Vahid Kayvanfar, S.M. Moattar Husseini, Zhang NengSheng, Behrooz Karimi and Mohsen S. Sajadieh
This paper aims to optimize the interactions of businesses located within industrial clusters (ICs) by using a supply-demand hub in ICs (SDHIC) as a conjoint provider of logistics…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to optimize the interactions of businesses located within industrial clusters (ICs) by using a supply-demand hub in ICs (SDHIC) as a conjoint provider of logistics and depository facilities for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as producers, where all of these interactions are under supervision of a third-party logistics provider (3PL).
Design/methodology/approach
To evaluate the values of SDHIC, three mathematical models are proposed, optimally solved via GAMS and then compared. Also, a “linear relaxation-based heuristic” procedure is proposed to yield a feasible initial solution within a significant shorter computational time. To illustrate the values of SDHIC, comprehensive calculations over a case study and generated sets of instances are conducted, including several sensitivity analysis.
Findings
The experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of SDHIC for SMEs via combining batches and integrating the holding space of inventories, while the outcomes of the case study are aligned with those obtained from random sample examples, which confirms the trueness of used parameters and reveals the applicability of using SDHIC in real world. Finally, several interesting managerial implications for practitioners are extracted and presented.
Practical implications
Some of the managerial and practical implications are optimizing interactions of businesses involved in a supply chain of an IC containing some customers, suppliers and manufacturers and rectifying the present noteworthy gaps pertaining to the previously published research via using real assumptions and merging upstream and downstream of the supply chain through centralizing on storage of raw materials (supply echelon) and finished products (demand echelon) at the same place simultaneously to challenge a classic concept in which supply and demand echelons were being separately planned regarding their inventory management and logistics activities and showing the positive consequences of such challenge, showing the performance improvement of the proposed model compared to the classic model, by increasing the storing cost of raw materials and finished products, considering some disadvantages of using SDHIC and showing the usefulness of SDHIC in total, presenting some applied findings according to the obtained results of sensitivity analysis.
Originality/value
The key contributions of this paper to the literature are suggesting a new applied mathematical methodology to the supply chain (SC) of ICs by means of a conjoint provider of warehousing activities called SDHIC, comparing the new proposed model with the two classic ones and showing the proposed model’s dominancy, showing the helpful outcomes of collaborating 3PL with the SMEs in a cluster, proposing a “linear relaxation-based heuristic” procedure to yield a feasible initial solution within a significant shorter computational time and minimizing total supply chain costs of such IC by optimum application of facilities, lands and labor.
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Mahdi Rezaei, Mohsen Akbarpour Shirazi and Behrooz Karimi
The purpose of this paper is to develop an Internet of Things (IoT)-based framework for supply chain (SC) performance measurement and real-time decision alignment. The aims of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an Internet of Things (IoT)-based framework for supply chain (SC) performance measurement and real-time decision alignment. The aims of the proposed model are to optimize the performance indicator based on integrated supply chain operations reference metrics.
Design/methodology/approach
The SC multi-dimensional structure is modeled by multi-objective optimization methods. The operational presented model considers important SC features thoroughly such as multi-echelons, several suppliers, several manufacturers and several products during multiple periods. A multi-objective mathematical programming model is then developed to yield the operational decisions with Pareto efficient performance values and solved using a well-known meta-heuristic algorithm, i.e., non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. Afterward, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method is used to determine the best operational solution based on the strategic decision maker’s idea.
Findings
This paper proposes a dynamic integrated solution for three main problems: strategic decisions in high level, operational decisions in low level and alignment of these two decision levels.
Originality/value
The authors propose a human intelligence-based process for high level decision and machine intelligence-based decision support systems for low level decision using a novel approach. High level and low level decisions are aligned by a machine intelligence model as well. The presented framework is based on change detection, event driven planning and real-time decision alignment.
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Vahid Kayvanfar, Mohsen S. Sajadieh, S.M. Moattar Husseini and Behrooz Karimi
In this paper, a multi-objective multi-echelon supply-distribution model is proposed to optimize interactions of entities located within an Industrial Cluster (IC) including…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, a multi-objective multi-echelon supply-distribution model is proposed to optimize interactions of entities located within an Industrial Cluster (IC) including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), using a third-party logistics provider (3PL)-managed supply-demand hub in industrial cluster (SDHIC) as a specific public provider of warehousing and logistics services.
Design/methodology/approach
The three considered objectives are minimizing the total logistics costs, maximizing the rate of demand satisfaction and maximizing the quality of delivery. Because some parameters such as “demand of customers” are naturally fuzzy because of incompleteness and/or inaccessibility of the needed information, the triangular fuzzy number is applied for all fuzzy parameters to handle this difficulty. The proposed model is primarily changed into a correspondent supplementary crisp model. To solve such a model, a revised multi-choice goal programming (RMCGP) approach is then used with the purpose of finding a compromise solution.
Findings
Experimental results demonstrate that all enterprises involved in such a supply chain benefit with several advantages using SDHIC by consolidating shipments and merging the storage space of inventories. The applicability of the presented model is shown by conducting these experiments over an applied industrial case study.
Originality/value
The main contributions of this research are proposing a practical mathematical approach to the supply chain of ICs using a specific public warehouse managed by a 3PL, called SDHIC, bridging the existing gaps with respect to the already published researches in this area by applying real-world assumptions such as uncertainty; optimizing the interactions of involved entities in the supply chain of an IC, comprising suppliers, SMEs as manufacturers and customers; minimizing the total incurred logistics costs to such a system through optimum usage of lands, facilities, labors, etc. and boosting the satisfaction of customers through maximizing the service level criteria, illustrating the positive consequences of cooperation of 3PL with the SMEs/manufacturers in an IC, showing the applicability of the adopted approach by implementing it on an applied industrial instance.
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G. Reza Nasiri, Hamid Davoudpour and Behrooz Karimi
Effective inventory management is very critical to market success. The purpose of this paper is to formulate an integrated model for the location of warehouse, the allocation of…
Abstract
Purpose
Effective inventory management is very critical to market success. The purpose of this paper is to formulate an integrated model for the location of warehouse, the allocation of retailers to the opened warehouses, and finding the perfect policy for inventory control to managing order quantity and safety stock level. The goal is to select the optimum numbers, locations, capacities of the opening warehouses and inventory policy so that all stochastic customer demands can be satisfied.
Design/methodology/approach
It is assumed that the location of plant has already been determined and the paper answers the following questions: what are the location decisions over the planning horizon? How retailers are allocated to the warehouses? What are the optimum capacities for the opened warehouses? What is the best inventory policy for this supply chain? What are the total minimum costs?
Findings
The model was developed as a non‐linear mixed integer programming and solved using Lagrange relaxation and sub‐gradient search for the location/allocation module and a procedure for the capacity planning module. The results for the randomly selected problems show that the average duality gap ranges are between 0.51 and 1.58 percent. Also, from the CPU time point of view, the performance of the proposed algorithm was very good.
Originality/value
The paper addresses an integrated location, allocation, and inventory decisions in the design of a supply chain distribution network. In addition sensitivity analyses are conducted to evaluate the effects of the multi‐capacity levels on some performance measures.
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Pedram Pam, Maryam Behrooz, Mehrdad Jamali, Hosna Ghorbani, Amirataollah Hiradfar, Azim Rezamand and Zohreh Ghoreishi
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) and the dietary inflammatory index (DII) with inflammatory status in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) and the dietary inflammatory index (DII) with inflammatory status in children recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). As the relationship between diet quality scores and inflammation remains uncertain in this population, the authors carried out a hospital-based cross-sectional study.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a cross-sectional design involving 54 children recently diagnosed with ALL. Dietary data was collected using a 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire developed for the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Inflammatory status was evaluated using various indicators like C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) and Complete blood count-based inflammatory score.
Findings
The authors found no significant relationship between DII with inflammatory indices and length of hospitalization in patients. However, a significant inverse relationship was observed between the antioxidant indices ferric-reducing ability of plasma, total reactive antioxidant potential and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity with the inflammatory index MLR, respectively (ß: −0.19, p = 0.001), (ß: −0.42, p = 0.02), (ß: −0.53, p = 0.005). Also, a significant inverse relationship between FRAP and CRP was observed in the crude model (ß: −0.13, p = 0.05). FRAP was also inversely correlated with GPS and PLR, respectively (ß: −0.08, p = 0.02), (ß: −0.26, p = 0.03). No additional significant links were discovered between food scores and the outcomes studied.
Originality/value
This study found no link between DII with inflammatory markers or hospitalization duration in children with ALL. However, the authors did observe a noteworthy inverse relationship between DTAC and certain inflammatory markers like MLR. To achieve more dependable findings, further research in this area is necessary.
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Zahra Nikoo, Neda Torabi Farsani and Mohamadreza Emadi
Trompe l’oeil as a novel art technique can not only promote art tourism but can also transform the landscape of a city into a platform for negotiation. Furthermore, trompe l’oeil…
Abstract
Purpose
Trompe l’oeil as a novel art technique can not only promote art tourism but can also transform the landscape of a city into a platform for negotiation. Furthermore, trompe l’oeil aims to create a joyful, entertaining, new experience and an interactive environment for tourists in the cities. This paper highlights the introduction of trompe l’oeil as a new tourist attraction in Shiraz (Iran). Moreover, the goals of this study are to explore the role of trompe l’oeil (three-dimensional [3D] street painting) in promoting art tourism, to investigate the tendency of tourists toward experiencing art tours and trompe l’oeil and to determine the priority of trompe l’oeil themes from the domestic tourists’ perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research study.
Findings
On the basis of the results of this study, it can be concluded that domestic tourists are eager to experience art tours and trompe l’oeil attractions and activities, except for buying and wearing 3D-printed clothes. In addition, trompe l’oeil on street floors and walls with funny, joyful and cultural-artistic and national-historical themes is more attractive for them.
Originality/value
No significant academic work has been undertaken in the field of art tourism to evaluate the attitude of tourists toward the trompe l’oeil attractions and activities.
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Behrooz Shirkhani, Mohammadreza Abdoli, Hasan Valiyan and Maryam Shahri
One of the problems of Islamic financial markets is the emergence of frozen assets whose market value is lower than the nominal and recorded value in financial propositions due to…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the problems of Islamic financial markets is the emergence of frozen assets whose market value is lower than the nominal and recorded value in financial propositions due to the lack of trading attractiveness. Valuation of these assets is usually complex, and companies operating in these markets are reluctant to divest or sell at below market prices. This study aims to evaluate the issues and challenges of frozen assets in Islamic financial markets through the convergence of experience and knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, following the process of Colaizzi (1978), an attempt was made to understand the nature of frozen assets, using phenomenological steps to base this concept in Islamic financial markets. Therefore, based on this process, first, through interviews with experts and open coding, an attempt was made to determine the propositional themes of the phenomenon under investigation. Then, for the purpose of credibility, through critical evaluation, the propositional themes identified were matched with similar researches. It is possible to enter the propositions in the stage of forming a focal group for discussion and exchange of opinions for the cognitive separation of each proposition in the form of a component. In the following, through the Q evaluation checklist, each proposition was scored in the range of +6 to −6 to determine the conceptual clusters of frozen assets generation in the context of the study.
Findings
The results in the qualitative part during 16 interviews revealed the number of 388 open codes, after removing the excesses and repeating similar open codes, 51 propositional themes were determined based on the compatibility of the content with similar studies, it is possible to generalize it to the second step of the study. The results in the quantitative part, relying on the steps of Colaizzi’s process (1978), indicate the identification of ten conceptual clusters in the framework of paradigmatic phenomenology.
Originality/value
The theoretical contribution of this study can cover the weakness of prior researches regarding the knowledge of the nature of frozen assets generation in the financial markets, because most of the researches have been done either descriptively or focusing on the study platform of banks. On the other hand, the results of this study will help both theorists and standard setters in the financial and accounting fields to better understand the nature of frozen assets to adopt more appropriate policies in the shadow of these assets in Islamic financial markets.