Matching Items (31)
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- All Subjects: Supply Chain Management
- Creators: Department of Information Systems
Description
This is a creative thesis project on the topic of the third party logistics industry, and the improvements that are possible through the implementation of goods to person technologies. The scope of the project entails the relationship between Company X, which is a third party logistics provider, and Company Y, a major toy retailer. This thesis identifies current trends for the third party logistics industry such as rising operating costs and average savings achieved through these business relationships. After identifying the negative trends that Company X is vulnerable to such as high human resources costs, and cost of quality issues. Given the findings derived from industry data, a final recommendation was settled on to improve productivity and ultimately reduce the use of temporary labor for Company X. The implementation of a goods to person technology solution provides the opportunity to reduce hours of operation, man hours, as well as direct and indirect costs such as labor. Research has proven that firms operating in the retail industry rely heavily on temporary labor to handle the seasonal demand brought by the holidays, thus this recommendation could be applied to a variety of operations. The data compiled throughout this thesis have major implications for the third party logistics industry and achieving long term profitability in operations management.
ContributorsFonseca, Tanner (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Kellso, James (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This piece aims to discuss the roles of emerging geographies within the context of global supply chains, approaching the conversation with a "systems" view, emphasizing three key facets essential to a holistic and interdisciplinary environmental analysis: -The Implications of Governmental & Economic Activities -Supply Chain Enablement Activities, Risk Mitigation in Emerging Nations -Implications Regarding Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility In the appreciation of the interdisciplinary implications that stem from participation in global supply networks, supply chain professionals can position their firms for continued success in the proactive construction of robust and resilient supply chains. Across industries, how will supply networks in emerging geographies continue to evolve? Appreciating the inherent nuances related to the political and economic climate of a region, the extent to which enablement activities must occur, and sustainability/CSR tie-ins will be key to acquire this understanding. This deliverable aims to leverage the work of philosophers, researchers and business personnel as these questions are explored. The author will also introduce a novel method of teaching (IMRS) in the undergraduate business classroom that challenges the students to integrate their prior experiences both in the classroom and in the business world as they learn to craft locally relevant solutions to solve complex global problems.
ContributorsVaney, Rachel Lee (Author) / Maltz, Arnold (Thesis director) / Kellso, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The main goal of this study was to understand the awareness of small business owners regarding occupational fraud, meaning fraud committed from within an organization. A survey/questionnaire was used to gather insight into the knowledge and perceptions of small business owners, while also obtaining information about the history of fraud and the internal controls within their business. Twenty-four owners of businesses with less than 100 employees participated in the study. The results suggest that small business owners overestimate their knowledge regarding internal controls and occupational fraud, while also underestimating the risk of fraud within their own business. In fact, 92% of participants were not at all familiar with the popular Internal Control \u2014 Integrated Framework published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The results also show that small business owners tend to overestimate the protection provided by their currently implemented controls in regard to their risk of fraud. Overall, through continued knowledge of internal controls and occupational fraud, business owners can better protect their businesses from the risk of occupational fraud by increasing their awareness of fraud.
ContributorsDennis, Lauren Nicole (Author) / Orpurt, Steven (Thesis director) / Munshi, Perseus (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
New Venture Group, a student-run consulting organization at ASU, collaborated with representatives from Intel Corporation to determine current best supplier management practices in the area of capital equipment procurement. The New Venture Group team accomplished this goal by completing the following deliverables: (1) Research and consolidate best practices for managing capital equipment suppliers. (2) Interview suppliers of capital equipment in the semiconductor industry to understand their motivators. (3) Examine top supply chain companies that utilize capital equipment manufacturers within their procurement systems. (4) Gather data and knowledge in conjunction with Intel Corporation's current practices to improve the effectiveness of the company's supplier management techniques regarding capital equipment manufacturers. The thesis report outlines the key insights and recommendations that our team extracted from the research that we performed. Our team analyzed peer-reviewed journal articles, conducted interviews with suppliers of capital equipment to semiconductor manufacturers, and surveyed buyers at top companies to reach important key insights. We then used these insights to develop the following strategies to improve Intel's capital equipment supplier management structure: All Suppliers 1. Allow high-performance suppliers to select one reward from an established portfolio of incentives. 2. Increase measurement frequency for specific metrics. 3. Use collaborative two-way measurement with a corresponding balanced scorecard. Key Suppliers of Critical Products 4. Conduct gap analysis through supplier self-assessments. 5. Implement collaborative target pricing. 6. Delegate an Ombudsman. 7. Create a value map to determine the strengths and incentivize collaboration. 8. Create comparison charts comparing supplier technological competencies versus Intel's product developments. 9. Establish a systematized product development process and strategic sourcing strategy that supports the continuation of Moore's Law.
ContributorsSantiago, Bryce (Co-author) / Chen, Jenny (Co-author) / Chang, Karen (Co-author) / Baldridge, Stephen (Co-author) / Laub, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Brooks, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Amazon Prime Air is the innovative new service that promises automated drone delivery in thirty minutes or less. The platform has not yet been brought to market, but there is a plethora compelling data available that suggests it will be a unique and highly disruptive business segment for Amazon. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the framework laid out by Amazon.com, Inc. for their anticipated Prime Air drone delivery platform, and offer our recommendations for what steps the e-commerce giant should take moving forward. Following a brief recap of the company's founding and a breakdown of its various business segments, we will begin our analysis by examining past strategic decisions that Amazon has made which have directly contributed to their current market position. It is our goal to construct a narrative of what events lead the company to begin developing a fleet of automated delivery vehicles. Following this history lesson, we will review and criticize the existing elements of Amazon's Prime Air platform, and explore any possible alternatives that they could have taken to optimize the development of this exciting new technology. Criticisms will touch upon elements such as cost efficiencies, brand management, and utilization of infrastructure to name but a few. These criticisms will be based upon data sourced from Amazon's available material as well as comments from market analysts and journalists. The culminating element of our analysis will be to offer our professional recommendations as to what we believe the next logical steps that Amazon should take for their Prime Air platform. These recommendations will be informed by our criticisms and our understanding of Amazon as a corporation. This chapter will be largely concerned with guiding Amazon towards a fully optimized drone delivery platform. Our recommendations will be based upon our extensive experience concerning cost and logistical efficiencies, as well as our knowledge of Amazon as a corporation. We will offer succinct suggestions for Amazon's immediate needs as well as long-term solutions to lingering obstacles that they may face.
ContributorsMcCaleb, Nicholas (Co-author) / Glynn, Reagan (Co-author) / Choi, Thomas (Thesis director) / Rogers, Dale (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Within this paper I summarize the key features, and results, of research conducted to support the development, design, and implementation of an internal control system at a startup small business. These efforts were conducted for an Honors Thesis/Creative Project for Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. The research revolved around deciding which financial policies, procedures, and safeguards could be useful in creating an internal control system for small businesses. In addition to academic research, I developed an “Internal Control Questionnaire” for use as a ‘jumping off point’ in conversations about a business’ existing accounting system. This questionnaire is applicable across many industries, covering the major topics which every small business/startup should consider.
The questionnaire was then used in conjunction with two interviews of small business owners. The interviews covered both the overall financial status of their business and their business’ pre-existing accounting system. The feedback received during these interviews was subsequently used to provide the business owners with eleven recommendations ranging from the implementation of new policies to verification of existing internal controls.
Finally, I summarize my findings, both academic and real-world, conveying that many small business owners do not implement formal internal control systems. I also discuss why the business owners, in this specific circumstance, did not yet implement the aforementioned eleven suggestions.
The questionnaire was then used in conjunction with two interviews of small business owners. The interviews covered both the overall financial status of their business and their business’ pre-existing accounting system. The feedback received during these interviews was subsequently used to provide the business owners with eleven recommendations ranging from the implementation of new policies to verification of existing internal controls.
Finally, I summarize my findings, both academic and real-world, conveying that many small business owners do not implement formal internal control systems. I also discuss why the business owners, in this specific circumstance, did not yet implement the aforementioned eleven suggestions.
ContributorsDuncan, Spencer James (Author) / Garverick, Michael (Thesis director) / Casas Arce, Pablo (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The main compelling question to this thesis was to determine if there is a relationship between the amount of sensitivity received in ones college experience to how easily one transitions to a full time role upon graduation. Furthermore to determine if there is measurable difference, what can educators do to close the gap to better serve students. The conduction of this thesis was done through a survey via Google Forms targeting three groups. The three groups were Alpha Kappa Psi at Arizona State University, Delta Sigma Pi at Penn State University and the Supply Chain Development Program at Dell in Austin, Texas. These groups allowed for a wide range of demographics in participants from all over the US and with many different business majors. There were two main sections in the survey, personal experiences with professors and personal experiences with peers. Both asked multiple different hard data questions (multiple choice, numerical rating, drop down) and short answer questions (open ended.) The goal was to gauge participant's experiences with their professors and their peers in terms of sensitivity and see if it helped or hindered their experience transitioning to a full time role. The results for the hard data indicated that there was a significant correlation between better professors being more sensitive and worse professors exercising very little sensitivity. The open ended responses indicated that students preferred professors that gave less sensitive and academic approach and more real life experiences to help them transition to their job. There were many issues to if the open-ended responses specifically addressed sensitivity versus other topics. Three other topics that were clearly alternately identified were class behavior, job relevancy, and professor influence/resistance. Overall from the research completed in this study it can be concluded that sensitivity does not significantly affect the performance in the transition from college to working in a profession environment.
ContributorsGhinos, Christina Eva (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Thorn, Taylor (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This thesis, through a thorough literature and content review, discusses the various ways that data analytics and supply chain management intersect. Both fields have been around for a while, but are incredibly aided by the information age we live in today. Today's ERP systems and supply chain software packages use advanced analytic techniques and algorithms to optimize every aspect of supply chain management. This includes aspects like inventory optimization, portfolio management, network design, production scheduling, fleet planning, supplier evaluation, and others. The benefit of these analytic techniques is a reduction in costs as well as an improvement in overall supply chain performance and efficiencies. The paper begins with a short historical context on business analytics and optimization then moves on to the impact and application of analytics in the supply chain today. Following that the implications of big data are explored, along with how a company might begin to take advantage of big data and what challenges a firm may face along the way. The current tools used by supply chain professionals are then discussed. There is then a section on the most up and coming technologies; the internet of things, blockchain technology, additive manufacturing (3D printing), and machine learning; and how those technologies may further enable the successful use of analytics to improve supply chain management. Companies that do take advantage of analytics in their supply chains are sure to maintain a competitive advantage over those firms that fail to do so.
ContributorsCotton, Ryan Aaron (Author) / Taylor, Todd (Thesis director) / Arora, Hina (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
During the summer of 2016 I had an internship in the Fab Materials Planning group (FMP) at Intel Corporation. FMP generates long-range (6-24 months) forecasts for chemical and gas materials used in the chip fabrication process. These forecasts are sent to Commodity Mangers (CMs) in a separate department where they communicate the forecast and any constraints to Intel suppliers. The intern manager of the group, Scott Keithley, created a prototype of a model to redefine how FMP determines which materials require a forecast update (forecasting cadence). However, the model prototype was complex to use, not intuitive, and did not receive positive feedback from the rest of the team or external stakeholders. This thesis will detail the steps I took in identifying the main problem the model was intended to address, how I approached the problem, and some of the major iterations I took to modify the model. It will also go over the final model dashboard and the results of the model use and integration. An improvement analysis and the intended and unintended consequences of the model will also be included. The results of this model demonstrate that statistical process control, a traditionally operational analysis, can be used to generate a forecasting cadence. It will also verify that an intuitive user interface is vital to the end user adoption and integration of an analytics based model into an established process flow. This model will generate an estimated time savings of 900 hours per year as well as giving FMP the ability to be more proactive in its forecasting approach.
ContributorsMatson, Rilee Nicole (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Keithley, Scott (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The authors (hereinafter, "the team") engaged in a consulting project with Honeywell Process Solutions, on behalf of the New Venture Group (nVg) The New Venture Group is a student-run management consulting firm within the W.P. Carey School of Business. Its purpose is to provide an experience that allows members to learn about management consulting by interacting with real clients doing value -adding work. Through this particular client engagement, the team was asked to research and develop a structured process that would allow Honeywell Process Solutions to usefully compare 22 factories to each other on a broad range of performance issues.
ContributorsClark, Alexander Kenneth (Co-author) / Lau, Branden (Co-author) / Brooks, Daniel (Thesis director) / Dawson, Gregory (Committee member) / Pfund, Michele (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2013-05