South Africa provides a fascinating interface between the developed and the developing world and poses a multitude of opportunities for enhancing the sustainable development of local cities. The concept of City Logistics is concerned with the mobility of cities, and entails the process of optimizing urban logistics activities by considering the social, environmental, economic, financial, and energy impacts of urban freight movement. Vehicle routing and scheduling has the potential to address a number of these key focus areas. Applying optimization to vehicle routing and scheduling results in a reduced number of trips, better fleet utilization, and lower maintenance costs; thereby improving the financial situation of the fleet owner. Improved fleet utilization could have a positive environmental impact, while also improving the mobility of the city as a whole. Energy utilization is improved while customer satisfaction could also increase through on-time deliveries and reliability. The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is a well-researched problem in Operations Research literature. The main objective of this type of problem is to minimize an objective function, typically distribution cost for individual carriers. The area of application is wide, and specific variants of the VRP transform the basic problem to conform to application specific requirements. It is the view of this dissertation that the various VRP variants have been researched in isolation, with little effort to integrate various problem variants into an instance that is more appropriate to the South African particularity with regards to logistics and vehicle routing. Finding a feasible, and integrated initial solution to a hard problem is the first step in addressing the scheduling issue. This dissertation attempts to integrate three specific variants: multiple time windows, a heterogeneous fleet, and double scheduling. As the problem is burdened with the added constraints, the computational effort required to find a solution increases. The dissertation therefore also contributes to reducing the computational burden by proposing a concept referred to as time window compatibility to intelligently evaluate the insertion of customers on positions within routes. The initial solution algorithm presented proved feasible for the integration of the variants, while the time window compatibility decreased the computational burden by 25%, and as much as 80% for specific customer configurations, when using benchmark data sets from literature. The dissertation also improved the quality of the initial solution, for example total distance traveled, by 13%. Finding an initial solution is the first step in solving vehicle routing problems. The second step is to improve the initial solution iteratively through an improvement heuristic in an attempt to find a global optimum. Although the improvement heuristic falls outside the scope of this dissertation, improvement of the initial solution has a significant impact on the quality of improvement heuristics, and is therefore a valuable contribution. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Industrial and Systems Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted

Fu Gang. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-72). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT OF THESIS ENTITLED --- p.I / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.III / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.IV / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.VII / LIST OF TABLES --- p.VIII / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- A Third-party E-commerce Logistics Center in Need --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Difficulty in Designing the Logistics Center --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- AHP and ANP --- p.3 / Chapter 1.4 --- Scope of the Study --- p.4 / Chapter 1.5 --- Organization of the Thesis --- p.5 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1 --- Third-party E-commerce Logistics Center --- p.7 / Chapter 2.2 --- "Government, Investors, and Users" --- p.8 / Chapter 2.3 --- Center Design --- p.11 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Information and Physical Infrastructure --- p.11 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Ownership Arrangement --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Design Alternatives --- p.13 / Chapter 2.4 --- Evaluating Design Alternatives --- p.17 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- AHP MODEL --- p.19 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction of AHP --- p.19 / Chapter 3.2 --- AHP Models for Government --- p.20 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Benefit to Government --- p.20 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Cost to Government --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Risk to Government --- p.24 / Chapter 3.3 --- AHP Models for Investors --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Benefit to Investors --- p.25 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Cost to Investors --- p.28 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Risk to Investors --- p.29 / Chapter 3.4 --- AHP Models for Users --- p.32 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Benefit to Users --- p.32 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Cost to Users --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Risk to Users --- p.36 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- RISK SHARING IN CENTER DESIGN ´ؤ USING AHP MODEL --- p.38 / Chapter 4.1 --- "Solution Methodology of Aggregating Benefit, Cost and Risk in AHP" --- p.38 / Chapter 4.2 --- Aspects in Determining an Agreeable Solution --- p.40 / Chapter 4.3 --- Sensitivity Analysis in AHP --- p.42 / Chapter 4.4 --- A Conflict-Resolving Solution Procedure for AHP --- p.44 / Chapter 4.5 --- An Illustrative Numerical Example in AHP --- p.48 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- ANP MODEL --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction of ANP --- p.51 / Chapter 5.2 --- ANP Models for Government --- p.53 / Chapter 5.2.1. --- Benefit to Government --- p.55 / Chapter 5.2.2. --- Cost to Government --- p.54 / Chapter 5.2.3. --- Risk to Government --- p.54 / Chapter 5.3 --- ANP Models for Investors --- p.56 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Benefit to Investors --- p.56 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Cost to Investors --- p.56 / Chapter 5.3.3 --- Risk to Investors --- p.56 / Chapter 5.4 --- ANP Models for Users --- p.56 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Benefit to Users --- p.56 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Cost to Users --- p.58 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Risk to Users --- p.58 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- RISK SHARING IN CENTER DESIGN ´ؤ USING ANP MODEL --- p.60 / Chapter 6.1 --- Aggregated Benefit-Cost-Risk ANP Model --- p.60 / Chapter 6.2 --- Sensitivity Analysis of ANP Model in an AHP Fashion --- p.61 / Chapter 6.3 --- Sensitivity Analysis of General ANP Model --- p.62 / Chapter 6.4 --- A Conflict-Resolving Solution Procedure for ANP --- p.63 / Chapter 6.5 --- An Illustrative Numerical Example in ANP --- p.66 / Chapter CHAPTER 7 --- p.69 / CONCLUSION --- p.69 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.71

Oregon's nursery and greenhouse industry has ranked the first in the State's agricultural for 18 years. The majority of nursery sales from the Pacific Northwest come from Oregon. Due to data limitations, empirical study of the Oregon nursery industry is rare. The present dissertation consists of three essays that analyze the demand and supply of inputs and outputs and the relationship between producers and retailers in the Oregon nursery industry. Chapter 2 identifies the major factors affecting farm labor supply and demand and evaluates their relative importance in the Oregon nursery industry from 1991 to 2008. Empirical results show that border control effort doesn't have an influential role in labor supply, while the Oregon and Mexican minimum wage do. It is because of the substantial gap between the U.S. and Mexican economies, reflected for an example in the minimum wage gap, which attracts a continual flow of immigrants. Risk of border apprehension is not great enough to prevent the flow. Increases in Oregon minimum wage is more effective than border apprehension policies in boosting the average wage and in reducing the number of hours that illegal immigrants work in the nursery sector. Chapter 3 investigates producers' and retailers' choices of, and reactions to, various contract types in the Oregon nursery industry from 2005 to 2010. As new and fast-growing retailers in the industry, big-box stores are less likely than independent retailers to make pre-order contracts with the producer. However, once a pre-order contract is chosen, big-box stores demand more days of pre-order interval than independent retailers do. Transactions with independent retailers exhibit – on average over the sample range – scale economies and scope diseconomies. Boosting per-transaction revenue scale and the number of species sold to big-box stores enhances transaction efficiency. Chapter 4 examines the interaction between supply and demand in Oregon nursery products. The result indicates that the production and transaction costs are major drivers on the supply side, while transportation costs and consumer demand for nursery products play important roles on the demand side. At the genus level, the supply elasticities of coniferous plants are larger than those of deciduous plants, which in turn are higher than those of flowering plants. The demand elasticities are the lowest in coniferous trees followed by deciduous plants, then flowering plants. Price discounts on plants with high demand elasticities would significantly boost sales and enlarge the market, while those on plants with low demand elasticities would have less sales impact. Empirically, patenting seems to bring no direct signs of greater profitability. The wholesale nursery may wish to reconsider the pricing and marketing policies of its patented plants to differentiate them more effectively from its non-patented plants. / Graduation date: 2013

The performance of small businesses contribute substantially to the South African economy. In recent years the South African Government has prioritised the development of township retail industries by implementing numerous initiatives. The primary objective of this study was to determine how formal independent small retail businesses in Soweto manage their logistical supply chain drivers, namely facilities, inventory and transportation, in terms of responsiveness and cost-efficiency in order to survive. The logistical supply chain drivers should not only be managed as a cohesive unit, but also be aligned with the orientation of the selected supply chain strategy, in terms of responsiveness and cost-efficiency. During 2014, a quantitative survey was conducted among 650 formal independent small Sowetan businesses of which the responses of 556 retailers were analysed in terms of responsiveness and cost-efficiency. The study also investigated the role of the relevant industry group in the management of the logistical supply chain drivers by the business owners. The data was analysed and tested by the Kruskal-Wallis test, the Pearson Chi-square test and factor analyses were performed. Two binary logistic regression models were developed to determine the influence of the management of the logistical supply chain drivers on the small retailers’ odds of survival. The results showed that the small retailers manage facilities and inventory focused more towards responsiveness, whereas transportation is managed focused on either cost-efficiency or responsiveness. The study concluded that age and growth in income can predict the odds of survival for small businesses. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a modern fleet management system in improving the logistics of transporting staff, goods and materials in Kenya Power & Lighting Company, a utility firm in power distribution. In today’s competitive marketplace which is characterised by rapidly changing business requirements, leveraging leading edge technologies and adopting best practices are essential in order to ensure sound logistical support that guarantees both effectiveness and efficiency in the transportation processes. The sampling procedure of one-stage, cluster sampling and the use of the simple random sampling technique were used in this study to select a sample size which was sufficiently representative of the whole population. Both the descriptive study approach and the survey research strategy were adopted to enable the collection of data in a manner that allowed in-depth examination while gathering information that explained the relationships between constructs, in particular, cause and effect relationships. The main purpose of this dissertation was therefore to establish that the use of information technology is feasible in transport industries, explain possible obstacles and also any major advantages of its implementation. Secondly, as regards the theoretical aspect, a broadened view on the use of online tracking for vehicles using a global positioning system is presented, together with practical examples, to illustrate its successful implementation in a fleet management system. The study concludes by offering suggestions and recommendations from the research results and the researcher’s experiences for future studies. / Transport Economics, Logistics & Tourism / M. Com. (Transport Economics)

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a modern fleet management system in improving the logistics of transporting staff, goods and materials in Kenya Power & Lighting Company, a utility firm in power distribution. In today’s competitive marketplace which is characterised by rapidly changing business requirements, leveraging leading edge technologies and adopting best practices are essential in order to ensure sound logistical support that guarantees both effectiveness and efficiency in the transportation processes. The sampling procedure of one-stage, cluster sampling and the use of the simple random sampling technique were used in this study to select a sample size which was sufficiently representative of the whole population. Both the descriptive study approach and the survey research strategy were adopted to enable the collection of data in a manner that allowed in-depth examination while gathering information that explained the relationships between constructs, in particular, cause and effect relationships. The main purpose of this dissertation was therefore to establish that the use of information technology is feasible in transport industries, explain possible obstacles and also any major advantages of its implementation. Secondly, as regards the theoretical aspect, a broadened view on the use of online tracking for vehicles using a global positioning system is presented, together with practical examples, to illustrate its successful implementation in a fleet management system. The study concludes by offering suggestions and recommendations from the research results and the researcher’s experiences for future studies. / Transport Economics, Logistics and Tourism / M. Com. (Transport Economics)

This study determined whether local manufacturers of light vehicles in South Africa employ supply chain best practices and strategies. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on a survey of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. A face-to–face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software were used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that across the supply chain, best practices were implemented to a large extent by all manufacturers. Light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, however face supply chain challenges, which include technological, infrastructural, cost, market/service and production/skills challenges. The most important supply chain performance indicator that contributes to optimisation of performance is quality, followed by final product delivery reliability, and then cost and supplier reliability. All the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics and the decision drivers of supply chain. One of the conclusions of the study was that local manufacturers of light vehicles do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies. The study concluded by developing a framework for determining supply chain best practices in line with a chosen strategy that could guide supply chain managers (in locally manufactured light vehicles) in the automotive in South Africa in their decision making. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

This study determined whether local manufacturers of light vehicles in South Africa employ supply chain best practices and strategies. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using qualitative and quantitative approaches based on a survey of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. A face-to–face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software were used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that across the supply chain, best practices were implemented to a large extent by all manufacturers. Light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa, however face supply chain challenges, which include technological, infrastructural, cost, market/service and production/skills challenges. The most important supply chain performance indicator that contributes to optimisation of performance is quality, followed by final product delivery reliability, and then cost and supplier reliability. All the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics and the decision drivers of supply chain. One of the conclusions of the study was that local manufacturers of light vehicles do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies. The study concluded by developing a framework for determining supply chain best practices in line with a chosen strategy that could guide supply chain managers (in locally manufactured light vehicles) in the automotive in South Africa in their decision making. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

1 ABSTRACT CHVÁTALOVÁ, Daniela: Contract of Sale in Private Law. [Dissertation thesis]. Charles University. Faculty of Law; Department of Civil Law. Tutor: prof. JUDr. Jan Dvořák, CSc., Head of Department of Civil Law, Vice-Dean for the Doctoral Study Programme and Rigorosum Procedure. Level of professional qualification: Ph.D., Praha: PF UK, 2015. Key words: Civil Code No. 40/1964 Sb. Commercial Code No. 53/1991 Sb. Civil Code No. 89/2012 Sb. Principles of civil law. Purchase. Dual regulation. Precontracting negotiations. Offer and acceptance of the offer. Contract of sale. Purchase of personal property. Purchase of real property. Subject of the contract. Superficies solo cedit. Construction is a part of the land. Hardship clause. Purchase price and manner for determining the purchase price. Commercial terms and conditions. Decrease in a purchase price. Unreasonable decrease in the purchase price Laesio enormis. Price clause. Delivery of goods. Seller's delay in delivery of goods. Transfer of title. Rights in case of defective performance. Quality, quantity, type, and package. Rebus sic stantibus clause. Contractual penalty. Cancellation of a contract of sale. Sale of a plant. Advance payment and retainer. Supranational projects. Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). Principles of European Contract Law...