Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-133). / Health information exchange (HIE) - the electronic exchange of health information among healthcare institutions - has been projected to hold enormous promise as an antidote to the fragmented healthcare delivery system in the United States. After decades of mostly failed attempts, we still do not know how to make HIE work. This thesis is the beginning of a systematic understanding of HIE, focusing on the clinical users and the context in which the users and the technology interact. It uses a systems approach to understand HIE from the perspectives of the core stakeholders including healthcare providers, patients, health IT vendor companies, public policy, and the HIE organizations that supply data exchange services. The core contributions of the thesis are contained in four studies. Values of healthcare providers as stakeholders in HIE In a stud y of three communities, healthcare provider organizations were found to expect regional HIE organizations to bring them benefits from the ability to measure care quality. However, one relatively larger community placed greater value on the strategic interests of its individual provider institutions, whereas two smaller communities valued the interests of the communities as a whole. Factors that affect clinicians' usage of HIE. In a study of clinician-users of an operational HIE, usage factors were categorized as motivators and moderators. Motivators for individual clinicians' usage of HIE included improving care quality and time savings. Moderators were numerous and included gaps in data, workflow complexity and usability issues. Several policy options and implications are discussed including: requiring HIE organizations to report metrics of HIE contributions and accesses; certifying HIE vendor companies to provide standardized usage metrics; and creating incentives for clinicians as well as HIE organizations and regional health IT extension centers to meet HIE usage targets. Analysis of opportunities to use HIE. In one community, 51% of visits involved "care transitions" among individual providers, and 36-41% involved care transitions between medical groups. The percentage of a provider's visits which involved care transitions varied considerably by clinical specialty and even within specialties. Within primary care, individual clinicians' "transition percentages" varied from 32% to 95%. This study discusses how policies designed to foster HIE usage should take this variation into account. Analysis of mergers and provider recruitment on HIE value. In a simulation study of patient visit patterns in 10 communities, the results suggest that even after substantial consolidation of medical groups, an HIE would still have considerable value as measured by the number of opportunities for data exchange. However, in each community a small number of medical groups were key: if absent from a community HIE, these groups would reduce the value by 50%. Conversely, if they were the only groups participating, the HIE's value would only achieve 10-20% of its value with all groups participating. The results of these studies suggest that HIE will be needed even in the event of the expected large-scale consolidation of healthcare providers. However, efforts will be needed to recruit medical groups to join HIE organizations, to improve HIE technology, and to train clinicians to integrate HIE into their workflows. / by Robert S. Rudin. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-46). / Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, an important component in the enterprise IT infrastructure, must be integrated into the legacy IT system. This thesis studies how RFID technology can be integrated into the existing Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) infrastructure, particularly how RFID can be used in the current EDI exchange process to accelerate the receiving process. After detailed review of current receiving process and relevant data specification, the author finds it possible to replace the current manual receiving process by RFID enabled automatic receiving and reconciliation process. A middleware is proposed to implement this approach. / by Yan Chen. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-81). / As required by the WTO accession, China is opening its logistics industry to international logistics companies. What are these companies' strategies in the China market, and how are Chinese domestic logistics companies responding? The author interviewed four executives in charge of China business from three major international logistics companies and one international logistics user, and surveyed the literature to track the investments and plans of international and Chinese logistics companies. The thesis analyzes the strategies of third-party logistics (3PL) providers in the China logistic industry, namely international companies, and Chinese state-owned and Chinese private companies. The research finds that network expansion is the main strategy for the international companies, and the tendency is to operate independently. Infrastructure and extensive network are the state-owned companies' main assets, and niche market expertise is the private companies' strategy to survive and compete in the China logistics industry. These three types of players will coexist in the short term in China, while in the long term, when the international logistics companies have set up their infrastructure and network, there will probably a new round of shuffling. / by Xuepin Cen. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / "May 2012." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-140). / The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is facing a crisis in the near future centered on increasing energy consumption. Today, the kingdom consumes approximately 1/3 of its oil production. If no action is taken and the kingdom continues business as usual, by 2026 it will consume 50% of its production, and by 2047 its entire production. A large percentage of oil produced in the kingdom is used for electrical generation and to fulfill increasing industrial, transportation, and water demand. In 2010 the kingdom consumed 212,262.6 GWh-9.7% more electricity than in the previous year. This thesis analyzes how the current situation has developed, then lays out the important elements of Saudi energy dynamics on a national scale. The following chapters demonstrate the application of causal loop analysis to the Saudi situation through a system dynamics model. Technical, financial, and socio-economic challenges in energy management were used to derive key dynamic variables included in the model which shows how increasing GDP and population drive local electrical demand. Energy policy scenarios involving increased use of natural gas and/or diversification into solar electrical generation were simulated by the model. The model showed that the result would be increased oil exports, which in return yielded a higher GDP and more investments in economic and industrial growth. The output of the model showed that diversification would defer the crisis for only a few years if current consumption trends continue. A hybrid scenario that couples diversification with an aggressive energy efficiency policy to stimulate reduced consumption demonstrated electrical consumption levels below 400,000 GWh, sustainable over the next 35 years. In all other scenarios electrical consumption increased rapidly beyond 600,000 GWh over the same period. The thesis concludes with some key findings and recommendations for the future development of sustainable energy policies in the kingdom and the region. / by Khalid A. Al-Ahmed. / S.M.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 44). / Industry is rapidly adopting online auctions. Many of these auctions are occurring in the procurement of component supplies. While there are tremendous expectations for this technology, there is little data or study looking at the implications of the technology. This thesis aims to provide some insight into this topic. Primarily using data collected in a study of auctions in the procurement of automotive components, this thesis looks at the costs and benefits of using online auctions in procurement. The thesis specifically addresses the cost vs. supplier goodwill tradeoff present in procurement auction. After quantifying these variables and answering associated questions, the thesis provides a framework for evaluating the use of online auctions in industry in general. The thesis concludes with a list of suggested further research into this important subject. / Tyler J. Rameson. / M.Eng.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 35). / Transfer price is an important field of study for profit maximization. As more multinational enterprises (MNEs) are involved in global trading in the recent decades, the objective to set an optimized transfer price is more crucial than ever since the difference in tax rates and tariffs have sophisticated impacts on the overall profit for the corporation. In this thesis, which focuses primarily on Asia Pacific, I will review historical transfer pricing methods, explore the factors that affect transfer price determination, and construct a mathematical model to determine the optimal transfer price by comparing and contrasting the different transfer pricing methods with data from a hypothetical company. Particularly, I will illustrate the effects of taxes and tariffs on the determination of transfer price. Consequently, I will perform sensitivity analysis with respects to tariffs, taxes, and shipping costs. The thesis will conclude with recommendations on the optimized transfer pricing methods and insights on the implications for the method. / by Kelly Liang. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 89-94). / This thesis presents the challenges, opportunities and key themes of globalization of R&D from the point of view of a growing product development office in Mexico belonging to a large multinational automotive company. The study finds that Mexico has a very large domestic market with a growing middle class and access to an even larger international market due to one of the most open economies. It is also finds that Mexico has a growing pool of skilled human resources in S&T and is well positioned to keep growing the number of researchers in the near future. The study also shows that even though the research in Mexico is not quantitatively significant in the world yet, it is qualitatively competitive with all the BRICS and that there is a presence of agglomeration and clusters in the aerospace, automotive, electronics and software industry which is a positive sign for establishing R&D operations in those fields. The review concludes that in order to increase Ford of Mexico's (FoM) ability to contribute to innovation efforts to the company globally, it is recommended to have a small group of dedicated people to oversee and manage a portfolio of R&D projects in 4 areas of opportunity: * Process innovations including manufacturing operations " Product Innovations supporting FoM's core commodity responsibilities or targeted at commodities in which FoM has global design lead. " Projects directly geared at improving FoM's ability to deliver top hats * Building core competencies in niche areas currently not present in the company. / by Kenneth Harris Reyes. / S.M.in Engineering and Management

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-79). / Use of retail-ready packaging reduces the costs of replenishing store shelves by eliminating the labor of removing packaging materials and stocking individual items on shelves. While reducing costs for retailers, retail-ready packaging formats increase costs for consumer products manufacturers. This research project assesses the use of retail-ready packaging across varying retailer types and products to determine conditions where the value of retail-ready packaging is maximized. Taking into account the supply chain benefits and costs for the retailer, six U.S. retail channels were selected for study: supermarket, wholesale club, limited assortment, super warehouse, drug and supercenter. One retailer from each of these categories was studied. The research found a wide range in opportunity for benefits and costs. The important factors influencing the net value of retail-ready packaging for retailers were product velocity, inventory carrying costs, SKU assortment relative to retail space and store replenishment procedures. / by Kathleen Anne Jackson and Ling Bai Burke. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2011. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99). / Several temporal and political factors can sometimes limit the effectiveness of traditional methods of project tracking and cost estimation. A large organization is susceptible to internal and external risks that are difficult to predict by a single person. Use of collective intelligence tools can help gather inputs from a crowd of people and help provide insight into future events with their collective wisdom. A prediction market is one such tool that provides an environment for traders to buy and sell contracts, whose values are tied to uncertain future events. Efficient prediction markets have been shown to outperform available polls and other forecasting mechanisms. This thesis focuses mainly on the features of a prediction market, its use in the context of a large organization and the steps needed for its implementation. We believe that prediction markets can be a useful supplementary tool along with the existing cost estimation and project management tools in a large organization. They can help aggregate information and identify any direct or indirect factors that can impact cost, or schedule estimates, or create risk for the completion of a project. Major design principles for implementation of prediction markets have been identified by the author based on seven mini case studies from different industries. The author also conducted three pilot studies at MIT and the observations from these have been used to identify best practices related to design and implementations of markets. We found increased involvement of participants and increased awareness in the projects to be one of the major benefits of prediction markets. From the case studies, research and data collected from simulations, we found positive evidence that prediction markets can supplement the use of current estimation and risk assessment methodologies when deployed correctly, and help keep a check on the pulse of an organization by preparing it for any future events or outcomes. / by Taroon Aggarwal. / S.M.in Engineering and Management

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-84). / Introduction and motivation: From a traditional paradigm, the term "luxury e-commerce" is an oxymoron. The high-volume, hands-off approach of online sales is a direct contradiction to that of the high touch, human relationship-based luxury retail industry. It is for this reason that, until recently, many luxury brands have avoided e-retail - the belief is that it cheapens their image (Okonkwo, 2010). However, the successful experiences of certain companies in specific regions are gradually giving many luxury retailers a reason to reconsider e-commerce. For example, the luxury retailer Ralph Lauren has experienced huge success in e-commerce (see Figure 1), and is on a mission to proliferate their multi-channel sales model across the globe. South Korea is one of the most recent locations in which Ralph Lauren has chosen to roll out an e-retail initiative. Explosive economic growth across Asia has rapidly expanded the market for luxury goods and services. In South Korea, this growth has been particularly strong and consistent, as has South Korean consumers' appetite for luxury. This strong market growth, confluent with the reputation as the world's most wired country, makes South Korea an attractive target for e-commerce implementation. The Ralph Lauren team came to us with a rather broad request: to help them investigate the potential challenges of their e-retail initiative in South Korea. Through our research, we found several interesting and pertinent optimization models that could be modified to plan for Ralph Lauren's e-retail operation in South Korea, but as we delved into these models we realized that they didn't address Ralph Lauren's paramount mission in Korea, which is to "elevate the brand". We took a step back and zeroed in on our focus question: how could Ralph Lauren elevate its brand while simultaneously launching an e-commerce initiative in South Korea? We believe the insights gained from our study will help Ralph Lauren utilize "systems-thinking" to make strategic and operational decisions in South Korea that can elevate their brand image. These insights might also apply to other luxury retailers considering an e-commerce initiative in South Korea or other countries. This thesis presents several thought models that incorporate factors like inventory policy, brand strength, mediation, customization and online sales mix - which may make this research of interest to sales, marketing, operations and supply chain professionals. / by Mark F. Vanderbilt and Daniel G. Yunes. / M.Eng.in Logistics