Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 305-310). / A framework for creating value robust systems in the face of changing value perceptions during the architecture and design of systems is proposed. Both unarticulated value, that which is not explicitly communicated to system designers, and dynamic value, that which changes over time, are used to motivate the dynamic Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration (MATE) process. Value can be represented as decision maker perceived attributes, which can be classified according to the ease by which the system can display them. The attribute class spectrum from least to most costly ranges from articulated, class 0 attributes, to inaccessible value, class 4 attributes. Supporting the value-adding approach, the system property concepts of flexibility, adaptability, rigidity, robustness, scalability, and modifiability are proposed to be different aspects of the same concept: changeability. A quantification of changeability is shown to be the Filtered Outdegree of a design within a networked tradespace formed through explicit consideration of transition paths between design instantiations. A focus on designing not only for value, but for changeability as well, leads to the concept of path enabling variables, whose purpose is to increase change paths or decrease cost for change. / (cont.) Value robustness is shown to be achieved through either passive or active means. Passive value robustness can be quantified as the Pareto Trace number of a design, reflecting the number of contexts within which a particular design is determined to be best value at a given level of resource expenditure. Active value robustness is achieved through a strategy of pursuing designs with increased changeability and accessibility to likely high value regions of a tradespace. Supporting the process, the Design-Value Matrix and the Rule-Effects Matrix help system designers visualize the key factors for creating dynamic value-generating systems by capturing the important relationships between decision makers, design variables, attributes, path enablers, and resources. The dynamic MATE process is applied to two real system cases including the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF). The framework is shown to be applicable at both quantitative and qualitative levels, giving insight into assessing and designing for changeability and value robustness for systems. / by Adam Michael Ross. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 30). / The Beer Game has been used to demonstrate the bullwhip effect often observed in supply chains, i.e. the amplification of demand variance upstream in the supply chain in multiple echelon systems. In recent years, computerized Beer Games have been developed at a number of schools to facilitate or replace the traditional manual game. This thesis reviews five existing computerized Beer Distribution Games, discusses their differences, and introduces a new computerized Beer Game currently being developed. Key words: Beer Distribution Game, Supply Chain Management, System Dynamics, System Thinking, Computer Simulation, Internet, Intranet. / by Yihua (Jasmine) Li. / M.Eng.

Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015. / "June 2015." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-94). / Airfreight forwarding companies must develop accurate forecasting tools to analyze the suitability and attractiveness of each incoming bidding process, to decide whether to participate in a tender and how to define the optimal commercial strategy. The "1:6" weight/volume ratio establishes that whenever the cargo ratio is different from 1:6 (1m3:167 kg) forwarders must pay the higher rate: either volume or weight. Given the main constraints in terms of volumetric capacity and maximum weight per volumetric unit, the most profitable business opportunities consist of combining in the same load compatible products with different densities. The main target is to come close as possible to the desired 1:6 ratio, to minimize the average price per load. To remain competitive, airfreight forwarding firms must improve their consolidation techniques, to combine in the same load cargo with compatible densities. The availability of robust analytical resources will allow airfreight industry companies to improve their rate of success, in terms of enhancing both efficiency (by increasing air volumes and densities) and profitability (by minimizing the Net Achieved Rate). This thesis develops an analytical model based on meaningful metrics to provide airfreight forwarders with an accurate and solid forecasting tool to select the bids under consideration that best match with their current portfolio in terms of air volume usage for a given origin-destination lane. It also predicts breakeven rates to increase profitability by minimizing the Net Achieved Rate. Furthermore, the model provides a series of metrics and visualization tools to help air freight forwarding companies to improve their understanding of their current portfolio for a given origin-destination lane and define their commercial strategy with respect to air freight cargo tenders. / by Per Niklas Blomberg and Ramon Gras Alomá. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 48-49). / Demand planning affects the subsequent business activities including distribution center operational planning and management. Today's competitive environment requires distribution centers to rapidly respond to changes in the quantity and nature of demand. For the distribution center, accurate forecasts will help managers to accordingly plan operational activities. In the present thesis, we evaluate the plausibility of leveraging the SKU level forecast to predict equivalent operational activities in the warehouse. Through literature review, we identified the key drivers in distribution center operation and management. We further chose outbound shipment picking time as our measurement to perform the evaluation between demand forecast and actual warehouse shipments. The thesis concludes with the presentation of results of the evaluation discussions regarding the rolling horizon based forecast and the potential areas to improve the accuracy. This work will help warehouse managers to perform root cause analysis to examine the discrepancy between the units/labor forecast and actual units/labor. Our work will also help warehouses achieve greater operational efficiency. / by Dan Li and Kyung Kim. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-113). / In the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, terrorism emerged as a legitimate threat not just to society, but to corporations as well. This new threat has challenged old business rules and prompted companies to rethink their supply chain operations. However, the events of September 11th were not the first or the only disruptions that the business world had experienced. This thesis reviews past historical events that simulate the effects of a terrorist attack and extracts lessons that can be applied by today's corporations to prepare for future attacks or disruptions. The types of events studied include Biological, Chemical, Radiological and Cyber disruptions. Through the analysis and synthesis of each event's impact, the following generalized recommendations emerged: Prior warnings and events should be acknowledged, studied and utilized. Government intervention may strain operations under disruptive stress. Alternate sourcing should be considered to ease supply issues. Disruptions should be approached in a comprehensive and forthright manner. A security and safety culture should be fostered to prevent disruptions and control their spread. Systems should be prepared to quickly operate in isolation during a disruption. Finally, impact is frequently less severe then initially predicted. Through the events described and these recommendations, this thesis aims to provide lessons for firms to manage their supply chains through future disruptions. / by Reshma P. Lensing. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis has explored a new idea: viewing standards as interdependent artifacts and studying them with network analysis tools. Using the set of Internet standards as an example, the research of this thesis includes the citation network, the author affiliation network, and the co-author network of the Internet standards over the period of 1989 to 2004. The major network analysis tools used include cohesive subgroup decomposition (the algorithm by Newman and Girvan is used), regular equivalence class decomposition (the REGE algorithm and the method developed in this thesis is used), nodal prestige and acquaintance (both calculated from Kleinberg's technique), and some social network analysis tools. Qualitative analyses of the historical and technical context of the standards as well as statistical analyses of various kinds are also used in this research. A major finding of this thesis is that for the understanding of the Internet, it is beneficial to consider its standards as interdependent artifacts. Because the basic mission of the Internet (i.e. to be an interoperable system that enables various services and applications) is enabled, not by one or a few, but by a great number of standards developed upon each other, to study the standards only as stand-alone specifications cannot really produce meaningful understandings about a workable system. Therefore, the general approaches and methodologies introduced in this thesis which we label a systems approach is a necessary addition to the existing approaches. A key finding of this thesis is that the citation network of the Internet standards can be decomposed into functionally coherent subgroups by using the Newman-Girvan algorithm. / (cont.) This result shows that the (normative) citations among the standards can meaningfully be used to help us better manage and monitor the standards system. The results in this thesis indicate that organizing the developing efforts of the Internet standards into (now) 121 Working Groups was done in a manner reasonably consistent with achieving a modular (and thus more evolvable) standards system. A second decomposition of the standards network was achieved by employing the REGE algorithm together with a new method developed in this thesis (see the Appendix) for identifying regular equivalence classes. Five meaningful subgroups of the Internet standards were identified, and each of them occupies a specific position and plays a specific role in the network. The five positions are reflected in the names we have assigned to them: the Foundations, the Established, the Transients, the Newcomers, and the Stand-alones. The life cycle among these positions was uncovered and is one of the insights that the systems approach on this standard system gives relative to the evolution of the overall standards system. Another insight concerning evolution of the standard system is the development of a predictive model for promotion of standards to a new status (i.e. Proposed, Draft and Internet Standards as the three ascending statuses). This model also has practical potential to managers of standards setting organizations and to firms (and individuals) interested in efficiently participating in standards setting processes. The model prediction is based on assessing the implicit social influence of the standards (based upon the social network metric, betweenness centrality, of the standards' authors) and the apparent importance of the standard to the network (based upon calculating the standard's prestige from the citation network). / (cont.) A deeper understanding of the factors that go into this model was also developed through the analysis of the factors that can predict increased prestige over time for a standard. The overall systems approach and the tools developed and demonstrated in this thesis for the study of the Internet standards can be applied to other standards systems. Application (and extension) to the World Wide Web, electric power system, mobile communication, and others would we believe lead to important improvements in our practical and scholarly understanding of these systems. / by Mo-Han Hsieh. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-59). / Third party logistics companies in the US emerged in the 1980s and have been providing valuable service for companies willing to outsource logistics. Since then the industry has been growing substantially both in terms revenues and number of players. Nowadays 3PL market has a decent share in total transportation costs and established position in the transportation sector. Furthermore, analysts forecast a significant growth of the industry and an increase of its role in the supply chain management of companies. However, the industry is not enjoying adequate profits and margins are small. 3PL companies have difficulties differentiating among each other and have difficulties demonstrating value proposition to potential customers. At first glance, it signifies commoditization--a competitive environment in which differentiation is difficult, customer loyalty is low and competing offerings are virtually indistinguishable from customer perspective. The objective of this study is to explore whether third party logistics industry in the US is experiencing commoditization by studying current state of the industry, its competitive environment and dynamics. We investigate the principal drivers of commoditization dynamics in the industry, leverage points for influencing the dynamics, and possible strategic responses of 3PL companies. The methodology for the research is the System Dynamics, analysis of industry competitive forces using Porter's framework, analysis of profitability trend in a sample of fifteen logistics companies over period 1985-2003, and a review of current dynamics in the market. The study gives better understanding of the current competitive environment and suggests that the 3PL industry is experiencing / (cont.) commoditization. Third party logistics have been approaching commodity status, and transforming the logistics outsourcing value equation from high margins and vendor control into a classic buyers' market with competition driving down margins, adding features and services, and increasing buyer choice. / by Yerlan Yergalievich Manatayev. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 76-79). / With global supply chains becoming increasingly complex, leading companies are embracing optimization software tools to help them structure and coordinate their supply chains. With an array of choices available, many organizations opt for one of the numerous off-the-shelf products. Others choose instead to create their own bespoke optimization tools. While this custom approach affords greater versatility than a commercially available product, it also presents significant challenges to both the creators and users of the tool in terms of complexity. It can often be time-consuming and difficult for the users of the tool to understand and verify the results that are generated. If a decision-maker has difficulty understanding or trusting the output of a model, then the value of the tool is seriously diminished. This paper examines the challenges between the creators, or operational research engineers, and the end-users when deploying and executing complex optimization software in supply chain management. We examine the field of optimization modeling, communication methods involved, and relevant data visualization techniques. Then, we survey a group of users from our sponsoring company to gain insight to their experience using their tool. The general responses and associated crosstab analysis reveals that training and visualization are areas that have potential to improve the user's understanding of the tool, which in turn would lead to better communication between the end-users and the experts who build and maintain the tool. Finally, we present a section on current, cutting edge visualization techniques that can be adapted to influence the way a user visualizes the optimization results. / by Drake Bailey and Daniel Skempton. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-177). / This dissertation presents findings on four elements of the relationship between Global Product Development or Globally distributed Product Development (GPD) and product complexity. I examine this relationship in the context of medical, industrial and electronic equipment developed for American companies outside each development program's home-country. In the first study, I use multinomial logistics models and find that product complexity, specificity, strategic importance and designing firm's capability are directly related to the modes of global product development. These modes are namely global partnerships, captive offshoring and global outsourcing. The more complex products are developed through global partnerships or captive offshores, while the less complex products are globally outsourced. However, the difference in complexity among the three modes varies by region when I divide the world into emerging and mature regions. It is largest in emerging regions and statistically non-significant in mature regions. In the second study, I investigate factors that drive product development to different countries around the world. Using negative binomial models, I find that market size, national capability and number of engineering graduates are directly related to the amount of product development in a particular country, while market growth rate and labor cost are not. I also find that as product complexity increases, the importance of the national capability as a location advantage increases, and that national and firm capability are statistically related to each other. / (cont.) In the third study on host national culture, I find that national culture influences the internal team dynamics, but not necessarily where product development is eventually located. Finally, I qualitatively characterize the global product development strategy, organization structure, processes and people, and gather some recommended coordination practices. These include modularizing, not only the product, but the process as well to allow closed-loop monitoring in order to ensure that design expectations were perceived as intended. / by Pedzisayi Onias Makumbe. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-43). / Lessons for how a regional authority should develop its logistics sector are learned through case studies on four areas (section 2). In addition, a "logistics attractiveness" ranking framework is developed and applied (section 3). A learning from the case studies is that a regional authority plays an active role. It leads the development and sustained progress of logistics related activity either directly or through facilitation. Another insight is that training of people and academic research activity in the field of logistics is accompanying the local development of the logistics sector. This is done somewhat independently by the universities but the authorities are playing a supporting role. Countries found to rank high in their overall logistics attractiveness are generally competitive in infrastructure, information & communication technology (ICT) and ease of doing business (EOB. In addition to the case studies and 'logistics attractiveness' ranking framework this thesis provides an overview of other areas around the world where new logistics park type development activity is found to be taking place (section 4). / by Taimur Khan. / M.Eng.in Logistics