EXPRESS: Service Provision in Distribution Channels

Consumers may need help using an inherently complex product after purchase. This paper studies a manufacturer’s and a retailer’s incentives to provide pre-sales service and after-sales support in a distribution channel. The authors consider a model in which a manufacturer makes wholesale-price and channel-service decisions. Subsequently, a retailer makes retail-price and channel-service decisions. They find that, in the equilibrium, both channel members provide pre-sales service. If the fixed-cost investment needed to enhance the effectiveness of after-sales support is small, the manufacturer lets the retailer provide after-sales support. But when it is above a threshold and the retailer becomes unwilling to invest in providing after-sales support, the manufacturer steps in and invests in providing it. As expected, when the fixed cost is too large, the manufacturer also opts out of providing after-sales support. Interestingly, when the retailer provides after-sales support, the level of pre-sales service and the demand for after-sales support can simultaneously be the highest among all configurations. Finally, the authors demonstrate the robustness of their main results by studying alternative channel-service configurations.

Target-setting for technological development of the Russian aircraft industry in the field of countering climate change

Subject. The article discusses the introduction of a Pigouvian tax on greenhouse gas emissions. Objectives. The objective of the study is to develop methods for setting the target level of CO2 emissions by Russian aircraft, based on Russia's national interests (both economic and environmental). Methods. The emission target was set on the basis of the classical approach of determining the economically optimal level of pollution at the intersection of the curves of marginal damage from pollution and marginal costs of eliminating pollution. The assessment of marginal costs of reducing CO2 emissions was based on the learning curves in the field of research and development aimed at reducing emissions. Results. We developed a method to set up the target level of CO2 emissions by Russian aircraft based on Russia's national interests (economic and environmental), rather than on external requirements dictated by competitor nations. Conclusions. According to the calculations on the basis of realistic estimates of fixed costs for reducing the carbon dioxide emissions, the utility is maximized with a reduction of CO2 emissions by 10% (for this method of assessing the damage to the State and with the realistic estimates of fixed cost of reducing carbon dioxide emissions).

On Designing a Socially Optimal Expedited Service and Its Impact on Individual Welfare

Problem definition: We consider the problem faced by a welfare-maximizing service provider who must make a decision on how to split a fixed quantity of resources between two variants of the service: a standard variant and an expedited variant. The service is mandatory, but customers can choose between the two variants. Choosing the expedited variant requires enrollment that incurs a fixed cost per period. Customers are strategic and have the same cost of waiting but are heterogeneous in the rate at which they use the service. Academic/practical relevance: The option of expedited security at U.S. airports (TSA PreCheck) is an instance where this problem arises. As has been the case with the PreCheck program, providers that offer expedited service may face criticism from customers, with the main concern being that the diversion of resources to expedited services increases wait time for regular customers. This has important policy implications for the provider, especially a government organization such as the TSA. Existing literature has focused on service differentiation as a means to maximize profit or overall social welfare, but its effect on individual customers has received little attention. Methodology: We find customer’s equilibrium decisions for any allocation choice made by the provider. Using the equilibrium result, we solve for the allocation choice that maximizes social welfare. Results: Even when customers behave strategically, an expedited service offered in parallel to a standard service cannot only increase overall welfare, but also do so for each customer individually. We also find that in a scenario where some customers lose out because of the expedited service, improving the efficiency of the expedited service is more effective than decreasing the enrollment cost to help those who are worse off. Managerial implications: The gains from offering expedited service do not have to come at the expense of regular customers. When they do, we provide recommendations for which decision levers are most effective at making the system fair.

ONION PRODUCTION AND MARKETING SYSTEM IN BALOCHISTAN PROVINCE

In Pakistan, onion is one of the most grown commercial crops in the various parts of the country. The study was carried out through a primary data collection from various stakeholders to examine the status of onion production in Balochistan province. The average per acre cost of production, productivity, profitability, input output ratio were analyzed. Furthermore, find out the issues and constraints faced by onion growers and recommend policy guidelines for sustainable onion production and marketing in the study area. Costs have been broken down in a variable, fixed and opportunity costs (depreciation and opportunity) costs for production factors that are owned by the onion growers. While the variable cost was high from other costs, among them seed rate cost was high in the variable cost and in the lowest costs was recorded in chemical weedicide from other variable costs and fixed cost was nil due to relief from Balochistan government, whereas total cost of production and net income was Rs.82737 and Rs.75665 per acre respectively found in the study area. Majority 67% seed dealers were reported that due to high ratio of population, more consumable, good seed quality, more benefit, short duration of time and more production of onion as the principal reason for increase seed suppliers over the past 5 years. Onion farmers must follow best methods in management and strive to adopt scientific guidance from local and other available sources, for example research stations, progressive producers and extension workers.

Impact of Diagnosis-Related Group Payment System on the Variation in Hospitalization Expenditures: A Case-Control Study with a Propensity-Score-Matched Control Group

Background One of the important ways to reduce medical costs and improve quality of care is to enable physicians to provide standard medical services according to clinical guidelines, and the medical payment system is a significant means of guiding the behaviour of health service providers. This study aims to investigate whether the diagnosis-related group (DRG) payment system can improve the consistency of health services. Method Inpatients with three types of disease—chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cerebral infarction (CI)—were enrolled from 25 county-level hospitals in a DRG pilot city in China. Inpatients from hospitals that implemented DRG payment were selected as the intervention group, and similar inpatient cases from hospitals that still implemented fee-for-services (FFS) payment were designated as the control group. A propensity matching score (PSM) was used for data matching to control for age, gender and disease severity. The variation of hospitalization expenditures and their trends before and after implementation of the DRG policy were described by using these matched samples. Results After DRG implementation, the standard deviation (SD) of hospitalization expenditures in the COPD, AMI and CI intervention groups decreased by 11094 yuan, 4833 yuan and 425 yuan, respectively, which were 5972, 2484, and 2938 yuan more than that in the control group. In each year after DRG implementation, the interquartile range (IQR) of hospitalization expenditures was smaller in DRG group than that in FFS group. In most years, the degree of variation in costs of the intervention group decreased more than that of the control group. The medians of hospitalization expenditures of the intervention groups were lower than the fixed cost, while most medians of the control groups were higher than the fixed cost. Conclusion A comparison of patients with similar demographics and disease characteristics revealed that patients in the DRG group experienced a smaller degree of variation in hospitalization expenditures, and indicated the expenditures had a tendency to become progressively more concentrated over time. It is suggested that DRG system can promote better consistency in health services and reduce medical costs.

Thermal Management of Hybrid Photovoltaic Systems

Photovoltaic cells can be quite sensitive to the change in temperature, as the entire system’s performance will be affected mainly by an increase in temperature. This is due to the degradation occurring in the solar panel when heat is absorbed, thus producing lesser electricity with the same amount of solar irradiance absorbed. Wind can provide additional cooling on the system; it is too unreliable to consider since wind can come unpredictably. For the design proposed, heat generated is carried away via the water channel underneath each collector’s glass panel. In order to utilize the removed heat, two subsystems are combined to the solar thermal collector. The primary subsystem uses heat to raise the temperature of the hot water storage tank. It can be further heated to the required temperature for the hot water used in the shower. The secondary subsystem consists of an absorption refrigeration system that will provide additional space cooling circulating the house. Based on the available data for maximum solar irradiance, the hot water storage tank can deliver up to 43.8 °C. Additional power of 2.28 kWh is required to raise the temperature to 50 °C. For space cooling, a coefficient of performance of about 2.2 is obtained at maximum solar irradiance. A breakeven point is also estimated to be approximately one year, even though the initial fixed cost for the system is way higher than the installation of conventional products.

Ketahanan Bisnis Perkeretaapian di Masa Pandemi COVID - 19

Pembatasan operasional kereta api di masa pandemi COVID-19 berdampak pada penurunan volume dan pendapatan angkutan penumpang KA di Indonesia sekitar 53%, sementara angkutan barang mengalami penurunan sekitar 5% dibandingkan tahun 2019. Kebijakan yang dapat diterapkan untuk mengatasi dampak pandemi mencakup Optimasi Operasi yang berbasis efisiensi operasi, serta Adaptasi Pandemi yang berbasis minimalisasi kondisi 3C (Closed Space, Crowded Place, Closed Contact Setting). Dampak penerapan kebijakan tersebut perlu disimulasikan pengaruhnya terhadap biaya operasi (BO) dan pendapatan operasi (PO). Hasil perbandingan nilai PO dan BO (POBO), menjadi indikator seberapa kuat bisnis perkeretaapian mampu bertahan di masa pandemi. Nilai POBO di atas 1,0 menunjukkan bisnis masih mampu mencapai Break Event Point (BEP) yang berarti operator mampu mencapai pendapatan setara dengan biaya (tetap dan variabel). Titik kritis operasi perkeretaapian terjadi pada shutdown point yang menunjukkan pendapatan tidak mampu menutupi biaya tetap (fixed cost). Pada nilai shutdown point, bisnis perkeretaapian dikhawatirkan akan berhenti. Hasil perhitungan menunjukkan nilai POBO kedua kebijakan adalah 1,08 (kebijakan optimasi) dan 1,09 (kebijakan adaptasi pandemi). Profil ini menunjukkan ketahanan bisnis perkeretaapian berada pada ambang batas nilai Break Event Point (BEP), jauh di bawah nilai POBO pada tahun-tahun sebelum. Hal ini memperlihatkan bahwa dampak pandemi sangat signifikan terhadap cash flow perusahaan. Titik kritis shutdown point terjadi pada volume barang dan penumpang hingga sebesar 40% dibandingkan tahun 2019. Volume tersebut lebih rendah dibandingkan kondisi saat ini yaitu volume penumpang sebesar 50,5% - 55,5%; serta volume barang sebesar 81,5% dibandingkan volume tahun 2019. Besaran ini menunjukkan bahwa bisnis perkeretaapian masih memiliki daya tahan sebelum mengalami titik kritis shutdown point.

Economic Analysis of Kamrupa Compared to Local Chicken Production in Assam under Backyard System of Rearing

Aims: The programme was undertaken to study the economic analysis of Kamrupa and local chicken in Dhemaji district of Assam under backyard system of rearing. Study Design: The data on various expenses and returns thus collected were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis as per the methods described by [1]. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Sissiborgaon, Dhemaji and Jonai development blocks of Dhemaji district during the period January, 2018 to July, 2019 by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dhemaji. Methodology: For the purpose thirty numbers of farmwomen from three different development blocks, thus a total of ninety numbers of farmwomen, of Dhemaji district were selected on the basis of their early experience in keeping local poultry along with Kamrupa chicken at backyard system. Items of cost included fixed cost e.g. land and building, equipments and variable costs e.g. cost of day-old chick, cost of feed, vaccine, medicine, labour, depreciation in poultry shed and miscellaneous cost. Return items included eggs, cocks and spent hens. Results: The cost of labour accounted for 72.44 percent of the total cost of production of Kamrupa chicken followed by feed cost (9.79%), chick cost (7.21%) and depreciation of poultry house (6.44%) up to 18 months of age. The total cost of production up to 72 weeks of age was found to be higher in Kamrupa (Rs. 3,882.48) than its local counterpart (Rs. 3,512.48). The maximum amount of income was contributed by selling of eggs (46.60%) followed by sale of cocks (26.76%) and sale of spent hens (26.64) in case of local chicken. The benefit-cost (B:C) ratio in Kamrupa and local chicken were recorded as 2.64 and 2.14, respectively, in the present study. Conclusion: From the study, it can be concluded that the small scale Kamrupa rearing is a profitable venture for farmwomen in the state of Assam.

A Two-Echelon Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Battery Swapping Stations

Driven by the new laws and regulations concerning the emission of greenhouse gases, it is becoming more and more popular for enterprises to adopt cleaner energy. This research proposes a novel two-echelon vehicle routing problem consisting of mixed vehicles considering battery swapping stations, which includes one depot, multiple satellites with unilateral time windows, and customers with given demands. The fossil fuel-based internal combustion vehicles are employed in the first echelon, while the electric vehicles are used in the second echelon. A mixed integer programming model for this proposed problem is established in which the total cost, including transportation cost, handling cost, fixed cost of two kinds of vehicles, and recharging cost, is minimized. Moreover, based on the variable neighborhood search, a metaheuristic procedure is developed to solve the problem. To validate its effectiveness, extensive numerical experiments are conducted over the randomly generated instances of different sizes. The computational results show that the proposed metaheuristic can produce a good logistics scheme with high efficiency.

Application of Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Methods for the Selection of Conveyor

In the present time of innovation, conveyor assume an exceptionally indispensable part and have huge significance for material handling in different enterprises. A conveyor is essentially utilized for moving any sort of material from one area to other. It is made with nearer precisions, hence the expense related with manufacturing is additionally high. In this manner, it should work with better productivity. The choice of the best conveyor is a crucial activity for designers. Designers need to recognize different variables that will influence the functionalities of the conveyor system to limit bottlenecks in the system. An efficient methodology should be accomplished for the conveyor selection. Subsequently, the current work aims to the selection process of the best option for conveyor by using four decision making methods such as analytical hierarchy process, technique of order preference by similarity to ideal solution, compromise ranking method and Deng’s similarity based method. The selection is done among four alternatives based on six attributes viz: fixed cost each hour, variable cost each hour, conveyor speed, product width, product weight and flexibility. The analytical hierarchy process is used to determine weights of the attributes based on relative importance of each attribute. It is also observed that A3 conveyor is best suitable conveyor. Hence the above proposed strategies help decision-makers to examine and choose the best conveyor by considering the rank obtained of the alternatives.