Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004. / "June 2004." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-57). / A myriad of electronic retailers are contending in a battle to guard their established territories in cyberspace. Many of them are desperately searching for the key to sustainable growth and profitability as the struggle continues and intensifies. This study finds that one powerful way to attract customers in the e-commerce industry is to create "stickiness" through virtual communities and personalization. Virtual communities and personalization have become necessary elements for a successful e-business as they provide extended customer relations. The two cannot be easily imitated by rivals, creating sustainable competitive advantages. This paper substantiates the above claims in many approaches. First, the literature review will provide information to understand the importance of virtual communities and personalization. A dynamic feedback model is then presented to show how the two factors interact to develop a solid loyal customer base. Next, results of multivariate regression analysis using General Social Surveys 1972-2000 further justify the claim that virtual communities and personalization have significant positive effects on individuals' online purchase behavior. This empirical work also show that demographic variables are not correlated with the probability of making online purchases. Finally, case studies of leading e-commerce firms are presented to confirm that electronic retailers effectively managing virtual communities and offering personalized services are rewarded with customer loyalty, impressive growth, and above industry-average profit returns. / by Young Beom (Brian) Um. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-41). / The first step in negotiation is the information gathering and investigation, very often the investigation stage is not done properly, the negotiator has to decide about the goals, which information he can share, need to determine the BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement), learn about the person/team he will be negotiation with. In additional there are also differences in how people from different cultures use information and communicate during the negotiation, ignoring the culture differences can be major mistake. This research evaluate the option of using decision-making negotiation tool for the investigation stage and for negotiation process, the thesis provides design and features set for tool based on research done and feedback from potential users, the paper illustrate the negotiation culture differences between American and Israelis, and how it should be embedded in tool. Survey and interviews concluded to collect feedback from people in different industries, on culture differences between American and Israelis and on how negotiators are interested in tool for negotiation. Finally, results analyzed to determine future actions, consider culture differences and user's need for negotiation tool. / by Omer Granot. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 63). / Currently many alternative options exist to satisfy the RFID mandate by Wal-Mart--tag cases at the exit doors, tag all cases at the supplier's warehouse docks, tag a certain section of the warehouse, etc. The big question is how to prevent Wal-Mart suppliers from treating the cost of EPC standard-adoption from just becoming another one of those nagging costs of doing business with Wal-Mart and how the cost of RFID adoption can be leveraged to differentiate the company's products and service levels from that of the non-RFID-adopting/non-RFID-cost-incurring competition. In addition, it is worth exploring how can all of that translate into long-term comparative advantage for a consumer electronics manufacturer. By examining the different scenarios for a Consumer Electronics Manufacturer (CEM) supplier of Wal-Mart that will be RFID tagging small ticket items on a case level, this study proposes an ROI/ROA framework within which investments in RFID can be evaluated and validates through a simulated financial model that positive value exists for early adopters of RFID technology. / by Teodor D. Simeonov. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-100). / The near-total dependence of the U.S. transportation system on oil has been attributed to exposing consumers to price volatility, increasing the trade imbalance, weakening U.S. foreign policy options, and raising climate change concerns. As a matter of policy to mitigate these issues, the U.S. has promoted fuel diversification and vehicle fuel flexibility in the transportation sector as complementary strategies. However, the search for a fuel that replicates the features of oil has proven elusive to policy makers. With the technological innovation of horizontal hydraulic fracturing that has enabled low cost shale gas production, natural gas has a unique opportunity in potentially breaking the stalemate. This thesis uses an exploratory approach to first identify the underlying factors that create challenges for scaling up alternative fuel and vehicle development. Second, it examines how consumers and policymakers, as two opposing sources of demand, influence and shape their development as well as directions for technological progress. Third, it develops a visual representation using natural gas as a case study to explore some of these issues and how they affect the potential pathways for using natural gas in light duty vehicle applications. This thesis concludes that while there are no clear pathways forward for natural gas in light duty vehicle applications, the transportation sector's sensitivity to changes in fuel feedstock composition enables a number of opportunities for development rather than suppresses it. This thesis also finds that rather than searching for a single fungible alternative fuel, there may be more opportunities for accommodating new energy sources. However, how the transportation system responds and can adapt to them still remains an area for more research. / by Alice K. Chao. / S.M.in Technology and Policy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2009. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-222). / This research is based on the well-known but seldom stated premise that the design of complex engineered systems is done by people -- each with their own knowledge, thoughts, and views about the system being designed. To understand the implications of this social dimension, the Integrated Concurrent Engineering (ICE) environment, a real-world setting for conceptual space mission design, is examined from technical and social perspectives. An integrated analysis demonstrates a relationship among shared knowledge, process, and product. The design process is analyzed using a parameter-based Design Structure Matrix (DSM). This model, consisting of 682 dependencies among 172 parameters, is partitioned (reordered) to reveal a tightly coupled design process. Further analysis shows that making starting assumptions about design budgets leads to a straightforward process of well-defined and sequentially executed design iterations. To analyze the social aspects, a network-based model of shared knowledge is proposed. By quantifying team members' common views of design drivers, a network of shared mental models is built to reveal the structure of shared knowledge at a snapshot in time. A structural comparison of pre-session and post-session networks is used to compute a metric of change in shared knowledge. Based on survey data from 12 design sessions, a correlation is found between change in shared knowledge and each of several system attributes, including technological maturity, development time, mass, and cost. Integrated analysis of design process and shared knowledge yields three interdisciplinary insights. / (cont.) First, certain features of the system serve a central role both in the design process and in the development of shared knowledge. Second, change in shared knowledge is related to the design product. Finally, change in shared knowledge and team coordination (agreement between expected and reported interactions) are positively correlated. The thesis contributes to the literature on product development, human factors engineering, and organizational and social psychology. It proposes a rigorous means of incorporating the socio cognitive aspects of design into the practice of systems engineering. Finally, the thesis offers a set of recommendations for the formation and management of ICE design facilities and discusses the applicability of the proposed methodology to the full-scale development of complex engineered systems. / by Mark Sean Avnet. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 53). / We explore the use of transportation relays, a somewhat unconventional transportation operations concept, in terms of improving private fleet management. A transportation relay is a shipment that is divided into two legs. With transportation relays, there is more ways to route freight with a private fleet. We use a linear program to find private fleet tours with and without relays for a large retailer. We find that relays increase private fleet use by 17% and reduce total transportation cost by 6%. Inbound relays increase the utilization of private fleet on the inbound lanes while outbound relays shift the private fleet capacity between neighboring DCs. Together, inbound and outbound relays better utilize existing private fleet resources and can be used to justify an investment in a larger private fleet through the purchase of addition tractors and trailers. / by John Tsu and Mayank Agarwal. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-72). / The upstream petroleum supply chain is inefficient and uneconomical because of the independence of the four complex and fragmented functions which comprise it. Crude oil exploration, trading, transportation, and refining are functions which may be integrated through unified decision-making facilitated by timely information exchange. This exchange has been problematic because the four business units with their disparate activities have not been able to capture and appropriately structure the required information. How can business executives in the oil industry assemble all of the required information to achieve system-wide optimization? To remove the silos which impede system-wide optimization, there is need to analyze people, systems and issues in the upstream section of the petroleum supply chain; as a background to understanding the current challenges faced in achieving integration. Hence, the use of secondary and primary data sources was used for this research. The secondary includes the review of relevant literature while the primary data were from two sources. The first came from an on-site interview with the heads of business units of a case study, a company which is a major player in the industry. / (cont.) The second is from telephone interviews with industry experts which include software providers, consultants and other major players in the industry. The findings are that on-time information exchange will maximize shareholders' value and improve process efficiency in the supply chain. This process efficiency makes the upstream supply chain more responsive to possible changes in the environment that affects its operation. This will allow supply chain managers to achieve both a reduction in the variability in price of end product will be obtained while achieving stable profit margins. This research concludes by advocating that the use of information systems that accurately support data exchange among the functions in the supply chain in a timely, coordinated fashion with minimal distortion is required to ensure consistency in optimal decision making. To achieve this, change management is necessary because it requires a shift to a holistic approach in making decisions. Finally, areas recommended for future research are stated. / by Beatrice N. Nnadili. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-69). / This thesis examines the benefit of postponement of fashion products by considering the overage cost of the intermediate product and the correlation between the demand for each end products produced from it. The benefit of postponement is measured by the percentage increase in maximum expected profit after demand is realized. the production process is modelled as a two stage newsvendor problem and the forecast update path follows an additive martingale. An optimal solution and a myopic solution are proposed to solve this problem. Numerical results indicate that the benefit of postponement decreases with the overage cost of the intermediate product and the correlation between demand for each end products. It becomes less sensitive to the overage cost of the intermediate product when end products are more negatively correlated. It is also less sensitive to the demand correlation between end products when the overage cost of the intermediate product is low. In addition, the benefit of postponement is sensitive to the additional unit costs introduced by postponement. A case study to NFL Jerseys purchase planning indicates that an increase of unit cost by 10% can reduce the benefit of postponement by over 50%. / by Huiling Gong. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, June 2013. / "June 2013." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-77). / Firms seek to create a product that are both desired by consumers, and also minimize costs. These goals come into conflict, as minimizing costs leads firms toward mass production, and meeting consumer needs leads firms toward product differentiation. One strategy to resolve these conflicting goals is to share component parts across distinct product variants allowing firms to maintain differentiated products while obtaining some of the economies of scale. In this way, part sharing reduces the cost burden of maintaining multiple product variants. However, part sharing also reduces product differentiation by resulting in some feature sharing, as the requirements of component parts differ across different product variants. Though some sharing may add desirable features, there may also be negative impacts, such as unnecessary mass from overdesign, referred to as "scar mass." In products where low mass is an important feature, this scar mass may deter designers from implementing part sharing. A common way of reducing mass in products is to exchange the material used for a lighter-weight alternative. However, lighter materials may be more expensive to use due to higher unit price or more complicated forming. This research investigates combined part sharing and material substitution strategies and their implications on cost and product weight. Specifically, it seeks to evaluate whether there exist situations in which 1) the cost savings from part sharing outweigh the increased cost from material substitution, while simultaneously 2) the mass savings from material substitution outweigh the scar mass penalty from sharing. To address this problem, this research develops a framework for modeling the implementation of different part sharing and material substitution strategies. In this framework, design changes to products from material substitution and part sharing are estimated using equivalent structural performance. The cost implications of these design changes are then calculated using a Process-Based Cost Modeling approach. This framework is then used to address a case of a hypothetical generic product and finally is applied to a real case. The real case is based on three real vehicle bodies that share a common platform. The research findings identify situations in which material substitution and part sharing strategies can be combined to produce lower mass and lower cost products. Automotive manufacturers may benefit from using these findings to implement cost-effective lightweighting policies to help them meet fuel efficiency standards. / by Nathalie Marielle Rivest. / S.M.in Technology and Policy

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-51). / The objective of this thesis is to improve the accuracy of individual freight train run time predictions defined as the time between departure from an origin node to arrival at a destination node not including yard time. A correlation analysis is conducted to identify explanatory variables that capture predictable sources of delay and influence run times for use in a regression model. A regression model is proposed utilizing the following explanatory variables: rolling historical average, congestion window, meets, passes, overtakes, direction, arrival headway, and departure headway to predict train run times. The performance of the proposed regression model is compared against a baseline simple historical averaging technique for a two year period of actual train operational data. The proposed regression model, though subject to specific limitations, offers substantial improvements in accuracy over the baseline technique and is recommended as justifying further exploration by the railroad to ultimately enable more accurate train schedules with subsequent improvements in railroad capacity, customer service, and asset utilization. / by Kunal Bonsra and Joseph Harbolovic. / M.Eng.in Logistics