory decisions and related functions such as customer service requirement, production scheduling, purchasing etc.., Viewed in that perspective, inventory management has a broad scope and affects a great or number of activities in an Organization. For the past few years the concept of inventory system has gained more importance in our country. It is due to intense competition in the market, which has forced organizations to search for proper inventory control technique to reduce investment in inventories and thereby reducing overall cost. In this study the study of current inventory system is carried out and by combining the different inventory system the one new inventory system developed .By comparing the cost benefit analysis between current inventory control system and new inventory system by taking suitable actual case study will be carried out

Container Scheduling considering Customer Satisfaction in the Context of Internal Circulation

As China’s foreign trade continues to progress, a trade surplus in inland container transportation has emerged. At the same time, businesses need to not only focus on transportation tasks but also prioritize customer service requirements. To address the issues of container supply shortages and inefficient empty container allocation, this article establishes a container truck scheduling model that includes multiple terminals and yards. With the objective of minimizing total costs and maximizing customer satisfaction during the allocation process, the model incorporates coupling constraints between vehicle flow and container flow. Instance verification using Cplex demonstrates that the proportions of different cost types and the range of expected time windows can impact the formulation of transportation plans and, consequently, total costs. Lastly, numerical experiments are conducted to analyze the cost variations and transportation plan preferences under different ranges of time windows and different weights assigned to transportation costs and fixed costs.

Evaluating the interactions of multi-dimensional value for sustainable product-service system with grey DEMATEL-ANP approach

Thus far, researches related to sustainable product-service system (PSS) largely investigate the interrelationships of factors with a focus on consumer, and concentrate on the requirement identification for PSS design; few address the interactions of multiple value from different stakeholders in the sustainable PSS implementation. In this paper, the multi-dimensional value elements for sustainable PSS are recognized to maximize the mutual value among stakeholders and realize sustainable benefits in PSS, considering customer value perceptions, customer service requirements, sustainability potentials and partnership establishment simultaneously. Then the interdependencies of value elements are prioritized with a hybrid model, which incorporates Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), Analytical Network Process (ANP) and grey theory. In accordance with cause-effect relationship, strength of interactions, as well as influential weight of criteria, the predominant value factors and the improvement direction for sustainable PSS are identified. The results of the present work can provide the decision-makers in manufacturing enterprise with theoretical guideline to implement sustainable PSS successfully from the perspective of multi-dimensional value coordination among different stakeholders.

The application of S-series ILS specifications data model in civil aircraft customer service system

Civil aircraft customer service is the full support of the main manufacturer from the perspective of customer needs, aircraft performance, and the interests of related parties during the product life cycle. Its data model can coordinate business and data between stakeholders, and provide a framework for business information representation and operation for customer data integration. In order to enable civil aircraft customer service to improve customer satisfaction and meet the development needs of the civil aircraft industry, it is necessary to establish a complete customer service system and form a common customer service business data model. Firstly, the S-series of integrated logistic support(ILS) specifications and ISO 10303-239 PLCS are interpreted to explore the ILS business interface relevance between international specifications. Then, the tools used to establish the customer service business model and data interaction of civil aircraft are sorted out, and how to use them is explained. Finally, the system is constructed from the three levels of civil aircraft customer service requirements, indicators and activities, combined with model tools to build a civil aircraft customer service business data model based on the S-series ILS specifications. This paper provides guidance for realizing the data circulation of various business links of customer service, and provides a basis and method for ensuring the safe operation of aircraft, reducing user operating costs and promoting customer service levels.

Integrated Planning for Multimodal Networks with Disruptions and Customer Service Requirements

Multimodal carriers are third-party logistics providers who utilize multiple modes of transportation to deliver timely door-to-door services to their customers. Notwithstanding frequent service disruptions, customers have ever-increasing expectations for on-time deliveries, posing significant challenges to tactical planning. Inspired by the operations of actual carriers, we study the tactical decision planning of multimodal freight networks, considering operational disruptions, timetabling restrictions, and explicit customer service requirements. Despite our focus on tactical planning, our models integrate long-term commitments by penalizing deviations from strategic goals with last-minute operational planning decisions, which are recourse actions aiming to accommodate service disruptions. After improving the dual bound of our initial formulation, we provide reduced-sized models for the special cases of nonpropagating delays and nonreactive last-minute decisions. This latter formulation is utilized to construct scenario-based and trip-based heuristics, which we combine in a hybrid search loop. Our computational study illustrates that our approach attains high-quality solutions for real-sized instances that are otherwise unsolvable by off-the-shelf optimization software, and a significant improvement over a nontrivial rolling horizon benchmark.

Аналіз вимог до процесів управління функціональними сервісами єдиної інформаційної системи управління оборонними ресурсами

The article highlights the needs to create a Unified Information System for Defense Resources Management (DRMIS). The main problems of creating DRMIS are identified in the article. The research shows that form of consolidation of information and providing prompt access to it for analysis and effective decision-making process. The core of IT service in the military-defense environment is also revealed. There are three areas of management of functional services of a Single Information System for Defense Resources Management is separated to: - Development, acquisition and implementation of IT services; - Provision and support of IT services (formalization of customer service requirements for IT services, coordination of divergences between service requirements with the relevant IP service resources and provision of end users with IT services that meet requirements); - Monitoring. Requirements to the processes of management of functional services of DRMIS are formed: functionality, service time, availability, reliability, confidentiality, scale and cost. The basic requirements for the management of functional services are also determined not only by the properties of the IP that provide them. The quality of the IP service itself is essential, as well as the level of regulation of the IP service and end users of IT services. The advantages of using DRMIS functional services in the Defense Sector are indicated: - Transparency of state bodies; - Increasing public confidence in the activities of government agencies; - Reduction of costs and time for the implementation of strategic, large-scale tasks; - Increasing labor productivity; - Access to services 24/7/365; - Clear and timely response to changes in regulations and focus on future global challenges; - Creating the image of Ukraine as an IT state. It is established that in modern conditions the complexity of information systems in the field of defense is growing, and methods and technologies for effective management of their IT infrastructure are developing dynamically. The directions of further effective management of IT services in the field of defense are developed.

Data mining and social networks processing method based on support vector machine and k-nearest neighbor

OBJECTIVE: With Sina Weibo data as the background, support vector machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) method are used to predict and analyze the user’s micro-blog emotion and related behavior in social network, hoping to obtain rich potential business value. METHODS: First, the API interface of Sina Weibo is utilized to obtain the information of users in Sina Weibo; then, the Excel software is utilized to sort and analyze the extracted data to extract the features of micro- blogs posted by users. Second, SVM and KNN algorithms are utilized to calculate the weighted average and propose a hybrid multi-classifier-based Mixed Classifier Emotion Prediction Model (MCEPM). Finally, through the evaluation criteria, including precision (P), recall rate (R), and harmonic average (F1), the specific experimental results of SVM and KNN weight coefficients are compared with the prediction results of MCEPM. RESULTS: The prediction effect of MCEPM is associated with the weight coefficients of SVM and KNN. If the weight coefficients of SVM and KNN are 0.6 and 0.4, the prediction effect of MCEPM will be optimal. Comprehensive analysis shows that the MCEPM model can balance the prediction results of the positive and negative samples of the two classifiers. CONCLUSION: MCEPM model is superior to other algorithms in micro-blog emotion prediction, which can help enterprises analyze users’ product inclination and provide accurate customer service requirements for enterprises.

МЕХАНІЗМИ ПРОГНОЗУВАННЯ ЦІН СУЧАСНИХ ЕНЕРГОРИНКІВ

The trends of European energy markets depend on the forecasting of fundamental price based on the modeling approaches for short-term physical electricity markets, including day-ahead trade markets for energy power, intra-day trade markets for energy power, trade for balancing or reserving energy capacity. The typical hierarchy of modeling on modern market consists of the fundamental model of long-term planning to years ahead (where stochastic aggregation or disaggregation for price forecasting takes place), the model of medium-term planning to months ahead (where the stochastic modeling of semi aggregated hydro energy with generation of cuts, at prices given, takes place), and the model of short-term planning to weeks ahead (where the deterministic modeling of disaggregated hydro energy, at prices given, takes place). The model of long-term planning is a fundamental one in the sense of a detailed and adequate description of market, supply, demand, and network topology. The models of medium-term and short-term planning are typical ones for regional markets. Energy storage technologies have changed modern energy markets. If the traditional power grids have worked like ultimate just-in-time supply chains without stocks and with almost immediate delivery of good (electricity), then modernized power grids will create new opportunities for their optimization and operation. The new power grids will resemble common supply chains with stocks (in the form of large-scale batteries and other energy storage devices), supply uncertainty (from variable power sources such as wind and solar power plants), high customer service requirements (under deregulating of the electricity market and entering of new competitors to the market), the newest pricing schemes (due to the new communication infrastructure allowing information transmission for real time pricing). An energy storage system can be viewed as a system of stocks, where the product stored is the energy instead of a traditional good. Then a series of models of energy storage management is based on the fundamental theory of inventory optimization. On the other hand, energy storage systems usually have more room for decision: in addition to the decision to purchase a product (as in classic inventory models), there may be decisions about the quantity and the price of product sales.

A Hybrid-Fuzzy Logic Guided Genetic Algorithm (H-FLGA) Approach for Resource Optimization in 5G VANETs

To support diversified quality of service demands and dynamic resource requirements of users in 5G driven VANETs, network resources need flexible and scalable resource allocation strategies. Current heterogeneous vehicular networks are designed and deployed with a connection-centric mindset with fixed resource allocation to a cell regardless of traffic conditions, static coverage, and capacity. In this paper, we propose a hybrid-fuzzy logic guided genetic algorithm (H-FLGA) approach for the software defined networking controller, to solve a multi-objective resource optimization problem for 5G driven VANETs. Realizing the service oriented view, the proposed approach formulates five different scenarios of network resource optimization in 5G VANETs. Furthermore, the proposed fuzzy inference system is used to optimize weights of multi-objectives, depending on the type of service requirements of customers. The proposed approach shows the minimized value of multi-objective cost function when compared with the GA. The simulation results show the minimized value of end-to-end delay as compared to other schemes. The proposed approach will help the network service providers to implement a customer-centric network infrastructure, depending on dynamic customer needs of users.

Determinants of Service Quality in the Trucking Industry

Trucking firms play a fundamental role in connecting supply chain elements in many U.S. market channels and firms of all kinds depend on trucks to pick up and deliver goods. Even though many products move just about all the way by ship, train, or airplane, almost everything is carried by a truck at some point during the delivery process (Statistics, 2007). Because of this dependence on trucks, it is critical that managers in trucking firms continually strive to meet and exceed customer and shipper customer service requirements and expectations (Meixell, 2008). The purpose of this research was to examine whether cargo handling by truck drivers had an effect on a company’s service quality perceptions as perceived by the recipients of commercial cargo. The SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure the gap between truck drivers’ determinants of service quality as perceived by the recipient of the goods from these truck drivers. The findings from the study suggest it becomes necessary for managers to train these truck drivers in more than merely following a route or delivering goods. They need real marketing customer service skills and this should be factored into their training program.

Perceptions of Service Quality: An Empirical Assessment of Modified SERVQUAL Model among Domestic Airline Carriers in Nigeria

Abstract Literature is replete with a large number of theories related to service quality measurement and dimensions in an airline context. To date, there is no consensus of opinion on the generic model and of the number of dimensions most appropriate to evaluate service quality in airline industry. This study investigates service quality dimensions in the Nigerian airline industry. The cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. Convenience sampling was used to select 800 respondents among departing air travellers in Lagos State. A structured questionnaire containing 28 items was developed to evaluate the perceived service quality of domestic airlines. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and one-sample t-test. The dimensionality of perceived service quality in Nigeria’s airline industry was explored using exploratory factor analysis. From the analysis carried out, it was established that the modified SERVQUAL model provided a satisfactory level of overall reliability in Nigeria’s airline context, which implies that all the items were cohesive in forming the SERVQUAL dimensions. According to the findings of this study, all service quality dimensions are positively and significantly interrelated. The perceived service quality of domestic airlines across these dimensions was found to be poor. The most dissatisfied dimensions in order of ranking were: flight pattern, reliability, facilities, assurance, responsiveness, employee, and customization. On the basis of the aforementioned findings, this study concludes that airline operators should redefine their service standards to one that is customer-focused by identifying the dimension of service quality most preferred by the passengers and continuously strive to improve service delivery. The study recommends that airline operators should recognize the changing needs and expectations of air travellers and customize their range of services by identifying unique service requirements of the individual customers.

Global dispersion of offshore service providers: an information processing perspective

Purpose This paper aims to propose a new theoretical perspective on the organizational design of offshoring service organizations by adopting an information processing perspective which incorporates the factors of collaborative information technologies, task commoditization and global customer service delivery that are characteristic of modern-day knowledge-intensive service (KIS) organizations. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyze data from a large multiyear survey of offshoring service providers conducted in 12 countries. Findings The authors show how use of collaborative technology is significantly and positively related to spatial and configurational dispersion, task commoditization is significantly and positively related to spatial and temporal dispersion and need for global customer presence is not related to spatial, temporal or configurational dispersion. Research limitations/implications The paper integrates concepts from management information system (MIS), operations management and international business to show how collaborative technology, task characteristics and customer service requirements affect the global dispersion of KISs. Practical implications The results show how use of collaborative technology, task characteristics and global customer service requirements need to be jointly considered in the global dispersion of activities by KIS providers. Originality/value The study sheds light on the effect of the key factors on different dimensions of global dispersion (i.e. spatial/temporal/configurational dispersion) in offshoring service provider organizations. Second, it shows how the traditional information processing perspective on organizations can be updated and applied to KIS organizations by incorporating the factors of global collaborative information technologies, task commoditization and global customer service.

Tightness of Stationary Distributions of a Flexible-Server System in the Halfin-Whitt Asymptotic Regime

A large-scale flexible service system with two large server pools and two types of customers is considered. Servers in pool 1 can only serve type 1 customers, while server in pool 2 are flexible – they can serve both types 1 and 2. (This is a so-called “N-system.”) The customer arrival processes are Poisson and customer service requirements are independent exponentially distributed. The service rate of a customer depends both on its type and the pool where it is served. A priority service discipline, where type 2 has priority in pool 2, and type 1 prefers pool 1, is considered. We consider the Halfin-Whitt asymptotic regime, where the arrival rate of customers and the number of servers in each pool increase to infinity in proportion to a scaling parameter n, while the overall system capacity exceeds its load by [Formula: see text]. For this system we prove tightness of diffusion-scaled stationary distributions. Our approach relies on a single common Lyapunov function G(n)(x), depending on parameter n and defined on the entire state space as a functional of the drift-based fluid limits (DFL). Specifically, [Formula: see text], where y(n)(·) is the DFL starting at x, and g(·) is a “distance” to the origin. (g(·) is same for all n). The key part of the analysis is the study of the (first and second) derivatives of the DFLs and function G(n)(x). The approach, as well as many parts of the analysis, are quite generic and may be of independent interest.

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT: THE MODERATING ROLE OF RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN

ABSTRACT This study addresses how several factors affect outsourcing performance in the supply chain through an examination of the relationship characteristics between unpaired third-party logistics (3PLs) providers and customers. While previous literature has established the importance of information sharing, supply chain position, and organizational capabilities on performance, there is limited empirical research on the impact of buyer-supplier relationships on performance. Relationship characteristics are hypothesized to moderate the relationship that information sharing has on outsourcing performance. The quantitative data is derived from surveys of logistics executives. Moderated multiple regression analysis is used to test the influence of relationship characteristics on the information sharing and outsourcing performance relationship. Results suggest that (1) more intensive relationship characteristics, such as providing long-range distribution forecasts, and advance notification of impending changes in customer service requirements, is associated with higher perceived outsourcing performance and (2) the extent to which information sharing affects operational performance varies by relationship characteristics. Keywords Outsourcing, logistics, supply chain, third-party logistics (3PLs), relationship management, performance

A Shift in Fundamentals:

AbstractThe Great Recession of the late 2000s created a turbulent business environment that is forcing managers to reevaluate how to manage their resources effectively and efficiently. In the logistics and transportation domain the primary forces of change include, but are not limited to: rapidly changing customer requirements, increasing energy (fuel) prices, the rising cost to serve, mounting inventory costs, and growing total landed costs. These forces of change have shifted the strategic direction of the firm toward a mixed approach where firms attempt to be “all things to all people,” thereby competing on both cost and service. In contrast, the study results indicate that during and after the recession the primary goal or objective of the firm was cost reduction. Customer service as a primary goal or objective has steadily declined, and has not yet returned to 2008 levels. This can be attributed to rising transportation, inventory, and distribution costs during a time of increasing customer service requirements. Two recommendations for managers are offered: to more fully understand the relationship between logistics costs and differentiated service; and to develop data and analytical capabilities that will enable them to deliver differentiated service of the right product for the right customer, in the right quantity and the right condition, at the right place, at the right time, at the right cost.

Service requirement for terminal delivery: An empirical study from the perspective of online shoppers

To investigate customer’s service requirement for parcel delivery, combining with theoretical analysis and empirical test, a measuring model of customer service requirement was proposed for terminal delivery. Based on literature reviews, five potential dimensions with 27 items were initially discussed. Through exploratory factor analysis on samples collected from Taobao networks, four dimensions with 18 measurement items were finally confirmed including service attitude, service reliability, service standardization and service flexibility. By further confirmatory factor analysis, the fitness of this measuring model was proved to be acceptable. The research revealed that online shoppers paid attention to not only service result but also service process, so related suggestions were also proposed for express firms to promote their service management.

Global Airline Alliances in the Light of Economic Integrations – Croatia Airlines Challenges

When discussing airline strategy in the 21st century, the first reflection that comes to the mind is probably alliance cooperation and membership as a relatively new phenomenon that arose out of significant changes and challenges in aviation industry. The modern, globalized economy, largely relying on the opportunities which are developing a network of flights so it is practically possible in one day connect any two points on the globe. IATA reported for the year 2009, that the three strategic branded alliances, Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld, accounted for over 69 percent of realized revenue passenger kilometers in scheduled traffic. Star Alliance, as a biggest airline group was founded in 1997 and now has a total of 27 airline members. Croatia Airlines joined Star Alliance family by the end of 2004, after reaching wide range of operational, maintenance, technological, IT, customer service, quality and regulatory minimum requirement list. From the beginning of the year 2010 Croatia Airlines become full Star Alliance member, as an only relatively small non EU carrier. Driving motivation for the paper is connected with intention to evaluate what are the benefits and threats of membership for Croatia Airlines, compared to other alliances.

Quality‐oriented teamwork resolves aerospace manufacturer's critical path tooling crisis

AbstractFaced with the loss of a supply of essential aircraft parts, an aerospace manufacturer took rapid steps to clarify and communicate the problem and organize a cross‐functional team of experts to address it. Working within a quality‐focused framework, they brainstormed a number of viable options and then systematically reviewed each to identify the one that would meet all production, cost, scheduling, and customer service requirements, while keeping all stakeholders abreast of developments. In the end, they redesigned critical processes so that the parts supply operation could be transferred to a local site at modest cost, thus ensuring uninterrupted production and the attainment of the company's financial and quality objectives. For its efforts, the team earned an International Team Excellence silver‐level award from the American Society for Quality in 2010. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Breadth of range and depth of stock: forecasting and inventory management at Euro Car Parts Ltd.

This paper investigates inventory management issues in a distribution network. The study is motivated by examining the operation of a wholesaling car parts company. Customer service requirements are of paramount importance in this market sector. The nature of the demand facing the company is characterised. The breadth of range of stock keeping units (SKUs) held at a stocking location and the quantity of each SKU held are normally treated in isolation but in this case, the rule developed to select the range of SKU was extended to determine the level of stock to hold. It is intuitively obvious that these two factors should be linked, yet the authors have not found any other literature developing the connection in a practical context. Forecasting issues are explored as the rule on stock range depends on a forecast of the number of orders received for each SKU at each stocking unit. Some implementation issues and extensions are indicated.

A genetic approach to two-phase optimization of dynamic supply chain scheduling

In today’s competitive environment, agility and leanness have become two crucial strategic concerns for many manufacturing firms in their efforts to broaden market share. Recently, the build-to-order (BTO) manufacturing strategy is becoming a popular operation strategy to achieve both in a mass-scale customization process. BTO system combines the characteristics of make-to-order strategy with a forecast driven make-to-stock strategy. As a means to improve customer responsiveness, customized products are assembled according to specific orders while standard components are pre-manufactured based on short-term forecasts. Planning of the two subsystems using a two-phase sequential approach offers both operational and modeling incentives. In this paper, we formulate a two-phase mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model for material procurement, components fabrication, product assembly and distribution scheduling of a BTO supply chain system. In the proposed approach, the entire problem is first decomposed into two subsystems and evaluated sequentially. The first phase deals with assembling and distribution scheduling of customizable products, while the second phase addresses fabrication and procurement planning of components and raw-materials. The objective of both models is to minimize the aggregate costs associated with each subsystem, while meeting customer service requirements. The search space for the first phase problem involves a complex landscape with too many candidate solutions. A genetic algorithm based solution procedure is proposed to solve the sub-problem efficiently.