Search results for "SUPPLY CHAIN"
showing 10 items of 271 documents
Bayesian forecasting of demand time-series data with zero values
2013
This paper describes the development of a Bayesian procedure to analyse and forecast positive demand time-series data with a proportion of zero values and a high level of variability for the non-zero data. The resulting forecasts play decisive roles in organisational planning, budgeting, and performance monitoring. Exponential smoothing methods are widely used as forecasting techniques in industry and business. However, they can be unsuitable for the analysis of non-negative demand time-series data with the aforementioned features. In this paper, an unconstrained latent demand underlying the observed demand is introduced into the linear heteroscedastic model associated with the Holt-Winters…
Approaching sales forecasting using recurrent neural networks and transformers
2022
Accurate and fast demand forecast is one of the hot topics in supply chain for enabling the precise execution of the corresponding downstream processes (inbound and outbound planning, inventory placement, network planning, etc). We develop three alternatives to tackle the problem of forecasting the customer sales at day/store/item level using deep learning techniques and the Corporaci\'on Favorita data set, published as part of a Kaggle competition. Our empirical results show how good performance can be achieved by using a simple sequence to sequence architecture with minimal data preprocessing effort. Additionally, we describe a training trick for making the model more time independent and…
Defining and measuring the network flexibility of humanitarian supply chains: insights from the 2015 Nepal earthquake
2019
International audience; The efficient and effective response to disasters critically depends on humanitarian supply chains (HSCs). HSCs need to be flexible to adapt to uncertainties in needs, infrastructure conditions, and behavior of other organizations. The concept of ‘network flexibility’ is, however, not clearly defined. The lack of an unanimous definition has led to a lack of consistent understanding and comparisons. This paper makes a threefold contribution: first, it defines the concept of network flexibility for HSC in the context of sudden onset disasters. Second, it proposes a framework to measure network flexibility in HSCs. Third, we apply our framework to the 2015 Nepal earthqu…
Operational and financial effectiveness of e-collaboration tools in supply chain integration
2004
This paper develops a comprehensive model of supply chain integration and uses it to analyze and assess the operational and financial effectiveness of different e-collaboration tools at various levels of supply chain integration. This model is also used to evaluate the importance of the sequence in which e-collaboration tools are adopted in supply chain integration. Computational results from a validated system dynamics simulation model with different implementation sequences of e-collaboration tools and different financial scenarios show that local financial constraints can also severely impact operational and financial performance of the entire supply chain. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rig…
Energy and environmental life cycle assessment of an institutional catering service: An Italian case study
2019
Food production is recognised as one of the major drivers for global environmental pressure. In the last years, changes in consumption models result in an increasing population consuming food out of home that pose the catering service sector at the centre of the European Union policies aimed at improving the environmental sustainability of the food sector. In this framework, better technical knowledge on the environmental impacts of catering service is essential in order to identify potential actions towards a more sustainable food sector. This article presents an environmental assessment of a school catering service operating in Italy and delivering approximately 2,518,128 meals per year. …
Towards a more sustainable food Supply chain: opening up invisible waste in food service
2016
Future challenges to the global food supply chain are complex. In order to embrace sustainability, companies should change their management practices towards more efficient resource use. Food waste being a misuse of resources, we identify its causes and possible ways of minimising it. To achieve this goal, we conducted explorative research with qualitative and quantitative data through in-depth semi-structured interviews and an open questionnaire with top Spanish food service companies. Results show that most businesses mainly tend to minimise food waste according to economic criteria, without taking into account the social, ethical or environmental factors. As a consequence, just “visible”…
Assessing the carbon footprint across the supply chain: Cow milk vs soy drink
2022
Abstract Since livestock product consumption could have a significant effect on tackling climate change, in the few last years, there has been an increasing consumer demand for non-dairy alternatives. Despite plant-based beverages being considered crucial to foster the transition towards sustainable diet models, no studies have yet compared the level of emissions of plant-based beverages with animal-based ones. The present study aims at computing the carbon footprint of cow milk and that of soy drink and evaluating the carbon footprint results in the light of the substitutability of cow's milk with soy drink, analyzing the potential environmental, economic and nutritional trade-offs between…
Inventory record inaccuracy in supply chains: the role of workers' behavior
2014
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of inventory record inaccuracy due to behavioral aspects of workers on the order and inventory variance amplification. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a continuous-time analytical approach to describe the effect of inbound throughput on the inventory and order variance amplification due to the workload pressure and arousal of workers. The model is numerically solved through simulation and results are analyzed with statistical general linear model. Findings – Inventory management policies that usually dampen variance amplification are not effective when inaccuracy is generated due to workers’ behavioral aspects. Sp…
Sostenibilità nelle global supply chains: uno schema di analisi della letteratura
2022
Il presente lavoro si pone l’obiettivo di ricercare quali siano i differenti livelli di governance impegnati nell’implementazione di pratiche di sostenibilità aziendale e come questi siano influenzati e, allo stesso tempo, influenzino distinti contesti istituzionali. A tal fine, viene offerta una revisione della letteratura interpretando la ricerca con due chiavi di lettura, attinenti rispettivamente agli studi di International Corporate Governance e Institutional Theory. Vengono utilizzate due chiavi di lettura distinte per analizzare come, le multinazionali, coinvolte in strutture di governance multilivello e, operanti in contesti istituzionali caratterizzati da sistemi di capitalismo dif…
Innovative and Sustainable Food Business Models
2019
Companies are called upon to solve the great challenges of the new millennium. The food sector, from this point of view, plays a strategic role. Poverty, malnutrition, hunger, climate change, and social inequalities are just some of the trends which the agri-food sector has to cope with. The digital transformation that companies will need to embrace to survive requires new ways of creating, thinking, and working with technology-driven tools to provide value for their businesses and customers. Digitization, whether it pertains to new technologies, the analysis of big data or the development of on-line and spatial applications, can contribute to achieving systemic food production transformati…