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AbstractThis paper introduces an efficient heuristic procedure for solving a special class of mixed integer programming problem called the capacitated warehouse (plant) location problem. This procedure parallels the work reported earlier in [9] on the uncapacitated warehouse location problem. The procedure can be viewed as tracing a judiciously selected path of the branch and bound tree (from the initial node to the terminal node) to arrive at a candidate solution. A simple backtracking scheme is also incorporated in the procedure to investigate possible improvement in the solution. Computational results on problems found in the literature look quite encouraging.

AbstractThis paper introduces an efficient heuristic procedure for a special class of mixed integer programming problems called the uncapacitated warehouse (plant) location problem. This procedure is derived from the branching decision rules proposed for the branch and bound algorithm by the author in an earlier paper. It can be viewed as tracing a single path of the branch and bound tree (from the initial node to the terminal node), the path being determined by the particular branching decision rule used. Unlike branch and bound the computational efficiency of this procedure is substantially less than linearly related to the number of potential warehouse locations (integer variables) in the problem. Its computational efficiency is tested on problems found in the literature.

For many years, facilities location problems have attracted a great deal of attention in the literature. As a result, there is now a variety of methods for solving these problems. However, due to the recent interest, little research is found relating to the issues concerning international facilities location problems. Furthermore, in spite of the extensive modelling work done on facilities location, little modelling research exists on location problems. Provides a capacitated multi‐period, 0‐1 mixed integer programming formulation for the international facilities location problem and discusses its applications to an actual company case. This application is carried out to demonstrate not only how the model can be applied in practice but also to show its potential benefits when compared to other methods.

ABSTRACTTwo heuristics based on branch and bound (B&B) are developed to solve closed‐loop material requirements planning (MRP) lot‐sizing problems that have general product structures and variable costs. A "look ahead method''(LAM) heuristic allows for variable production/purchasing costs and uses a single‐level B&B procedure to rapidly improve lower bound values; thus, LAM efficiently uses computer‐storage capacity and allows solution of larger problems. The "total average modification''(TAM) heuristic uses B&B, applied level by level, and modified setup and carrying costs to solve the variable production/purchasing costs MRP lot‐sizing problem. LAM and TAM are tested on problems and compared to heuristics in the literature. TAM may be used to solve large MRP lot‐sizing problems encountered in practice.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to describe an internet‐based mass customization assignment in Operations Management/Supply Chain Management classes where students utilize the Web site of a company that offers a customized product. Students evaluate the user interface, judge the value proposition of the product they demonstrate, and discuss issues of product design, process design and scheduling, inventory management, Supply Chain Management, marketing, and competitors. The students learn about mass customization from both the producer's perspective and the consumer's perspective. Through their own research and the class presentations students are able to develop a better understanding of the implementation requirements and challenges of mass customization. The assignment is highly interactive and has been successfully used in Operations Management and Supply Chain Management courses at under‐graduate and graduate levels and at multiple universities. In addition, practitioners interested in implementing a mass customization process can use the assignment as a brainstorming or benchmarking exercise.

This paper is aimed at comparing cellular manufacturing with focused cellular manufacturing. We define focused cellular manufacturing as a layout scheme that groups components by end‐items and forms cells of machines to fabricate and assemble end‐items. It is not classified as a cellular manufacturing layout since it does not attempt to take advantage of process similarities. It also is not classified as a flow shop since there are no machines dedicated to individual operations and the machines are not arranged in a series. In addition, this research includes batching and assemble times in its criteria which few researchers in this area have done. The results indicate that the focused cellular manufacturing scheme has a batching advantage. This advantage out‐weighed the set‐up time reduction advantage of the cellular manufacturing scheme for average end‐item completion times and average work‐in‐process inventory levels. The cellular manufacturing scheme overcame the batching advantage only when there were small batch sizes or large set‐up time magnitudes.

This paper reports the results of our collaborative work with Changde Telecommunication Equipment Company (CTEC) which produces digital transfer control systems for telephone networks. The manufacturing operations consist of two principle stages of module production and system assembly. Critical system components are produced in the module production stage where high inventories were a major managerial concern. We studied CTEC's module production system and proposed three modifications to reduce inventories and improve system performance. The current system and the proposed modifications were simulated and compared in terms of various operational and financial criteria. The simulation was repeated in its entirety under a high level of demand due to CTEC's anticipation of increased market share. The results, endorsed by CTEC's management, demonstrate that significant operational and financial benefits can indeed be realized using the proposed modifications. This study provides motivation for the development of concepts and methodologies that will be useful in future theoretical and practical research.

AbstractProposed is a Heuristic Network (HN) Procedure for balancing assembly lines. The procedure uses simple heuristic rules to generate a network which is then traversed using a shortest route algorithm to obtain a heuristic solution. The advantages of the HN Procedure are: a) it generally yields better solutions than those obtained by application of the heuristics, and b) sensitivity analysis with different values of cycle time is possible without having to regenerate the network. The rationale for its effectiveness and its application to problems with paralleling are presented. Computational experience with the procedure on up to 50 task test problems is provided.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the actual benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) on supply chain performance through the empirical evidence.Design/methodology/approachThe research reviews and classifies the existing quantitative empirical evidence of RFID on supply chain performance. The evidence is classified by process (operational or managerial) and for each process by effect (automational, informational, and transformational).FindingsThe empirical evidence shows that the major effects from the implementation of RFID are automational effects on operational processes followed by informational effects on managerial processes. The RFID implementation has not reached transformational level on either operational or managerial processes. RFID has an automational effect on operational processes through inventory control and efficiency improvements. An informational effect for managerial processes is observed for improved decision quality, production control and the effectiveness of retail sales and promotions coordination. In addition, a three‐stage model is proposed to explain the effects of RFID on the supply chain.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this research include the use of secondary sources and the lack of consistency in performance measure definitions. Future research could focus on detailed case studies that investigate cross‐functional applications across the organization and the supply chain.Practical implicationsFor managers, the empirical evidence presented can help them identify implementation areas where RFID can have the greatest impact. The data can be used to build the business case for RFID and therefore better estimate ROI and the payback period.Originality/valueThis research fills a void in the literature by providing practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of the quantitative benefits of RFID in the supply chain.