Kharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201Inventory Management Practices and Operational Performance of Flour Milling Firms in Lagos, Nigeria392406218810.22034/2014.4.01ENNsikanJohnDepartment of Business Management ,University of Uyo, Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria0000-0001-7682-3909JohnEtimDepartment of Business Administration, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, NigeriaTommyImeDepartment of Management Science University of Calabar, Calabar, NigeriaJournal Article20141218This study examines inventory management practices of flour milling manufacturing firms and their effects on operational performance. Five flour milling manufacturing firms in Lagos were used for this study. Structured questionnaire was the major instrument for the collection of relevant primary data while descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation was deployed to analyzing the data gathered. The results obtained showed that exception of the large manufacturing companies, most of the medium-sized flour milling firms adopts different inventory management strategies from the scientific and best practice models. Their inventory management strategies and policies were rather based on factors such as changing level of customer demand, prevailing industry practices, forecast estimates and guesses, and available production capacity. Findings also revealed significant differences between the effective management of inventory and optimal operating performance. For instance, while firms that adopt best practice inventory management approaches reported efficiency in capacity utilization, increased service level, and reduced lead time, others with different strategies had minimal utilization of material resources. There is need for flour manufacturing firms to implement scientific inventory management models to adequately handle material shortages, product stock outs situations, component pile up and their associated penalties.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2188_a9ed358023eb9851030f9495fd20b97e.pdfKharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201Studies on Some Inventory Model for Deteriorating Items with Weibull Replinishment and Generalised Pareto Decay Having Demands as Function of on Hand Inventory407426228010.22034/2014.4.02ENALakshmana RaoAditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali, Srikakulam- Dist, India0000-0001-7651-9376KSrinivasa RaoDepartment of Statistics, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, IndiaJournal Article20141204Inventory models play an important role in determining the optimal ordering and pricing policies. Much work has been reported in literature regarding inventory models with finite or infinite replenishment. But in many practical situations the replenishment is governed by random factors like procurement, transportation, environmental condition, availability of raw material etc., Hence, it is needed to develop inventory models with random replenishment. In this paper, an EPQ model for deteriorating items is developed and analyzed with the assumption that the replenishment is random and follows a Weibull distribution. It is further assumed that the life time of a commodity is random and follows a generalized Pareto distribution and demand is a function of on hand inventory. Using the differential equations, the instantaneous state of inventory is derived. With suitable cost considerations, the total cost function is obtained. By minimizing the total cost function, the optimal ordering policies are derived. Through numerical illustrations, the sensitivity analysis is carried. The sensitivity analysis of the model reveals that the random replenishment has significant influence on the ordering and pricing policies of the model. This model also includes some of the earlier models as particular cases for specific values of the parameters.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2280_7a3b1876e3202f24894efba079aad7b3.pdfKharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201A Fuzzy ANP-SWOT Approach for Analyzing the IT Problems Based on Capabilities in Iran427438229410.22034/2014.4.03ENMehrdadNouri KoupaeiDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kharazmi University0000-0002-2321-7501Mohammad AliSobhanallahiDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kharazmi UniversityAmirHorriMs.c, Department of Industrial Engineering, Payame Noor University (PNU), Tehran, IranJournal Article20150118Determining strategy, as a very effective tool for policy (and especially science and technology policy), helps governments to be able in the challenges such as globalization and increased competition, and have an appropriate respond in the world today. Although some scattered researches about strategy determining have been conducted in Iran, the purpose of them is to recognize the future of IT and determine a framework for strategy determining. This paper examines the situation of Iran in IT. First, according to the techniques of the strategy formulation, the most important internal and external factors have been identified, then using matrix strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, the organizational strategies have been developed. Fuzzy ANP Methods were used for quantitative analysis. The results were calculated using the Expert Choice Software. Statistical community of this study will be including the experts in the field collected among 400 experts. According to the results, the best strategy for implementation ST Strategy. Therefore, some strategies should be considered such as: Explicit decisions to expand or change of research program, selecting an independent organization as trustee of futures studies projects, explicit decisions to expand or change of research program, definition and implementation of future studies for appropriate infrastructure.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2294_00dbb2c721e8fbbcba3607408b795a3a.pdfKharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201Modeling and Numerical Analysis of Revenue Sharing Contract Based on the Stackelberge Game Theory439465218910.22034/2014.4.04ENMohammad SaberFallah NezhadDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranHasanRasayyazd university, Yazd, IranYahyaZare MehrjerdiDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranJournal Article20140813Considered supply chain in this article consists of one vendor and multiple retailers where the vendor applies vendor managed inventory. Considering vendor as a leader and retailers as followers, Stackelberg game theory is applied for modeling and analyzing this system. A general mixed integer nonlinear model is developed which can optimizes the performance of the system under revenue sharing contract, wholesale price contract and centralized structure. Based on this model, we numerically analyzed the performance of revenue sharing contract in the considered supply chain and four states for revenue sharing contract are analyzed at the end. Moreover, in each state, performance of the system under revenue sharing contract is compared with the performance of the system under wholesale price contract and centralized structure.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2189_59b696325269c10569b743a3006a4cf3.pdfKharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201A Credibility-Based Chance-Constrained Transfer Point Location Model for the Relief Logistics Design (Case Study: Earthquake Disaster on Region 1 of Tehran City)466488229510.22034/2014.4.05ENAhmadMohamadiSchool of Industrial Engineering, Iran University of science & Technology, Tehran, IranSaeedYaghoubiIran University of science & Technology, Tehran, Iran0000-0003-1218-9050HadisDerikvandDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Islamic azad ,Arak branch, Arak, IranJournal Article20150317Occurrence of natural disaster inflicts irreparable injuries and symptoms on humans. In such conditions, affected people are waiting for medical services and relief commodities. Thus, quick reaction of medical services and relief commodities supply play important roles in improving natural disaster management. In this paper, a multi-objective non-linear credibility-based fuzzy mathematical programming model under uncertainty conditions is presented, which considers two vital needs in disaster time including medical services and relief commodities through location of hospitals, transfer points, and location routing of relief depots. The proposed model approaches reality by considering time, cost, failures probability in routes, and parameters uncertainty. The problem is first linearized and then global criterion method is applied for solving the multi objective model. Moreover, to illustrate model efficiency, a case study is performed on region 1 of Tehran city for earthquake disaster. Results demonstrate that if Decision-makers want to meet uncertainty with lowered risk, they have to choose a high minimum constraint feasibility degree even though the objective function will be worse.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2295_69054ed4238e3847165ddea9f4dd62eb.pdfKharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201Costs of Quality: Exploratory Analysis of Hidden Elements and Prioritization using Analytic Hierarchy Process489506233810.22034/2014.4.06ENSailajaAIndira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, IndiaP. C.BasakIndira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, IndiaViswanadhanK GN S S Engineering College, Kerala, IndiaJournal Article20150212Cost of Quality analysis is emerged as an effective tool for the industrial managers for pinpointing the deficiencies in the system as well as for identifying the improvement areas by highlighting the cost reduction opportunities. However , this analysis will be fully effective only if it is further extended to identify the cost incurred in ensuring quality in all areas of the supply chain including the hidden costs and costs of missed out opportunities. Most of the hidden elements of quality costs are difficult to track and not accounted by the traditional accounting tools. An exploratory analysis is made in this research to identify the hidden elements of quality costs in manufacturing industry. Further, the identified cost elements are classified into various groups for better analysis and, finally, prioritized to identify the vital few among them. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique which is one of the most popular Multi Criteria Decision Method (MCDM) and Pareto analysis were used in this study for prioritizing the hidden quality cost elements based on their degree of impact on overall cost of quality. By this analysis, the key cost elements which are to be addressed to reduce the overall cost of quality are identified.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2338_d191eaa93a29b9e14288d8feb3a422d3.pdfKharazmi UniversityInternational Journal of Supply and Operations Management238313591420150201Presenting a Bi-objective Integrated Model for Production-Distribution Problem in a Multi-level Supply Chain Network507531234010.22034/2014.4.07ENAbolfazlKazemiFaculty of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, IranVahidKhezrianFaculty of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, IranMahsaOroojeni Mohammad JavadDepartment of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA,AlirezaAlinezhadFaculty of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, IranJournal Article20141215In this study, a bi-objective model for integrated planning of production-distribution in a multi-level supply chain network with multiple product types and multi time periods is presented. The supply chain network including manufacturers, distribution centers, retailers and final customers is proposed. The proposed model minimizes the total supply chain costs and transforming time of products for customers in the chain. The proposed model is in the class of linear integer programming problems. The complexity of the problem is large and in the literatur, this problem has been shown to be NP-hard. Therefore, for solving this problem, two multi objective meta-heuristic approaches based on Pareto method including non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) and non-dominated Ranking Genetic Algorithm (NRGA) have been suggested. Since the output of meta- heuristic algorithms are highly dependent on the input parameters of the algorithm, Taguchi method (Taguchi) is used to tune the parameters. Finally, in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed solution methods, different test problems with different dimensions have been produced and the performances of the proposed algorithms on the test problems have been analyzed.http://www.ijsom.com/article_2340_f2e9d38b0d5a0270550cc8f57df16fbf.pdf