Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 79-80). / The research objective was to provide a directional sense of some key considerations for business continuity planning (BCP) specific to a company's downstream distribution operations in the U.S. This was achieved via a two-pronged strategy comprised of quantitative and qualitative elements to complement insights gained from the literature review. By quantitatively assessing the financial impacts arising from four hypothetical scenarios, the business impact analysis (BIA) showcased the merits of short time-to-recovery (TTR) in the event of a disruption. However, available information also appears to suggest that the estimated financial impact from carrying high-value inventory is not necessarily insignificant. Hence, a company may want to mitigate the likelihood of a scenario whereby large amounts of inventory become damaged. Qualitative information from industry participants in the study highlighted the importance of tailoring continuity plans to the unique supply chain needs of an organization. / by Arthur K. L. Chee and Tzu-Hsueh Lee. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 52). / The recent trends in manufacturing toward lower inventory levels, shorter cycle times, and more closely integrated production schedules have led to an extremely low tolerance for inventory stock-outs. In such an environment, any shortage is costly, and understanding why stock-outs occur and how to prevent them is an important issue. However, the answer to the question of why stock-outs occur is not always easy to determine. Investigations into the root causes of inventory stock-outs are often hindered by data collection problems, data overload, and the investigators' lack of a well-accepted, systematic framework with which to conduct the analysis, resulting in a cursory review of the problem and a subjective diagnosis. This thesis proposes an algorithm to determine objectively the causes of inventory stockouts in manufacturing firms. Instead of observing stock-outs through the lens of the classical inventory model that aggregates all variations in resupply time and demand during leadtime into one variable, this thesis attempts to view the problem with a broader supply chain perspective that considers multiple sources of variation. Given data that describe the transactions of materials and information between members of the supply chain, the algorithm identifies which causes among a prescribed set of causes lead to a given stock-out occurrence. The transaction data is analyzed using a simple supply chain model to determine how each possible stock-out cause could affect actual inventory performance compared to planned inventory performance. This approach to analyzing inventory stock-outs has many possible uses, including its use as a supply chain metric to evaluate efforts to minimize inventory stock-outs. / by Matthew H. Burt. / M.Eng.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, February 2011. / "September 2010." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / In 2009, the Government Accountability Office reported that two-thirds of major weapon systems acquisition programs were required to report budget overruns and were almost two years behind schedule for delivery of capability to the warfighters. The Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States asked the same question: "How do we fix DOD acquisition?" The Acquisition system has been studied nearly continuously for more than forty years. Applying traditional system engineering methods have not improved performance, but developed a highly-complex bureaucracy that is viewed as inflexible, unscalable, unreliable, and (recently) unsustainable. With this seemingly intractable challenge, this work uses the synergy of integrating approaches based on engineering, management, and social sciences to develop a new framework to help understand the policy resistance of many previous unsuccessful initiatives. This research seeks to develop a dynamic enterprise engineering system framework using case study methodology to integrate three widely adopted but disparate frameworks by evaluating the influence relationships. Informed by the enterprise architecture, this new framework seeks to incorporate stakeholder salience and its dynamic influence on value creation as an endogenous factor in the context of the bureaucratic program enterprise of DOD acquisition. This work not only proposes an intermediate level theory but also provides insights for policy implications. / by Douglas Matthew Matty. / Ph.D.

Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-78). / The current consumer products industry is primarily designed as a customer oriented supply chain; this means that it is designed to fulfill orders from the distribution centers or stores of the retailers. The question posed by retailers and vendors is how might a consumer (not customer) oriented supply chain be defined and designed in a way which retailers and vendors could move towards it in the future? Our methodology consisted of interviews with key stakeholders and industry experts, a literature research, value stream mapping as well as data analysis of historical sales and shipments between a retailer and a vendor that sponsored the project. As a result of our research, we conclude that a consumer oriented supply chain is defined as a supply chain that is triggered by consumer demand data and it implements strong collaboration between the retailer and the vendor, in order to achieve a more efficient response to the consumer needs. A series of interviews with key stakeholders revealed that one of the most important parts of the collaboration is forecasting. Our data analysis depicts that a single, synchronized forecasting of the consumer demand would help both parties operate in a more efficient and collaborative way. As final deliverable we propose a roadmap with short-term and long-term steps necessary to design a consumer oriented supply chain. / by Panagiotis Andrianopoulos and Hector Rafael Perez Wario. / M. Eng. in Logistics

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, February 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-98). / Natural hazards, human-induced accidents, and malicious acts have caused great losses and disruptions to society. After September 11, 2001, critical infrastructure protection has become a national focus in the United States and is likely to remain one for the foreseeable future. Damage to the infrastructures and assets could be mitigated through pre-disaster planning and actions. A systematic method has been developed to assess and rank the risks from these multiple hazards in a small community of 20,000 people. It is an interdisciplinary study that includes probabilistic risk assessment, decision analysis, and expert judgment. Scenarios are constructed to show how the initiating events evolve into undesirable consequences. A value tree, based on multi-attribute utility theory, is used to capture the decision maker's preferences about the impacts on the infrastructures and other assets. The risks from random failures are ranked according to their Expected Performance Index values, which is the product of frequency, probability, and consequence of a scenario. Risks from malicious acts are ranked according to their Performance Index values as the frequency of attack is not available. A deliberative process is used to capture the factors that could not be addressed in the analysis and to scrutinize the results. This method provides a framework for the development of a risk-informed decision strategy. Although this study uses the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus as a test-bed, it is a general methodology that could be used by other similar communities and municipalities. / by Hua Li. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2009. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-154). / The photovoltaics industry has been growing at extraordinary rates over the past ten years as a result of increased government support for the technology. Yet supporting the technology is expensive and there is uncertainty over the future rate of technological progress for photovoltaics. Experience curves have been an important part of the argument to justify continued government support of as well as private investment in solar technologies. In this thesis, I argue that a more sophisticated understanding of experience curves and their underlying mechanisms will be important if we are to preempt a renewable energy "bubble." I begin by providing a brief history of photovoltaic technology and policies that have supported end photovoltaic end markets. Next, I examine the use of experience curves for photovoltaic technology, finding numerous conceptual inconsistencies. Finally, based on an economic analysis of almost 55,000 photovoltaic systems in the United States, I attempt to disaggregate the dynamics of cost-reduction in photovoltaic systems, with a particular focus on the behavior of the systems integrators/installers. My analysis includes measures for experience, competition, and installer characteristics. This thesis contributes a better understanding of cost dynamics in photovoltaics and calls for a more sober and more sophisticated discussion about cost dynamics when considering renewable energy policy. / by Phech C Colatat. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, February 2013. / "December 2012." Page 112 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-111). / Significant opportunities to improve the energy use in buildings open remarkable possibilities for innovation over the next two decades. Particularly in the United States, 41% of primary energy consumption in 2010 went into buildings. This work has applied a broad perspective that combines management, technology, and social sciences to analyze the development and integration challenges of emerging Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems that would likely be integrated into building fac̦ades as part of a portfolio of alternatives that might contribute to the development of zero-energy buildings. The analysis contributes to identify some sociotechnical complexities associated with the development of BIPV systems. In addition, it characterizes different products' architectures based on their technical performance, technical complexity, perceived complexity, and exposure to subjective judgment. It shows that the resolution of the friction between the aesthetic and the electricity generation function is one of the early-stage design decisions that may have significant influence on the adoption of the system. / by Jorge Moreno. / S.M.

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-73). / This thesis analyzes how the Auto-ID technology and information infrastructure will change the management and distribution of pharmaceutical products within the health care industry by enabling item level product traceability functionality. The complexity of the health care industry is steadily growing, due to the concurrent increase in medical knowledge, biomedical technologies, the number of medications and the age of the population. The key to ensuring the quality, integrity and availability of health care goods is the ability to track and trace individual items throughout their complete life-cycle from manufacturing to disposal. Product traceability within the Supply Chain is becoming increasingly important for pharmaceutical manufacturers because the increasing number of medications distributed worldwide has led to the proliferation of counterfeit drugs, product diversions, re-importations and grey markets. Ultimately, the increasing complexity of the pharmaceutical distribution could affect patient safety. The potential of the Auto-ID technology and information infrastructure to synchronize the information and material flow is illustrated using a case study methodology. / by Attilio Bellman. / M.Eng.in Logistics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2010. / 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. [184]-193). / All players in the healthcare industry face increasing public and political pressure to improve quality of care and control costs. Hospitals, on the frontline of this challenge, face nursing shortages and financial constraints. Survey data indicate that missing medication and supplies interrupt nurses more than twice per shift, increasing costs and putting patients at risk. These challenges persist even though over 72% of U.S. hospitals have deployed Automated Dispensing Machines (ADMs), electronic cabinets that automate inventory management processes and improve product availability. This research investigates the role of inventory inaccuracies, i.e., mismatches between book inventory and physical inventory on hand, as drivers of product availability in hospitals. The research objectives are three-fold: (1) characterize the sources of inventory inaccuracies prevalent in a hospital context; (2) quantify the impact of inventory inaccuracies on product availability and performance metrics; and (3) identify and evaluate practical strategies that hospitals can use to improve product availability by reducing and mitigating inventory inaccuracies. This thesis views the hospital supply chain as a socio-technical system and addresses the research questions using a multilevel, multi-method approach. The research is empirically grounded by the case study of Lambda, a New England area hospital that provided qualitative and high-frequency transactional data from its network of 108 ADMs that stock over 21,000 product-location combinations. First, by classifying sources of inventory inaccuracies this thesis identifies Imperfect Demand Recording as a hospital-specific source of such inaccuracies. Recording Accuracy is proposed as a metric of user behavior at product and location levels, and reveals that between five and thirty percent of product usage is not recorded. Then, a single-product Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) model shows that Imperfect Demand Recording causes large reductions in availability unless mitigated by frequent and consistent (i.e., equally-spaced) inventory counts, and that service level estimates provided by ADMs can have a large, optimistic bias. Assuming that count timing is independent of inventory state, an analytical model provides a closed-form generalization of the simulation results and shows that variability in cycle count has a nonlinear and substantial effect, causing 35% of counts performed at Lambda to be ineffective. Finally, a sequential and iterative framework integrating the managerial implications of these contributions is proposed. / by David C. Opolon. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46). / This thesis examines the potential reduction of speculative inventory, commonly known as "forward buying", through the use of derivatives options, similar to those used on commodities exchanges. The reinforcing cycle of overbuying on promotion, which leads companies and industries into inescapable cycles of capacity excess & shortage, is explored and a framework for breaking free through the sale of call options on promoted products is proposed. Further speculation on the relevance of derivative instruments to Internet Exchanges and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) is advanced. / by Christopher G. Foti. / M.Eng.