Logistics Perspective Research Articles

Disaster preparedness for better response: Logistics perspectives

Disaster occurs frequently around the world and is no more considered an isolated event. Thus, disaster management has become a hot issue in urban development and human security. However, selecting suitable measures in disaster preparedness is a complex task. Some mitigation measures, which include making dams and updating building codes, prove ineffective and can themselves become a source of added vulnerability. Therefore, the importance of preparedness cannot be ignored, and the relief distribution aspect needs to be appraised as a measure of disaster preparedness. This study integrates disaster preparedness and response. Many parameters cannot be known before a disaster, while relief demand is a key parameter in disaster preparedness modelling. A decision maker needs to identify the properties of relief demand. Seven influencing factors of relief demand are identified. Then, a facility location model is proposed, and the model results are analysed. The results show that the hub-and-spoke distribution system brings higher social benefits.

Prioritizing operational risks in container shipping systems by using cognitive assessment technique

Purpose This paper aims to propose a technique based on cognitive assessments to quantify identified operational risks from the perspective of container shipping or logistics system administrators. The results derived from the risk quantification could be used to prioritize risks as well as support the decision-making process in risk prevention and mitigation. Design/methodology/approach This paper identified container shipping operational risks (CSORs) from a logistics perspective. A multivariate risk evaluation mechanism by fuzzy rules Bayesian network (FRBN) was established. An improved two-level parameter set based on the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was used to support the input extraction process. By feeding cognitive assessments into the model, the identified risks are evaluated based on their utility values. An illustration example and a sensitivity analysis were carried out to justify and validate the proposed model. Findings The highest positions in the prioritized list of CSORs in the case study are dominated by risks in the physical flow with the first three are piracy and terrorism, force majeure and port congestion. The results derived from the case study with the satisfaction of all pre-defined axioms proved the feasibility and illustrated the functionality of the proposed risk assessment and prioritization technique. Originality/value Controlling risk is irrefutably a significant issue of container shipping and logistics management because of the inconsistency of risk definitions and the involvement of uncertainties. The proposed risk evaluation mechanism and the identified list of CSORs could be beneficial in system management, decision-making and reliability performance.

Feasibility study of China’s foreign trade transformation and upgrading mode based on maximum flow algorithm

With the development of social economy, China’s foreign trade gradually develops into a green and low-carbon development, based on this situation, this paper studies the transformation and upgrading of China’s foreign trade from the perspective of logistics and transportation. This article analyzes various factors that affect the efficiency of foreign trade logistics distribution and the widely used methods of logistics distribution, and gives a logistics and distribution reference model suitable for the current situation of e-commerce in our country, proposes a reference model of e-commerce logistics distribution system based on Internet environment and designs a suitable transportation route selection model and algorithm for distribution center. After testing, the algorithm in this paper is suitable for practical work, and the algorithm has important reference value for designing and improving the logistics and distribution system and improving the delivery efficiency.

Classification methodology for spare parts management combining maintenance and logistics perspectives

Spare parts management is a function of maintenance management that aims to support maintenance activities, giving real-time information on the available quantities of each spare part and adopting the inventory policies that ensure their availability when required, minimizing costs. The classification of spare parts is crucial to control the vast number of parts that have different characteristics and specificities. Spare parts management involves mainly two areas, maintenance and logistics. Therefore, the integration of both input information is recommended to make decisions. This paper presents a multi-criteria classification methodology combining maintenance and logistics perspectives that intends to differentiate and group spare parts to, subsequently, define the most appropriate stock management policy for each group. The methodology was developed based on a case study carried out in a multi-national manufacturing company and is intended to be included in its computerized maintenance management system to support decision-making.

Omni-channel retailing research – state of the art and intellectual foundation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify, evaluate and structure the research that focusses on omni-channel retailing from the perspective of logistics and supply chain management; and to reveal the intellectual foundation of omni-channel retailing research.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applies a multi-method approach by conducting a content-analysis-based literature review of 70 academic papers. Based on the reference lists of these papers, the authors performed a citation and co-citation analysis based on the 34 most frequently cited papers. This analysis included multidimensional scaling, a cluster analysis and factor analysis.FindingsThe study reveals the limited consideration of logistics and supply chain management literature in the foundation of the omni-channel retailing research. Further, the authors see a dominance of empirical research as compared to conceptual and analytical research. Overall, there is a focus on the Western retail context in this research field. The intellectual foundation is embedded in the marketing discipline and can be characterised as lacking a robust theoretical foundation.Originality/valueThe contribution of this research is identifying, evaluating and structuring the literature of omni-channel research and providing an overview of the state of the art of this research area considering its interdisciplinary nature. This paper thus supports researchers looking to holistically comprehend, prioritise and use the underpinning literature central to the phenomena of omni-channel retailing. For practitioners and academics alike, the findings can trigger and support future research and an evolving understanding of omni-channel retailing.

Evaluation of manufacturing unit location in Russia - European trade and logistics perspective

Evaluation of manufacturing unit location in Russia - European trade and logistics perspective

Evaluation of manufacturing unit location in Russia - European trade and logistics perspective

The research examines the location problem of a manufacturing unit as a two-level process. Firstly, at the upper level, macro-analysis of the eight Russian regions was conducted to estimate the potential of placing the unit on one of these. The location-selection decision was made via the most frequently used multi-criteria evaluation approach (AHP) based on the eight decision factors. At the second step, the analysis on micro-level was carried out to define the specific location within the selected region. In particular, the research looks at the industrial zone of Ust-Luga seaport located in the North-West region. The expected multiplicative effect, which can be derived from an integrated development of manufacturing and seaport as well as railways, was analytically evaluated. Application to the described agglomeration economies help to understand, why economic activity clusters together.

Sustainable logistics and supply chain management: a holistic view through the lens of the wicked problem

This study takes a holistic perspective of sustainable logistics and supply chain management (SLSCM), exploring the interdependencies among sustainability, financial strength and customer performance in logistics and supply chain management. Firms often struggle to understand when sustainable performance is improving and most importantly, what it costs them in terms of financial and customer performance. The theoretical lens of the wicked problem provides a framework to understand why sustainability performance shows mixed results. Hypotheses that investigate aggregate-level links between sustainable practices of global companies are tested with regression analysis and firm-level data from three widely used databases. Efforts to improve SLSCM can have a positive impact on performance; however, it comes at a price. For example, we find that firms that achieve the highest sustainability recognition have a lower return on assets (ROA) and that a leadership position in sustainability performance requires resources and a long-term view of return on investment.

House of reverse logistics: an approach to analyse the factors influencing company performance and customer complaint

This paper presents a house of reverse logistics (HRL). HRL is proposed as an effective design method for integrating reverse logistics (RL) problems and creating consumers satisfaction. HRL explicitly addressed the translation of customer needs into reverse logistics perspective. HRL is very important because this approach successfully meets customer expectations, requirement and complaint. The complaint is signalling of customer dissatisfaction that indicates the important information directly from customers. The design of HRL was adopted from quality function deployment (QFD).

House of reverse logistics: an approach to analyse the factors influencing company performance and customer complaint

This paper presents a house of reverse logistics (HRL). HRL is proposed as an effective design method for integrating reverse logistics (RL) problems and creating consumers satisfaction. HRL explicitly addressed the translation of customer needs into reverse logistics perspective. HRL is very important because this approach successfully meets customer expectations, requirement and complaint. The complaint is signalling of customer dissatisfaction that indicates the important information directly from customers. The design of HRL was adopted from quality function deployment (QFD).

Port-centric cities: The role of freight distribution in defining the port-city relationship

The goal of this paper is to explore the intersection between two streams of literature: port cities and port-centric logistics. While many ports have moved out of city locations, partly facilitated by intermodal corridors, some ports remain in city locations, many retaining a large share of distribution activity in or near the port. This paper will consider distribution challenges arising from the port-city dynamic in relation to the port-inland distribution axis, in particular the role of port and city planners and decision makers in managing this process. The case analysis is based on the Port of Gothenburg, the largest port in Scandinavia.Findings suggest that the majority of influencing factors are marginally in favour of siting distribution facilities inland rather than near the port, yet city planning and national sentiment continue to incentivise development near the port. There are two conclusions for the port-centric city. First, it needs to coordinate its logistics from a regional perspective, determine what activities belong near the port and not compete with inland locations for what is better located there. Second, port-centric logistics needs to be better aligned with an urban freight transport and city logistics perspective.

Drivers of and barriers against market orientation: a study of Turkish container ports

Privatization transforms the operations-focused and stakeholder-independent approach of container port management into a competition and market-oriented perspective. This integrates a marketing philosophy with the management of the overall port organization. In this way, ports become more responsive to market demand and create profitable and sustainable customer value, so as to achieve competitive advantage. This change is caused both by the evolving port governance systems, as well as by changing market demand, requiring ports to respond to the needs of the supply chains they serve. An increasingly prevalent logistics perspective in maritime transport is accelerating pressure on ports—and other members of service supply chains—encouraging them to adopt market-oriented strategies. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to discover both the drivers and the barriers that container ports face while adopting market-oriented strategies. Taking Turkish container ports as the main unit of analysis, this article combines the Delphi method with fuzzy analytic hierarchy processing to identify the prioritized opinions of industry stakeholders. The results indicate that customer relations are perceived to be very important for container ports, in terms of communicating value-added services, and even more important than economic concerns or possessing market knowledge. Often, however, ports define their customers within a limited scope, and fail to adopt a supply chain perspective. Therefore, new strategies, such as market resegmentation including support service providers, or evaluating end-customer demands by analyzing supply chains that include port services, should be developed to eliminate the prioritized barriers. Drivers, such as collecting market information, or building market-oriented teams, can be used more effectively to make market orientation a new competition tool for all ports. Finally, our results provide new variables to scholars studying port marketing and put forward recommendations for testing the relationships between these variables.

물류 아웃소싱 거래비용에 영향을 주는 요인 : 제3자 물류기업의 관점에서

물류 아웃소싱 거래비용에 영향을 주는 요인 : 제3자 물류기업의 관점에서

HIV-1 viral load measurement in venous blood and fingerprick blood using Abbott RealTime HIV-1 DBS assay

BackgroundHIV RNA suppression is a key indicator for monitoring success of antiretroviral therapy. From a logistical perspective, viral load (VL) testing using Dried Blood Spots (DBS) is a promising alternative to plasma based VL testing in resource-limited settings. ObjectivesTo evaluate the analytical and clinical performance of the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay using a fully automated one-spot DBS sample protocol. Study designLimit of detection (LOD), linearity, lower limit of quantitation (LLQ), upper limit of quantitation (ULQ), and precision were determined using serial dilutions of HIV-1 Virology Quality Assurance stock (VQA Rush University), or HIV-1-containing armored RNA, made in venous blood. To evaluate correlation, bias, and agreement, 497 HIV-1 positive adult clinical samples were collected from Ivory Coast, Uganda and South Africa. For each HIV-1 participant, DBS-fingerprick, DBS-venous and plasma sample results were compared. Correlation and bias values were obtained. The sensitivity and specificity were analyzed at a threshold of 1000 HIV-1 copies/mL generated using the standard plasma protocol. ResultsThe Abbott HIV-1 DBS protocol had an LOD of 839 copies/mL, a linear range from 500 to 1×107 copies/mL, an LLQ of 839 copies/mL, a ULQ of 1×107 copies/mL, and an inter-assay SD of ≤0.30 log copies/mL for all tested levels within this range. With clinical samples, the correlation coefficient (r value) was 0.896 between DBS-fingerprick and plasma and 0.901 between DBS-venous and plasma, and the bias was −0.07 log copies/mL between DBS-fingerprick and plasma and −0.02 log copies/mL between DBS-venous and plasma. The sensitivity of DBS-fingerprick and DBS-venous was 93%, while the specificity of both DBS methods was 95%. ConclusionThe results demonstrated that the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay with DBS sample protocol is highly sensitive, specific and precise across a wide dynamic range and correlates well with plasma values. The Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay with DBS sample protocol provides an alternative sample collection and transfer option in resource-limited settings and expands the utility of a viral load test to monitor HIV-1 ART treatment for infected patients.

Optimal Decision on Landside Operations and Truck Tour of a Container Terminal

In modern container transportation, the containers transshipment between the quayside and landside plays a key role in the efficiency of a container terminal. From the perspective of logistics, port operations are determined by the port facilities, space and running time, and a focus on container movement within the terminal will draw more attention on the operational efficiency of port transportation and handling of the terminal. By analyzing the elements of the system operations, a mathematical model is setup to solve container movement by truck routing and yard layout. With the model and the instance data from a container terminal, the container truck tour and optimization problem is well settled, and the model’s feasible application is discussed.

Factors Influencing Selection of Container Shipping Lines in Pakistan – A Logistics Perspective

The purpose of this study is to understand the most influential factors affecting the selection of container shipping lines in Karachi, Pakistan and to assist shipping lines to formulate their strategies and long-term goals in accordance with key influential factors. Reliability, transport cost, responsiveness sand IT orientation and communication are the key influential factors in selection of container shipping lines. An online survey was conducted to acquire responses from shipping line customers i.e. freight forwarders, exporters, manufacturers etc. Questionnaires were sent to 350 individuals who have clear responsibility of selecting container shipping line based on their preferences and logistics requirement. Out of these 350 respondents, 150 usable responses were received having a response rate of 44%. Data was analyzed by using SPSS Statistics. Multiple regression tests were run to analyze the significance of influential factors on the selection of container shipping lines. Reliability test was also executed to indicate significance.

A Logistical Perspective on Provisioning Resources in Adhoc Virtual Cloud to access Business Modules for an Enterprise.

Existence of massive cloud service providers in the market providing anything as a service makes most of the enterprises to switch their business process to the cloud. Technology as a driver, most of the commerce happens with the help software, platform and infrastructure as service. For any business model, data processing should be anytime, anywhere, any device but most of the cloud services cannot be offered if there is no strong bandwidth. In order to make the business process on the go, we provide an ad hoc virtual cloud model to access cloud services without any interruption. Most of the recent researches provide solution in terms of cloudlet that can be connected with Wi-Fi to continue with the services. In this aspect, we propose an ad hoc virtual cloud which is formed by the neighbouring nodes which also authenticated by the concerned service provider. The contribution through this paper is three different approaches in constituting the ad hoc virtual cloud which will increase the accessibility of the cloud service for and by the mobile user which also improve the business performance.

A logistical perspective on provisioning resources in ad hoc virtual cloud to access business modules for an enterprise

A logistical perspective on provisioning resources in ad hoc virtual cloud to access business modules for an enterprise

Indigenous Australian Cardiac Surgery Morbidity Comparisons

Purpose: Indigenous Australians typically present at a much younger age for cardiac surgery compared to non-Indigenous patients. Despite this, Indigenous patients carry a substantial burden of comorbidities. These patients also face significant barriers to the access of health care from logistical, social, financial and cultural perspectives. A detailed analysis of pre, intra and postoperative characteristics was conducted. Methodology: A retrospective case audit was performed identifying 3769 cases from 1/1/2006 to 30/6/2015. Univariate analysis performed on pre, intra and postoperative variables and outcomes. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Ver. 23. Significance was set at p = 0.05. Results: 575 cases identified as Indigenous. 19 significant preoperative differences were: AusSCORE predicted mortality, age, BMI, serum creatinine, hypertension, smoking, substance abuse, MI within the previous 90 days, diabetes, peripheral vascular, renal disease, dialysis dependence, pulmonary hypertension, family history of cardiac disease, redo surgery, active endocarditis, urgent surgery, rheumatic heart disease and intra-aortic balloon pump use. Intraoperative differences were not significant except for a higher proportion of Indigenous patients presenting for valve only surgery. Postoperatively, Indigenous patients had significantly higher rates of dialysis. However, deep sternal wound infection rate, postoperative length of stay and rate of re-admission within 30-days were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion: This single centre review of Indigenous cardiac surgery patients has demonstrated a greater burden of preoperative comorbidities compared with that of non-Indigenous patients. However, as outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients were not largely dissimilar, it highlights both the quality of inpatient care but also the continued need for initiatives like Closing the Gap. Closing the Gap aims to further reduce this initial disadvantage that Indigenous patients present with by a continued focus on preventative and primary health goals. This study shows that continued support for these initiatives is still as important as when initially implemented.

Exploring the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Related to Service Quality: A Third-Party Logistics Perspective

Exploring the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Related to Service Quality: A Third-Party Logistics Perspective