scholarly journals Analysis of the Optimal Application of Blockchain-Based Smart Lockers in the Logistics Industry Based on FFD-SAGA and Grey Decision-Making

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 329
Author(s):  
Shen-Tsu Wang ◽  
Meng-Hua Li ◽  
Chun-Chi Lien
Keyword(s):  
Web Application ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Application Programming Interface ◽  
Fractional Factorial ◽  
Office Workers ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Multiple Attribute

Blockchain technology has been applied to logistics tracking, but it is not cost-effective. The development of smart lockers has solved the problem of repeated distribution to improve logistics efficiency, thereby becoming a solution with convenience and privacy compared to the in-store purchase and pickup alternative. This study prioritized the key factors of smart lockers using a simulated annealing–genetic algorithm by fractional factorial design (FFD-SAGA) and grey relational analysis, and investigated the main users of smart lockers by grey multiple attribute decision analysis. The results show that the Web application programming interface (API) concatenation and money flow provider are the key success factors of smart lockers, and office workers are the main users of the lockers. Hence, how to better meet the needs of office workers will be an issue of concern for service providers.

State of third party logistics providers in China

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (9) ◽  
pp. 1322-1343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Wee Kwan Tan ◽  
Zhao Yifei ◽  
Dali Zhang ◽  
Olli-Pekka Hilmola
Keyword(s):  
Success Factors ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Third Party Logistics ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Trends

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify global trends in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, and with that to find out where the opportunities and challenges lie, what the critical success factors are, and how companies can position themselves well in China. As there is currently very limited knowledge about the 3PL industry in China, this study also intends to shed light in this area. Design/methodology/approach – The study is conducted through focus group interviews with senior executives of leading 3PL companies in China followed by a survey with 70 logistics companies. Findings – The key strengths of the logistics industry in China include numerous factors such as good connectivity and new infrastructure, while its main weaknesses are a shortage of qualified staff and slow adoption of technologies. There are a number of concerns and issues raised, such as lack of qualified staff, oversupply of warehousing space in China, competition from the influx of foreign 3PL companies to China, and regulations on free trade zones, seaports and airports, all of which may have policy implications. Research limitations/implications – As most of the logistics companies in the study are located and dominating in the Eastern and Southern China, it may be useful to conduct similar study in the new emerging western and central regions of China for comparison. Practical implications – Managers and investors will appreciate the challenges and opportunities in logistics services in China and have a better insight into Chinese logistics development. Originality/value – While China has been viewed as a cost effective place for manufacturing, the logistical costs in China are still very high as compared to other developed countries. This research will highlight the key reasons for the high logistical cost in China.

Meta-analysis of institutional-economic factors explaining the environmental performance of payments for watershed services

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 380-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROY BROUWER ◽  
ABONESH TESFAYE ◽  
PIETER PAUW
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Future Design ◽  
Watershed Services

SUMMARYPayments for ecosystem services (PES) are a relatively new economic policy instrument, and the factors that drive and explain their environmental performance are poorly understood. Here a meta-analysis of causal relationships between the institutional design and environmental performance of 47 payments for watershed services (PWS) schemes worldwide showed a significant effect on environmental achievement of the terms and conditions of scheme participation, including the selection of service providers, community participation, the existence and monitoring of quantifiable objectives, and the number of intermediaries between service providers and buyers. Direct payments by downstream hydropower companies to upstream land owners for reduced sediment loads were identified as a successful PWS example. No other significant explanatory factors, such as specific type of watershed service, age or scale of implementation of the PWS scheme were detected. The results are highly dependent on the reliability of the input variables, in particular the measurement of the environmental performance variable. Despite efforts to find quantitative information on the environmental performance of existing PWS schemes, such empirical evidence is lacking in many of the schemes studied. International monitoring guidelines are needed to facilitate comparisons, identify success factors and support the future design of cost-effective PWS schemes.

scholarly journals Innovative Delegation Application in Thai National Digital Identity Platform

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (14) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Pensri Arunwatanamongkol ◽  
Natawut Nupairoj ◽  
Uthai Tanlamai
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Web Application ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
End Users ◽  
Digital Identity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mobile Web ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Acceptance Model ◽  
Prototype Design

<span lang="EN-US">The national digital identity platform is a robust scheme that enables individuals and entities to prove who they are to digitally access critical information or services. However, </span><span lang="EN-US">c</span><span lang="EN-US">urrent digital identity systems do not sufficiently consider delegation between entities from the viewpoint of dynamic authorizers and permissions. This study aims to understand the pain points and expectations of end-users and service providers in the Thai national digital identity platform, to design </span><span lang="EN-US">a dynamic delegation model </span><span lang="EN-US">and develop an innovative delegation application to test user acceptance. The research utilizes semi-structured interviews with 3 digital identity experts, two focus groups, one with 6 service providers, and the other one with 6 end-users. Based on results from the data analysis and conceptual prototype design, validated by experts, the proposed prototype is practical and suitable for developing a digital </span><span lang="EN-US">delegation </span><span lang="EN-US">mobile web application that is convenient, safe, secure, and reliable utilizing blockchain technology under the Thai national digital identity platform. </span><span lang="EN-US">The technology acceptance model</span><span lang="EN-US"> was used to test the application acceptance </span><span lang="EN-US">with </span><span lang="EN-US">42 participants</span><span lang="EN-US">. </span><span lang="EN-US">The result reveals that both person and businesses intend to adopt the digital delegation mobile web application.</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US">Use cases of the application include users give their power to trusted entities and Government Agency to provide services to the citizens via the authorized delegatee.</span>

A Study of Business Performance Measurement of Third Party Logistics (3PL) Organizations in the Indian Logistics Industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Smriti Asthana ◽  
Hamlata Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Performance Variables ◽  
Organisational Effectiveness ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Relationship

The Indian logistics industry is growing rapidly. It is the interchange of infrastructure, technology and new types of service providers that define whether the industry is able to help its customers reduce their logistics costs and provide effective services. Logistics services are the backbone of an economy, providing the efficient, cost effective flow of goods and services on which other commercial sectors are dependent. The logistics companies work as the outsourced or third party service providers (3PL) and support the organizations logistics functions. This study of business performance measurement of 3PL organizations or logistics outsourcing in Indian logistics industry explores the relationship between 3PL service providers and supply chain partners (both upstream and downstream). The researchers have made an attempt to determine the relationship on the basis of the performance variables such as Service Quality (SQ), Organisational Effectiveness (OE) and Relationship Management (RM) and there effect on the performance of the third party service provider(s).

Got the Results, Now What Do You Do?

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Heese
Keyword(s):  
Safety Culture ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Driving Safety ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Culture Transformation ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Air Navigation Services ◽  
Navigation Service

Members of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation have committed themselves to measure and improve safety culture within their organizations by 2013 ( CANSO, 2010 ). This paper attempts to offer support to air navigation service providers that have already implemented a standardized safety culture survey approach, in the process of transforming their safety culture based on existing survey results. First, an overview of the state of the art with respect to safety culture is presented. Then the application of the CANSO safety culture model from theory into practice is demonstrated based on four selected case studies. Finally, a summary of practical examples for driving safety culture change is provided, and critical success factors supporting the safety culture transformation process are discussed.

The Role of Economic Evaluation in Dissemination and Implementation Research

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramesh Raghavan
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Dissemination And Implementation ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Public Health Organizations ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Dissemination And Implementation Research

This chapter presents an overview of how D&I research can be evaluated from an economic point of view. Dissemination and implementation imposes costs upon knowledge purveyors, provider organizations, public health organizations, and payers (including governments). However, whether these added costs will result in improved service delivery and, perhaps more importantly, client outcomes and improvements in population health remain as open questions. If emerging studies reveal that defined implementation strategies are more cost effective than “usual” implementation, then policymakers and service providers will need to resource these added costs of implementation in order to assure the success and sustainability of high-quality health services over the long term.

Efficient Schedule of Energy-Constrained UAV Using Crowdsourced Buses in Last-Mile Parcel Delivery

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Yan Pan ◽  
Shining Li ◽  
Qianwu Chen ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Tao Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Scheduling Algorithm ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Delivery Scheduling ◽  
Schedule Approach

Stimulated by the dramatical service demand in the logistics industry, logistics trucks employed in last-mile parcel delivery bring critical public concerns, such as heavy cost burden, traffic congestion and air pollution. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a promising alternative tool in last-mile delivery, which is however limited by insufficient flight range and load capacity. This paper presents an innovative energy-limited logistics UAV schedule approach using crowdsourced buses. Specifically, when one UAV delivers a parcel, it first lands on a crowdsourced social bus to parcel destination, gets recharged by the wireless recharger deployed on the bus, and then flies from the bus to the parcel destination. This novel approach not only increases the delivery range and load capacity of battery-limited UAVs, but is also much more cost-effective and environment-friendly than traditional methods. New challenges therefore emerge as the buses with spatiotemporal mobility become the bottleneck during delivery. By landing on buses, an Energy-Neutral Flight Principle and a delivery scheduling algorithm are proposed for the UAVs. Using the Energy-Neutral Flight Principle, each UAV can plan a flying path without depleting energy given buses with uncertain velocities. Besides, the delivery scheduling algorithm optimizes the delivery time and number of delivered parcels given warehouse location, logistics UAVs, parcel locations and buses. Comprehensive evaluations using a large-scale bus dataset demonstrate the superiority of the innovative logistics UAV schedule approach.

Cyberspace at the Grassroots: E-Governance and Citizen/Stakeholder Perceptions at the Local Level in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
pp. 245513332110340
Author(s):  
Habib Zafarullah ◽  
Jannatul Ferdous
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Citizen Perceptions

Bangladesh has experimented with e-governance since the early 2000s and currently ranks among the top 10 least developed countries. The deployment of e-governance at the local level has provided benefits to the rural people, with local councils increasingly using information and communications technology (ICT) to expand community-based delivery systems and augment rural service delivery. One-stop cyber centres provide a range of services that are user-friendly, cost-effective and less time-consuming. This study focuses on five sub-districts to inquire about the range of services provided by the e-service centres there. It has recorded citizen perceptions and the level of their satisfaction and the observations of service providers about the e-service mechanism. It also identifies key challenges in service delivery. Citizen satisfaction was measured using 12 indicators, while the service provider observations focused on social issues, governance, resource and technical issues. The study found several issues requiring attention to consolidate the e-governance system in the country.

scholarly journals An Incentive-based Mechanism for Volunteer Computing Using Blockchain

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Ismaeel Al Ridhawi ◽  
Moayad Aloqaily ◽  
Yaser Jararweh
Keyword(s):  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Secure Communication ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Volunteer Computing ◽  
Resource Usage ◽  
Content Filtering ◽  
Computing Device ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Smart Agriculture ◽  
Industrial Solutions

The rise of fast communication media both at the core and at the edge has resulted in unprecedented numbers of sophisticated and intelligent wireless IoT devices. Tactile Internet has enabled the interaction between humans and machines within their environment to achieve revolutionized solutions both on the move and in real-time. Many applications such as intelligent autonomous self-driving, smart agriculture and industrial solutions, and self-learning multimedia content filtering and sharing have become attainable through cooperative, distributed, and decentralized systems, namely, volunteer computing. This article introduces a blockchain-enabled resource sharing and service composition solution through volunteer computing. Device resource, computing, and intelligence capabilities are advertised in the environment to be made discoverable and available for sharing with the aid of blockchain technology. Incentives in the form of on-demand service availability are given to resource and service providers to ensure fair and balanced cooperative resource usage. Blockchains are formed whenever a service request is initiated with the aid of fog and mobile edge computing (MEC) devices to ensure secure communication and service delivery for the participants. Using both volunteer computing techniques and tactile internet architectures, we devise a fast and reliable service provisioning framework that relies on a reinforcement learning technique. Simulation results show that the proposed solution can achieve high reward distribution, increased number of blockchain formations, reduced delays, and balanced resource usage among participants, under the premise of high IoT device availability.

scholarly journals Towards Secure Network Computing Services for Lightweight Clients Using Blockchain

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Xu ◽  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Jidian Yang ◽  
Ju Ren ◽  
Yaoxue Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Security Analysis ◽  
Service Provisioning ◽  
Network Computing ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Computing Services ◽  
Viable Solution ◽  
Secure Network ◽  
Iot Devices

The emerging network computing technologies have significantly extended the abilities of the resource-constrained IoT devices through the network-based service sharing techniques. However, such a flexible and scalable service provisioning paradigm brings increased security risks to terminals due to the untrustworthy exogenous service codes loading from the open network. Many existing security approaches are unsuitable for IoT environments due to the high difficulty of maintenance or the dependencies upon extra resources like specific hardware. Fortunately, the rise of blockchain technology has facilitated the development of service sharing methods and, at the same time, it appears a viable solution to numerous security problems. In this paper, we propose a novel blockchain-based secure service provisioning mechanism for protecting lightweight clients from insecure services in network computing scenarios. We introduce the blockchain to maintain all the validity states of the off-chain services and edge service providers for the IoT terminals to help them get rid of untrusted or discarded services through provider identification and service verification. In addition, we take advantage of smart contracts which can be triggered by the lightweight clients to help them check the validities of service providers and service codes according to the on-chain transactions, thereby reducing the direct overhead on the IoT devices. Moreover, the adoptions of the consortium blockchain and the proof of authority consensus mechanism also help to achieve a high throughput. The theoretical security analysis and evaluation results show that our approach helps the lightweight clients get rid of untrusted edge service providers and insecure services effectively with acceptable latency and affordable costs.

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