Operational Planning Process Research Articles

Charting the Course: A Policy Perspective on the Evolution of Kebbi State's Health Sector Annual Operational Planning

<i>Aim</i>: This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the Annual Operational Planning (AOP) process, a key health sector planning and harmonization approach, in Kebbi State, Nigeria, from 2020 to 2024, focusing on nine optimal planning parameters: state ownership, stakeholder participation, sector harmonization, evidence-based, timeliness, executive sign-off, quarterly tracking, dissemination, and sustainability. <i>Methods</i>: Review of AOP program reports, state-relevant reports, and stakeholders’ interviews. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the study integrates quantitative data derived from secondary sources like annual reports and policy documents with qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. Descriptive statistics and time-series analysis are used for quantitative data to study progress and trends in each milestone, while thematic analysis of interview transcripts helps to elucidate factors influencing implementation and outcomes. <i>Results:</i> Findings highlight a progressive improvement in the annual operational planning across several of the planning parameters over the years from the baseline in 2020, including in participatory engagement of the lower levels of the health sector (bottom-up approach), using evidence to inform planning; timely development of the AOP to inform health budget; and regular tracking of the plan. However, challenges persist in the government funding of stakeholders’ engagement, particularly the bottom-up approach at the Local Government Health Authorities (LGAs) level, which may affect the inclusiveness of the process in the future. <i>Conclusion</i>: The study concludes that the annual operational planning in Kebbi State has seen notable improvement across multiple planning parameters, assuring the effectiveness and sustainability of the process as a key planning tool. However, allocating adequate resources, including budget and human resources, to facilitate a participatory approach in the AOP development process is critical for continuous success. This study contributes to the broader discourse on health sector planning in developing contexts, offering valuable insights for policymakers, health managers, and stakeholders in designing and implementing effective and harmonized health plans.

Comparative Analysis of Key Success Factors in S&OP: Focusing on Manufacturing and Retail Industry in South Korea

The global supply chain is facing unprecedented challenges due to pandemics, geopolitical tensions, volatile commodity prices, and rapid changes in consumer demand. The Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process can be an important solution by integrating supply and demand with business strategy and operational planning. However, previous studies have developed single frameworks or maturity models without considering industry-specific factors, overlooking the structural and operational characteristics of different industries that can have a significant impact on the approach and success factors of S&OP. Therefore, this study identifies and compares the key success factors of S&OP in the manufacturing and retail industries using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The results show clear differences in the prioritization of success factors between two industries. In the manufacturing industry, strategic support and leadership were evaluated as the most critical factor, while in the retail industry, operational processes were emphasized. In addition, the relative importance was concentrated on the top-ranked factor in the manufacturing industry, but the relative importance was distributed among several factors in the retail industry. This study provides valuable insights into the critical success factors for S&OP implementation in different industries and offers an understanding of how industry-specific characteristics influence the effectiveness of S&OP strategies.

An Ontology of Cyberspace as a Basis for Decision-making in Cyberoperations

In the cyberoperations community there is a commonly accepted starting point for describing cyberspace as comprising of multiple planes through which information flows. However, the model is not a tool that facilitates planning and executing cyberoperations. Tools do exist in the form of technical cybersecurity ontologies. At the moment the link between technical ontologies, that are the tools of experts, and the operational planning process is limited. These technical ontologies provide automated information that would support operational planning. At the moment cybersecurity experts translate the information that military professionals need, which may cause insufficiencies or distortions in communication or cause inconsistencies in the planning process. This paper presents the ongoing work of developing a model of cyberspace in the form of a core ontology. The ontology describes the flow of digital information between persons and the enabling technology as well as geographical data. It is intended as a tool that supports operational planning and decision-making in and through cyberspace, by enabling automation and reasoning. The model is created using the well-established Constructive Research Approach (CRA) methodology, and is developed on earlier research. CRA consists of six phases in which (1) the problem is defined, (2) an understanding of the topic is generated, (3) a solution (model) is constructed which then is (4) demonstrated. Then the models (5) theoretical connections are presented and the (6) scope of applicability is assessed. The challenges of developing an ontology of cyberspace as part of the third phase of the methodology are in focus. The ontology serves as an operational core ontology, aiming to link cybersecurity domain ontologies to the DOLCE+DnS Ultralite (DUL) foundational ontology. The ontology is based on research in Cyberspace Geography and Cyber Terrain. No earlier attempts at creating a core ontology of cyberspace grounded in a foundational ontology, based on these concepts, were found. Overall, the use of reference ontologies in cyberspace research is scarce and few are grounded in a foundational ontology. The starting point for the ontology is a model of cyberspace comprising of six layers, which are the 1) geographic layer, 2) physical network layer, 3) logical network layer, 4) socio-organizational layer, 5) virtual persona layer and finally the 6) persona layer. The model was complemented with levels describing action and information and partially excluded the outer levels 1 and 6, which were directly linked to the DUL foundational ontology.

Assessing the impact of the president's emergency plan for AIDS relief on all-cause mortality.

This study estimated the impacts of PEPFAR on all-cause mortality (ACM) rates (deaths per 1,000 population) across PEPFAR recipient countries from 2004-2018. As PEPFAR moves into its 3rd decade, this study supplements the existing literature on PEPFAR 's overall effectiveness in saving lives by focusing impact estimates on the important subgroups of countries that received different intensities of aid, and provides estimates of impact for different phases of this 15-year period study. The study uses a country-level panel data set of 157 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 1990-2018, including 90 PEPFAR recipient countries receiving bilateral aid from the U.S. government, employing difference-in-differences (DID) econometric models with several model specifications, including models with differing baseline covariates, and models with yearly covariates including other donor spending and domestic health spending. Using five different model specifications, a 10-21% decline in ACM rates from 2004 to 2018 is attributed to PEPFAR presence in the group of 90 recipient countries. Declines are somewhat larger (15-25%) in those countries that are subject to PEPFAR's country operational planning (COP) process, and where PEPFAR per capita aid amounts are largest (17-27%). Across the 90 recipient countries we study, the average impact across models is estimated to be a 7.6% reduction in ACM in the first 5-year period (2004-2008), somewhat smaller in the second 5-year period (5.5%) and in the third 5-year period (4.7%). In COP countries the impacts show decreases in ACM of 7.4% in the first period attributed to PEPFAR, 7.7% reductions in the second, and 6.6% reductions in the third. PEPFAR presence is correlated with large declines in the ACM rate, and the overall life-saving results persisted over time. The effects of PEFAR on ACM have been large, suggesting the possibility of spillover life-saving impacts of PEPFAR programming beyond HIV disease alone.

A Discrete-Event Simulation Study of Multi-Objective Sales and Operation Planning Under Demand Uncertainty: A Case of the Ethiopian Automotive Industry

Sales and operation planning is one of the major categories of supply chain planning that enables the balancing of demand with supply through the integration of internal functions as well as external supply chain members. The major issues are its large scale, dynamic, multi-objective nature and presence of uncertain parameters. Handling uncertainty, extending the level of integration, enhancing collaboration, and contextualization of the models already developed in different industrial situations are the gaps identified in the literature. This research aims to develop a discrete-event simulation model from the literature in the context of the Ethiopian automotive industry and extend the level of collaboration to suppliers and customers. The industry’s sales and operation planning process is surveyed to develop the model as a decision support system that can be utilized for understanding the system behavior, evaluation of manufacturing flexibility, and inventory control policies. The research findings demonstrate that the customer service level and total profit can be significantly improved through the proposed joint primary and negotiated backup supply policy with price revision. Managerial implications that are expected to improve the technical capability of Ethiopian automotive industries are also highlighted.

Analysis of Marketing and Operational Planning in a Container Villa Rental Company

In the tourism and housing industry, the container villa rental business is gaining popularity as a unique and innovative residential alternative. This business offers a different stay experience by providing comfortable and stylish container villas. The purpose of this research is to analyze marketing and operational planning in the container villa rental company PT Nahe Unggul Lestari. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study as its research method. Data will be collected through interviews with company managers and related staff, as well as direct observation of operational processes and marketing promotions. The data that has been collected will be analyzed qualitatively using a thematic approach. The results show that marketing and operational planning in the villa container rental company has been carried out in a systematic and structured manner. This marketing and operational planning team is responsible for ensuring that the company has effective marketing and operational strategies to achieve its goals. The marketing and operational planning process at the villa container rental company is carried out by taking into account factors such as company needs, market needs, and the company's ability to pay.

Planning Deception at the Operational Level of War

Deception has long been an essential component of military operations. It can be considered a tactic as old as warfare, having been used since immemorial times. From Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” to the present days, military strategists have recognized its power to turn the tide of conflict. Although, over the years, the methods, means and techniques specific to it have continuously evolved, along with technological developments, its basic principle remains the same: portraying a false reality to the adversary that leads to the materialization of operational opportunities, by causing the adversary to adopt courses of action disadvantageous to him. As the battlefield has become increasingly complex, the ability to deceive the adversary has also become an increasingly important asset to the success of military operations. Today, in an era of instant and abundant information, deception has paradoxically become more difficult to achieve and more critical to operational success. The deceptive action of the Ukrainians at Kherson last September against the Russians once again demonstrated its importance on the modern battlefield. However, many military planners tend to overlook this key aspect of military strategy despite its importance. This oversight can lead to grave consequences in the modern battlefield, where the enemy’s ability to gather intelligence can hinder operational success. For this reason, the present paper is an analysis of how deception actions can be integrated into the operational planning process at the operational level in order to maximize the chances of their success and, consequently, the military operation success. The need for such a scientific approach arises from the complexity of the deception process, which places a special emphasis not only on the thoroughness in planning these actions but also on the need to integrate and synchronize them with other military actions.

When and how to adjust statistical forecasts in supply chains? Insight from causal machine learning

ABSTRACT Empirical studies have discovered that most statistical forecasts in supply chains are subjected to judgemental adjustments during a forecast review. Although such a practice requires significant management effort and frequently reduces forecast accuracy, many organisations prefer this approach as part of their Sales & Operations Planning process. This study aims to identify the optimal policy to achieve significant accuracy improvement from forecast review. We focus on a practical situation where managers periodically review forecasts from the statistical software and compare them with judgemental forecasts from the sales and marketing functions. Managers must decide whether to disregard the judgement and continue with the existing forecast or revise the statistical forecast based on the judgement. To determine the best course of action, we conducted a numerical experiment using data from five supply-chain companies wit more than 12,000-point forecasts. The experiment considered three alternative actions: “do-nothing”, “follow the judgement”, and “simple-average”. Using a causal machine learning method, namely a policy tree, we develop a set of decision rules that maximise the expected accuracy gains given the variation in forecasting features. The result proposes a simple yet effective policy to recommend suitable actions based on two identified key features: “judgment direction” and the “accuracy of statistical forecasts”. The policy was tested against real-world data and achieved remarkable accuracy with roughly a 3–11 percentage points improvement over the baseline. Our findings offer valuable insights for managers to customise their forecast review policy based on their unique environment.

Modeling of real combat operations

This paper discusses the model of an offensive air-ground combat operation, a product of a specific modeling - operational planning and targeting process. The modeling was performed using approximate methods of numerical integration based on Lanchester's law of combat. Operational factors and their implications for outcome are used for modeling a special but still current, offensive air-ground campaign/operation "Desert Storm". The model considers relevant factors, such as combat capabilities, the number of forces and consumption of resources and forces attrition in combat, in order to enable planning and prediction of the winning side in battle. The optimal solution of the problem as a useful strategic tool, based on the attrition model of combat has a practical benefit for making the right management decisions in operational planning process. This approach corresponds to project management, considering the same operational factors and the ability to manage them.

A Discrete-Event Simulation Study of Multi-Objective Sales and Operation Planning: A case of Ethiopian Automotive Industry

Sales and operation planning is an integrated tactical level panning system that balances demand and supply by determining optimum production amount, inventory level and capacity requirements to maximize customer service level and financial gain. It plays a major role in supply chain planning in enhancing responsiveness of all internal functions and linking them to customers and suppliers. This research aims at reviewing the subject area in the literature and develop a simulation model as an industrial engineering decision support system for an Ethiopian automotive industry. The industry's sales and operation planning process was surveyed to identify gaps and develop an enhanced simulation model that can be utilized to understand the system behavior and evaluate performance of manufacturing flexibility and inventory control policies. The simulation analysis result demonstrates that the customer service level and financial gains of the industry can be enhanced significantly through the proposed planning technique, flexibility, safety stock and emergency backup supply policies. The findings from the simulation analysis and their managerial implication are expected to improve the technical capability of Ethiopian automotive industries.

An Analytical Formulation for Mapping the Spatial Distribution of Nodal Inertia in Power Systems

Mapping the spatial distribution of nodal inertia is crucial for helping system operators identify locational frequency stability issues in the power system operation planning process. Currently, index-based methods cannot retrieve the nodal inertia values for all load buses. To do so, this paper proposes an accurate analytical formulation relying only on steady-state system parameters to determine the nodal inertia values and, thus, map the spatial distribution of system inertia. The performance and reproducibility of the proposed formulation are evaluated using three test systems: a 5-bus radial system with two synchronous generators, a multimachine IEEE 68-bus benchmark system, and a larger NPCC 140-bus test system. We validate the proposed spatial distribution of nodal inertia using time-domain simulations and numerical estimations. In addition, we compare our method against the inertia distribution indexes presented in the literature. The results indicate that our formulation adequately quantifies the nodal inertia value in system buses, with low computational cost, and providing a suitable tool for operation planning analysis.

Aspect of Contractor Support to Operations for operation planning process

Before military power will be used for any kind of purposes, the opera- tional commander supported by the staff starts planning the future op- eration. In the steps of planning process they have to consider many aspects; one of the questions must be answered how to support com- bat forces during the operations. If we look deeper inside of the ques- tion, we can identify a lot of potential solution for this question, based on different NATO and EU doctrines. Nowadays, the Contractor Sup- port to Operations becomes one of the more and more popular solu- tions for the provision of different modes of logistic support that military forces need to conduct the operation.

Simulation-Supported Wargaming for Assessing Force Structures

Wargaming is a key activity for gaining deeper insight into the strengths and weaknesses of future force structures in the course of their development and assessment. For more than a decade, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (Forsvarets forskningsinstitutt – FFI) has supported the Norwegian Army in conducting wargames for capability planning, with varying degrees of computer-based support. Throughout this period, these have evolved from what can be described as computer-assisted wargames to more realistic simulation-supported wargames. Moreover, to get a closer understanding of the deterrent effect of the force structures, which may not be observable during the actual gameplay, our emphasis has also shifted towards replicating the planning process more properly – and especially towards monitoring the planning process of the opposing force. For example, it has been important to examine the extent to which specific structure elements discourage the opposing force from taking certain actions. In this article, we describe our evolved methodology for simulation-supported wargaming, which includes a preparation phase; an execution phase, including a joint operational planning process; and an analysis phase. Furthermore, we discuss what type of data and results we are able to extract from the wargaming sessions, and present a set of what we have found to be best practices for how to conduct successful simulation-supported wargames.

SCHOOL HEADS’ LEARNING CONTINUITY PLAN AND SCHOOLS’ ACCESS, QUALITY, AND GOVERNANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGUNA

The study was conducted to determine the school heads? learning continuity plan and schools? access, quality, and governance in the secondary schools of Division of Laguna. Specifically, this determined the description of school head?s learning continuity plan in terms of strategic management and operation, curriculum and instruction management, human resource and development, resource management, partnership and linkages and the level of schools? access (inclusive education and reaching the marginalized), quality (ensuring quality of teaching and learning process, focus on Learning, and provision of learning resources), and governance (safe operations, well-being and protection, and education financing); the significant relationship between school heads? learning continuity plan and schools? access, quality, and governance; and the significant difference in the school head's and teachers' perspectives on the implementation of the school learning continuity plan. This study focused on the learning continuity plan of school heads in the Division of Laguna, which includes twenty-four (24) districts. The study's respondents are 69 school heads and 354 teachers from 82 public secondary schools in the Division of Laguna, with 79 school heads and 3046 teachers. Also, the descriptive and quantitative data analyses were used to determine the significant difference in the school head's and teachers' perspectives on the implementation of the school learning continuity plan and the significant relationship between school heads? learning continuity plan and schools? access, quality, and governance Based on the data gathered and critical analysis of the investigation, the school heads? learning continuity plan in terms of Strategic Management and Operation, Curriculum and Instruction Management, Human Resource and Development, Resource Management, Partnership, and Linkages was highly evident among the school heads/teachers. The same is true for the schools? access, quality, and governance. Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were made: The study reveals that the school heads? learning continuity plan was highly evident in schools? access, quality, and governance. Thus, the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the school head's and teachers' perspectives on the implementation of the school learning continuity plan is accepted. On the other hand, the second null hypothesis stating that ?the school heads? learning continuity plan has no significant relationship to the schools? access, quality, and governance is rejected?, which incites that there is a significant relationship between the two. Based on the conclusions drawn, the study offers the following recommendations: Continuously use a strategic and operational planning process within a school setting to manage the entire life cycle of implementing a learning delivery modality and to ensure that learning continuity is implemented, the school head and internal and external stakeholders must always maintain a harmonious relationship for effective service delivery.

The Human Factor in Transmission Network Expansion Planning: The Grid That a Sustainable Energy System Needs

The decarbonization of the energy sector puts additional pressure on the transmission network. The main cause for this is that renewable sources are often more abundant in geographical areas far away from the main demand centers, so new transmission lines are required to connect the new renewable energy capacity. In addition, by connecting different geographical zones, the transmission network could smooth the intermittency and the variability of renewable energy production. Thus, the changing energy landscape leads to a need to reinforce the transmission network through the Network Transmission Expansion Planning. Ideally, all the idiosyncrasies of the electricity system are considered in the operation and expansion planning process. However, several critical dimensions of the planning process are routinely ignored since they may introduce parameters that are difficult to quantify and complexity that state-of-the-art planning methods cannot handle. This paper identifies the most relevant elements related to the human factor, which have been grouped around the main topics: the human behind the technical, the human at the institutional level, and the human at the individual level. This paper also provides an additional formulation that can be used to upgrade existing models to include the human element and discusses the implications of these upgrades.

Reducing Food Waste at Retail Stores—An Explorative Study

Grocery retailers are in a dilemma. They often prioritize availability over other aspects due to strong competition in this sector and the imperative of realizing sales. The target for many grocery retailers has been high on-shelf availability and large variety to increase customer satisfaction. However, this policy contributes to a significant share of overstock. The economic pressure of unsold products, the environmental impact of wasted resources, and the ethical questions arising from discarding edible food, have increasingly thrown the spotlight on grocery retailers to change their strategies. Grocery retailers are thus facing a trade-off between increasing attractiveness via high availability on the one hand, and the environmental, social, and financial impacts of overstock, on the other. One common practice in dealing with overstock is mainly being reactive to mitigate the impact, using initiatives such as price promotions or donations. This explorative study investigates options for how grocery retailers can proactively reduce food waste via better planning of their store operations. Seven case companies participated in this qualitative study, where we focused on ultra-fresh products as the most important waste category. Face-to-face interviews with managers were the primary source for data collection. The heterogeneity of our sample enabled us to build a common understanding of proactive options to reduce food waste with enhanced operations. The analysis reveals six coherent and distinct topics. A basis for all proactive operational planning processes is (1) the use of a comprehensive database and information systems. This builds the foundation for (2) tailored demand forecasts related to perishable product-specific requirements. Subsequently, consideration is needed of (3) the enhanced planning of assortment sizes, (4) the definitions of differentiated service levels and (5) the tailored ordering and replenishment processes that impact food waste. Finally, (6) salvage options, such as dynamic pricing, secondary usage, and sustainable waste streams constitute valuable mitigation strategies. We formulated 15 propositions that could support the decisions of grocery retailers developing proactive food waste reduction practices. These propositions will guide future research, as they provide a coherent and cohesive picture of related topics in grocery retail operations.

ВИКОРИСТАННЯ МЕТОДУ КЛЮЧОВИХ ПОКАЗНИКІВ РИЗИКУ В СТРАТЕГІЯХ РИЗИК-МЕНЕДЖМЕНТУ

As part of the rapid development of the global economy in recent decades, a clear demand for timely and effective response to changes in the macroeconomic environment of the multinational enterprises (MNE), as well as the influence of endogenous factors on the achievement of operational and strategic goals of the enterprise, is created within the framework of the corporate governance structure of MNE. Such changes and factors can create both risks and opportunities for MNE. As part of the strategic planning processes, modern MNE must identify and assess risks and opportunities in relation to the key objectives of their strategy and assess the potential change in the risk profile of the enterprise, if there are changes in the strategy and any of its sensitivity to internal or external factors. Existing and new risk management strategies should become an integrated part of the operational and strategic planning process of MNE. At the same time, an effective system of key risk indicators (KRI) is an important component of an effective risk management strategy of MNE, based on a holistic approach to the organizational structure of MNE and taking into account the geographical, functional, operational specifics of the enterprise's business. Applying a natural methodological basis, the article describes the concepts and principles of KRI, their typology and the order of determination. As part of the practical analysis, the role and place of KRI in the system of operational and strategic activity of MNE were determined, as well as a study of the use of KRI was carried out on the example of the collapse of the US residential real estate market in 2007. The conducted study showed the high efficiency of the practical use of KRI to achieve the goals of MNE and increase the efficiency of their business activities.

SALES & OPERATIONS PLANNING: Case study on the Engineer-To-Order production model in the entertainment industry

Goal: This article characterizes the application of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process in an audiovisual content production industry, whose production model is Engineer-To-Order (ETO), adding important empirical knowledge for S&OP in this production strategy within a unique context. 
 Design / Methodology / Approach: The methodology adopted is based on an exploratory case study. The research adopts a well-known framework to characterize the process observed within the company.
 Results: The findings characterize the S&OP process based on the main components of the context, inputs, structure and process and outcomes / results, demonstrating that, even with the particularities of the industry, S&OP can be a key process to manage the business complexity and to achieve the objectives by the company.
 Limitations of the investigation: This study was based on the observations made in only one company, which is a research limitation towards the generalizability of the findings. Thus, for a deeper understanding of the theme, future research is necessary, expanding the observations to other companies.
 Practical implications: Practitioners can take stock of the S&OP characterization and the lessons learned herein to help to support their S&OP initiatives, especially regarding ETO contexts.
 Originality / Value: This article sought to reduce the research-practice gap in the literature concerning the need for a complete characterization of the S&OP process from empirical researches and the understanding of S&OP application in the ETO production model.

Cross-Functional Alignment for Sales and Operations Planning in a Cement Company in Indonesia

This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process in a cement company in Indonesia. The company encountered several obstacles in their S&OP process, including asymmetric data information for planning purposes, conflicts between supply and demand planning, use of a manual spreadsheet to consolidate the supply planning, and integrating 2 (two) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. A literature study regarding S&OP and its several aspects are performed parallels with a case study method to explore S&OP implementation in the company. The research strategy performed using focus group discussion with S&OP actors, observation on the meeting activities, and interviews with the key person in the selected functional area. The authors propose a conceptual framework of the S&OP process to resolve the problems adapted to company conditions. This paper’s contribution is to provide an overview of S&OP implementation and its problem in the enterprise-level to provide a better understanding for practitioners in other industries and also academic performers.

Revenue management systems as symbiotic analytics systems: insights from a field study

Revenue management is a complex operational planning process involving predictive and prescriptive analytics. As real-world implementations strongly rely on the joint outcomes from both algorithms and analysts, we consider the revenue management system as an example of symbiotic analytics systems. This paper presents insights from a field study observing a natural experiment in revenue management. As a firm updates its automated revenue management systems, it also updates the related processes and the corresponding organizational structure. We use this opportunity to examine the multilevel use of symbiotic analytics systems based in a field study and explore the implications for the design of future systems. Specifically, we identify two different perspectives on the revenue management process. In the functional view, jobs are organized sequentially with a high degree of system-oriented specialization. The process view organizes jobs in a parallel structure, differentiating two perspectives on demand. Depending on what view the firm implements, different structural fault lines turn the communication and training of analysts into keystones of the planning process. Furthermore, as we point out, even implementing more sophisticated algorithms and redesigning planning processes and organization do not seem to reduce the relevance of human analysts.