Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the highly competitive international wine markets, effective procurement of raw material could prove the difference between success or failure for a wine company. Therefore the researcher embarked on this study to create a model that will assist procurement decision makers in the South African wine industry in the strategic procurement of raw material. In order to create a model for procurement of raw material in the South African wine industry, qualitative research was conducted that included a study of literature, available material, views from experts as well as a content analysis from sample interviews. Procurement officials need to ensure that marketing forecasts are aligned with contracted procurement volumes. Cost, quality and availability should be tightly managed to minimise losses due to unallocated inventory or lack of raw material with sufficient quality or quantity to serve a marketing need. Suppliers should be prioritised in terms of strategic importance and procurement decision-makers should be crystal clear on which strategy to pursue with each quality segment and supplier in order to obtain the right quantity at the desired quantity and most economical price. Procurement decision makers need to evaluate the procurement and market environment for opportunities and threats that might impact on their ability to procure raw material from their supply base, and put measures in place to take control of possible effects of those uncertainties. This includes differentiating between grape procurement and wine procurement to leverage the advantages from both. Procurement officials must establish an action plan to limit the risk of cost, availability and quality by engaging and investing in trusting, loyal relationships with proficient suppliers with capacity. The procurement function should operate in a professional manner, building a track record of pro-active procurement and focus on loyal supplier relationships. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die hoogs kompeterende internasionale wynmarkte kan effektiewe aankope van rou-materiaal die verskil beteken tussen sukses of mislukking vir 'n wynmaatskappy. Daarom het die navorser begin met hierdie studie om 'n model te skep wat besluitnemers van aankope kan bystaan met die strategiese aankoop van roumateriaal in die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf. Om 'n model te skep vir die aankoop van roumateriaal in die Suid-Afrikaanse wynbedryf is kwalitatiewe navorsing gedoen, wat 'n literatuurstudie insluit, sowel as 'n studie van beskikbare materiaal, sienings van kenners en 'n inhoudsanalise van steekproefonderhoude. Aankoopsbeamptes moet verseker dat bemarkingsvooruitskattings en gekontrakteerde aankoopvolumes ooreenstem. Koste, kwaliteit en beskikbaarheid moet streng bestuur word om verliese te beperk wat kan ontstaan deur ongeallokeerde voorraad of 'n tekort aan roumateriaal met genoegsame kwaliteit of hoeveelheid om 'n bemarkingsbehoefte te bevredig. Verskaffers moet prioritiseer word in terme van strategiese belangrikheid en aankoop-besluitnemers moet kristalhelder dink oor watter strategie om te volg met elke kwaliteitssegment en verskaffer, sodat die regte hoeveelheid en volume teen die mees ekonomiese prys aangekoop word. Aankoopbesluitnemers moet die aankoop- en markomgewing evalueer vir geleenthede en bedreigings wat 'n invloed kan hê op hul vermoë om roumateriaal van hul verskaffingskorps aan te koop, en moet maatreëls in plek stel om beheer te neem oor die moontlike effek van daardie onsekerhede. Maatreëls sluit in die differensiasie tussen druifaankope en wynaankope om die voordele van elk maksimaal te benut. Aankoopsbeamptes moet 'n aksieplan vestig om die risiko van koste, beskikbaarheid en kwaliteit te beperk deur in verbintenisse te belê met lojale vertrouensverhoudings met vaardige verkaffers met kapasiteit. Die aankoopsfunksie moet op 'n professionele manier optree, om 'n beeld van pro-aktiewe aankope te bou en 'n fokus op lojale verskafferverhoudings te vestig.

Supply chain management has attracted much attention in the last decade. There has been a noticeable shift from a traditional individual organisation-based management to an integrated management across the supply chain network since the end of the last century. The shift contributes to better decision making in the supply chain context, as it is necessary for a company to cooperate with other supply chain members by utilising relevant information such as inventory, demand and resource capacity. In other words, information sharing and coordinated management are essential mechanisms to improve supply chain performance. Supply chains may differ significantly in terms of industry sectors, geographic locations, and firm sizes. This study was based on case studies from small and medium sized manufacturing supply chains in People Republic of China. The study was motivated by the following facts. Firstly, small and medium enterprises have made a big contribution to China’s economic growth. Several studies revealed that most of the Chinese manufacturing enterprises became aware of the importance of supply chain management, but compared to western firms, the supply chain management level of Chinese firms had been lagging behind. Research on supply chain management and performance optimisation in Chinese small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) was very scarce. Secondly, there had been plenty of studies in the literature that focused on two or three level supply chains whilst considering a number of uncertain factors (e.g. customer demand) or a single supply chain performance indicator (e.g. cost). However, the research on multiple stage supply chain systems with multiple uncertainties and multiple objectives based on real industrial cases had been spared and deserved more attention. One reason was due to the lack of reliable industrial data that required an enormous effort to collect the primary data and there was a serious concern about data confidentiality from the industry aspect. This study employed two SME manufacturing companies as case studies. The first one was in the Aluminium industry and another was in the Chemical industry. The aim was to better understand the characteristics of the supply chains in Chinese SMEs through performing in-depth case studies, and built models and tools to evaluate different strategies for improving their supply chain performance. The main contributions of this study included the following aspects. Firstly, this study generalised a supply chain model including a domestic supply chain part and an international supply chain part based on deep case studies with the emphasis on identifying key characteristics in the case supply chains, such as uncertainties, constraints and cost elements in association with flows and activities in the domestic supply chain and the international supply chain. Secondly, two important SCM issues, i.e. the integrated raw material procurement and finished goods production planning, and the international sales planning, were identified. Thirdly, mathematical models were formulated to represent the supply chain model taking into account multiple uncertainties. Fourthly, several operational strategies utilising the concepts of just-in-time, safety-stock/capacity, Kanban, and vendor managed inventory, were evaluated and compared with the case company's original strategy in various scenarios through simulation methods, which enabled quantification of the impact of information sharing on supply chain performance. Fifthly, a single objective genetic algorithm was developed to optimise the integrated raw material ordering and finished goods production decisions under (s, S) policy (a dynamic inventory control policy), which enabled the impact of coordinated management on supply chain performance to be quantified. Finally, a multiple objectives genetic algorithm considering both total supply chain cost and customer service level was developed to optimise the integrated raw material ordering and finished goods production with the international sales plan decisions under (s, S) policy in various scenarios. This also enabled the quantification of the impact of coordinated management on supply chain performances.

O aprovisionamento ou obtenção das rochas e minerais aptos para lascamento ou polimento constitui um dos temas mais abordados pela arqueologia de caçadores-coletores ao redor do mundo. O aprovisionamento lítico é um fenômeno cultural cujo estudo não está limitado à determinação da proveniência de tais materiais, integrando aspectos geomorfológicos e geológicos como disponibilidade, abundância e localização de afloramentos e clastos, com aspectos humanos da seleção como qualidade para as tarefas requeridas, cor, forma de remoção ou escavação e gestão tecnológica. A presente dissertação aborda o problema do aprovisionamento lítico em Dourado, região de cuestas basálticas no centro do estado de São Paulo, onde se insere o sítio Bastos, que apresenta datas entre ca. 7,650 e 12,640 anos cal a.P. e artefatos líticos manufaturados em arenito silicificado. Tendo como base uma relação conceitual entre tecnologia e suas consequências na paisagem lítica e uma perspectiva geoarqueológica sobre os recursos líticos, é proposto um protocolo de pesquisa que integra: a) prospecção de fontes potenciais e utilizadas de matéria-prima lítica num setor central e sul respeito do sítio; b) análise macroscópica mediante classificação paradigmática das amostras coletadas; c) análise petrográfico microscópico; d) e análise tecnológica dos artefatos recuperados em fontes, ocorrências e sítios. Os resultados indicam: 1) uma paisagem lítica caracterizada por extrações em afloramentos e clastos de arenito silicificado de muito boa a excelente qualidade para lascamento num raio mínimo de aprovisionamento diário de 3 km desde o sítio Bastos; 2) uma tendência a uma maior representação de poucas variedades específicas de arenito silicificado nos níveis antigos (ca. 12,500 cal a.P.) do sítio respeito dos mais tardios (<9000 cal a.P.), o que teria relação com a disponibilidade imediata; 3) uma tecnologia fora das fontes diferenciada entre o reverso das cuestas (setor central) e o frente da mesma (setor sul), com destaque no primeiro caso, do segundo registro de produção de lâminas (lascas alongadas especializadas) no Brasil. Concluiu-se com a ênfase na necessidade de se ampliar as escalas e métodos de análise da presente 5 pesquisa e de se realizar propostas semelhantes em outras partes do país, para um estudo comparativo sistemático do aprovisionamento lítico em diferentes períodos e lugares. / The procurement of rocks and minerals suitable for knapping and grinding constitutes one of the main topics of hunter-gratherer archaeology all around the world. As a cultural phenomenom, from the perspective of its study, lithic procurement is not restricted to sourcing materials, but integrates geomorfological and geological aspects such as availability, abundance and location of outcrops and clasts, with human aspects of lithic selection, such as quality, color, extraction or excavation mode and technological processing. The present Master thesis focuses on the problem of lithic procurement in the Dourado region, in the basaltic cuestas landscape of central São Paulo state, where the Bastos site is located, which exhibits dates between ca. 7,650 and 12,640 cal years BP and lithic artifacts manufactured in silicified sandstone. Using a conceptual approach that relies on the relationship between technology and its consequences in the lithic landscape with a geoarchaeological perspective on lithic resources, the research protocol integrates: a) potential and utilized raw material sources survey in a central and southern sector from the site; b) a paradigmatic macroscopic classification of the samples; c) a petrographic microscopic analysis; d) and technological analysis of artifacts recovered in sources, isolated spots and sites. Results indicate: 1) a lithic landscape characterized by extractions on very good-to-excellent knapping quality silicified sandstone outcrops and clasts in a 3-km minimum foraging radius around the Bastos site; 2) a trend towards a higher representation of few specific silicified sandstone varieties in the older levels (ca. 12,500 cal a.P.) as compared to the later ones (<9000 cal a.P.), which would be the effect of an inmediate availability; 3) an out-of-the-sources technology differentiated between the backside of the cuestas (central sector) and the front (southern sector), with the remarkable finding in the former,of the second record of blade production (specialized long flakes) in Brazil. An emphasis on the need of widening the scale and methods of this research is concluded, together with the need of making similar approaches in other parts of the country that will allow a systematic comparative study of lithic procurement in different periods and places.

La découverte du site Nepress (BiEr-21) en 2004 et les saisons de fouilles subséquentes ont permis de découvrir de nombreux vestiges archéologiques. Ce mémoire a donc pour objectif de déterminer l’identité culturelle des occupants qui ont fréquenté le site, en prenant en considération les activités rituelles et la stratégie d’approvisionnement en matière lithique. Pour y parvenir, une analyse morpho-métrique de l’assemblage lithique a été effectuée. La distribution intra-site des artéfacts a également été prise en considération lors de l’analyse. Une séquence chronologique du Nord-Est américain remontant au Sylvicole inférieur est présentée dans ce mémoire. Une période d’occupation semble dominer sur le site Nepress, soit le Sylvicole inférieur. Cette manifestation est caractérisée par la présence d’artéfacts diagnostiques de la culture Meadowood. Ces objets sont un grattoir triangulaire bifacial Meadowood, ainsi qu’une imitation de pointe de type box-base. / The discovery of the Nepress site (BiEr-21) in 2004 and the subsequent excavations have revealed many archaeological remains. This thesis has seeks to determine the cultural identity of the site’s occupants, taking into account their ritual activities and their lithic procurement strategy. To achieve this, a morpho-metric analysis of the lithic assemblage was undertaken. The intra-site artifact distribution was also taken into account. A chronological sequence for Northeastern North America going back to the Early Woodland is presented. The Early Woodland appears to dominate the occupation of the Nepress site. This is characterised by the presence of diagnostic artifacts of the Meadowood culture. These objects are a triangular bifacial Meadowood scraper, as well as an imitation of a projectile point.

La découverte du site Nepress (BiEr-21) en 2004 et les saisons de fouilles subséquentes ont permis de découvrir de nombreux vestiges archéologiques. Ce mémoire a donc pour objectif de déterminer l’identité culturelle des occupants qui ont fréquenté le site, en prenant en considération les activités rituelles et la stratégie d’approvisionnement en matière lithique. Pour y parvenir, une analyse morpho-métrique de l’assemblage lithique a été effectuée. La distribution intra-site des artéfacts a également été prise en considération lors de l’analyse. Une séquence chronologique du Nord-Est américain remontant au Sylvicole inférieur est présentée dans ce mémoire. Une période d’occupation semble dominer sur le site Nepress, soit le Sylvicole inférieur. Cette manifestation est caractérisée par la présence d’artéfacts diagnostiques de la culture Meadowood. Ces objets sont un grattoir triangulaire bifacial Meadowood, ainsi qu’une imitation de pointe de type box-base. / The discovery of the Nepress site (BiEr-21) in 2004 and the subsequent excavations have revealed many archaeological remains. This thesis has seeks to determine the cultural identity of the site’s occupants, taking into account their ritual activities and their lithic procurement strategy. To achieve this, a morpho-metric analysis of the lithic assemblage was undertaken. The intra-site artifact distribution was also taken into account. A chronological sequence for Northeastern North America going back to the Early Woodland is presented. The Early Woodland appears to dominate the occupation of the Nepress site. This is characterised by the presence of diagnostic artifacts of the Meadowood culture. These objects are a triangular bifacial Meadowood scraper, as well as an imitation of a projectile point.