Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, June 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-72). / As the healthcare industry in United States continues to be constrained by increasing costs, new delivery channels are coming into practice. One such channel is home healthcare. Home healthcare presents challenges on the basis of acceptability by the medical community, insurers and patients, availability of care in fragmented locations and affordability of the product or service in comparison to other healthcare modes. This study analyzes these challenges in an attempt to suggest strategies to allow home healthcare to grow as an industry and the successful sustainability of that growth. Methods used to analyze home healthcare include the study of two home healthcare firms, one pharmaceutical manufacturer who used home healthcare to augment their product, and in-depth interviews with several stakeholders within the healthcare system. / by Katherine Szabo Fowler. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-108). / The number of Joint Urgent Operational Needs has exploded with the Global War on Terror and the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. The challenge to smaller urgent programs is the programs are not large enough to obtain top priority for all stakeholders. Even if the entire stakeholder landscape agreed to the urgency of the requirement not all stakeholders can or will increase their urgency the same amount. Four critical stakeholder attributes are examined in rapid acquisition: Cachet, Advocacy, Operational Need and Optempo. A method of dynamic tracking of these four stakeholder attributes is presented along with data from three rapid acquisition programs confirming the importance of Cachet, Advocacy and Operational Need to the success of rapid acquisition programs. / by Michael J. Meyer. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004. / "June 2004." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-71). / The application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been studied for decades, and many field trials have been executed to evaluate the usability of RFID systems, the business case of RFID applications and so forth. One of the trial fields is its application to supply chain management (SCM) because the RFID technologies are thought to improve visibility of physical objects dramatically. Through this trial phase, benefits and feasibility of RFID have been confirmed, and as a result, major retailers, such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Metro, have decided to implement RFID. At the same time, these trials reveal the necessity of RFID standards. Among these newly developed RFID standards, Auto-ID standard, which was originally developed by Auto-ID Center, is a strong candidate to be a de-facto standard. Auto-ID technologies consist of data standards and software architecture components. Data standards also consist of two components: Electronic Product Code (EPC) and Physical Markup Language (PML). On the other hand, software architecture components consist of four components: readers, Savant, EPC Information Server (EPC-IS), and Object Name Service (ONS). EPC-IS. which defines the interface of the servers that store physical object information, plays a key role in realizing business processes that the RFID technologies are expected to realize. In this thesis, we propose architecture of EPC-IS by defining the requirements for EPC-IS through generic business processes executed in Auto-ID infrastructure. The architecture we propose is not a monolithic message schema but three simple message schemas with vocabulary sets that are separately defined in dictionaries. By taking this structure, we achieve robust and scalable interface. We also evaluate / our proposal by applying it to the problems found in the RFID trials and possible future business processes. / by Tatsuya Inaba. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 80). / With the increasing complexities in supply chains and increasing global trade, integrated supply chain network design is utilized by the firms in order to reduce the overall cost while meeting the customer demand with requisite levels of service. This view of collaborative approach towards supply chain design has the potential of providing competitive edge for the firms in a highly competitive environment with high variability of end customer demand. In this study we present a framework for the design of a multi echelon supply chain network facing uncertain demand. We develop a comprehensive procedure for the optimization of a multi echelon supply chain. We provide the details of each step to describe the methodology and develop mathematical models for the design of a multi echelon distribution network. The procedure has been developed for the design of network flow and the placement of safety stock for a multi echelon distribution network. / by Hitesh Gupta. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-68). / The bullwhip effect is a pervasive problem in multi echelon supply chains that results in inefficient production operations and higher inventory levels. The causes of the bullwhip effect are well understood in industry and academia. Quantitative and qualitative solutions to attenuate this effect have been proposed in various research studies. In this research a quantitative solution in the form of a Statistical Process Control (SPC) based inventory management system is proposed that reduces the bullwhip effect while reducing inventory without compromising service level requirements for a variety of products. The strength of this methodology is in its effectiveness in reducing bullwhip for fast moving products in the mature phase of their lifecycles where improving production efficiency and lowering inventory investment are critical. However, fill rate issues are observed for slow moving products and therefore, the methodology is not recommended for such products. Finally, the application of this methodology to reduce the bullwhip effect is illustrated for a product family of a medical devices company. The results for the different classes of products in this family are discussed. / by Harikumar Iyer [and] Saurabh Prasad. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-291). / The United States aerospace and defense budgets are shrinking, resources are scarce and requirements are more demanding: aerospace and defense enterprises are expected to deliver a more capable product in less time and with fewer resources. To achieve this tough mission, the enterprises that comprise the United States aerospace and defense industries must form strategic partnerships and collaborations to utilize their respective resources, knowledge, and expertise to meet their customers' needs. Collaboration, be it between competing companies or within different divisions of the same company, is necessary for the survival of each company and the defense industry. In the past. United States aerospace and defense company relationships consisted mostly of a prime contractor. with sub-contractors providing a specific hardware or software subsystem. as specified by the prime contractor. Today, aerospace and defense company relationships are moving more toward that of "partners" where the previous supplier or sub-contractor for hardware or software subsystems is now sharing in the overall system design and engineering efforts. / (cont.) Since the partner companies and intra-company divisions are still geographically distributed throughout the United States, it is necessary for the aerospace and defense contractors to perform collaborative, distributed systems engineering (CDSE) over several geographical locations. Previous research has demonstrated that the design practices of distributed design teams differ from those of traditional. co-located teams. However. many companies today are performing CDSE using systems engineering (SE) processes and methods developed for traditional SE environments and are therefore encountering many issues. Successful SE practices are difficult to carry-out when performed by a traditional, co-located enterprise. The addition of geographic distribution and cross-company or intra-company collaboration in SE presents a myriad of social and technological challenges that necessitate new and different SE methods for success. Best practices for CDSE are currently unknown (or undocumented). In an attempt to benchmark the current state of CDSE practices in industry, this research presents the collection of CDSE lessons learned and success factors gathered from two case studies carried out at two United States aerospace and defense companies. / (cont.) The case studies examine many different factors that pertain to the companies "current CDSE efforts, including collaboration scenarios: collaboration tools; knowledge and decision management; SE practices and processes; SE process improvements: SE culture: SE project management. SE organization: and SE collaboration benefits and motivation. Since the research for successful CDSE practices is in its infancy. this research also outlines key areas for future CDSE research. / by Darlene Ann Utter. / S.M.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51). / The Information Era has brought along a myriad of revolutionary changes. The Internet in particular has given new forms to old paradigms. It is quite a challenge for companies to decide which of all these options best suit their business model and their strategies, hopefully one that also provides them with a competitive edge. One of these new alternatives is online auctions used as a procurement tool. And because of their novelty, it is still unclear whether they are a flawless method of decreasing costs. Although there are many issues concerning this topic, the one addressed here is how the bidders' behavior during the auction (the strategy used to place their bids) affects the outcome, for them as well as for the company setting up the event; and how managers on both sides can maximize the benefits. The basis for the study was a recent auction conducted by autoparts maker Visteon for the procurement of a plastic hose. On the supplier side, the results show that those companies that had a target price before entering the auction, would obtain the most benefits (less sacrifice in profits), since Visteon did not award the projects solely based on price. On the buyer side, having a rich mixture of bidders (diverse in size, location, quality concern for example) enables a more dynamic process (lower prices). / by Michel Galland Lopez. / M.Eng.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-47). / This thesis investigates financial results from RFID integration at product level in semiconductor manufacturing. The thesis explores how the technology might act in concert with other significant logistics tools to create return on investment. In this case, the use of RFID, along with postponement and Kanban practices, may help a manufacturer better align supply with central processing unit (CPU) demand. The resulting economic benefits are explored through yield scenarios. It is important to note that the thesis explores this topic without the benefit of empirical data. Consequently, a number of assumptions were made; these assumptions may affect the validity of the observations. Nonetheless, the study demonstrates an innovative approach that may contribute to new models of creative problem solving. / by John Dirk Kinley. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-63). / The object of the thesis is to develop a simple approach or heuristic for managing various types of uncertainty within a chemical production/inventory system. Later the company can use it to minimize the total cost at any required Cycle Service Level (CSL) under variable demand and production reliability. To solve this problem, we will base historical data to estimate the distribution type, the average demand and the standard deviation for the production line and initially assume that some factors like holding cost, penalty cost, demand and lead-time affect the production/inventory policy. Then, based on the above data and assumptions we build a model in Excel and then simulate some cases where change variables input. The model then is verified by Geert-Jan van Houtum Methodology. Finally, we will carry out the outcome analysis to capture the essence or insights of the multi-echelon problem. / by Nan Li & Guanghao Zhang. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-92). / CPGCo, a global manufacturer of consumer packaged goods, has had tremendous difficulty in producing accurate forecasts for its products in developing markets. The problem was especially apparent during the global economic crisis in 2008, which caused demand for its products to become highly volatile. Its troubles have been aggravated by its long forecasting horizon, as it has not been able to adjust quickly enough to rapid market shifts due to fluctuations in various macroeconomic indicators. As a result, CPGCo faces heavy stockouts and excess inventories. This thesis explores the suitability of using macroeconomic indicators to forecast consumer demand for three developing countries in Asia as well as three separate product segments. A total of 27 macroeconomic models are constructed using stepwise multiple linear regression analysis employing three separate dependent variables: the firm's monthly wholesale shipment volume, retail market share by volume, and retail sales. The world oil price and country-specific exchange rates, stock indexes, interest rates, consumer price indexes, and consumer confidence indicators are used as independent variables. With our models, we are capable of producing extremely accurate forecasts for a small sample set with errors at or below 7.2%. Our findings also indicate that the consumer price index has the most influence on consumer demand, appearing in 81% of our models; thus, we recommend that CPGCo tracks the consumer price index of each country to complement its current forecasting processes. / by Jonathan Mau and Bryan P. McFadden. / M.Eng.in Logistics