Shorter Delivery Time Research Articles

Real-time monitoring of volcanic eruptions in Iceland 2004–2014 using satellite images

Real-time monitoring of volcanic eruptions in Iceland, using satellite remote sensing, has expanded during the last decade. Availability of satellite images has increased extensively in the last few years, with improved geometric, radiometric, and time resolution, in addition to shortened delivery time. This paper provides an overview and a brief historical perspective of the topic.

Effects of SP6 Acupuncture Point Stimulation on Labor Pain and Duration of Labor.

Background:Acupressure has been used frequently to improve labor, manage labor pain, and shorten delivery time. However, there has been little research-based evidence to support the positive effects of acupressure in the obstetric area and obstetric nursing.Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of SP6 acupressure on labor pain and delivery time in primigravida women in labor.Patients and Methods:The study was conducted at the Trabzon Maternity Hospital in Turkey. Its design was a randomized controlled clinical trial study using a single-blinded method. One hundred (100) primigravida women in labor were randomly assigned to either the SP6 acupressure (n = 50) or control group (n = 50). Acupressure was practiced 35 times in total on the SP6 point of both legs in the SP6 acupressure group; 15 times (during contraction) when cervical dilation was 2-3 cm, 10 times when cervical dilation was 5-6 cm and 10 times at 9-10 cm dilation, while the women in the control group received standard care. Labor pain was measured five times using a structured questionnaire of a subjective labor pain scale (visual analogue scale-VAS) when dilation was 2-3 cm (VAS 2), 5-6 cm (VAS 3) and 8-9 cm (VAS 4) before and after acupressure was applied to the SP6 point (VAS 1), and finally at the early postpartum period (VAS 5). The duration of labor in both groups was measured with a partograph and the length of delivery time was calculated in two stages: from 3 cm cervical dilation to full cervical dilation, and from full cervical dilation to delivery.Results:There were significant differences between the groups in subjective labor pain scores (except VAS 4) (P < 0.001). The duration of the Phase one (3 cm dilatation to full dilatation) and Phase two (full dilatation to birth) in the acupressure group was shorter than the control group (Phase one, 225 min and 320 min, respectively; Phase two, 15 min and 20 min, respectively; both P < 0.001).Conclusions:It was determined that SP6 acupressure was effective in decreasing pain and duration of labor.

Volumetric-modulated arc therapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma: A dosimetric and delivery efficiency comparison with static-field IMRT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the treatment plan adequacy and delivery efficiency among volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with one or two arcs and the conventional static-field dynamic multileaf collimator (dMLC) intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in patients undergoing oropharyngeal carcinoma. Fifteen patient cases were included in this investigation. Each of the cases was planned using step-and-shoot IMRT, VMAT with a single arc (Arc1) and VMAT with double arcs (Arc2). A two-dose level prescription for planning target volumes (PTVs) was delivered with 70 Gy/56 Gy in 30 fractions. Comparisons were performed of the dose-volume histograms (DVH) for PTVs, the DVH for organs at risk (OARs), the monitor units per fraction (MU/fx), and delivery time. IMRT and Arc2 achieved similar target coverage, but superior to Arc1. Apart from the oral cavity, Arc1 showed no advantage in sparing of OARs compared with IMRT, while Arc2 obtained equivalent or better sparing of OARs among the three techniques. VMAT reduced MU/fx and shortened delivery time remarkably compared with IMRT. Our results demonstrated that for oropharyngeal cases, Arc2 can achieve superior target coverage and normal tissue sparing, as well as a significant reduction in treatment time.

English

As the customer needs product at higher quality, shorter delivery time, higher customer service level and lower price; companies adopt continuous productivity and quality improvement to survive in the increasingly competitive world market. To cater to this, line balancing and kaizen are effective approaches to improve the productivity and quality. This paper has made use of these approaches to improve the productivity on a Wire Harness Assembly line of a company manufacturing wire harnesses for automobiles. Here, the balance rate has been calculated before and after improvement to show the reduction in manpower requirement and increase in output.

Radiosurgery of multiple brain metastases with single-isocenter dynamic conformal arcs (SIDCA)

PurposeTo propose single-isocenter dynamic conformal arcs (SIDCA), a novel technique for radiosurgery of multiple brain metastases, and to compare SIDCA with volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and multiple-isocenter dynamic conformal arcs (MIDCA) for plan quality. Methods and materialsSIDCA, MIDCA, and VMAT plans were created on 6 patients with 3–5 metastases. Plans were evaluated using Radiation Therapy Oncology Group conformity index (RCI), Paddick conformity index (PCI), gradient index (GI), volumes that received more than 100% (V100%), 50% (V50%), 25% (V25%) and 10% (V10%) of prescription dose, total monitor units (MUs), and delivery time (DT). ResultsSIDCA achieved conformal plans (RCI=1.38±0.12, PCI=0.72±0.06) with steep dose fall-off (GI=3.97±0.51). MIDCA plans had comparable plan quality and MUs as SIDCA, but 52% longer DT. The VMAT plans had better conformity (RCI=1.15±0.09, p<0.01 and PCI=0.86±0.06, p<0.01) than SIDCA, worse GI (4.34±0.46, p<0.01), higher V25% (p=0.05) and V10% (p=0.02), 49% less MUs and 46% shorter DT. ConclusionsAll three techniques achieved conformal plans with steep dose fall-off from targets. SIDCA plans had similar plan quality as MIDCA but more efficient to delivery. SIDCA plans had lower peripheral dose spread than VMAT; VMAT plans had better conformity and faster delivery time than SIDCA.

TH-A-9A-10: Prostate SBRT Delivery with Flattening-Filter-Free Mode: Benefit and Accuracy

Purpose: Flattening-filter-free (FFF) beam mode offered on TrueBeam™ linac enables delivering IMRT at 2400 MU/min dose rate. This study investigates the benefit and delivery accuracy of using high dose rate in the context of prostate SBRT. Methods: 8 prostate SBRT patients were retrospectively studied. In 5 cases treated with 600-MU/min dose rate, continuous prostate motion data acquired during radiation-beam-on was used to analyze motion range. In addition, the initial 1/3 of prostate motion trajectories during each radiation-beam-on was separated to simulate motion range if 2400-MU/min were used. To analyze delivery accuracy in FFF mode, MLC trajectory log files from an additional 3 cases treated at 2400-MU/min were acquired. These log files record MLC expected and actual positions every 20ms, and therefore can be used to reveal delivery accuracy. Results: (1) Benefit. On average treatment at 600-MU/min takes 30s per beam; whereas 2400-MU/min requires only 11s. When shortening delivery time to ~1/3, the prostate motion range was significantly smaller (p<0.001). Largest motion reduction occurred in Sup-Inf direction, from [−3.3mm, 2.1mm] to [−1.7mm, 1.7mm], followed by reduction from [−2.1mm, 2.4mm] to [−1.0mm, 2.4mm] in Ant-Pos direction. No change observed in LR direction [−0.8mm, 0.6mm]. The combined motion amplitude (vector norm) confirms thatmore » average motion and ranges are significantly smaller when beam-on was limited to the 1st 1/3 of actual delivery time. (2) Accuracy. Trajectory log file analysis showed excellent delivery accuracy with at 2400 MU/min. Most leaf deviations during beam-on were within 0.07mm (99-percentile). Maximum leaf-opening deviations during each beam-on were all under 0.1mm for all leaves. Dose-rate was maintained at 2400-MU/min during beam-on without dipping. Conclusion: Delivery prostate SBRT with 2400 MU/min is both beneficial and accurate. High dose rates significantly reduced both treatment time and intra-beam prostate motion range. Excellent delivery accuracy was confirmed with very small leaf motion deviation.« less

SU-E-T-385: 4D Radiobiology

Purpose: The linear-quadratic model is the most prevalent model for planning dose fractionation in radiation therapy in the low dose per fraction regimens. However for high-dose fractions, used in SRS/SBRT/HDR treatments the LQ model does not yield accurate predictions, due to neglecting the reduction in the number of sublethal lesions as a result of their conversion to lethal lesions with subsequent irradiation. Proper accounting for this reduction in the number of sublethally damaged lesions leads to the dependence of the survival fraction on the temporal structure of the dose. The main objective of this work is to show that the functional dependence of the dose rate on time in each voxel is an important additional factor that can significantly influence the TCP. Methods: Two SBRT lung plans have been used to calculate the TCPs for the same patient. One plan is a 3D conformal plan and the other is an IMRT plan. Both plans are normalized so that 99.5% of PTV volume receives the same prescription dose of 50 Gy in 5 fractions. The dose rate in each individual voxel is calculated as a function of treatment time and subsequently used in the calculation of TCP. Results: The calculated TCPs show that shorter delivery times lead to greater TCP, despite all delivery times being short compared to the repair half-time for sublethal lesions. Furthermore, calculated TCP(IMRT) =0.308 for the IMRT plan is smaller than TCP(3D) =0.425 for 3D conformal, even though it shows greater tumor hot spots and equal PTV coverage. The calculated TCPs are considerably lower compared to those based on the LQ model for which TCP=1 for both plans. Conclusion: The functional dependence of the voxel-by-voxel dose rate on time may be an important factor in predicting the treatment outcome and cannot be neglected in radiobiological modeling.

Development and Applications of the SCARA Robot

In the 1980s, when the author worked for Seiko Epson Corporation as a wristwatch production engineer, consumer needs had become so diversified that wristwatches had to be assembled on the same automated assembly line in small lots of about 10,000 pieces per month. Most of the robots available in those days were for processing purposes such as spot welding and were not applicable in practical terms to automated assembly lines for wristwatches in precision, speed, ease of use or cost. The prototype SCARA robot developed by the SCARA Study Group led by Dr. Hiroshi Makino, a professor at the Department of Precision Engineering at Yamanashi University, was found to be the most suitable for automated watch assembly lines. We reviewed assembly work procedures and succeeded in limiting the number of simultaneous control axes to four at a maximum and in cutting assembly costs to 60% of those of conventional processing robots. As the term “selective compliance” suggests, SCARA robots possess all of the functions necessary for stable assembly and for precision and speed. Development team members, including the author, made the most use of previous experience in developing dedicated automated assembly machines for in-house use and succeeded in developing practical SCARA robots by creating a robot language based on workers’ voice. In applications of SCARA robots, this paper introduces just two of many possible examples. One is for oiling work on manual assembly lines and the other is the TAF-M mixed-models wristwatch assembly line. In the oiling work application example, SCARA robots used for infinitesimal oiling work on a manual assembly line for small lots of luxury wristwatches have been found to be very cost-effective and useful for training operators and/or programmers for robots. The TAFM application example represents the assembly line built based on the original Seiko-Epson purpose for introducing SCARA robot development, which consists of both robots and of 52 newly developed “assembly robot cells” where most assembly work should be done. An assembly robot cell includes a SCARA robot, a main conveyor, a multiple-parts feeder, an automatic hand changer, an assembly detection unit, etc. At present, one such assembly line automatically assembles more than 100 models of wristwatches. Use of such automated assembly lines has reduced the human workforce by about 40 workers, cut costs by over 60%, and shortened delivery time by about 50%.

MP8-05 SEVEN HOURS TO DEFINITIVE ANTIMICROBIAL THERAPY IN URINARY TRACT INFECTION USING ISOTHERMAL MICROCALORIMETRY

You have accessJournal of UrologyInfections/Inflammation of the Genitourinary Tract: Kidney & Bladder1 Apr 2014MP8-05 SEVEN HOURS TO DEFINITIVE ANTIMICROBIAL THERAPY IN URINARY TRACT INFECTION USING ISOTHERMAL MICROCALORIMETRY Gernot Bonkat, Georg Mueller, Adrian Egli, Andreas Widmer, Reno Frei, Malte Rieken, Armin Halla, Stephen Wyler, Thomas Gasser, Alexander Bachmann, and Olivier Braissant Gernot BonkatGernot Bonkat More articles by this author , Georg MuellerGeorg Mueller More articles by this author , Adrian EgliAdrian Egli More articles by this author , Andreas WidmerAndreas Widmer More articles by this author , Reno FreiReno Frei More articles by this author , Malte RiekenMalte Rieken More articles by this author , Armin HallaArmin Halla More articles by this author , Stephen WylerStephen Wyler More articles by this author , Thomas GasserThomas Gasser More articles by this author , Alexander BachmannAlexander Bachmann More articles by this author , and Olivier BraissantOlivier Braissant More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2014.02.348AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES Drug resistance is more and more commonly encountered in the setting of urinary tract infection (UTI) and threaten the life of many patients. In most cases empirical antibiotic therapy needs to be initiated as drug susceptibility results can take up to 72 hours before being available. In this context we aim to use isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) to assess drug resistance pattern of UTI causative pathogens within 6 to 7 hours. METHODS For this proof of concept study we used 8 strains of E. coli isolated at our institution and presenting different antibiotic resistance patterns (ciprofloxacin resistant strains and extended beta-lactamase spectrum strains (ESBL)). The strains were diluted to a final concentration of 5x10e4 CFU/mL. Artificial urine was added with 6 different antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole, ceftriaxone, amoxicillin, piperacillin and ertapenem) at breakpoint concentrations. A microcalorimetry instrument (TAM48, TA Instruments, New Castle, DE) equipped with 48 channels was used to follow bacterial growth (or its absence). Results were quantified with respect to growth parameters and an inhibition index was calculated for each antibiotic. The inhibition indexes were compared to the resistance pattern obtained by conventional cultures. RESULTS Inhibition indexes for each antibiotic corresponded well to the strain resistance pattern obtained by conventional culture. Ciprofloxacin resistant and ESBL strains were detected correctly. The time until an accurate assessment of the drug susceptibility patterns could be delivered using IMC was about 6 hours. An additional hour for sample handling needs to be added to this value. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained here strongly suggest that urine from UTI patients can be directly analyzed using IMC. Time to results is expected to be very close to the one obtained here. Even shorter delivery time can be expected as our inoculum seize was rather low. © 2014FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 191Issue 4SApril 2014Page: e76 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2014MetricsAuthor Information Gernot Bonkat More articles by this author Georg Mueller More articles by this author Adrian Egli More articles by this author Andreas Widmer More articles by this author Reno Frei More articles by this author Malte Rieken More articles by this author Armin Halla More articles by this author Stephen Wyler More articles by this author Thomas Gasser More articles by this author Alexander Bachmann More articles by this author Olivier Braissant More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

A comparison of liver protection among 3-D conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy and RapidArc for hepatocellular carcinoma

PurposeThe analysis was designed to compare dosimetric parameters among 3-D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and RapidArc (RA) to identify which can achieve the lowest risk of radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsTwenty patients with HCC were enrolled in this study. Dosimetric values for 3DCRT, IMRT, and RA were calculated for total dose of 50 Gy/25f. The percentage of the normal liver volume receiving >40, >30, >20, >10, and >5 Gy (V40, V30, V20, V10 and V5) were evaluated to determine liver toxicity. V5, V10, V20, V30 and Dmean of liver were compared as predicting parameters for RILD. Other parameters included the conformal index (CI), homogeneity index (HI), and hot spot (V110%) for the planned target volume (PTV) as well as the monitor units (MUs) for plan efficiency, the mean dose (Dmean) for the organs at risk (OARs) and the maximal dose at 1% volume (D1%) for the spinal cord.ResultsThe Dmean of IMRT was higher than 3DCRT (p = 0.045). For V5, there was a significant difference: RA > IMRT >3DCRT (p <0.05). 3DCRT had a lower V10 and higher V20, V30 values for liver than RA (p <0.05). RA and IMRT achieved significantly better CI and lower V110% values than 3DCRT (p <0.05). RA had better HI, lower MUs and shorter delivery time than 3DCRT or IMRT (p <0.05).ConclusionFor right lobe tumors, RapidArc may have the lowest risk of RILD with the lowest V20 and V30 compared with 3DCRT or IMRT. For diameters of tumors >8 cm in our study, the value of Dmean for 3DCRT was lower than IMRT or RapidArc. This may indicate that 3DCRT is more suitable for larger tumors.

Small and medium-sized enterprises in terms of their goals

The strategic management represents current direction of management. It is applied in all types of enterprises, including small and medium sized ones. Using principles of process management within SMEs has its limitations caused mainly by the size of the enterprise and the related focus on operational management. Other specificities are function accumulation, informal leadership, preference for oral communication before written, etc. Nevertheless, implementation of strategic management can increase competitiveness, reduce costs, improve decision-making, facilitate implementation of the employee motivation system, shorten delivery times, higher quality of customer satisfaction, etc. The aim of this article is to find out how much SME includes principals of the strategic management as their aim.

407 個別受注生産における設計と製造のコンカレント実行を可能とするMPS管理手法(OS5 : 製造の見える化(2))

Manufacturing industries face to diversity of the market where customer orders are more and more complex, meeting their specific needs within short delivery time. In order lo shorten the delivery time, design processes should perform concurrently to the manufacturing processes according to the master production schedule (MPS). Nevertheless, one-of-a-kind production usually needs a design process before production orders are released because production items cannot define in advance. This paper proposes concurrent execution management of design and manufacturing by using design bills. Design bill represents family production items which can be produced by deciding the design sub-problems. The concurrent MPS generation algorithms are illustrated with a simple example. Finally, the paper shows capability of the new design process management and suggests some future challenges.

Multicriteria optimization informed VMAT planning

We developed a patient-specific volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) optimization procedure using dose-volume histogram (DVH) information from multicriteria optimization (MCO) of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plans. The study included 10 patients with prostate cancer undergoing standard fractionation treatment, 10 patients with prostate cancer undergoing hypofractionation treatment, and 5 patients with head/neck cancer. MCO-IMRT plans using 20 and 7 treatment fields were generated for each patient on the RayStation treatment planning system (clinical version 2.5, RaySearch Laboratories, Stockholm, Sweden). The resulting DVH of the 20-field MCO-IMRT plan for each patient was used as the reference DVH, and the extracted point values of the resulting DVH of the MCO-IMRT plan were used as objectives and constraints for VMAT optimization. Weights of objectives or constraints of VMAT optimization or both were further tuned to generate the best match with the reference DVH of the MCO-IMRT plan. The final optimal VMAT plan quality was evaluated by comparison with MCO-IMRT plans based on homogeneity index, conformity number of planning target volume, and organ at risk sparing. The influence of gantry spacing, arc number, and delivery time on VMAT plan quality for different tumor sites was also evaluated. The resulting VMAT plan quality essentially matched the 20-field MCO-IMRT plan but with a shorter delivery time and less monitor units. VMAT plan quality of head/neck cancer cases improved using dual arcs whereas prostate cases did not. VMAT plan quality was improved by fine gantry spacing of 2 for the head/neck cancer cases and the hypofractionation-treated prostate cancer cases but not for the standard fractionation–treated prostate cancer cases. MCO-informed VMAT optimization is a useful and valuable way to generate patient-specific optimal VMAT plans, though modification of the weights of objectives or constraints extracted from resulting DVH of MCO-IMRT or both is necessary.

The Effects of Management Information and ERP Systems on Strategic Knowledge Management and Decision-making

Today's enterprices require more information and communication in order to reduce costs under the current scarce resources, to shorten delivery time, to increase quality and product variety, in other words, are obligated to develop “an integrated information system”. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems help unleash the true potential of companies by integrating business and management processes. In this study, how and in what direction Enterprise Resource Planning Systems affect the decision of the upper and middle level managers of businesses together with the effects of ERP systems on strategic knowledge management to make enterprises more innovative and competitively advantaged, transformable, and decisions based on ERP systems will be investigated. As a result of literature review study, the role and the impacts of these systems on strategic information management and decision- making will be investigated with both global and local business application examples.

Evaluating order throughput time with variable time window batching

Given increased pressure to provide short delivery times, minimising customer order throughput time is a very important objective in warehousing operations. There are many factors that may affect the performance of an order picking system, such as layout of the warehouse, the storage strategy, the routing policy, the zoning method and the batching policy. In this study, we propose a simple travel time model and analyse the effect of order batching on the expected customer order throughput time with variable time window batching. In addition, we discussed the impact of some parameters on the batch size and the expected customer order throughput time. In the practice of Wuhan Dong Hon Logistics co. Ltd, the storage rack in the warehouse has two levels: the low storage level and the high storage level. These two levels are visited by pickers and forklifts, respectively. The classification improves the performance of order picking. In this study, we build the model based on this practice.

A Portable Subway Logistics System for the Transportation of Small and Medium-Size Cargo

To satisfy the requirement of short delivery time, this paper proposes subway (light rail transport) as vehicle for city delivery and express. With the convenient service, it will improve the efficiency of city logistics and promote the development of e-commerce. The system can effectively avoid the congestion of trucks on road, reduce fuel consumption and reduce the damage to the environment for the subway is driven by electricity. The automated warehouse management system is proposed in this paper, which is built on Siemenss SIMATIC S7 PLC control system and SQL database, and is designed for small and medium-size cargo to make transportation efficient and timely.

Modeling and Control of Combined Cycle Gas Turbines Using Rowen’s and Vournas’s Models

The gas turbine is known to feature low capital cost, high flexibility, high reliability without complexity, short delivery time, early commissioning and commercial operation, and fast starting as well as loading. The gas turbine is further recognized for its better environmental performance apparent in reducing air pollution as well as the greenhouse effect. The gas turbine can be configured as a simple (stand-alone) cycle plant or a part of one of the new technologies adopted in last decades for improvement which known as Cycle Power Plant. A Combined-Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) can be seen as coupling of a Gas Turbine (GT) and a Steam Turbine (ST) through a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). Overall system efficiency can be greatly improved by linking together these two different thermal cycles. Recently, several gas turbine models have been suggested with different degree of complexity and success. The purpose of this paper is improving the behaviour of the gas turbine-based plants to investigate the associated power system control problems. Two gas turbine models will be used in this article which are Rowen’s and Vournas’s models. These models are studied when PID controller is used in its construction for speed and temperature control. Improving the gas turbine behaviour can be achieved by applying different artificial intelligent adaptation techniques on the PID controller of the dynamic models of Combined Cycle Power Plants (CCPPs). Tuning the parameters of a PID controller is very important. The well-known method to tune the coefficients of a PID controller is the Ziegler-Nichols method. This tuning method is very simple, but cannot guarantee to be always effective. For this reason, this paper investigates the tuning for a PID using Fuzzy, Genetic Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization methods. The results of tuning methods will be compared, analyzed and conclusion will be drawn out of the simulation results.

Cloud-Based Supply Chain Integration Service Platform

In recent years, Taiwan has enhanced the manufacturing advantages in the competitive global market because of excellent manufacturing processes, product quality, and the flexible delivery date and speed. However, how to maintain the competitive advantages in the global market has become an issue. Due the advanced development of the Internet, the cloud computing technology has significant progress and become more matured. Therefore, if the cloud computing technology can be applied in the supply chain of the manufacturing industry, the information among manufacturing, assembly, logistics, sales, and customers can be shared and accessed easily. In this study, a cloud-based supply chain integration service platform of the manufacturing industry is developed, and this platform includes the supplier management, procurement and materials management, manufacturing management, facilities planning, customer service, transportation and physical distribution, and information flow to form a supply chain integration service cloud. Thus, the members of the whole supply chain integration service cloud are able to work together, and rapidly deploy and dynamically allocate resources, and the computer hardware and software resources of the upstream and downstream can be appropriately shared. By doing so, the inventory fluctuations caused by the bullwhip effect can also be reduced. Eventually, it will achieve the goals of shortening delivery time, raising production capacity utilization, and decreasing the material preparation time.

Customer Needs Linked to Production Strategy and Firm’s Dynamic Capabilities

Abstract This study identifies and analyzes the key factors of an efficient customer oriented production strategy. The paper supports the view that dynamic capabilities can be used successfully for improving company’s efficiency. This research is a case study research related to production strategy. In a case company, totally 31 interviews were made from 16 subsidiaries and 13 from end customers. The present paper focuses more on end customers’ than internal customers. Key findings can be identified as follows: effective information flow, flexibility, speed and responsiveness need more focus in the study of dynamic capabilities. Delivery accuracy is the key, while short delivery time is a competitive factor. This research is focused to power electronics business segment which is research limitation. To make wider conclusions, more empirical studies are needed. As a Practical implications, this research helps firms to improve their strategy process by understanding real customer needs. The research results bring additional value to the previous studies regarding company strategy, business environment, innovativeness and operational excellence.

Impetus of Multi-temperature Joint Distribution Based on Storage-type Cold-chain Logistics

AbstractThe multi-temperature joint distribution (MTJD) system based on storage-type cold-chain logistics is a contemporary distribution mode. To analyze the economics and social benefits of MTJD and overcome the disadvantages of single-temperature storage type of traditional cold-chain logistics, this paper builds a comprehensive cost model by taking into account the fixed costs, procurement costs, inventory costs, cargo damage costs, transportation costs, and energy costs, to name a few. Through comparative analysis, it is found that MTJD not only reduces purchasing cost, but also decreases delivery times, increases vehicle loading and unloading efficiency, and shortens delivery time. Meanwhile, it realizes energy savings, reduction in fuel consumption, and decrease in various costs such as those incurred in distribution, order processing and inventory, storage, and cargo damage in addition to the significant low-carbon economy.