scholarly journals On the medication distribution system for home health care through convenience stores, lockers, and home delivery

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 3163-3183
Author(s):  
Sirirat Suwatcharachaitiwong ◽  
Chun-Cheng Lin ◽  
Weidong Huang ◽  
Lun-Ping Hung
Keyword(s):  
Home Health Care ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Home Delivery ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Medication Delivery ◽  
Logistics Company ◽  
Medication Distribution ◽  
Vehicle Routes

Medication distribution service can be delivered based on a combination of home delivery and customer pickup. That is, medications are delivered either to customers’ homes directly or to the pickup facilities (e.g. lockers) close to customers’ homes. In Taiwan, there are more than 11,000 convenience stores that provide a 24-h service for customers to pick up the ordered items from e-commerce, which is unique to the world. In the medication distribution system, convenience stores can provide a unique opportunity for customers to more conveniently collect medications at stores, and also can reduce the operating cost for a logistics company providing the medication delivery service. Therefore, this work proposes a medication distribution system through convenience stores, lockers, and home delivery. Under this system, this work investigates how to simultaneously determine employment of convenience store chains, the convenience store locations to be visited, locations of lockers, vehicle routes for convenience stores and lockers, and vehicle routes for customers’ homes, so that the total operating cost is minimized. This work further proposes a genetic algorithm to solve the medication distribution problem. Through simulation, the experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is able to solve the problem efficiently.

Consumer confusion moderates the inertia–purchase intention relationship

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Yuwen Shiu ◽  
Shian-Yang Tzeng
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Brand Image ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Consumer Trust ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Consumer Confusion ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
The Relationship

We investigated the moderating effect of consumer confusion on the relationship between inertia and purchase intention. Customers (N = 166) were approached randomly with a request to complete our survey as they finished shopping at a convenience store in Taiwan in August 2014. The results revealed that the purchase intention behavior relied on consumer inertia, which increased when consumers were confused because they were less capable of making rational buying decisions when choosing between retailer brands in the marketplace. In a marketing campaign context, our findings show that substantial differentiation is crucial for convenience store chains to strengthen the belief system and behavioral routines of their customers, thereby helping the convenience stores to strengthen their brand image, build consumer trust, achieve a competitive advantage, and capture a greater share of the market in both the short and long term.

Inventory Management Process

2013 ◽  
pp. 106-120
Author(s):  
Amit Agrahari ◽  
Saket Jhunjhunwala
Keyword(s):  
Inventory Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Retail Stores ◽  
Management Process ◽  
The West ◽  
Teaching Case ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Indian Context

This case captures inventory management process in an Indian convenience store. Unlike retail stores in developed countries, Indian convenience stores are a special format of organized retailing, where retailers open multiple smaller stores in a town instead of one big centralised store. An excellent inventory management process is the key to make such stores perform well. This case describes inventory management problems faced by an Indian convenience store chain and asks students to propose solutions to these problems. This case illustrates how processes realities and their IT solutions differ in an emerging economy. Using inventory management process as an example, this teaching case can introduce students to the process and technological realities in an Indian context and differences between India and the West.

Supply Chain Hub and Spoke Model for Convenience Stores

2020 ◽  
pp. 617-633
Author(s):  
Sandeep Subhashrao Pratapwar
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Hub And Spoke ◽  
Profit Margins ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Supply Chain Model

As grocery retailers have limited profit margin, the players in the industry are constantly looking for cost effective supply chain model for increasing profit margins. Any convenience store should have assortment which is more suitable for the local target customers but the company might receive the inventory from multiple sources. In this chapter we have proposed a new way to handle the supply chain for the convenience store, that is, Hub and Spoke model between Hypermarket/Supermarket/Supercenter and Convenience store. In this model Spoke (Convenience Store) receives all inventory from single source, that is, Hub (Hypermarket/Supermarket/Supercenter), hence there is a significant reduction in the logistics cost. This will allow the retailer to be more focused on customer service which in turn will make more loyalists for the store.

Educational Program for Promoting Collaboration Between Community Care Professionals and Convenience Stores

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 760-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayumi Igarashi ◽  
Hiroshige Matsumoto ◽  
Manami Takaoka ◽  
Haruna Kugai ◽  
Miho Suzuki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Educational Program ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Questionnaire Surveys ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults

Convenience stores play an important role in supporting community-dwelling older adults’ lives. This study aimed to describe the development of and to evaluate an educational program to promote collaboration between communities and convenience stores in Japan. We developed the educational program based on interviews of convenience store staff to encourage them to collaborate with health/social care professionals for helping older adults. We conducted pre- and post-program questionnaire surveys of 184 participants to evaluate the program. After the program, the total score for attitudes toward dementia ( p = .010) improved significantly among the convenience store staff. On the contrary, the score for “solidarity and proactiveness,” a subscale for sense of community, improved significantly among health/social care professionals ( p = .003). This educational program can have a significant effect on the perceptions and attitudes for supporting older adults, depending on the participants’ occupations. This educational program could foster community networks, leading to an age-friendly community.

Strategies for the Leftover Food Treatment Process: A Case Study of Convenience Store Deli-Style Food Products in Taiwan

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 853-860
Author(s):  
Jui-Che Tu ◽  
◽  
Yi-Lin Lee
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Family Structure ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Food Culture ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Fresh Food

The density of convenience stores in Taiwan is the highest in the world. Among the numerous commodities, the market competition for fresh food products is the fiercest and has become a focus of convenience store operations. Due to the change in Taiwanese lifestyles and consumer acceptance of the dining-out model, the demand and supply of fresh food products in convenience stores continues to increase. To benefit marketing performance, not only do convenience stores carry out promotional activities by reducing the price of products but they constantly innovate the taste and variety of fresh food products. For example, the tide of Taiwanese bento, during which promotions were implemented in the President Chain Store, has changed consumer diet habits; despite the raised price, consumers are still willing to purchase the product. However, convenient, real-time fresh food brought by this convenience store usually causes a massive waste of food. In its manufacturing and production processes, the food production chain ranks among the top three for national greenhouse gases. Whenever a piece of food is wasted, greenhouse gases are produced. Moreover, more resources are consumed to dispose of the wasted foods and garbage, further increasing greenhouse gas emissions and multiplying the carbon footprint. The phenomenon of excessive food waste has become an urgent issue in recent years in Taiwan, which is famous for its convenient food culture and service. In addition, because of Taiwan’s special economic development status, as well as rapid urbanization and family structure change, the ways to jointly affect this special consumption and food culture have become a topic worthy of discussion. Therefore, this research selected cooked food products in convenience stores as the main subject to explore the effect of social status and diet consumption from the perspective of daily social patterns and family structure data. It also examined the dilemma of excessive waste of food, to provide improvement advice as a reference to future relevant social policies and research.

scholarly journals Kids in a Candy Store:  An objective analysis of children's interactions with food in convenience stores

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina McKerchar ◽  
Moira Smith ◽  
Ryan Gage ◽  
Jonathan Williman ◽  
Gillian Abel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Dietary Behaviour ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Unhealthy Food ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Product Packaging ◽  
Sugary Drinks ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Food And Drink

Abstract Background: Increasing rates of childhood obesity worldwide has focused attention on the obesogenic food environment and how it influences dietary behaviour and bodyweight in children. The neighbourhood convenience store is a key setting in children’s food environments. The Kids’Cam study enabled the objective measurement of the world in which children live. This paper reports on an analysis of children’s interaction with food in convenience stores.Methods: Kids’Cam NZ was a cross-sectional study conducted from July 2014 to June 2015 in the Wellington region of New Zealand, in which 168 randomly selected children aged 11-14 years old wore a wearable camera for a 4-day period. The camera captured a 136° image of the children’s surroundings every seven seconds. In this ancillary study, ‘Kids’Cam Convenience Stores’, images from children who visited a convenience store were manually coded for food and drink availability, marketing, purchase and consumption. Results: Twenty-two percent of children (n=37) visited convenience stores on 62 occasions during the 4-day data collection period. Non-core items dominated the food and drinks available to children in convenience stores at a rate of 8.3 to 1 (means, 300 non-core and 36 core, respectively). The food and drinks marketed in-store were overwhelmingly non-core, and promoted using accessible placement, price offers, product packaging, and signage. Most of the 70 items purchased by children were non-core foods or drinks (94.6%) and all of the purchased food or drink subsequently consumed by children was non-core. Confectionary and sugary drinks were the items most frequently purchased and consumed. Conclusions: This research highlights convenience stores as a key source of unhealthy food and drink for children, where unhealthy food and drinks are marketed, available, and subsequently purchased and consumed. Policies are urgently needed to reduce the role of convenience stores in the obesogenic food environment in which children live.

scholarly journals Optimal Operation of Microgrid considering Renewable Energy Sources, Electric Vehicles and Demand Response

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 01007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surender Reddy Salkuti
Keyword(s):  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Hybrid System ◽  
Demand Response ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
The Cost

This paper proposes a new optimal operation of Microgrids (MGs) in a distribution system with wind energy generators (WEGs), solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems, battery energy storage (BES) systems, electric vehicles (EVs) and demand response (DR). To reduce the fluctuations of wind, solar PV powers and load demands, the BES systems and DR are utilized in the proposed hybrid system. The detailed modeling of WEGs, solar PV units, load demands, BES systems and EVs has been presented in this paper. The objective considered here is the minimization of total operating cost of microgrid, and it is formulated by considering the cost of power exchange between the main power grid and microgrid, cost of wind and solar PV energy systems, cost of BES systems, EVs and the cost due to the DR in the system. Simulations are performed on a test microgrid, and they are implemented using GAMS software. Various case studies are performed with and without considering the proposed hybrid system.

How Convenience, Price, Store Layout and Technology Influence Buying Behaviour of Different Millennial Groups in the Convenience Store in Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dam Thi Phuong Thao
Keyword(s):  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Retail Market ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Buying Behaviour

It is undeniable that convenience stores have expanded rapidly in the Vietnam retail market in recent years [1]. Convenience store chains such as Circle K, 7-Eleven, VinMart and B's Mart have been popular grocery shopping destinations for shoppers in Vietnam due to the busy modern life and the restricted time for shopping. Noticeably, Millennials with the tremendous spending power have become an important shopper group of the convenience store. This research goes to find out the Millennials' buying behaviour and the influential levels of factors including convenience, store layout, price and technology on different Millennial groups in this market.  

Prevalence and characteristics of tobacco purchases in convenience stores: results of a postpurchase intercept survey in Dunedin, New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 696-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Robertson ◽  
Claire Cameron ◽  
Janet A Hoek ◽  
Trudy Sullivan ◽  
Louise Marsh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Convenience Store ◽  
Tobacco Products ◽  
Trade Associations ◽  
Tobacco Sales ◽  
Convenience Stores ◽  
Intercept Survey ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Cost

IntroductionArguments regarding the importance of tobacco to convenience stores could impede the adoption of tobacco retail reduction policies. Although trade associations argue tobacco constitutes two-thirds of convenience store sales and drives footfall, few studies have tested these claims. We therefore examined the prevalence and characteristics of tobacco purchases at convenience stores in Dunedin, New Zealand.MethodsWe conducted a postpurchase survey at 20 convenience stores, each visited for three 60 min intervals over a 4-week period. We used descriptive statistics to determine proportions and 95% CIs of transactions that contained tobacco and those that contained only non-tobacco items. We estimated the mean number of items purchased, the mean number of non-tobacco items purchased and mean expenditure on non-tobacco items.ResultsFourteen per cent of transactions contained tobacco (n=95/679); of those, 64% comprised tobacco only. Only 5% of all transactions included both tobacco and non-tobacco products. The mean number of non-tobacco items purchased was 1.9 for transactions containing only non-tobacco products and 1.7 for transactions containing both tobacco and non-tobacco products. After excluding the cost of tobacco, people who purchased tobacco and non-tobacco products spent on average $5.11 on non-tobacco items, whereas people who purchased only non-tobacco items spent on average $6.85.ConclusionsTobacco products constitute a small proportion of items purchased from Dunedin convenience stores and are typically not purchased with non-tobacco items. Our findings are inconsistent with arguments that most small retailers rely on tobacco sales.

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