We study three problems on supply chain location and inventory under uncertainty. In Chapter 2, we study the inventory purchasing and allocation problem in a movie rental chain under demand uncertainty. We formulate this problem as a newsvendor-like problem with multiple rental opportunities. We study several demand and return forecasting models based on comparable films using iterative maximum likelihood estimation and Bayesian estimation via Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. Test results on data from a large movie rental firm reveal systematic under-buying of movies purchased through revenue sharing contracts and over-buying of movies purchased through standard ones. For the movies considered, the model estimates an increase in the average profit per title for new movies by 15.5% and 2.5% for revenue sharing and standard titles, respectively. We discuss the implications of revenue sharing on the profitability of both the rental firm and the studio. In Chapter 3, we focus on the effect of travel time uncertainty on the location of facilities that provide service within a given coverage radius on the transportation network. Three models - expected covering, robust covering and expected p-robust covering - are studied; each appropriate for different types of facilities. Exact and approximate algorithms are developed. The models are used to analyze the location of fire stations in the city of Toronto. Using real traffic data we show that the current system design is quite far from optimality and provide recommendations for improving the performance. In Chapter 4, we continue our analysis in Chapter 3 to study the trade-off between adding new facilities versus relocating some existing facilities. We consider a multi-objective problem that aims at minimizing the number of facility relocations while maximizing expected and worst case network coverage. Exact and approximate algorithms are developed to solve three variations of the problem and find expected--worst case trade-off curves for any given number of relocations. The models are used to analyze the addition of four new fire stations to the city of Toronto. Our results suggest that the benefit of adding four new stations is achievable, at a lower cost, by relocating 4-5 stations.

Torrefaction and densification of biomass can provide an important piece in the puzzle of phasing out fossil fuels in favor of renewable alternatives. This new energy carrier shares many of the advantages with fossil coal in terms of energy density, hydrophobicity and burner feeding but is carbon neutral and renewable. It also lacks the challenges of many other renewable alternatives, especially irregular availability. A model was developed in Excel as sales support for BioEndev, one of the leading actors in the process of taking torrefaction to a commercial market, assessing the black pellet supply chain from feedstock to end user and comparing it to white pellets. Data was obtained from literature, industry and BioEndev. The model can be used for different parameters for price of feedstock, capital and operating expenditures, transport and handling costs and analyze 28 different cases. It also includes simplified calculations for energy input and greenhouse gas emissions. A case study for two different supply chains was performed with the model. One assessed a production facility in northern Sweden with distribution to a consumer in Denmark. The other a torrefaction plant in southeastern USA with distribution to a consumer in the Netherlands. The cost for delivering black and white pellets from Sweden to Denmark was found to be 33.0 €/MWh and 35.3 €/MWh respectively. For the case of delivering from USA to the Netherlands, the total supply chain cost was 27.6 €/MWh for white pellets and 24.7 €/MWh for black pellets. Suggestions for further work are to 1) develop the model outside this study’s limitations, for example by adding integration options for the torrefaction facility or by different end user configurations, and 2) expand the scope to also comparing black pellets to coal to see how big the gap is and which political incentives that could shrink this gap.

The research presented in this thesis has focussed on exploring buyer- supplier relationships from a human perspective. To date, researchers across the globe have studied buyer-supplier relationships and endeavoured to find means to try to make them better. This has led to many new relationship development programmes initiated by companies and new concepts introduced by academics for the betterment of buyersupplier relationships. The focus of academics has been in trying to study buyersupplier relationships from various factors, viz. power, opportunistic behaviour, unethical behaviour, partnerships, collaborations, etc. All these endeavours have focussed on using technology or business processes in order to streamline operations and create environments, which would foster partnerships or collaborations. One aspect not usually given prominence in these studies has been the presence of humans in the relationship as representatives of the transacting companies. Giving this more focus, the researcher feels that organisational culture plays a very strong role in the way organisations operate, and when two organisations transact with each other the individual culture is bound to play a role in the way the transaction is conducted. The individual culture of the organisation also depends upon the humans in the organisation. Since, the focus of the research was on exploring the buyer-supplier relationships from a human perspective, the research sought this perspective from people working in purchasing or sales functions in different companies. The information was collected by conducting "Phenomenological Interviews" with focus on "critical incidents" affecting the relationship. The information was analysed for themes which led to the need to study buyer-supplier relationships from two perspectives: 1) game-like behaviour, 2) discretion, humans have in the relationship. The presence of game-like behaviour and humans in the relationship led the researcher to study the concepts of "Transactional Analysis" and check for the feasibility to transfer the concepts from a therapeutic setting to buyer- supplier relationships. The research has been successful in exploring issues affecting buyer-supplier relationships. A methodology for aligning supply chains by taking into account human issues has been proposed. The methodology comprises a relationship framework that is used for studying buyer-supplier relationships on a macro- level based on the levels of satisfaction the entities have with each other. Since high levels of dissatisfaction lead to various change- inducing transactions or game-like behaviour between the entities, the framework identifies the status of the relationship, and can be used to gauge what's going to happen to it, once the transaction is over. The concepts of Transactional Analysis and the tools associated with it, viz. Drama Triangle analysis and structural modelling are useful in studying the dynamics of the transactions from the human perspective and also from a psychological perspective.

An outline of supply chains and differences in the problem types is given. The motivation for a generic framework is discussed and explored. A conceptual model is presented along with it application to real world situations; and from this a database model is developed. A MIP and CP implementations are presented; along with alternative formulation which can be use to solve the problems. A local search solution algorithm is presented and shown to have significant benefits. Problem instances are presented which are used to validate the generic models, including a large manufacture and distribution problem. This larger problem instance is not only used to explore the implementation of the models presented, but also to explore the practically of the use of alternative formulation and solving techniques within the generic framework and the effectiveness of such methods including the neighbourhood search solving method. A stochastic dimension to the generic framework is explored, and solution techniques for this extension are explored, demonstrating the use of solution analysis to allow problem simplification and better solutions to be found. Finally the local search algorithm is applied to the larger models that arise from inclusion of scenarios, and the methods is demonstrated to be powerful for finding solutions for these large model that were insoluble using the MIP on the same hardware.

This thesis examines hotel food supply chain management practices and hotel food supply chains. The study is informed by qualitative data from 20 hotels of different characteristics. The results show three models of strategic sourcing strategy for affiliated hotels (chef-centred sourcing, centralised sourcing and flexible-centralised sourcing) and two models for independent hotel (chef-centred sourcing, and chef and owner sourcing strategy). Chef-centred sourcing can be a sourcing strategy for any type of hotel regardless of their affiliation; this sourcing strategy, however, is common among small group hotels, independent hotels and high-end hotel restaurants. Group hotels, however, are likely to employ a centralised-sourcing strategy with a degree of flexibility regarding supplier selection at property level. It was found that the higher the level of service, the more flexible the centralised sourcing strategy. These sourcing strategies have a strong, direct effect on how individual hotels source their food and therefore their food supply chain network structures. It is apparent that hotel food sourcing practice is complex and dynamic, and hotel business format is the main factor influencing individual hotel sourcing strategies. Hotel foodservice is characterised by low exploitation of information technology and manual-based supply chain activities with a high level of dependency on head chefs regarding supply chain performance. There is low level of implementation of supply chain initiatives among hotels in this study and the reason for this may be the products and production characteristics which differ from those in the retail sector. Although supplier cooperation and relationships between head chef and suppliers were found, there was an overall low level of collaboration between buyer and supplier. Consumer - ii - usage information was underutilised and under cultivated. Traditional arms-length buyer-seller relationships were commonly found in group hotels at both company level and property level. Overall hotel food SCM practice still displays traditional management characteristics and price-led decisions being apparent. An exception was found in high-end foodservice outlets and some outlets with chef sourcing strategies, where close long-term relationships between chefs and suppliers were found. The originality of this research lies in its attempt to fill a significant gap in hospitality management literature as well as to synthesise literature in the realms of supply chain management and hospitality management.

Since the turn of the century, manufacturing industry has witnessed significant structural changes. Agility, which aims to provide companies with competitive capabilities so that they can prosper from dynamic and continuous changes in the business environment, has become a prevailing manufacturing strategy. However, how to develop a manufacturing strategy based on agility, and how to design and manage global supply chain networks effectively to implement these strategy, are not fully understood. This thesis presents survey based research that was carried out on a number of U.K. manufacturing companies. The research revisited the taxonomy of agility strategies for manufacturing industry developed by Zhang and Sharifi (2007) and investigated the methods of supply chain management employed by different strategic groups. The findings show that whilst the three broad types of agility strategies discovered in previous work (Zhang and Sharifi, 2007) have remained two sub types of agility strategies have been identified. They are named Responsive players, Quick operators, Quick innovators, Proactive players 1 and Proactive players 2. Responsive players placed a high emphasis on supplier selection related practices; Quick operators placed a high emphasis on sourcing management related practices; Quick innovators placed a high emphasis on relationship management related practices; and Proactive players 1 and 2 placed high emphases on almost all practices. This research has made contributions to the theory development of agility strategy and has provides a managerial guide with companies to improve the implementation of agility strategies in supply chains.

El presente artículo muestra el avance de una tesis para Doctorado que desarrolla una metodología estructurada, no antes publicada, que toma como base los conceptos lean, agile y adaptabilidad, para la planificación de cadenas de suministro de productos de alimentos envasados, en el rubro de consumo masivo. También muestra los resultados logrados, al simular datos históricos de seis negocios de consumo masivo de alimentos envasados y comparar la metodología elaborada versus la planificación tradicional de cadenas de suministro, basada en los pronósticos de ventas.

The Social dimension of Sustainability and SCM (supply chain management) are two concepts that have been discussed over the last decade. Nowadays, the increasing integration of social sustainability into SCM becomes an evolving area. The main purpose of this master thesis is to gain better understanding of what are the drivers and barriers for implementing social sustainability inthesupply chainin the context of SMEs. In order to get a deep understanding of how these practices are implemented, we proposed asecondresearch questionto understand the efforts that companieshave made on implementing social sustainability and how far are their implementations of different social sustainability practices.The study involves four different organizations with operations in three different countries, respectively: Romania, Sudan and Namibia. As for the choice of theories for this thesis, we have chosen relevant concepts, such as Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM), Social Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and thestakeholder theory.After systematically review of current literature in social sustainabilitysupply chain management, we discoveredthat there is a gap in research sincethere are limited studies concerning thedrivers and barriers for the adoption of social dimension inSSCM,and also how social sustainability managerial practices are actually implemented in SMEs.In order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis, a qualitative method study has been conducted. By using a qualitative research method, we aim to get comprehensive information related to the perceptions of different organizational employees, such as CEO(chief executive officer), supply chain managers, legal advisers, or executive directors. Through the semi-structured interviews, we gained a deeper understanding of the drivers and barriers that organizations face when trying to implement social sustainability in the supply chain. Our interview guide was divided into four major themes, respectively: Social Sustainability in Supply Chain Management, Stakeholders, Drivers and Barriers, and Implementation.The findings of the study revealed that there are numerous motivators for and barriers to social SSCM implementation. Stakeholders such as customers, community and NGOs were reported by respondents as driving forces for the integration of social sustainabilitypractices in their companies. We also found that government influence is a strong driver for improving socialsustainable practices for companies. The government can also use tools such as market incentives (e.g. grants and incentives) or direct regulations to strengthen SSCM adoption. However, the lack of regulation may reduce the pace of social SSCM adoption. We believe that building health and sustainable relations with all kinds of internal and external stakeholders is important when implementing social sustainable in supply chainin SMEs.

Managing the movement of components and products from suppliers to customers and ultimately to end-users is undergoing rapid changes. Supply chain management has increasingly gained attention as companies have sought to reduce costs and improve service performance in a quest for gaining an advantage on the competition.

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen M. Featherstone / The oat processing industry is a competitive industry and maintaining a cost advantage is important for the industry supply chain. General Mills continuously looks to maintain a competitive advantage in the oat supply chain because it is important for strategic short and long term planning. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze supply chain scenarios to determine where future investments should be made. The analysis looks at an existing location, a refurbished location and a Greenfield site. The analysis projects income statements and net cash flows to determine the conclusions using Net Present Value. The question answered is "Should the company continue to invest in the existing supply chain or should it look to different alternatives in the form of a refurbished or Greenfield plant site for production of oat flour?" The analysis found important relationships between the variables that can influence net cash flow and ultimately NPV. However, given the information from this analysis, a determination was made that the existing facility is still the best investment. Future analysis should be used and the company should plan to analyze this issue again in a five to ten year time frame to maintain its competitive advantage.