Abstract: Along with forward supply chain organization needs
to consider the impact of reverse logistics due to its economic
advantage, social awareness and strict legislations. In this paper, we
develop a system dynamics framework for a closed-loop supply
chain with fuzzy demand and fuzzy collection rate by incorporating
product exchange policy in forward channel and various recovery
options in reverse channel. The uncertainty issues associated with
acquisition and collection of used product have been quantified using
possibility measures. In the simulation study, we analyze order
variation at both retailer and distributor level and compare bullwhip
effects of different logistics participants over time between the
traditional forward supply chain and the closed-loop supply chain.
Our results suggest that the integration of reverse logistics can reduce
order variation and bullwhip effect of a closed-loop system. Finally,
sensitivity analysis is performed to examine the impact of various
parameters on recovery process and bullwhip effect.
Abstract: Today’s technology is heavily dependent on web applications. Web applications are being accepted by users at a very rapid pace. These have made our work efficient. These include webmail, online retail sale, online gaming, wikis, departure and arrival of trains and flights and list is very long. These are developed in different languages like PHP, Python, C#, ASP.NET and many more by using scripts such as HTML and JavaScript. Attackers develop tools and techniques to exploit web applications and legitimate websites. This has led to rise of web application security; which can be broadly classified into Declarative Security and Program Security. The most common attacks on the applications are by SQL Injection and XSS which give access to unauthorized users who totally damage or destroy the system. This paper presents a detailed literature description and analysis on Web Application Security, examples of attacks and steps to mitigate the vulnerabilities.
Abstract: E-tailing websites are often perceived to be static, impersonal and distant. However, with the movement of the World Wide Web to Web 2.0 in recent years, these online websites have been found to display personalities akin to 'humanistic' qualities and project impressions much like its retailing counterpart i.e. salespeople. This paper examines the personality of e-tailing websites and their impact on consumers- initial trust towards the sites. A total of 239 Internet users participated in this field experiment study which utilized 6 online book retailers- websites that the participants had not previously visited before. Analysis revealed that out of four website personalities (sincerity, competence, excitement and sophistication) only sincerity and competence are able to exert an influence in building consumers- trust upon their first visit to the website. The implications of the findings are further elaborated in this paper.
Abstract: As current business environment is demanding a
constant adaptation of companies, the planning and strategic
management should be an ongoing and natural process in all kind of
organizations. The use of management and monitoring strategic
performance tools such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) have been
popular; even to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. This paper
aims to investigate whether the BSC is being used in monitoring the
performance of small businesses, particularly in small fuel retailers
companies, which are competing in co-branding; and if not, it aims to
identify its strategic orientation in order to recommend a possible
strategy map for those managers that are willing to adopt this model
as an alternative to traditional ones for organizational performance
evaluation, which often focus only on evaluation of the
organizational financial performance.
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of information and
communication technology (ICT) usage, internal relationship,
supplier-retailer relationship, logistics services and inventory
management on convenience store suppliers- performance. Data was
collected from 275 convenience store managers in Malaysia using a
set of questionnaire. The multiple linear regression results indicate
that inventory management, supplier-retailer relationship, logistics
services and internal relationship are predictors of supplier
performance as perceived by convenience store managers. However,
ICT usage is not a predictor of supplier performance. The study
focuses only on convenience stores and petrol station convenience
stores and concentrates only on managers. The results provide
insights to suppliers who serve convenience stores and possibly
similar retail format on factors to consider in improving their service
to retailers. The results also provide insights to government in its
aspiration to improve business operations of convenience store to
consider ways to enhance the adoption of ICT by retailers and
suppliers.
Abstract: Perishable goods constitute a large portion of retailer inventory and lose value with time due to deterioration and/or obsolescence. Retailers dealing with such goods required considering the factors of short shelf life and the dependency of sales on inventory displayed in determining optimal procurement policy. Many retailers follow the practice of using two bins - primary bin sales fresh items at a list price and secondary bin sales unsold items at a discount price transferred from primary bin on attaining certain age. In this paper, mathematical models are developed for primary bin and for secondary bin that maximizes profit with decision variables of order quantities, optimal review period and optimal selling price at secondary bin. The demand rates in two bins are assumed to be deterministic and dependent on displayed inventory level, price and age but independent of each other. The validity of the model is shown by solving an example and the sensitivity analysis of the model is also reported.
Abstract: This paper describes a methodology for remote
performance monitoring of retail refrigeration systems. The proposed
framework starts with monitoring of the whole refrigeration circuit
which allows detecting deviations from expected behavior caused by
various faults and degradations. The subsequent diagnostics methods
drill down deeper in the equipment hierarchy to more specifically
determine root causes. An important feature of the proposed concept
is that it does not require any additional sensors, and thus, the
performance monitoring solution can be deployed at a low
installation cost. Moreover only a minimum of contextual
information is required, which also substantially reduces time and
cost of the deployment process.
Abstract: The fact that traditional food safety system in the
absence of food safety culture is inadequate has recently become a
cause of concern for food safety professionals and other stakeholders.
Focusing on implementation of traditional food safety system i.e
HACCP prerequisite program and HACCP without the presence of
food safety culture in the food industry has led to the processing,
marketing and distribution of contaminated foods. The results of this
are regular out breaks of food borne illnesses and recalls of foods
from retail outlets with serious consequences to the consumers and
manufacturers alike. This article will consider the importance of food
safety culture, the cases of outbreaks and recalls that occurred when
companies did not make food safety culture a priority. Most
importantly, the food safety cultures of some food industries in South
Africa were assessed from responses to questionnaires from food
safety/food industry professionals in Durban South Africa. The
article was concluded by recommending that both food
industry employees and employers alike take food safety culture
seriously.
Abstract: Knowing consumers' preferences and perceptions of
the sensory evaluation of drink products are very significant to
manufacturers and retailers alike. With no appropriate sensory
analysis, there is a high risk of market disappointment. This paper
aims to rank the selected coffee products and also to determine the
best of quality attribute through sensory evaluation using fuzzy
decision making model. Three products of coffee drinks were used
for sensory evaluation. Data were collected from thirty judges at a
hypermarket in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The judges were asked
to specify their sensory evaluation in linguistic terms of the quality
attributes of colour, smell, taste and mouth feel for each product and
also the weight of each quality attribute. Five fuzzy linguistic terms
represent the quality attributes were introduced prior analysing. The
judgment membership function and the weights were compared to
rank the products and also to determine the best quality attribute. The
product of Indoc was judged as the first in ranking and 'taste' as the
best quality attribute. These implicate the importance of sensory
evaluation in identifying consumers- preferences and also the
competency of fuzzy approach in decision making.
Abstract: From an economic standpoint the current and future
road traffic situation in urban areas is a cost factor. Traffic jams and
congestion prolong journey times and tie up resources in trucks and
personnel. Many discussions about imposing charges or tolls for
cities in Europe in order to reduce traffic congestion are currently in
progress. Both of these effects lead – directly or indirectly - to
additional costs for the urban distribution systems in retail
companies. One approach towards improving the efficiency of retail
distribution systems, and thus towards avoiding negative
environmental factors in urban areas, is horizontal collaboration for
deliveries to retail outlets – Urban Retail Logistics. This paper
presents a classification system to help reveal where cooperation
between retail companies is possible and makes sense for deliveries
to retail outlets in urban areas.
Abstract: In a competitive energy market, system reliability
should be maintained at all times. Power system operation being of
online in nature, the energy balance requirements must be satisfied to
ensure reliable operation the system. To achieve this, information
regarding the expected status of the system, the scheduled
transactions and the relevant inputs necessary to make either a
transaction contract or a transmission contract operational, have to be
made available in real time. The real time procedure proposed,
facilitates this. This paper proposes a quadratic curve learning
procedure, which enables a generator-s contribution to the retailer
demand, power loss of transaction in a line at the retail end and its
associated losses for an oncoming operating scenario to be predicted.
Matlab program was used to test in on a 24-bus IEE Reliability Test
System, and the results are found to be acceptable.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to assess the existing
business models used by the banks operating in the CEE countries in
the time period from 2006 till 2011.
In order to obtain research results, the authors performed
qualitative analysis of the scientific literature on bank business
models, which have been grouped into clusters that consist of such
components as: 1) capital and reserves; 2) assets; 3) deposits, and 4)
loans.
In their turn, bank business models have been developed based on
the types of core activities of the banks, and have been divided into
four groups: Wholesale, Investment, Retail and Universal Banks.
Descriptive statistics have been used to analyse the models,
determining mean, minimal and maximal values of constituent
cluster components, as well as standard deviation. The analysis of
the data is based on such bank variable indices as Return on Assets
(ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE).
Abstract: With the proliferation of multi-channel retailing, developing a better understanding of the factors that affect customers- purchase behaviors within a multi-channel retail context has become an important topic for practitioners and academics. While many studies have investigated the various customer behaviors associated with brick-and-mortar retailing, online retailing, and brick-and-click retailing, little research has explored how customer shopping value perceptions influence online purchase behaviors within the TV-and-online retail environment. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of TV and online shopping values on online patronage intention. Data collected from 116 respondents in Taiwan are tested against the research model using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The results indicate that utilitarian and hedonic TV shopping values have indirect, positive influences on online patronage intention through their online counterparts in the TV-and-online retail context. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for multi-channel retailing.
Abstract: The past decade has witnessed a good opportunities
for city development schemes in UK. The government encouraged
restoration of city centers to comprise mixed use developments with
high density residential apartments. Investments in regeneration areas
were doing well according to the analyses of Property Databank
(IPD). However, more recent analysis by IPD has shown that since
2007, property in regeneration areas has been more vulnerable to the
market downturn than other types of investment property. The early
stages of a property market downturn may be felt most in
regeneration where funding, investor confidence and occupier
demand would dissipate because the sector was considered more
marginal or risky when development costs rise. Moreover, the Bank
of England survey shows that lenders have sequentially tightened the
availability of credit for commercial real estate since mid-2007. A
sharp reduction in the willingness of banks to lend on commercial
property was recorded. The credit crunch has already affected
commercial property but its impact has been particularly severe in
certain kinds of properties where residential developments are
extremely difficult, in particular city centre apartments and buy-to-let
markets. Commercial property – retail, industrial leisure and mixed
use were also pressed, in Birmingham; tens of mixed use plots were
built to replace old factories in the heart of the city. The purpose of
these developments was to enable young professionals to work and
live in same place. Thousands of people lost their jobs during the
recession, moreover lending was more difficult and the future of
many developments is unknown. The recession casts its shadow upon
the society due to cuts in public spending by government, Inflation,
rising tuition fees and high rise in unemployment generated anger and
hatred was spreading among youth causing vandalism and riots in
many cities. Recent riots targeted many mixed used development in
the UK where banks, shops, restaurants and big stores were robbed
and set into fire leaving residents with horror and shock. This paper
examines the impact of the recession and riots on mixed use
development in UK.
Abstract: This paper investigates the spatial structure of employment in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area (JMA), with reference to the concept of the Southeast Asian extended metropolitan region (EMR). A combination of factor analysis and local Getis-Ord (Gi*) hot-spot analysis is used to identify clusters of employment in the region, including those of the urban and agriculture sectors. Spatial statistical analysis is further used to probe the spatial association of identified employment clusters with their surroundings on several dimensions, including the spatial association between the central business district (CBD) in Jakarta city on employment density in the region, the spatial impacts of urban expansion on population growth and the degree of urban-rural interaction. The degree of spatial interaction for the whole JMA is measured by the patterns of commuting trips destined to the various employment clusters. Results reveal the strong role of the urban core of Jakarta, and the regional CBD, as the centre for mixed job sectors such as retail, wholesale, services and finance. Manufacturing and local government services, on the other hand, form corridors radiating out of the urban core, reaching out to the agriculture zones in the fringes. Strong associations between the urban expansion corridors and population growth, and urban-rural mix, are revealed particularly in the eastern and western parts of JMA. Metropolitan wide commuting patterns are focussed on the urban core of Jakarta and the CBD, while relatively local commuting patterns are shown to be prevalent for the employment corridors.
Abstract: Rice, which is the staple food in Sierra Leone, is
consumed on a daily basis. It is the most imperative food crop
extensively grown by farmers across all ecologies in the country.
Though much attention is now given to rice grain production through
the small holder commercialization programme (SHCP), however, no
attention has been given in investigating the limitations faced by rice
producers. This paper will contribute to attempts to overcome the
development challenges caused by food insecurity. The objective of
this paper is thus, to analysis the relationship between rice production
and the domestic retail price of rice. The study employed a log linear
model in which, the quantity of rice produced is the dependent
variable, quantity of rice imported, price of imported rice and price of
domestic rice as explanatory variables. Findings showed that, locally
produced rice is even more expensive than the imported rice per ton,
and almost all the inhabitants in the capital city which hosts about
65% of the entire population of the country favor imported rice, as it
is free from stones with other impurities. On the other hand, to
control price and simultaneously increase rice production, the
government should purchase the rice from the farmers and then sell to private retailers.
Abstract: Despite the fact that B2c eCommerce has become
important in numerous economies, its adoption varies from country to
country. This paper aims to identify the factors affecting (enabling or
inhibiting) B2c eCommerce and to determine their quantitative
impact on the diffusion of online sales across countries. A dynamic
panel model analyzing the relationship between 13 factors
(Macroeconomic, Demographic, Socio-Cultural, Infrastructural and
Offer related) stemming from a complete literature analysis and the
B2c eCommerce value in 45 countries over 9 years has been
developed. Having a positive correlation coefficient, GDP, mobile
penetration, Internet user penetration and credit card penetration
resulted as enabling drivers of the B2c eCommerce value across
countries, whereas, having a negative correlation coefficient,equal
distribution of income and the development of traditional retailing
network act as inhibiting factors.