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Given constantly fluctuating market demands, short life cycles of products and global market trends, companies must effectively design, produce and deliver products and services (Christopher & Juttner, 2000). A Supply Chain Management (SCM) system involves managing and coordinating all activities associated with goods and information flows from those raw materials sourcing to product delivery and, finally, to the end customers. A SCM system incorporates numerous modules of supply chain planning and execution, e.g., supply chain network configuration, demand planning, manufacturing planning and scheduling, distribution planning, transportation management, inventory and warehouse management, and supply chain event management, etc. This is why more companies are seeing SCM systems as the key to enhance the transparency, sharing, and trust of their supply chains. Min & Zhou (2002) postulated that information technology (IT) provides the impetus for supply chain cooperation and re-engineering. Here, a SCM system is defined as an integrated enterprise information system (EIS) to realize the integration and collaboration of different stages within a supply chain and owns analytical capabilities to produce planning solutions, strategic level decisions and executing tasks of supply chain. A lot of companies invest large money and efforts in SCM applications to increase their competitive advantages and improve overall supply chain efficiency. As a SCM system becomes more organizationally encompassing, so that its selection is complicated in nature rather than just traditional information system (IS) selection (Sarkis & Sundarraj, 2000). However, many companies install their SCM systems hurriedly without fully understanding the implications for their business or the need for compatibility with overall organizational goals and strategies. The result of this hasty approach is failed projects or weak systems whose logics conflict with organizational goals. However, the impact of bad decision can be high not only in system operations but in terms of its impact on management attitude. Davenport (1998) emphasized the technical factors are not the main reason EIS fail, however, the biggest problems are business problems. The performance of a SCM system basically relates to the degree of match between the available system functionalities and the company’s requirements and also between the logic assumed in the system and that of the

In recent year, Six Sigma has been known as a framework for quality improvement. An appropriate Six Sigma project can increase benefits and customer satisfaction and reduce cost of poor quality and...

In this study, an optimal integrated vendor-buyer inventory model with defective items is proposed. Most researches for defective items assumed that an inspection process is carried out by the buyer. We consider that the vendor conducts the inspection process and disposes defective items in multiple batches. We prove that the function of annual cost is convex, and obtain closed-form expressions. A solution procedure is used to derive the optimal order quantity, the number of shipments and the number of defective item disposals. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate our model. Setting the fraction of defective items be zero, the numerical examples indicate that the proposed model can result in the solutions of the existing models without considering defective items. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is used to reveal the effects of cost parameters on the optimal solution. When the disposal cost is relatively low, we show that a multiple disposals strategy may perform better than a single disposal strategy.

This study examines the problem of optimally dynamic joint decisions, including replenishment scheduling/quantity, retail price, wholesale price, and revenue-sharing allocation, in a vertically decentralised single-manufacturer Stackelberg and single-retailer channel over a multi-period planning horizon, subject to deteriorating goods and multivariate demand function. This study uses a calculus-based formulation combined with dynamic programming techniques to solve the channel coordination decision problem. Additionally, three arrangements, namely price-only contract, revenue-sharing contract, and revenue-sharing plus linear rebate and side-payment contract for channel coordination, are developed under retailer-managed inventory (RMI) and vendor-managed inventory (VMI) systems, respectively. The analysis reveals that the proposed policy under the VMI system with the revenue-sharing plus linear rebate and side-payment contract tends to obtain low retail prices and large demand quantity, and results in near...

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose a Six Sigma project to improve the replenishment process in the logistic center of Amway Taiwan Company.Design/methodology/approachThis study elucidates the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) methodology of Six Sigma, using qualitative and quantitative tools. Numerous improvement actions are implemented. A control plan is developed to sustain and enhance the performance of the replenishment process.FindingsThe project has substantially benefited the logistic center, including reducing replenishment frequency and urgent shipping rate, decreasing cost of transportation, lowering the inventory of service centers and shortening the replenishment planning time.Research limitations/implicationsThe methodology that is employed in this study can be adopted by the logistic centers of other direct companies. However, they can modify the detailed contents and tools according to their organizational conditions.Practical implicationsThis study demonstrates a project in which Six Sigma is adopted to improve the replenishment process of the logistic center in Amway Taiwan. It describes how the project was specified, how the tools were employed in the different phases and how the improvement actions were implemented. In conclusion, the key benefits of, and experience gained from this project are emphasized.Originality/valueThis paper will be of interest to academic researchers and practical managers. The structured methodology of Six Sigma integrated logistic techniques was applied in a leading direct sales company. The project in the logistic center of Amway Taiwan provides a good reference for other companies that plan to implement Six Sigma management.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a comprehensive framework for measuring the performance of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to survey suitable performance indicators (PIs) according to knowledge of the ERP implementation objectives set up at the implementation phase and build consistent measurement standards for facilitating the complex ERP performance evaluation process.Design/methodology/approachA seven‐step ERP performance measurement framework based on the objectives of ERP implementation is proposed. A fuzzy ERP performance index is used to account for the ambiguities involved in evaluating the performance of the ERP system. The fuzzy ERP performance index can be translated first into simple scores and then back to linguistic terms. An actual example in Taiwan demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed framework.FindingsThe findings indicate that the PIs of ERP performance measurement should align with the objectives of ERP implementation. The assessment results can represent the achievement of these objectives and the directions for improving the adopted ERP system.Originality/valueThis study may be interesting to some academic researchers and practical managers. The proposed framework can provide a procedure to link the objectives identified in the ERP system implementation phase and the performance considerations in the ERP use phase.

Success is often defined as a favorable or satisfactory result or outcome. Since the objectives of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation project reveal exactly the states of an ERP system, which managers wish to realize, the knowledge of these objectives can indicate how outcomes of an ERP system execution must be measured in the ERP success analysis. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for assessing the performance of an adopted ERP system. Based on the knowledge of ERP implementation objectives, the framework can systematically identify the appropriate ERP performance indicators, construct the performance indicator structure, and set up consistent evaluation standards for facilitating the complex ERP performance evaluation process. A real-world example demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed framework.

Many companies make considerable efforts in implementing supply chain management (SCM) systems to increase their competitiveness. However, how to select an adequate SCM project remains a major concern. This study presents a comprehensive framework with three main phases to select an adequate SCM project that incorporates the strategies and operating routines of a supply chain, including strategic objective analysis phase, system analysis phase, and group decision-making phase. Fuzzy set theory is adopted to resolve the ambiguities involved in assessing SCM alternatives and aggregating the linguistic evaluations. The proposed framework can facilitate the complex SCM selection process and consolidate efforts to enhance group decision-making process. A real case demonstrates the effectiveness of applying the proposed framework.

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a critical investment that can significantly affect future competitiveness and performance of a company. This study presents a comprehensive framework for selecting a suitable ERP system. The framework can systematically construct the objectives of ERP selection to support the business goals and strategies of an enterprise, identify the appropriate attributes, and set up a consistent evaluation standard for facilitating a group decision process. A real-world example demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed framework.

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for combining objective data obtained from external professional reports and subjective data obtained from internal interviews with vendors to select a suitable Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project. A hierarchical attribute structure is proposed to evaluate ERP projects systematically. In addition, fuzzy set theory is used to aggregate the linguistic evaluation descriptions and weights. An actual example in Taiwan demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed framework.

This study proposes a dynamic multi-period pricing-ordering decision model for a closed-loop remanufacturing system with product substitution between the new and remanufactured goods. In particular, this study considers both new and remanufactured versions of a single product that are both subject to continuous decay and a multivariate demand function of price and time. The problem is formulated using a dynamic programming model. In analyzing the problem, it is assumed that the firm utilizes a periodic review inventory system in which the sales price can be arbitrarily increased or decreased in response to changes in the market demand over the product lifecycle. The proposal model takes the time-value of money into account. In solving the decision-making problem, it is assumed that the aim is to maximize the total discounted profit over a finite planning horizon. The numerical result shows that the total discounted profit is sensitive to demand parameters, but less sensitive to cost parameter and time-discounting factor parameter. In practice, the proposed pricing-ordering model may instruct frequent price-adjustments in the upward or downward direction in response to changes in the demand structure, with advances in information and Internet technology in a cost-effective fashion.

This study explores the problem of optimally dynamic joint decisions: replenishment quantity, retail price and depletion time, in a vertically decentralized single-retailer and single-supplier supply chain over a dynamic multi-period planning horizon, subject to multivariate demand function and deteriorating goods with shortages allowed and with no consideration of fixed costs. This research uses a calculus-based formulation coupled with dynamic programming techniques to solve the channel-wide profit maximization under price-only contract and consignment contract respectively. The analysis reveals that the consignment contract can significantly achieve higher channel-wide profit than the price-only contract for the dynamic decentralized channel.

The paper deals with the problem of decentralized supply chain coordination in a single-retailer Stackelberg and a single-supplier over a multi-period planning horizon under VMI system with consignment and revenue-sharing agreements, subject to deteriorated goods and multivariate demand function. We formulate the profit-maximization issue and develop the solution procedures under cooperative and non-cooperative policies. Our analysis reveals that the benefit generated from cooperative policy can significantly achieve channel-wide profit improvements.