Design of an IT-driven decision support system for vehicle routing and scheduling

This paper presents the development of a decision support system used by an oil downstream company for routing and scheduling purposes. The studied problem refers to a complex delivery process of oil products from a number of distribution centers to all customers. The latest rapid advance of operations research (OR) applications, in the form of advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems, has shown that OR algorithms can be applied in practice if (a) they are embodied in packaged information technology (IT) solutions, (b) the interface problems to mainstream ERP software applications are solved. In this study the utilisation of advanced IT systems supports effectively the planning and management of distribution operations. The combination of a supply chain management (SCM) application with a geographical information system (GIS) integrated with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software resulted to this innovative decision support tool. The objectives of this new tool are: optimum use of the distribution network resources, transportation cost reduction and customer service improvement. The paper concludes with the benefits of the new system, emphasising at how new technologies can support transportation processes with the help of operations research algorithms embedded in software applications.     

供应链融资畅想

如果建立一个基于电子发票系统的综合IT系统平台,连接银行信贷管理平台、第三方电子商务平台和企业ERP平台,那么,就可以将供应链中的物流、资金流、信息流打通,不仅能解决无数中小企业的融资难题,还可以将我国企业的财务与信用管理拉上新的台阶。     

An approach to the valuation and decision of ERP investment projects based on real options

The risks and uncertainties inherent in most enterprise resources planning (ERP) investment projects are vast. Decision making in multistage ERP projects investment is also complex, due mainly to the uncertainties involved and the various managerial and/or physical constraints to be enforced. This paper tackles the problem using a real-option analysis framework, and applies multistage stochastic integer programming in formulating an analytical model whose solution will yield optimum or near-optimum investment decisions for ERP projects. Traditionally, such decision problems were tackled using lattice simulation or finite difference methods to compute the value of simple real options. However, these approaches are incapable of dealing with the more complex compound real options, and their use is thus limited to simple real-option analysis. Multistage stochastic integer programming is particularly suitable for sequential decision making under uncertainty, and is used in this paper and to find near-optimal strategies for complex decision problems. Compared with the traditional approaches, multistage stochastic integer programming is a much more powerful tool in evaluating such compound real options. This paper describes the proposed real-option analysis model and uses an example case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

供应商综合实力的指标评价体系及模糊判断

供应链管理(SCM)是在IT技术广泛应用的基础上产生的一种先进、新颖的管理哲理与方法.在供应链(SC)中,合理地评价供应商的综合实力是优化选择具有敏捷性和相容性合作伙伴的关键,也对提高整个SC的竞争力有着极其重要的作用.构建了供应商综合实力的指标评价体系及评价因素集、权重集,提出一个通用的模糊判断模型及相应的算法,并利用该算法较好地解决了对供应商综合实力进行定量判断的问题.     

Simplifying essential competencies for Taiwan civil servants using the rough set approach

Applying competency models to identify and develop capabilities of civil servants is now a leading strategy for every government. However, an ideal competency model usually contains too many intended competencies, impeding implementation. Recently, some scholars and experts argued that there is a maximum of eight competencies for effective assessment. Hence, how to simplify a set of competencies becomes an important issue. This study is presented as a test case to extend practical applications of rough set theory (RST) in the human resource field of Government. A well-known data mining technique, RST is a relatively new approach to this problem and is good at data reduction in qualitative analysis. Hence, the rough set approach is suitable for dealing with the qualitative problem in simplifying a set of competencies. This paper slimmed a set of competencies using RST, thus helping the Taiwan Government to better understand the perceived competency levels of its civil servants. Using the rough set analysis, this paper successfully reduced the numerous essential competencies into a more compact set, by omitting low-consensus competencies.     

基于AHP-TOPSIS评判模型的中药企业研发人员胜任力研究

研发人员作为企业中运用知识进行创新活动的群体,具有知识型员工的行为特质,因而导致研发人员的努力程度和贡献大小很难准确地测量.为了解决科学地评价研发人员胜任力的问题.在层次分析法(AHP)和逼近理想解的排序法(TOPSIS)两个理论的基础上,构建了AHP—TOPSIS综合评判指标体系模型,对3类中药企业研发人员胜任力进行综合评判优选.从职业态度、知识—技术、个人魅力、创新能力和团队合作能力5个方面综合考虑影响研发人员胜任力的评判指标,旨在为企业和不同行业全面评价以及甄选研发人才提供一种可行的方法.     

Information technology and systems justification: A review for research and applications

Information technology (IT) such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID), wireless, the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW), and Information Systems (IS) such as Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) systems and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have had tremendous impact in education, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, retailing, pure services, and even war. Many organizations turned to IT/IS to help them achieve their goals; however, many failed to achieve the full potential of IT/IS. These failures can be attributed at least in part to a weak link in the planning process. That weak link is the IT/IS justification process. The decision-making process has only grown more difficult in recent years with the increased complexity of business brought about by the rapid growth of supply chain management, the virtual enterprise and E-business. These are but three of the many changes in the business environment over the past 10–12 years. The complexities of this dynamic new business environment should be taken into account in IT/IS justification. We conducted a review of the current literature on IT/IS justification. The purpose of the literature review was to assemble meaningful information for the development of a framework for IT/IS evaluation that better reflects the new business environment. A suitable classification scheme has been proposed for organizing the literature reviewed. Directions for future research are indicated.     

Enterprise resource planning: A taxonomy of critical factors

This paper presents a novel taxonomy of the critical success factors in enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation process. ERP benefits cannot be fully realised unless a strong alignment and reconciliation mechanism is established between technical and organisational imperatives based on the principles of process orientation. It is suggested in the taxonomy that measurement takes place in a balanced perspective, and for the purpose of providing useful information that can enable the decision making process and, which can help deliver the corporate objectives and therefore lead the business competitively forward. Upon this premise, the taxonomy is based on a comprehensive analysis of ERP literature combining research studies and organisational experiences. The taxonomy reflects the essential features of ERP systems, as being built based on the principles of business process management. Furthermore, it illustrates that ERP benefits are realised when a tight link is established between implementation approach and business process performance measures.     

Managing critical success strategies for an enterprise resource planning project

This paper develops an innovative objectives-oriented approach with one evaluation model and three optimization models for managing the implementation of a set of critical success strategies (CSSs) for an enterprise resource planning (ERP) project in an organization. To evaluate the CSSs based on their contribution to the organizational objectives, the evaluation model addresses an important issue of measuring the relationship between objectives in a three-level hierarchy involving the organization, its functional departments, and the ERP project. To determine the optimal management priority for implementing the CSSs from the organization’s perspective, the three optimization models maximize their total implementation value by integrating individual departments’ management preferences. An empirical study is conducted to demonstrate how these models work and how their outcomes can provide practical insights and implications in planning and managing the implementation of the CSSs for an ERP project.