Leveraging Storage Class Memory (SCM) as a universal memory--i.e. as memory and storage at the same time--has deep implications on database architectures. It becomes possible to store a single copy of the data in SCM and directly operate on it at a fine granularity. However, exposing the whole database with direct access to the application dramatically increases the risk of data corruption. In this paper we propose a lightweight on-line testing framework that helps find and debug SCM-related errors that can occur upon software or power failures. Our testing framework simulates failures in critical code paths and achieves fast code coverage by leveraging call stack information to limit duplicate testing. It also partially covers the errors that might arise as a result of reordered memory operations. We show through an experimental evaluation that our testing framework is fast enough to be used with large software systems and discuss its use during the development of our in-house persistent SCM allocator.

Storage Class Memory (SCM) has the potential to significantly improve database performance. This potential has been well documented for throughput [4] and response time [25, 22]. In this paper we show that SCM has also the potential to significantly improve restart performance, a shortcoming of traditional main memory database systems. We present SOFORT, a hybrid SCM-DRAM storage engine that leverages full capabilities of SCM by doing away with a traditional log and updating the persisted data in place in small increments. We show that we can achieve restart times of a few seconds independent of instance size and transaction volume without significantly impacting transaction throughput.

知識經濟時代的來臨，科技與速度是成功的關鍵，營運效率成為優勝劣敗的決定因素。企業要經得起全球化的挑戰，必須以各類取得的資訊做客觀的分析、策略性的思考，來規劃及發展出具前瞻性、適切性的企業經營新模式，而其重點即為將企業內、外部資源作有效的整合，在技術、產品與策略上推陳出新，因時因地的調整經營策略，進而轉型、再造、創新，以提升企業之競爭力及傲人的營運績效，以促成傲人的資訊流、物流、金流與商流的整合。 資訊流應達到電腦化、金流應達到即時流通順暢化、商流結構亦應達到完整性大目標外，最其要者即屬物流應達成即時管理。而其顯著的特點是走向系統化及即時化、電腦化的資訊管理使供應鏈物流活動之間的生產資訊控制，訂貨、儲存、搬運、進出庫、發貨、運輸、結算等物流環節之間的自動化資訊控制更為合理及流暢。 因其中物流成本占全部營銷成本的比例極高，因此個人以為降低物流成本應可成為企業第三獲利來源。 數位經濟的時代，在網際網路與資訊科技一日千里進步中，物流資訊化、網路化、全球化、虛擬化、整合化的方向，努力建構具核心競爭力的資訊整合實為當務之急的核心，如何改變手工資料登錄，使輸入的品質和速度提高，條碼就在這樣的環境下應運而生，其中RFID(Radio Frequency Identification)射頻技術的條碼自動識別技術以電腦、光電技術和通訊為發展基礎的綜合性技術最具競爭優勢及潛力。 本研究希望能從企業導入 RFID 現況與發展趨勢、應用於供應鏈所展現之核心競爭力及Wal-Mart 個案來分析，並從以下三重點來探討： 1. 企業導入RFID 對核心競爭力的影響。 2. 供應鏈物流系統如何運用RFID化以提升競爭力。 3. 政府推動RFID計畫以加速臺灣運籌中心之附加價值的建議。 / The era of knowledge economy has emerged. The key success factors are new technology and speed, and the main decision element is operation excellence. The enterprise has to be continually challenged by globalization through integrated information, strategic thinking, future planning, and new business plans, to integrate all the above resources internally and externally. In addition, the enterprise needs to refresh workable resources, technology, product and strategy and continually make changes with re-modeling, re-engineering, and creativity to promote the competitive strength and operation excellence so as to synergize information flow, material flow, cash flow and business process flow. Information flow should be computerized, cash flow should be smooth, and business process flow should be to meet the most integrated goal: ON-LINE Management. It is important that these processes are systematically linked with on-line computerized information within the supply chain management model. For instance: ordering, stocking, transportation, warehousing, tracking and cashier etc. Nevertheless, logistics cost constitutes a high percentage of operation cost. As such, I view that logistics cost should be brought down so as to reap enormous benefits from a third resource. With the advent of the digital economy and the development of web-base technology, logistics information flow has to be systematic, web-based, virtual, and integrated. Striving to build up a competitive information integration is very important. In order to change the data-entering from a manual mode to a systematic mode the quality and speed are highly expected. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) development depends largely on high technology of computers, optoelectronics, electronic, telecommunication. Thus, it has tremendous potential to become a synergistic competitive strength in the market This research paper will address RFID implementation, status and future development potential, the application in supply chain management and its core competencies. A case review on Wal-Mart’s success with reference to the following points will be discussed in this paper: 1. What are the core competencies required if one applies RFID? 2. How to apply RFID in the field of Supply Chain Management? 3. What is the add-value if Taiwan Government promotes RFID plans?

Offshore oil and gas exploitation is principally conducted using dry or wet tree systems, otherwise called the subsea Xmas tree system. Due to the shift to deeper waters, subsea production system (SPS) has come to be a preferred technology with attendant economic benefits. At the centre of the SPS is the subsea control module (SCM), responsible for the proper functioning and monitoring of the entire system. With increasing search for hydrocarbons in deep and ultra-deepwaters, the SCM system faces important environmental, safety and reliability challenges and little research has been done in this area. Analysis of the SCM reliability then becomes very fundamental due to the huge cost associated with failure. Several tools are available for this analysis, but the FMECA stands out due to its ability to not only provide failure data, but also showcase the system’s failure modes and mechanisms associated with the subsystems and components being evaluated. However, the technique has been heavily challenged in various literatures for several reasons. To close this gap, a novel multi-criteria approach is developed for the analysis and ranking of the SCM failures modes. This research specifically focusses on subsea tree-mounted electro-hydraulic (E-H) SCM responsible for the underwater control of oil and gas production. A risk identification of the subsea control module is conducted using industry experts. This is followed by a comprehensive component based FMECA analysis of the SCM conducted with the conventional RPN technique, which reveals the most critical failure modes for the SCM. A novel framework is developed using multi-criteria fuzzy TOPSIS methodology and applied to the most critical failure modes obtained from the FMECA evaluation using unconventional parameters. Finally, a validation of these results is performed using a stochastic input evaluation and SCM failure data obtained from the offshore industry standard reliability database, OREDA.

Syftet med arbetet är att belysa problematiken med hur företag inom processindustrin med långa ledtider kan bli mer flexibla i sin försörjningskedja. Detta tillsammans med en bred produktportfölj som skapar en utmaning med hög mix av produkter med låga volymer. Studien avser att hitta lösningar för att planera och höja leveranssäkerheten i dessa typer av verksamheter. Utifrån detta formades följande forskningsfrågor: Hur kan leveranssäkerheten mot kunderna höjas? Hur kan organisationer med ett brett produktsortiment och låga volymer öka sin flexibilitet mot marknaden? Hur kan produktionen planeras så att ledtiderna reduceras men flexibiliteten ökar? Metod och forskningsansats: För att besvara frågeställningarna har en litteraturstudie genomförts på området utformning av flexibla försörjningskedjor och hög mix, låg volym (HMLV). En fallstudie har genomförts inom processindustrin som har en brett produktsortiment med låga volymer. Fallstudien har bestått av att granska verksamheten genom en nulägesanalys och se vilka faktorer som påverkar leveranssäkerheten. I studien har datainsamling genomförts där data ur affärssystemen har exporterats och analyseras genom kvantitativa metoder. Resultat: Studien har identifierat ett flertal osäkerheter som påverkar hur prognoser genereras och hur verksamheten planeras hos fallföretaget. Genom osäkerheter både från leverantören av råmaterial och när det kommer till kapacitet finns det många faktorer som påverkar leveranssäkerheten till kund. För att klara osäkerheter i försörjningskedjan bättre har fokus lagts på att skapa ett bättre flöde genom att hitta flaskhalsar och planera utifrån verkligheten. Studien tar upp fördelar och nackdelar med lager och hur ett företag som enbart använder sig av en leverantör kan förhålla sig till variationer i dels sin egen produktion men även hos sin leverantör.   Implikationer: Arbetet uppfyller syftet genom att besvara de frågeställningar som finns och belyser de utmaningarna som tillkommer vid hög mix och låga volymer. Genom att identifiera och lyfta upp flaskhalsarna går det att öka kapaciteten. I en verksamhet med HMLV kan paretoprincipen eller ABC-analys användas för att identifiera de stora produktgrupperna för att sedan implementera leanfilsofi på dessa produkter. För att öka leveranssäkerhet i en verksamhet med stora variationer behövs någon typ av lager i form av säkerhetslager eller supermarket.   Rekommendationer: För att uppnå en högre leveranssäkerhet behövs verktyg som är anpassade för den specifika verksamheten och som tar hänsyn till den komplexitet som råder.  Nyckelord: Försörjningskedja, agil försörjningskedja, kundorderstyrd, produktionsplanering, kapacitet, riskhantering, HMLV, säkerhetslager, supermarket, theory of constraints, flaskhalsar.

[pt] Uma das maiores mudanças de paradigmas da atual gestão empresarial é relacionada ao fato de que, freqüentemente, unidades de negócios individuais (empresas) não competem mais como unidades isoladas, mas como cadeia de suprimento, estabelecendo, assim, uma nova lógica de competição. Nessa nova lógica, a potencialidade para gerar vantagem competitiva deixou de estar dentro dos limites de uma empresa para estar distribuído entre as empresas que pertencem a uma mesma cadeia. Para atingir essa vantagem, devem ser estabelecidas a integração e otimização da cadeia sobre a perspectiva da Gestão da Cadeia de Suprimento (SCM). A forma com que empresas pertencentes a uma mesma cadeia estão associadas visando a SCM é chamada nessa tese como a dinâmica da cadeia de suprimento. Nesse contexto, a presente tese de doutorado tem como objetivo sistematizar a análise dos elementos relevantes para a dinâmica de uma cadeia de suprimento. Esses elementos relevantes possuem desdobramentos que são comuns às diferentes cadeias de um segmento industrial e outros que são particulares a cada uma dessas cadeias. Com isso, a análise da dinâmica é feita primeiramente para um segmento industrial e em seguida para uma cadeia particular. No caso da tese o segmento analisado é a industria automotiva e a cadeia particular analisada é a responsável pela criação, produção e distribuição de um modelo esportivo de luxo compacto produzido por uma montadora de veículos européia. As principais contribuições dessa tese são a elaboração de um método que possibilite a análise da dinâmica de uma cadeia de suprimento sob a perspectiva da SCM e a sua aplicação nas cadeias de suprimento de quatro plantas de um modelo de uma montadora de veículos, de forma a ilustrar o uso do método. Pode-se concluir com a aplicação do método de análise proposto na tese que as cadeias de suprimento estudadas se encontram em estágios distintos de desenvolvimento de SCM. As diferentes forças atuantes em cada cadeia fazem com que determinados conjuntos de ações que visam a SCM sejam desenvolvidas PUC-Rio em algumas cadeias e não em outras. O mesmo ocorre com a presença dos fatores que viabilizam esses conjuntos de ações nos diferentes elos dos processos de negócio de cada cadeia. / [en] One of the greatest paradigm changes in business management is that business units or individual organizations no longer compete as isolated units or single organizations anymore, but rather as supply chains. If each business unit of the supply chain is acting in a way to optimize its own value, there will be discontinuities at the interfaces and unnecessary costs will result. If an integrated view is taken instead, there may be opportunities in the supply chain where additional expense or time in one segment can save tremendous expense or time in another segment. This is the foundation of the supply chain competition logic. In this context, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has been recognized as a new major forefront for effective competition. This dissertation calls supply chain dynamic the way the business units that take part of the same supply chain are associated aiming at SCM. In this context, the goal of this dissertation is to present a model that systematizes the analysis of the relevant elements of the supply chains dynamics. These SCM relevant elements have implications that are common to the different supply chains that belong to the same industrial segment, and implications that are specific to the chains of the different products that belong to this segment. These elements analysis are done first in the automotive industry and then in selected supply chains of this industry responsible for the creation, production, and distribution of a luxurious compact sport model produced by a European Vehicle Manufacturer. The main contribuitions of this doctoral dissertation are: the elaboration of a method that enables the dynamic analysis of a supply chain under the SCM perspective; and its application to the supply chains of four plants of a vehicle manufacturer model in order to illustrate the methods use. Within the method s application it was possible to obtain and to analyze the dynamics of the four existenting chains for a given vehicle model. It was also possible to conclude that the chains present distinct developmental stages of SCM. The different acting forces in each chain influences the development of specific SCM capabilities in some chains and not in others. The same happens with the presence or absence of the SCM enablers in the different links of each chain s business processes.

<p>Researchers and practitioners alike believe it is not until an organization expands their ERP system that they will reap the full benefits of it. The question of how to expand an ERP system beyond its core is investigated in this thesis. It is done by reviewing ERP research and comparing this with empirical data collected in a case study made at a focal company. The focal company is a member of the business network Automation Region. The case describes how the focal company moved from using an ERP system to where they now have an e-procurement system connected to their core ERP and has developed a sales process system which might become their e-commerce system in the future to take control of their supply chain as a whole. It shows how a process thinking view has aided them in putting the customer in focus and incorporating parts of the TQM philosophy. The conclusion reveals that it is crucial to understand and work with processes and there are motives and obstacles to consider when expanding an ERP system. It furthermore uncovers the importance of giving this expansion of the ERP system, the move beyond the core ERP, a proper name such as Extended ERP, eERP. It is important because then, when we understand the eERP fully, we will be ready for the next level of business which may very well be ERP2 or Second Generation ERP which incorporates entire business networks.</p>

<p>Companies are more and more moving to low wage regions like Eastern Europe and Asia to stay competitive. Instead of lowering the cost of production, it has been argued that a company can stay competitive through making the use of the resources more efficient. In this study the effects a German resource saving concept, involving reorganization towards processes and an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) module, has on Supply Chain Management (SCM) are investigated. In addition to this a comparison between German best-practice companies and Swedish companies has been done. This comparison was conducted in order to determine the changes needed to be made when taking this German concept to Swedish companies.</p><p>The results of this study indicate that through the German resource saving concept major improvements in delivery performance, responsiveness, supply chain costs, and asset management can be achieved. Further, this study has shown that there are very good possibilities for Swedish companies at reaching these improvements successfully. Barriers to a success in Sweden include a lack of managerial commitment and hierarchies as well as outsourced IT departments at Swedish companies. Recommendations to overcome these barriers consist of training key users more thoroughly and stressing the importance of committed managers.</p>

<p>Radio Frequency Identification är en relativt gammal teknik (sedan andra världskriget), som upplevt en renässans. Då som nu användes RFID för att identifiera föremål, dock med vissa tekniska skillnader. Ökade krav på industrier och samhället i övrigt har lett till den ”informa-tionsålder” vi nu lever i. Som ett steg i denna utveckling ställs allt högre krav på insamlingen av den information som många processer och beslut baseras på. Förenklat kan kommunika-tionen förklaras som en radiosignal som skickas från en RFID-läsare till en RFID-tagg. Taggen sitter på objektet som skall identifieras och information om objektet finns lagrad i taggen. Radiosignalen väcker taggen som skickar den information som finns lagrad i dess mikrochip tillbaka till läsaren. RFID kan användas i en stor mängd olika områden och applikationer där två av dessa är inom transportnätverk och försörjningskedjor. Anledningen till att detta projekt initierades var att logistikföretaget Schenker AB såg ett behov i att undersöka hur tekniken kan användas inom deras verksamhet. För Schenkers del var det viktigt att få utreda eventuella möjligheter med tekniken, och dess kostnader innan kunderna kom med krav eller önskemål om användning. Tre förslag på hur RFID kan användas i verksamheten har utarbetats för att få en bra bild av hur användningen kan gå till och vad som krävs. Studien visar att det krävs en hel del av Schenker i form av utrustning och även datasystem. De slutsatser som kan dras efter att projektet är genomfört är att det finns potential för förbättringar vid användning av RFID-teknik inom Schenkers verksamhet. Dock är dessa förknippade med relativt höga initiala kostnader. Vidare finns även en del tekniska begränsningar vilket gör att systemet måste planeras och konstrueras noggrant för full funktionalitet. Ytterligare undersökningar måste göras för att få mer underlag för hur pass väl RFID kan användas inom Schenker. Tester och försök i mindre flöden hos Schenker vore ett bra sätt för att få erfarenhet och kunskap om teknikens funktionalitet, möjligheter och begränsningar.</p>

Researchers and practitioners alike believe it is not until an organization expands their ERP system that they will reap the full benefits of it. The question of how to expand an ERP system beyond its core is investigated in this thesis. It is done by reviewing ERP research and comparing this with empirical data collected in a case study made at a focal company. The focal company is a member of the business network Automation Region. The case describes how the focal company moved from using an ERP system to where they now have an e-procurement system connected to their core ERP and has developed a sales process system which might become their e-commerce system in the future to take control of their supply chain as a whole. It shows how a process thinking view has aided them in putting the customer in focus and incorporating parts of the TQM philosophy. The conclusion reveals that it is crucial to understand and work with processes and there are motives and obstacles to consider when expanding an ERP system. It furthermore uncovers the importance of giving this expansion of the ERP system, the move beyond the core ERP, a proper name such as Extended ERP, eERP. It is important because then, when we understand the eERP fully, we will be ready for the next level of business which may very well be ERP2 or Second Generation ERP which incorporates entire business networks.