Shrinking profit margins in the high technology industry has led companies to attempt to increase profits through an increased focus on after-market services. As part of that effort, service parts logistics, which manages the post-sales distribution of spare parts needed to maintain and repair products in use, has gained importance. In an effort to improve Service Parts Logistics (SPL) operations, we integrate facility location and inventory stocking decisions while classifying facilities based on their assignment; dedicated facilities that are assigned solely to individual customers (located on-site of the customer, serving only that customer), and shared facilities that are assigned to a subset of customers. The introduction of dedicated facilities simplifies the overall problem formulation in certain special cases. In one such special case where there is only one facility and none of the customers are within its service time window, the overall problem reduces to a binary knapsack formulation. This can be solved in pseudo-polynomial time through the dynamic programming algorithm for such problems. Nonetheless, even in the general case, we identify conditions under which a dedicated facility will always be opened. Computational results show that this observation is used by solvers as a preprocessing step, thus loosening some hard constraints. As a result, some of these problems are solved in less time than the corresponding problems without the dedicated facilities. However, dedicated facilities become advantageous mainly in sparse networks as opposed to dense networks. Apart from low network density, low holding cost and relatively high demand are two other system parameters that encourage the opening of dedicated facilities. SPL can be further improved by sharing inventory across shared facilities, which is already a common practice in real SPL systems. In this case, Markov chains can be used to estimate fill rates, but the process is iterative. However, under the low demand assumption of parts in SPL, we derive analytical formulae of estimating fill rates and thus incorporate inventory sharing within the network design and inventory optimization model. Special cases of this problem can be solved by an alternative binary knapsack formulation. Computational results show that large instances can be solved instantaneously, and we also identify a greedy heuristic that provides bounds on average within 0.12% of the optimal solution. We observe maximum benefit from inventory sharing when there exists large demand in the area overlapping the time window of both shared facilities and when inventory replenishment rates are high. However, we also identify conditions on the system parameters where inventory sharing could increase cost and/or decrease service in comparison with not-sharing. The combined problem of inventory sharing with customer dedicated facilities is formulated based on a binary knapsack structure. However, the problem size increases exponentially with solution time. Therefore, we construct another greedy heuristic by combining the inventory sharing heuristic and a special case algorithm for a single dedicated facility. A large size problem that takes almost a minute to be solved by conventional branch and bound is solved in less than a second using the greedy heuristic. We also show that for a given demand network, the combined problem achieves 40-60% reduction in total cost within 1% of the time taken by the problem without inventory sharing and without dedicated facilities. Another interesting result is that in some cases, adding new customers to a given inventory sharing system helps to reduce the cost and/or increase service. / text

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

by Chen Wai Sze, Catriona, Fok Yu Chun, Eugene. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-41). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Objectives --- p.2 / Methodology --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT IN U.S. AND H.K --- p.4 / Background --- p.4 / Hong Kong Situation --- p.4 / Silicon Valley Situation --- p.5 / HK Culture vs US Culture --- p.6 / Tech Culture in Silicon Valley --- p.7 / Hong Kong Culture --- p.11 / Management in U.S. vs. Management in Hong Kong --- p.12 / Stewardship vs. Entrepreneur ship --- p.12 / Organization Structure and Work Environment --- p.12 / Research and Development --- p.13 / Human Resources Management --- p.14 / Process of Decision Manking --- p.15 / Chapter III. --- CORPORATE STRATEGY AND INNOVATION STRATEGY MANAGEMENT --- p.16 / Corporate Strategy Management --- p.16 / Establish Uniqueness in Forming Corporate Strategy --- p.16 / Continually Explore New Future Strategies --- p.17 / Managing the Dual Strategy --- p.20 / Conclusion of Corporate Strategy Management --- p.21 / Innovation Strategy --- p.21 / Competitive Strategy vs. Value Innovation --- p.22 / Identifying Innovations --- p.24 / Conclusion of Innovation Strategy --- p.25 / Chapter IV. --- CASE ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.26 / U.S. Cases --- p.26 / A US High Technology Firm Specializes in Semi- conductor --- p.26 / "Technology Deployment International, Inc" --- p.27 / H.K. Cases --- p.28 / Gohome.com.hk --- p.28 / Wellfit Information Technology Limited --- p.29 / Chapter V. --- LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FOR THE HONG KONG COMPANIES --- p.32 / Develop a Tech Culture --- p.32 / Treasure Good People --- p.32 / Encourage Constant Learning --- p.33 / Encourage Enterpreneurship --- p.33 / Speed Up Decision Making Process --- p.33 / Informal Work Environment --- p.34 / Corporate Strategies --- p.34 / Innovation Strategies --- p.34 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION --- p.36 / Chapter VII. --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.37 / Education --- p.37 / Patent Issue --- p.37 / Government not to Compete with Local Firms --- p.38 / Tax Deduction --- p.38 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.39

This thesis aims to investigate local conditions of high-tech industry development in the Portland/Vancouver CMSA. To do so, the research proceeds in four major stages. First, it is analyzed how historical factors contributed to the rise of high-tech industries in the CMSA. The second part consists of mapping the distribution pattern of hightech establishments. The U.S. Bureau of Census' County Business Patterns statistics are used to calculate the number of high-tech establishments and employees by branch (SIC code) and county; two high-tech directories help to identify the exact firm locations. Thirdly, an explanatory set of locational factors is established, based on interviews with various regional and local economic development agencies and on a review of relevant economic theories. Finally, the impact of state and local policies on high-tech firm locational decisions is elaborated. The development of high-tech industries in the Portland/Vancouver CMSA can be divided up into three phases. While the first phase (1945 to 1974) is mainly distinguished by local entrepreneurship, the second phase (1975 to 1984) is characterized by an in-migration of high-tech firms headquartered outside the Pacific Northwest. Beginning in 1985 (phase III), Japanese high-tech investment became the most significant growth factor. High-tech establishments are not evenly distributed over the metropolitan area, but their locations are rather marked by distinctive clusters. Recent high-tech industry development is largely a suburban phenomenon, avoiding inner-city areas and the CMSA's eastside with its traditional metalworking industry base. Most Californian and foreign-owned high-tech companies have established only standardized branch production and assembly facilities in the Portland/Vancouver CMSA to take advantage of low business costs. Although the high quality of life enables high-tech firms to recruit easily scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to the CMSA, the majority of companies has not yet set up R&D centers. Main reason is the missing link to a prominent research university nearby. Therefore, state and local policies have shifted their focus from attracting foreign branch plants to improving the quality of educational institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to build a comprehensive indicator of Information Communication Technology (ICT). We first develop an ICT indicator for Taiwan high-technology industries. We then extend the Bresnahan, Brynjolffson and Hitt (2000) model to measure the impact of ICTs on economic performance and organization structure. In this paper, a new measure of ICTs provides a more complete picture of ICT activity in Taiwan high-technology industry.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-240). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Not available / text

This research comprises a comparative study of Japanese and UK Intellectual Property (IP) management and an extension, informed by the study, of existing IP strategy frameworks. The research was prompted by observing that little has been written about IP management and that Japanese IP management might differ from that in the West due to differing economic, legal and technological circumstances. A literature review found IP related economics literature but little in English regarding IP management. The most relevant work was that by Teece concerning the combined role of complementary assets and intellectual property rights (IPRs). The present research's contribution is thus threefold. A detailed description of the development and nature of Japanese IP management. A comparison with UK IP management, putting Japanese IP management into an international context. Finally, a development of existing general IP Strategy frameworks informed by the results of the international comparison. In studying IP management in Japan a wide range of specialist literature in Japanese was studied. Interviews were held, those with Japanese IP managers, lawyers, government and NGO officials being in Japanese. The first comparative survey of UK and Japanese IP management formed a key source of the data collected. A response rate of 44% in Japan (211 replies) and 33% in the UK (259 replies) enabled comparisons by both size and sector. Many similarities were found between Japanese and UK attitudes to and practice of IP management, reflecting the similarity of the underlying issues in both countries. There were also significant differences between Japanese and UK companies especially in the extent and organisation of resources devoted to IP management, in attitudes to IP strategy, licensing, litigation, the filing of patent applications and in the use and management of patent information. The study provided the basis for developing a view of IP strategy as a dynamic management strategy process. This process occurs in a framework involving time and the control of technological scope and progress using IPRs and complementary assets. Other considerations involved comprise the ability to use resources to exploit markets fully and learning opportunities. The study of Japan's IP management and its development from a position of technological followership to that of still learning leadership thus provides a basis for a view of IP strategy as taking place in an integrated dynamic management framework.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2001. / Adviser: Arthur Winston. Submitted to the Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 335-366). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-151). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.