Information Technology in Supply Chain Management

The process of producing and selling items, from the beginning of delivering raw materials till their end of production and sale for consumers, is referred to as a supply chain. In the present era, supply chain management has also transformed according to the requirement and changing complexities. It is a netting of businesses that work together so that things like logistics, stock management, transport, etc. go as smoothly as they can, including suppliers, manufacturers, carriers, distributors, and retailers. Companies have been trying to develop ways of enhancing flexibility and reaction and competitiveness by changes in their operational strategies, processes, and technology.

Performance evaluation of after-sales service partners in the power tools industry

After-sales service (ASS) is a product support activity provided to customers; after-sales service that focuses on quality can create a sustainable competitive advantage. This study aims to the ASS performance, analyze the causes of performance constraints that occur in ASS and recommendations for improving the performance of ASS conceptually. Service partner performance achievement can be assessed from four categories, i.e. very good, good, bad, and poor, based on the actual level of performance compared to performance targets. The sample of this research is 12 ASS partners in the electrical equipment industry in West Java and Jakarta. Factors causing failure were analyzed descriptively using the fault tree analysis (FTA) method, which involved experts in focus group discussions (FGD). Based on the evaluation, 25% of partners were rated good, 50% poor, and 25% very poor. Partner performance achievement is carried out on 22 performance indicators, of which 20 performance indicators have not achieved a good rating. These indicators relate to brand issues, warranty, training, parts control and stock management, pricing, and service systems, including service centers and service facilities. The proposed concept that becomes a recommendation for improving the performance of power tools ASS is improving the operating system and the selection of partners in the service center and service dealer categories with industrial customer segmentation.

Modeling the risks process, associated with the violation of rolling stock operation

The article analyzes a possible approach to the construction of a risk management model at the enterprises of the locomotive complex of JSC "Russian Railways" performing rolling stock operation. The suggested model can be implemented in a system for organizing the safety of rolling stock operation. The relevance of improving safety is particularly acute when operating high-tech rolling stock with a high complexity of control algorithms. The objetive is the analysis and development of solutions to improve operational efficiency using a model that provides solutions to the problems of choosing optimal and safe operating modes from the point of view of implementing rolling stock management processes. Reducing the number of violations during the operation of rolling stock can be realized with the active use of a risk-based model that takes into account the possibility of predicting factors that affect the occurrence of risks. In this regard, the issues related to the implementation of risk management in operational locomotive depots are considered. The most rational approach to the implementation of risk management for a variety of uncontrolled factors that have a significant impact on the safety and accident-free operation is given. A model for solving multi-criteria problems is suggested as one of the options for choosing the safe operation of rolling stock.

Habitat deterioration despite protection: long-term declines of littoral area of fishponds in Czech nature reserves

Fishponds play a key role in current pondscapes in many developed countries. Their littoral areas, supporting multiple ecosystem functions including the maintenance of aquatic and riparian biodiversity, have been adversely affected by the move shift towards more intensive aquaculture and widespread eutrophication in the middle 20th century. To counteract these changes, many fishponds received some protection, but its long-term efficiency has not been studied. Here we focus on the role of conservation status in protecting the area of littoral areas of fishponds in Czechia between the years 1950 and 2019. We found that the conservation status of these fishponds did not prevent habitat deterioration in most of the fishponds, especially during the second half of the 20th century. Moreover, we detected no significant effects of the reserve establishment year, fishpond area and conservation target on the littoral areas. This suggests that the conservation measures are insufficient across fishpond reserve types. We attribute the negative trends to persisting high fish stocks, especially of common carp, and eutrophication resulting from additional feeding, pond manuring, and ongoing nutrient inputs from the pond catchments. Sediment dredging and high grazing pressure by waterfowl in some reserves can further aggravate the situation. We conclude that effective protection of the littoral areas requires a paradigm shift towards less intensive fish stock management, more frequent summer drainage, and effective reduction of all nutrient inputs to increase the water quality. Such measures can help recover the littoral areas and the associated biota.

Cybernetic estimation of reserve utilization efficiency

This study relates to the field of verification of cybernetic estimates of the use of reserves as criteria for the effectiveness of transformative class systems with a continuous supply of a technological product. The task set here attracted even more attention after the advent of improved approaches that make it possible to automatically change the control trajectories of technological systems in real time. In such cases, the assessment of the current status of the process and the efficiency of stock management has become an integral part of the operation of the management subsystems. Therefore, the development and verification of cybernetic assessment of effectiveness for such control systems is a relevant issue. The first stage of the reported research involved the development of a cybernetic model of operation with distributed parameters. Four formal features have been proposed. Finding integral functions of these features has made it possible to obtain an idea of some quantitative characteristics of the process while finding the second time-dependent integral characteristic has made it possible to represent the physical and cybernetic parameters of the process. At the second stage, formulas for calculating the main assessment indicators were proposed; their verification was carried out under three different control trajectories, which showed the adequacy of the devised approach. The final step was to develop three variations of the efficiency formula, which is calculated at set points in time throughout the entire production cycle. Thus, cybernetic assessment of the effectiveness of the use of reserves makes it possible to formalize and fully automate the processes of optimization and adaptation of the functional systems of an enterprise

CASE STUDY OF A BAKER COMPANY: WHEAT STOCK MANAGEMENT EVALUATION

The goal problem of this work is to propose improvement of wheat inventory management of a bakery, applying the inventory management method “P” and opportunity cost analysis. The study makes historical analysis of the company and proposes the adequacy of the model in order to reduce waste and production inefficiency. The adopted methodology is the case study, because the author does not have direct action during the elaboration of the work. The study shows through the basic calculations of the management model literature “P”, in order to propose the adequacy. The improvement proposal involves new quantities and periodicities of purchase, showing the feasibility of the opportunity cost study, seeking to insert the company's management model to the proposed one.

Standardization Lead to Potential Cost Saving in the One of the Clusters in Southern of Sultanate of Oman

This paper is for people to realize a strategic way of continuous improvement though optimization and standardization process with a minimum of 10% target cost reduction while developing capability in the organization in the south of Oman. BN area is one of the main production areas in PDO (Petroleum Development of Oman) and is being operated under BR cluster from 1980s. Approximately eleven fields in the BN area are contributing to the success today. Continuous improvement through optimization and cost reduction has always been a top priority, where long term production and safety has been fulfilled. In 2020, this team has been put together to look into the overall cost saving potential with the clear management steering of "Do not Leave any Stone Unturned". A mixture of experience and young team members are retained to ensure capability development in the organization. One of the key items that this team looked at is to standardize of upcoming Oil Producers and Water Injectors well design. The well design in at least 7 fields in the BN area has been reviewed and realized the value and risk through competitive scoping exercise. By avoiding looking at the fields in isolation, the team has considered a similarity of well functionality and had identified where the standard well design can be applied. Minimum functional requirements lead to minimum technical specification and building into a staircase of option with clear associated risk for each option. Through the analysis, a potential optimization of an existing well design has been discovered and is currently undergone further maturation toward design endorsement. With the maturation of the uniformity of well design in the area, it is foreseeing as an opportunity to ensure improvement can be sustained in the long run. Minimum 10% saving of well cost through standardization and efficiency in project management is a target set, aiming to provide stability in planning. In addition, the team are looking into even more than 10% cost saving through innovative contracting strategy. It could potentially help to speed up the delivery of the project, accelerate production with less waiting time i.e. improve material stock management, simplify procurement process, ensure that the experience remains in the organization and will allow for replication in the future. The approach involves a combination of integrating team from subsurface, surface, wells, contract, and procurement to enhance cost saving to the company. This has proven to be effective and aligned with the company's focus to consolidate a commercial mind-set thinking in each development.

Agricultural engineering based on system analysis and elctronic imaging

In this paper, we present the need for system analysis and electronic imaging for the study of Agricultural Engineering. In fact, the system analysis aims to structure the analysis of agricultural systems. In fact, we present a literature review of system analysis and the need for electronic imaging. Then, two applications of Agricultural Engineering are presented. In fact, the basic principle of the application of stock management of a grain weighing system is presented. An application of the identification of the behavioral criteria of dairy cattle through electronic imaging is presented. Finally, the different results obtained from these applications are discussed.

OP321 The Scale And Variation Of The Impact Of COVID-19 On Prescribing Of Medicines In Primary Care In Wales

IntroductionPrescribing of medicines in primary care in Wales has been exceptional in 2020 due to COVID-19 and the associated changes to the delivery of health services. The changes are likely to have harmful, albeit unintended, consequences, including disruption of pharmacy stock management; unpredictable changes in prescribing; and interruption to patients’ supply of medicines and reduced medication adherence. Changes in prescribing are unlikely to be distributed evenly across the country or population. Therefore, this study aimed to identify changes in GP prescribing compared with previous years, the variation of these changes, and factors related to the variation in changes, to identify patient subgroups for whom the impact is disproportionate.MethodsWe identified medicines of interest where concerns around prescribing have been raised and, for each of these medicines, retrieved monthly prescribing data for each GP practice in Wales (N = 492). We then linked these data with other publicly available data (for example, practice size, indices of multiple deprivation, disease prevalence).We developed a novel approach to measure the impact of COVID-19 on GP prescribing. We compared observed with expected prescribing volume projected via time series modelling and differences were related to patient and practice characteristics using general estimating equations.ResultsThere was evidence of stockpiling of medicines during March 2020 (for example, oral-contraceptives and oral-anticoagulants with 11.6 and 18.5 percent increases from March 2019), followed by a short-term reduction in prescribing for oral-contraceptives (a reduction of 12.9 percent), but not oral-anticoagulants (an increase of 6.5 percent). However, GP level data show considerable deviation from the national trend for several GPs, which may be due to health and socio-demographic factors.ConclusionsCOVID-19 has had a major impact on primary care prescribing in Wales. The distribution of changes in prescribing will not be even across the country or the population. Identification of systematic variation in impacts on prescribing could identify geographical areas or patients in need of additional support to ensure uninterrupted and appropriate access to medicines.