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- Creators: Department of Supply Chain Management
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Description
The purpose of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of current academic research from multiple professional sources and to understand how research in supply chain management and logistics is connected and can be used to generate new conceptual and business performance breakthroughs. The information used in the completion of this summation includes summaries and brief analysis from four different supply chain seminars hosted by Arizona State University supply chain faculty members and invited outside researchers. Beyond this, a comprehensive literature review of the first seminar examines the unintended consequences of health policy and impact of opioid prescribing behavior in the United States. This review encompasses multiple current academic articles that relate to and expand upon the topics discussed in the lecture.
ContributorsHeiberger, Brian (Author) / Oke, Adegoke (Thesis director) / Printezis, Antonios (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This study aims to examine how the use of consensus-based transactions, smart contracts,and interoperability, provided by blockchain, may benefit the blood plasma industry. Plasmafractionation is the process of separating blood into multiple components to garner benefitsof increased lifespan, specialized allocation, and decreased waste, thereby creating a morecomplex and flexible supply chain. Traditional applications of blockchain are developed onthe basis of decentralization—an infeasible policy for this sector due to stringent governmentregulations, such as HIPAA. However, the trusted nature of the relations in the plasmaindustry’s taxonomy proves private and centralized blockchains as the viable alternative.Implementations of blockchain are widely seen across pharmaceutical supply chains to combatthe falsification of possibly afflictive drugs. This system is more difficult to manage withblood, due to the quick perishable time, tracking/tracing of recycled components, and thenecessity of real-time metrics. Key attributes of private blockchains, such as digital identity,smart contracts, and authorized ledgers, may have the possibility of providing a significantpositive impact on the allocation and management functions of blood banks. Herein, we willidentify the economy and risks of the plasma ecosystem to extrapolate specific applications forthe use of blockchain technology. To understand tangible effects of blockchain, we developeda proof of concept application, aiming to emulate the business logic of modern plasma supplychain ecosystems adopting a blockchain data structure. The application testing simulates thesupply chain via agent-based modeling to analyze the scalability, benefits, and limitations ofblockchain for the plasma fractionation industry.
ContributorsVallabhaneni, Saipavan K (Author) / Boscovic, Dragan (Thesis director) / Kellso, James (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis discusses how American Airlines and its’ wholly owned regional partner Piedmont Airlines could improve schedule options by optimizing its existing operations enabling Piedmont to operate more flights with the same number of airplanes. This thesis uses data exclusively from Piedmont Airlines’ September 2019 Schedule, and focuses on operational improvements through minimizing downtime for aircraft both at hubs and outstations.
In the hubs, it was found that there was significant room for optimization to ensure that the aircraft are truly being used to their full potential versus long ramp wait times between flights. When looking at outstations, planes typically only spent the minimum required amount of time on the ground. The exception is if the plane was going to Remain Overnight (RON), however this also meant it was the last flight of the day, and it arrived in the evening or later. The thesis specifically looks at the flows for the week of September 14-20, 2019.
In the hubs, it was found that there was significant room for optimization to ensure that the aircraft are truly being used to their full potential versus long ramp wait times between flights. When looking at outstations, planes typically only spent the minimum required amount of time on the ground. The exception is if the plane was going to Remain Overnight (RON), however this also meant it was the last flight of the day, and it arrived in the evening or later. The thesis specifically looks at the flows for the week of September 14-20, 2019.
ContributorsKass, Adam Mitchell (Author) / Kellso, James (Thesis director) / Wall, Robert (Committee member) / Bookbinder, Evan (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, with a staggering 1.4 billion cups of coffee poured a day (Coffee Consumption around the World). One-point six percent of total US GDP is made up by coffee operations and fuels 1.6 million jobs in the United States (The Global Coffee Industry). However, with an increasingly complex political and economic world, along with the threat of climate change, the world’s coffee supply is at risk of total collapse. There are two primary varieties of coffee consumed in the world, Arabica and Robusta coffee. Most coffee producing countries run along the equator and are generally classified as developing economies. The global south is relied upon for coffee production. “Across Mexico and Central America, over 4 million people depend directly on coffee production for their livelihoods” (An Integrated Framework). Coffee production helps boost these economies and support families financially, with many workers having to support dependent individuals.
ContributorsWinter, Lauren Dorothy (Author) / Keane, Katy (Thesis director) / Printezis, Antonios (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Impostor syndrome is a psychological experience where an individual doubts their own successes and achievements, even with supporting evidence of their legitimate skill. Although there is plenty of research on impostor syndrome in the workplace and post-graduate programs, there is less information on undergraduate students especially at an inclusive, large, public university. As a student at ASU, I have both experienced and seen others experience a feeling of intellectual phoniness in classes which can lead to insecurity and fear of humiliation. Especially in students who are different than their peers, interacting with faculty and other students can cause unnecessary stress because they see themselves as underqualified.
My research will aim to address what impostor syndrome looks like at ASU and which groups of students are affected by it most. Impostor syndrome can manifest in insecurities and behaviors that make collegiate success more difficult, such as less class participation or a hesitation to attend office hours. Professors can inadvertently add to the issue by creating a classroom culture that caters more towards the traditional, often white male, student in their major, especially in majors where the faculty demographics are not similar to the student demographics. I hope that bringing light to impostor syndrome at ASU can help professors understand why some students may participate less or perform differently. Also, I want to help students who do experience insecurity or feel different understand what impostor syndrome is and that they are not alone in their experiences.
In particular, this study can shine light on areas of study that have less diversity. Many studies have indicated that STEM majors are extremely less diverse than national averages. The National Science Foundation found that woman only made up 30% of engineering and computer science degrees and racial minorities were less than 15% of engineering, math, and physical science degrees in 2013 (NSF, 2014). While pre-college interest may play a part in lower enrollment among traditionally underrepresented students, I believe that STEM professors must also take responsibility for encouraging or discouraging all students to continue studying after taking their classes. The results of my survey may indicate that some demographics feel uncomfortable speaking in class or attending offices hours, which are behaviors professors can go out of their way to make less intimidating.
My research will aim to address what impostor syndrome looks like at ASU and which groups of students are affected by it most. Impostor syndrome can manifest in insecurities and behaviors that make collegiate success more difficult, such as less class participation or a hesitation to attend office hours. Professors can inadvertently add to the issue by creating a classroom culture that caters more towards the traditional, often white male, student in their major, especially in majors where the faculty demographics are not similar to the student demographics. I hope that bringing light to impostor syndrome at ASU can help professors understand why some students may participate less or perform differently. Also, I want to help students who do experience insecurity or feel different understand what impostor syndrome is and that they are not alone in their experiences.
In particular, this study can shine light on areas of study that have less diversity. Many studies have indicated that STEM majors are extremely less diverse than national averages. The National Science Foundation found that woman only made up 30% of engineering and computer science degrees and racial minorities were less than 15% of engineering, math, and physical science degrees in 2013 (NSF, 2014). While pre-college interest may play a part in lower enrollment among traditionally underrepresented students, I believe that STEM professors must also take responsibility for encouraging or discouraging all students to continue studying after taking their classes. The results of my survey may indicate that some demographics feel uncomfortable speaking in class or attending offices hours, which are behaviors professors can go out of their way to make less intimidating.
ContributorsLevine, Olivia (Author) / Kittilson, Miki (Thesis director) / Simhony, Avital (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In 1991 after the National Science Foundation lifted the ban on commercial usage of the internet, e-commerce through online retailers has slowly been growing in sales along with e-commerce returns. As e-commerce returns increase alongside e-commerce sales, this thesis will explore what problems online retailers experience from e-commerce returns and what are some potential solutions. Building on existing work conducted by other researchers on the topic of e-commerce returns, additional interviews were conducted with Nordstrom and Big Lots to compare those findings with external research. From interviews and additional research, it is concluded that the biggest problems online retailers experience returns due to size, fit, color, and damages. Thus, it is recommended for online retailers to implement tools such as Fit Finder or incorporate more diverse models along with more detailed descriptions to alleviate returns due to sizing or fit. Furthermore, invest in providing higher quality images to better depict product coloring. As for damages, it is recommended to establish 2nd tier resale channels or a chargeback program onto 3rd party carriers to recuperate losses. Overall, further investment into reverse logistics is pertinent for an online retailer’s e-commerce strategy and operations to remain competitive against others while controlling costs.
ContributorsPat, Angelique (Author) / Oke, Adegoke (Thesis director) / Keane, Katy (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
As digital cameras have become more popular over the las two decades film cameras have started to fade into obscurity. Film cameras are now common items at thrift stores as people are getting rid of them to buy more modern cameras. Some of these cameras have undeveloped canisters of film in them that their owners forgot about. For my Honors Thesis I plan to make a photo book comprised of photographs from these undeveloped rolls of film I find.
So far, I have found three rolls of film that were able to be developed. Some of the rolls I have found were blank or too damaged to be developed. I will continue to search for more as I do this project. My goal is to have eight to ten complete rolls by the time I begin making my book.
Developing the pictures is always a surprise. They had remained undeveloped for years until I found them. I never know what will be on the roll. I always have so many questions when I see the pictures for the first time after they are developed. I wonder who took the pictures, where/when they were taken, how they ended up in a thrift store and how subjects would feel about the pictures today. I would like to be able to answer all of these questions, but I know it would be difficult to track down the people in the photos.
Even though the photos are of strangers they seem to still have a sense of nostalgia for me. They remind me of my memories from the era they were taken in. This connection is one of the bases I want to use for my presentation of the photos. One idea I have is to sequence these pictures from least clear to most clear, starting with pictures that can barely be comprehended. I think this would accurately represent memories in my own life. Many of my early memories are more blurred and less coherent but the more recent memories are much clearer. Sequencing will be an important tool for conveying my intended message. There are also many other tools I can use in post processing; however, I want to try to keep the photos as original as possible. There are some ways I could explore manipulating the photos without changing their original unedited look. Some ways I could do this are cropping, resizing and narrative. I will continue to explore these tools as I progress through this project.
So far, I have found three rolls of film that were able to be developed. Some of the rolls I have found were blank or too damaged to be developed. I will continue to search for more as I do this project. My goal is to have eight to ten complete rolls by the time I begin making my book.
Developing the pictures is always a surprise. They had remained undeveloped for years until I found them. I never know what will be on the roll. I always have so many questions when I see the pictures for the first time after they are developed. I wonder who took the pictures, where/when they were taken, how they ended up in a thrift store and how subjects would feel about the pictures today. I would like to be able to answer all of these questions, but I know it would be difficult to track down the people in the photos.
Even though the photos are of strangers they seem to still have a sense of nostalgia for me. They remind me of my memories from the era they were taken in. This connection is one of the bases I want to use for my presentation of the photos. One idea I have is to sequence these pictures from least clear to most clear, starting with pictures that can barely be comprehended. I think this would accurately represent memories in my own life. Many of my early memories are more blurred and less coherent but the more recent memories are much clearer. Sequencing will be an important tool for conveying my intended message. There are also many other tools I can use in post processing; however, I want to try to keep the photos as original as possible. There are some ways I could explore manipulating the photos without changing their original unedited look. Some ways I could do this are cropping, resizing and narrative. I will continue to explore these tools as I progress through this project.
ContributorsBeauchamp, Aaron F (Author) / Anand, Julie (Thesis director) / Bonfiglio, Thomas (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
To begin our creative project/thesis we sought out a project that would allow us to combine our interests in Supply Chain and Marketing. We chose to develop a drop-shipping business and analyze the effects that marketing had on our product sales. After reading and researching multiple potential products, we chose to begin by selling Sea Turtle Charm Bracelets. After selecting our product we created a webpage where we would be able sell it. Once we established a platform, we began to test different marketing tactics to observe the impact that they had on sales. The primary objective of this thesis was to test and analyze different marketing strategies and see which one would have the largest positive impact on sales. We researched different social media platforms and discussed how to best market the website so that we could increase traffic to our webpage and generate higher sales. We implemented different marketing strategies and sent out two surveys, through Qualtrics and Google Forms to understand the relationship between social media marketing and a consumer's likelihood to purchase. This thesis presents the development of a fully functional drop-shipping business, our approaches to marketing, the methodology behind the survey creation, obstacles and challenges we faced along the way, and the overall sales results that concluded our product was not suitable for consistent, long term sales. Through this project we have gained invaluable insight on how a drop-shipping business functions and the impacts that marketing has on it; looking towards the future we have decided to shut down our current business and utilize our knowledge on drop-shipping and marketing to create a new business which will sell items catered towards a broader customer base.
ContributorsDhillon, Marcus Singh (Co-author) / Bath, Beerjas (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Vitikas, Stanley (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Replacing 214 print devices at 24 different sites across North America seemed
like an impossible project for me to manage just one year ago. Having just learned
about procurement a semester ago, and having little experience in the corporate world, I
set out as an intern at a company I will refer to as Company A, to undertake this project
with much to learn. I soon learned that replacing printers was not so simple, having to
first complete a contract that been worked on for almost two years. Following that, I had
to build relationships both internally and externally, establishing myself as the project
manager with both the vendor and Company A’s internal team. I sought to achieve
accuracy and efficiency, frequently communicating and verifying inventory before finally
beginning to replace printers across North America. After 7 months of hard-work,
collaboration, and communication, Company A was able to successfully receive all their
new print devices.
Along the way, I learned several lessons regarding goal setting, bottlenecks, and
communication. As the project kept receiving continual delays, I realized the
nonobtainable timeline and goals that were established. I also soon found bottlenecks
were constantly being avoided and pushed into the background, before growing into
large issues as the project progressed. One of the largest bottlenecks being an internal
disagreement on the secure print feature of the print devices. Finally, I found
communication between internal teams was not enough in reducing conflict and
increasing efficiency. From my experience with this project and as an intern, I have
learned many lessons that I will utilize in my professional career in the supply chain
field.
like an impossible project for me to manage just one year ago. Having just learned
about procurement a semester ago, and having little experience in the corporate world, I
set out as an intern at a company I will refer to as Company A, to undertake this project
with much to learn. I soon learned that replacing printers was not so simple, having to
first complete a contract that been worked on for almost two years. Following that, I had
to build relationships both internally and externally, establishing myself as the project
manager with both the vendor and Company A’s internal team. I sought to achieve
accuracy and efficiency, frequently communicating and verifying inventory before finally
beginning to replace printers across North America. After 7 months of hard-work,
collaboration, and communication, Company A was able to successfully receive all their
new print devices.
Along the way, I learned several lessons regarding goal setting, bottlenecks, and
communication. As the project kept receiving continual delays, I realized the
nonobtainable timeline and goals that were established. I also soon found bottlenecks
were constantly being avoided and pushed into the background, before growing into
large issues as the project progressed. One of the largest bottlenecks being an internal
disagreement on the secure print feature of the print devices. Finally, I found
communication between internal teams was not enough in reducing conflict and
increasing efficiency. From my experience with this project and as an intern, I have
learned many lessons that I will utilize in my professional career in the supply chain
field.
ContributorsDong, Ryan K (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Konopka, John (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This research seeks to identify key influencers on a relatively new type of policy instrument, the Sustainable Purchasing Policy, in the local government context. Specifically, we analyze how vendor relationships and organizational capacity affect perceived Sustainable Purchasing Policy success. Using statistical analysis on a nationally distributed survey to city directors as well as interviews with city purchasing agents, we are able to identify what factors are likely to lead to successful policy implementation. Our findings show that cities benefit from their vendors providing reliable information regarding sustainable offerings, that vendors offering sustainable goods need superior technical capabilities to compete in a cost-driven environment, and that purchasing agents require support from a city’s top management if they want to successfully implement sustainable purchasing. Future avenues for research are discussed.
ContributorsAmbrose, Harrison Noah (Author) / Darnall, Nicole (Thesis director) / Wiedmer, Robert (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05