Potential Supply Chain Research Articles

Electrodialysis: An effective methodology to purify the leachate of spent Li-ion batteries

The electrification of transportation and the transition of society towards low or net-zero carbon emissions has led to a skyrocketing global demand for Li-ion batteries. After a service life of three to ten years, Li-ion batteries have less than 80 % of their initial capacities and draw near to the end of their lives for practical utilization. Due to potential supply chain shortages and the value embodied in Li-ion batteries, it is imperative to recycle them, to recover the materials, and to improve the circularity and the sustinability of the industry. How to cost-effectively purify spent batteries while reducing time, energy, and waste emissions is a challenge faced by Li-ion battery recyclers. The first electrochemical membrane reactor reported in our group hasa high selectivity towards lower Cu2+, Al3+ and Fe3+ ions (<5 ppm) and retains > 95 % of the Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ ions in the leachate. An advanced electrochemical membrane reactor was developed in this study. Not only does the new reactor have the same selectivity as the original reactor, but other advantages including a faster leachate processing rate (up to 10X faster). The advanced reactor can also directly generate acid at the anode side; eliminating the reactor restoration step. The prominent advantages that this electrodialysis technology has over chemical-precipitation methods include: (1) ion recovery efficiencies do not diminish after removing the impurities, Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+, even at a higher initial Ni2+ ion concentrations; in comparison, chemical precipitation has Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ ion recovery efficiencies reduced significantly when the initial Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ ion concentrations increase. (2) electrodialysis does not change the concentrations of Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+ ions significantly, but chemical precipitation could reduce Ni2+ and Co2+ ions to less than half of their initial values. Through electro-dialyzing the leachate, the H2 evolution reaction mechanism was found to switch from the Volmer-acid Heyrovsky mechanism to the Volmer-alkaline Heyrovsky mechanism at a pH of around 3.7.

Firms’ location decisions, supply chain disruptions and government subsidies: A dynamic game

This paper develops a dynamic game to study the interaction between firms’ production location decisions and a government subsidy policy. On the one hand, firms consider the cost of shielding their production capacity from (potential) supply chain disruptions. On the other hand, the government is interested in curbing production offshoring to increase domestic tax revenues. The location decision of each firm is affected by the government subsidy policy and the location choices of other firms, while the share of firms producing domestically influences the government’s decision on whether and to what extent to provide subsidies to firms. We show that government subsidy policy must target a sufficiently large number of firms to encourage production reshoring and achieve the Pareto-efficient equilibrium. However, a subsidy policy providing a high number of low subsidies is likely to be ineffective in increasing domestic production, highlighting the importance of careful fine-tuning of the policy. Finally, in some scenarios, industrial policy becomes crucial to increase the resilience of domestic supply chains and foster reshoring.

Supply chain risk management for humanitarian aid delivery: risk identification and contingency analysis

PurposeHumanitarian organizations are responsible for delivering aid under diverse circumstances in various contexts. We argue that humanitarian organizations face specific challenges in their logistics and operations. Thus, adequate supply chain risk management is required to facilitate effective and efficient humanitarian aid delivery.Design/methodology/approachWe first identify potential supply chain risks in humanitarian aid delivery from the literature. We then utilize an expert survey to determine the probability and impact ratings of the identified risks, assessing the importance of six aggregated risk categories. To examine the influence of contingencies on a country, organization, and crisis level, we investigate the effect of ten contextual factors on the importance of different supply chain risks in humanitarian aid delivery.FindingsWe derive six relevant risk categories for humanitarian aid delivery and develop five propositions concerning criticality, context-sensitivity, relevant contingencies, and risk management approaches. Findings and propositions encourage and guide future research on the topic.Practical implicationsRisk identification and assessment support mission-specific decision-making. Our findings encourage and foster organizational learning between missions. A differentiated view of risk types allows for stronger inter-organizational collaboration within the sector and beyond.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to derive supply chain risks and categories specific to humanitarian aid delivery. Contingency analysis on a country, organization, and crisis level offers unique insights into risk management in humanitarian aid delivery.

Upscaling bio-based products: poplar and hemp for soil and building circular synergies

Abstract The paper illustrates the rationale of an ongoing research aimed at identifying innovative applications for poplar- and hemp-based products in constructive systems, focusing on load-bearing poplar plywood elements and hemp blocks and panels for the building envelope. The underlying approach extends the circular-based perspective from the building component scale to the territorial and economic one, adopting a context-wise approach. The potential of these renewable materials is examined beyond the application to reversible building systems, to depict their comprehensive contribution to a carbon-neutral region by examining the links with the local territorial management and a potential short supply chain. The contribution describes poplar and hemp agricultural productions, connecting their outputs to several economic sector. After addressing the environmental benefits, the two cultivations produce in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation, among which carbon uptake, it contextualises poplar- and hemp-based products within current bio-based solutions in the building sector, exploring possible applications in new and existing constructions through circular constructive systems. The results discussion outlines the sustainable multiscale synergies supported by poplar- and hemp-based building products within the research perimeter.

Securing Survivability for Urban Poor: A Review on Food Accessibility and Food Affordability

There are multifaceted challenges, including poverty, international and domestic food supply disruptions, labor shortages, global economic crises, natural disasters, and burgeoning global population, precipitating a formidable food security predicament. This predicament manifests in the form of compromised affordability, unreliability in accessibility, and inadequacy of available nutritious sustenance. This study is part of a larger study exploring affordable food supply via accessibility, particularly for the urban poor in Malaysia. The purpose of this study is to analyze how policymakers could improve food affordability via food accessibility for the urban poor. This study reports a desktop survey using the systematic literature synthesis process based on the keywords "urban poor", "food accessibility", and "food affordability". The results found that urban poor could improve food security by utilizing their local supply chain (LSC) with a selective coping strategy (CS). The results led to the developing a proposed Urban Poor Secured Survivability Model. This study is significant because the results identified the limitations among the urban poor in accessing nutrient-rich, safe, affordable and quality local food. The benefits of this study include guiding potential local supply chain development with local food resources. It is recommended that future studies develop a local supply chain for urban poor food security and propose a management system to enable its successful implementation.

Neighboring capital imports and non-importer productivity: Evidence from geocoded manufacturing firms in China

This article examines the spillover effects of neighboring firms’ imports on the productivity of non-importers. By analyzing geocoded manufacturing firms in China, we find that capital goods imports by neighboring firms within 10 km positively impact non-importer productivity; intermediate goods imports show no clear spillover. These results hold when using imports from distant firms as instruments. Spillovers from capital imports mainly come from neighbors in upstream and downstream industries, which indicate potential supply chain effects. Learning effects from neighboring imported products are not significant. Quantitatively, neighboring capital imports raised non-importers’ average productivity by 0.99% from 2000 to 2006, surpassing gains from their own R&D participation by more than sixfold. Overall, our findings demonstrate substantial societal benefits of capital imports for non-importers connected spatially.

Middle East conflict and energy companies: The effect of air and drone strikes on global energy stocks

The recent April 2024 Israel-Iran conflict had a notable impact on global energy markets. Returns on the top ten global energy stocks indicate investor apprehension up to 10 days before the event started on April 13, 2024. Energy stocks had significant negative returns on the event day itself, with positive CAARs pre-event and negative CAARs post-event. The dynamic market response highlights the heightened uncertainty for energy firms due to regional instability and potential supply chain interruptions, emphasizing the critical role of geopolitical events in shaping investor sentiment and the financial performance of energy firms.

A Multi-Criteria Approach for Quantifying the Impact of Global Megatrends on the Pulp and Paper Industry: Insights into Digitalization, Social Behavior Change, and Sustainability

Background: The pulp and paper industry (P&amp;PI) is undergoing significant disruption driven by global megatrends that necessitate advanced tools for predicting future behavior and adapting strategies accordingly. Methods: This work utilizes a multi-criteria framework to quantify the effects of digitalization, changes in social behavior, and sustainability as three major megatrends transforming the P&amp;PI industry, with a specific focus on hygiene tissue products. Thus, the research combines a comprehensive literature review, insights from a Delphi study, and topic modeling to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the present and future impacts of these global megatrends. Results: The findings suggest an urgent need to identify alternative raw materials to prevent potential supply chain disruptions. Moreover, due to shifts in social behavior, it becomes critical for businesses to substantiate their sustainability claims with hard data to avoid the risk of a “greenwashing” perception among consumers. Conclusions: This study provides decision support for strategic planning by highlighting actionable insights, quantitative predictions, and trend analysis, alongside the examination of consumer and market trends. It aims to incorporate diverse stakeholder perspectives and criteria into decision-making processes, thereby enriching the strategic planning and sustainability efforts within the P&amp;PI industry.

Validation of improved automated nucleic acid extraction methods for direct detection of polioviruses for global polio eradication

Polioviruses (PV), the main causative agent of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), are positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses of the family Picornaviridae. As we approach polio eradication, accurate and timely detection of poliovirus in stool from AFP cases becomes vital to success for the eradication efforts. Direct detection of PV from clinical diagnostic samples using nucleic acid (NA) extraction and real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) instead of the current standard method of virus isolation in culture, eliminates the long turn-around time to diagnosis and the need for high viral titer amplification in laboratories. An essential component of direct detection of PV from AFP surveillance samples is the efficient extraction of NA. Potential supply chain issues and lack of vendor presence in certain areas of the world necessitates the validation of multiple NA extraction methods. Using retrospective PV-positive surveillance samples (n=104), two extraction kits were compared to the previously validated Zymo Research Quick-RNA™ Viral Kit. The Roche High Pure Viral RNA Kit, a column-based manual extraction method, and the MagMaX™ Pathogen RNA/DNA kit used in the automated Kingfisher Flex system were both non-inferior to the Zymo kit, with similar rates of PV detection in pivotal rRT-PCR assays, such as pan-poliovirus (PanPV), poliovirus serotype 2 (PV2), and wild poliovirus serotype 1 (WPV1). These important assays allow the identification and differentiation of PV genotypes and serotypes and are fundamental to the GPLN program. Validation of two additional kits provides feasible alternatives to the current piloted method of NA extraction for poliovirus rRT-PCR assays.

Spectral Analysis of Injectable Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate From the International Market With Diffuse Reflectance Spectrometers: Potential Public Health Implications With Benchtop and Handheld Spectrometers

Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is an essential medication used as a form of family planning by millions around the world. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) has a long history as a quality assurance measure for raw ingredient verification in pharmaceutical manufacturing. There are a multitude of DMPA manufacturers in the global marketplace. Prudent supply chain management requires identification of potential suppliers that can be contacted if a current supplier is unavailable. Here, DRS data were collected with benchtop (350–2500 nm) and handheld (900–1700 nm) spectrometers for 16 brands of DMPA. Spectra from sample vials ( N = 262) are compared through principal component analysis and Mahalanobis distances. The benchtop spectrometer proved to be an efficient gauge of the similarities and differences amongst DMPA brands, with subcontracted manufacturers resulting in very similar results to the primary manufacturers. The handheld spectrometer offers advantages in portability and cost and was shown to be an effective brand discrimination tool but was less reliable in the context of identifying potentially suitable supply chain substitution options of DMPA due to several key DMPA spectral features appearing just outside of the handheld spectrometer's range. Data collected from the benchtop spectrometer was used to identify several potential supply chain substitutions, dependent on various other subsequent due-diligence activities (i.e., product documentation reviews and manufacturing site audits). These potential substitutions can be shortlisted for further auditing review prior to being identified as a potential supply chain substitution.

An integrated DEA/GP based approach for designing healthcare supply chains with mixed data: a real world application

PurposeAs supply chain excellence matters, designing an appropriate health-care supply chain is a great consideration to the health-care providers worldwide. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to benchmark several potential health-care supply chains to design an efficient and effective one in the presence of mixed data.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this objective, this research illustrates a hybrid algorithm based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) and goal programming (GP) for designing real-world health-care supply chains with mixed data. A DEA model along with a data aggregation is suggested to evaluate the performance of several potential configurations of the health-care supply chains. As part of the proposed approach, a GP model is conducted for dimensioning the supply chains under assessment by finding the level of the original variables (inputs and outputs) that characterize these supply chains.FindingsThis paper presents an algorithm for modeling health-care supply chains exclusively designed to handle crisp and interval data simultaneously.Research limitations/implicationsThe outcome of this study will assist the health-care decision-makers in comparing their supply chains against peers and dimensioning their resources to achieve a given level of productions.Practical implicationsA real application to design a real-life pharmaceutical supply chain for the public ministry of health in Morocco is given to support the usefulness of the proposed algorithm.Originality/valueThe novelty of this paper comes from the development of a hybrid approach based on DEA and GP to design an appropriate real-life health-care supply chain in the presence of mixed data. This approach definitely contributes to assist health-care decision-makers design an efficient and effective supply chain in today’s competitive word.

Zero-emission Fueling Infrastructure for IWT: Optimizing the Connection between Upstream Energy Supply and Downstream Energy Demand

A key challenge in the energy transition for Inland Water Transport is the functional design of bunker networks and first-order dimensioning of individual bunker stations. A fundamental ingredient for this is an improved understanding of how upstream energy supply (‘well-to-bunker-station’) and downstream demand (‘bunker-station-to-tank’) may interconnect. In this paper we discuss an approach to the design of bunkering networks that takes logistic modelling to estimate network scale energy demand as a starting point. Depending on the vessels that use the network and the anticipated fuel mix for the overall fleet, logistical modelling may be used to estimate the magnitude of the energy demand along the network. Estimates of the operational range of vessels per energy carrier help to estimate maximum bunker station inter-distances. Insight into the potential supply chains that connect the source of each energy carrier to a physical bunker facility is needed to close the loop. Energy carriers may be needed on board in a gaseous or liquid form, or in the form of electrons. Transfer may take place in the form of loading (e.g., filling the fuel tank, charging the battery pack) or swapping (e.g., exchanging fuel containers, exchanging battery containers). Depending on the energy carrier, transfer method(s) and demand quantities, functional designs of bunker stations (in terms of required system elements and their order-of-magnitude dimensions) can be made. Depending on service level requirements both the dimensions of individual bunker stations and their spread over the network may be optimized. Key contribution of this work is a thorough overview of aspects that play a role in the design of bunker infrastructure for the decarbonisation of inland shipping. Based on this overview steps for further research are recommended.

What Does Not Kill You Makes You Stronger: Supply Chain Resilience and Corporate Sustainability Through Emerging IT Capability

Global epidemics and international conflicts disrupt supply chain operations. Many enterprises employ emerging information technology (IT) to reduce supply chain vulnerability and enhance supply chain resilience. Technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain facilitate more robust supply chain operations, such as remanufacturing, just-in-time production, and automated workflow, leading to corporate sustainability along economic, environmental, and social dimensions. From a dynamic capability perspective, this article conceptualizes emerging IT capability and investigates its role in helping enterprises survive supply chain disruptions and prosper in the long run. A research model depicts the relationships among environmental uncertainty, supply chain vulnerability vigilance, emerging IT capability, supply chain resilience, and corporate sustainability. A partial least square analysis on survey observations collected from more than 200 enterprises in China that are highly susceptible to supply chain disruptions provides supporting evidence to most research hypotheses. The results show that high vigilance to potential supply chain disruptions will motivate enterprises to develop emerging IT capability, which will enhance supply chain resilience as well as economic, environmental, and social performances. The mediating role of emerging IT capability suggests a viable path for enterprises to adapt to the increasingly turbulent environment and improve supply chain resilience and corporate sustainability.

Enhancing Supply Chain Transparency and Risk Management Using CNN-LSTM With Transfer Learning

Enhancing supply chain transparency and risk management is crucial in modern businesses. The supply chain involves multiple stages and participants, including suppliers, manufacturers, and logistics companies. However, supply chain data is often vast and complex, encompassing various types of information. Effectively analyzing and leveraging this data can help businesses identify potential risks and improvement opportunities. Therefore, a powerful method is needed to process supply chain data and provide accurate predictions and decision support. In this article, the authors approach is based on CNN-LSTM and transfer learning. By comparing with traditional methods and baseline models, this CNN-LSTM model achieved significant improvements in supply chain transparency and risk management. This model accurately predicts potential supply chain risks, providing corresponding decision support. This research is of great significance to enhance the efficiency, reliability, and transparency of the supply chain, offering valuable support for business decision-making.

Supply chain risk disclosure and seasoned equity offering discount

We examine the impact of forward-looking supply chain risk disclosure (FSCRD) on information asymmetry and seasoned equity offering (SEO) discounts. Using textual analysis of the future risk subsections of outlook sections in annual reports from a sample of Chinese SEOs, we find robust evidence that a high FSCRD lowers the information asymmetry of the SEO firm, leading to a lower SEO discount. Our additional analysis shows that when an SEO firm (1) has a high financial constraint, (2) has a significant institutional investor shareholding, or (3) has a large analyst following, the impact of FSCRD on the SEO discount is more pronounced, corroborating the findings that FSCRD lowers information asymmetry and the SEO discount. Additional analysis suggests that the effect of FSCRD on information asymmetry and the SEO discount can be attributed to investors' lack of supply chain risk information and investors' lack of ability to process such information. Our findings imply that managers should consider disclosing potential supply chain risks in their firms' annual reports to leave less money on the table in SEOs.

How to understand high global food price? Using SHAP to interpret machine learning algorithm.

The global food prices have surged to historical highs, and there is no consensus on the reasons behind this round of price increases in academia. Based on theoretical analysis, this study uses monthly data from January 2000 to May 2022 and machine learning models to examine the root causes of that period's global food price surge and global food security situation. The results show that: Firstly, the increase in the supply of US dollars and the rise in oil prices during pandemic are the two most important variables affecting food prices. The unlimited quantitative easing monetary policy of the US dollar is the primary factor driving the global food price surge, and the alternating impact of oil prices and excessive US dollar liquidity are key features of the surge. Secondly, in the context of the global food shortage, the impact of food production reduction and demand growth expectations on food prices will further increase. Thirdly, attention should be paid to potential agricultural import supply chain risks arising from international uncertainty factors such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has profoundly impacted the global agricultural supply chain, and crude oil and fertilizers have gradually become the main driving force behind the rise in food prices.

Green hydrogen production and use in low- and middle-income countries: A least-cost geospatial modelling approach applied to Kenya

With the rising threat of climate change, green hydrogen is increasingly seen as the high-capacity energy storage and transport medium of the future. This creates an opportunity for low- and middle-income countries to leverage their high renewable energy potential to produce, use, and export low-cost green hydrogen, creating environmental and economic development benefits. While identifying ideal locations for green hydrogen production is critical for countries when defining their green hydrogen strategies, there has been a paucity of adequate geospatial planning approaches suitable to low- and middle-income countries. It is essential for these countries to identify green hydrogen production sites which match demand to expected use cases such that their strategies are economically sustainable. This paper therefore develops a novel geospatial cost modelling method to optimize the location of green hydrogen production across different use cases, with a focus on suitability to low- and middle-income countries. This method is applied in Kenya to investigate the potential hydrogen supply chain for three use cases: ammonia-based fertilizer, freight transport, and export. We find hydrogen production costs of €3.7–9.9/kgH2 are currently achievable across Kenya, depending on the production location chosen. The cheapest production locations are identified to the south and south-east of Lake Turkana. We show that ammonia produced in Kenya can be cost-competitive given the current energy crisis and that Kenya could export hydrogen to Rotterdam with costs of €7/kgH2, undercutting current market prices regardless of the carrier medium. With expected techno-economic improvements, hydrogen production costs across Kenya could drop to €1.8–3.0/kgH2 by 2030.

Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Vascular Imaging During Iodinated Contrast Shortage.

GE Healthcare© announced on April 19, 2022, that their main factory and distributor of iodinated contrast had experienced a temporary shutdown because of COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, China. This, along with other supply chain issues, led to a worldwide shortage of iodinated contrast agents, Omnipaque and Visipaque. Our Comprehensive Stroke Center was confronted with the cascading effect of this iodinated contrast material shortage. We took immediate steps to revise our protocols and processes to continue to provide high-quality care to our stroke patients. A multidisciplinary working group comprised of representatives of our stroke center, including vascular neurology, diagnostic neuroradiology, and neurovascular surgery, urgently met to brainstorm how to mitigate the shortage. We established parameters and local guidelines for the use of CT angiography, CT perfusion, and digital subtraction angiography for stroke patients. In this article, we propose "best practice" recommendations from a single Joint Commission approved Comprehensive Stroke Center that can be used as blueprint by other hospital systems when navigating potential future supply chain issues, to provide consistent high-quality stroke care.

콜드체인 물류시스템 운용 중소수출기업의 공급망 리스크 관리가 해운물류 효율성에 미치는 영향에 관한 연구

Recently, the size of the global cold chain market is growing. Therefore, the cold chain has increased management risks. The purpose of this study is to identify potential supply chain risk factors that could emerge during the operation of the cold chain logistics system for small and medium-sized export businesses. Additionally, we attempted to comprehend how risk management affected the effectiveness of logistics and shipping.&#x0D; Structured questionnaires were distributed from October 11, 2022, to October 28, 2022, focused on lists of randomly chosen member organizations, including the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Fisheries Trade Association, the Korea Pharmaceutical Bio Association, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and the Korea Small and Medium Business Association. As for the survey method, about 225 copies were collected by distributing Google questionnaires online, and a total of 202 copies were used for empirical analysis, excluding 23 insincere copies. For empirical analysis, the Smart PLS statistical package was used to evaluate external measurement models, internal structural model evaluation, and structural equation modeling, focusing on conceptual research models.&#x0D; The results of this study are as follows. Among risk factors, low temperature maintenance risk had a negative (-) effect on cold chain risk management, and transportation environment risk and information technology risk had a significant positive (+) effect on cold chain risk management. And risk management was found to have an effect on responsiveness and flexibility in shipping and logistics. This study supplements the contents of previous studies on the risks that small and medium-sized export companies with limited human and financial resources may encounter in the process of operating a cold chain logistics system and examines the causal relationship that related risk management has on shipping logistics efficiency.

Digital twins for selecting the optimal ventilated strawberry packaging based on the unique hygrothermal conditions of a shipment from farm to retailer

Berries are one of the most challenging products to preserve after harvest due to their high perishability and short shelf life. Ventilated packaging plays a key role in maintaining fruit quality along the supply chain. However, every supply chain is composed of different unit operations, and every shipment encounters unique hygrothermal conditions such as air temperature fluctuations over time, sub-optimal humidity conditions, and the risk of condensation. Therefore, every supply chain has an optimal packaging that provides the best hygrothermal climate and ventilation to the fruit. Given the vast space of potential supply chain scenarios and packaging configurations, in-silico studies are an attractive alternative for selecting this optimal packaging. In this study, we developed physics-based digital twins for ventilated packaging of strawberries. We utilized measured air temperature and humidity data from an actual supply chain from the farm to the retail store. With these digital twins, we mimicked in-silico how the strawberries evolve hygrothermally, physiologically, and microbiologically along the supply chain inside 21 different types of ventilated packaging. We predicted actionable metrics of fruit quality and shelf life for these 21 packages. These metrics include total mass loss, risk of putative mold infection due to Botrytis cinerea, retention time of condensate, and remaining shelf life based on respiration, transpiration, and mold growth. In addition, we analyzed the impact of package-related metrics, such as total vent area, degree of filling, pressure drop across the package, and seven-eighths cooling time, on fruit quality metrics. With this approach, we pinpointed the critical quality loss points in the supply chain for every package. We identified the package that performs best in balancing the three-way trade-off between the respiration-driven biochemical shelf life, transpiration-driven physical shelf life, and mold growth-driven microbial shelf life of fruit. Our findings showed that the performance of open trays is comparable to ventilated clamshells, as long as a high humidity is maintained along the supply chain. Flow-wrapped packages presented the highest risk of condensation and microbial growth. We also quantified the spatial heterogeneity in fruit quality within the packages and highlighted the most vulnerable locations for quality loss inside each packaging type. Our study presents a novel, holistic approach to select the optimal ventilated packaging of strawberries from farm to retailer based on its measured hygrothermal fingerprint. This approach can help reduce food loss and contribute towards making supply chains smart and efficient.