MBA in Supply Chain Management

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.248.9.226/handle/123/14052

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item: Thesis-Full-text
Absenteeism and labor turnover and its impact on production costs in the special occasion wear industry
Silva, JBJ; Kukmarage, AS
Absenteeism and the turnover become critical factors in today’s business world. Employees are being considered as the most important asset of the organization where as their performance will directly influence on the organizational performance. In recent times, the export apparel market in USA for Sri Lanka has been drastically decreased and the problem centered for the study is to identify which extend the absenteeism and the employee turnover will influence on the production cost of the organization. In that, two hypotheses were developed based on the two research objectives. As per the sampling plan, 432 respondents were selected from non-probability convenience sampling method and both primary and secondary sources of data were used for the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data has collected for the study purpose and analyses have been conducted and both primary and secondary sources of data has collected for the study. As per the main data collection instrument, a self-administered structured questionnaire has been used. Other than that, an in-depth interviews and the focused group discussions have been conducted with the employees of the company. Both hypotheses were supported and there is a strong and a positive relationship in between the employee turnover and the production cost and also there is a positive and strong relationship between the absenteeism and the production cost.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Affect of the public procurement procedure on the procurement efficiency of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd.
(2019) Wijerathna SK; Adikariwattage V
Today supply of goods or services to the customers is more complex than the past under a competitive market. The reason for this scenario is the lack of resources prevails in the earth. Therefore this lack of resources should manage properly to satisfy the customer’s demand. However if the goods or services is not provided at the right time to the customer, the customer has to suffering of not having his desired requirement at the time of he really need it. Any country in the world, the government handles the people’s funds. It is a rule which is come from ancient time. Therefore the king or the government should responsible for these funds. Under these circumstances, government should carefully manage these funds (This Funds ultimately transfer as benefits for the nation) if not government will be rejected by the nation Under this scenario, there should be proper methods when the government utilizes these funds. When we consider the public procurement, there is a procedure which is guided by National Procurement Guild Lines with Procurement Manual in order to utilize the public funds carefully. But as per the customers’ perception, they always not satisfy with the time that they are provided the essential item by the government. Complain is the government is unable to supply the goods or services at the right time. Unless the government organizations purchase the needs at right time they will be unable to supply the needs to the consumers at the right time. The Airport and Aviation is the owner and the operator of all civil airports in Sri Lanka, therefore the procurement of AASL should be more efficiency and effectiveness to achieve the common objectives. The failures of procurement performances of AASL align to fail the service quality which create more complain both local and foreign passengers and it create a impossible background to obtain a best value from the airport uses and it may occurred reducing the no of interesting carriers for the airports. However, in this research my object is find that is there any delay is raised when the AASL is involving purchasing with the public procurement procedure. Study the procedure and guild lines, collecting data from AASL and selected several private organizations; analyze those data to find a better result and recommend some solutions for the raising problems.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Aircraft spares consumption prediction model for the small air operators
(2019) Hettiarachchi KT; Adikariwattage V
When an aircraft spare or component found defective on ground or during the flight that might compromise the aircraft's safety, it is important to remove it and replaced with serviceable component always. However, in order to avoid delays in the operations, it is critical that the availability of the replacement at the aircraft parts store for a quick turnaround. Aircraft spares consumption prediction is so important. While excess inventories expensive due to additional inventory holding cost, inventory obsolesce, tying up capital. As well as stockouts creates huge capital losses to the air operators through costly flight delays or cancellations, loss of brand reputation, over utilization of other aircraft in the fleet, etc. So that availability of the right quantity at the right time of the aircraft spares is so vital, for that aircraft consumption prediction plays the key role. Regression analysis and the consumption prediction is classical and practical forecasting method. Four years of Cessna 208 series aircraft Main Wheel consumption details used for the analysis. Initially data analysed with linier regression analysis and found relationship with the Aircraft Flying Time and Main Wheel consumption is significant, but it is non linier relationship. Then same data was analysed with Poisson regression analysis and the final model was developed. It can be used for the consumption prediction model as well as a decision-making tool for the inventory level estimations.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Analysis of factors influencing the efficient and effective supply of uniform material : case of a public sector organisation
(2019) Priyadarshana PAP; Liyanage HL
The main objective of this thesis is to analyze the factors influencing the effective and efficient supply of uniform material: case of a public sector organization. Since 2005, DTAC, the Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee has allocated uniform materials requirements of the state sector to local textile manufacturers. The main objective of this exercise is to empower the Local Textile Manufacturers. However, researcher observed that, there is huge lead time gap when material supplying through DTAC. Pre-processing lead of DTAC purchasing process is very high comparatively to the government procurement process. Public sector organizations have to provide textile material to run their own garment factories situated at their premises and unavailability of material make machine idling situation. Because, this garment factories establish to provide stitching facility only for uniform requirement of military personnel’s and they do not accept any outside orders like in a privet sector garment factory. Collection of data, both preliminary and secondary was based on the factors contributing to the efficient and effective uniform material supply by Local Textile Manufacturers through the policy adopted by the government. These factors are identified as variables. Accordingly, six variables have been selected and to measure those variables researcher has selected several indicators as appropriate. Those six variables are co0lloboration among stakeholders, development of production capacity of the manufacturers, improvement of quality of the fabrics, extent of using modern technologies, the incentives granted by the government and item acceptance. In view of collecting data, two type of questionnaire were prepared and questionnaire no 2 was distributed among four major factories and held interviews with factory owners and other officials who involved in the scheme. The questioner no 1 was distributed among the personnel who are directly involving with this purchasing process to see the impact of each variable on lead time. To study the production process researcher visited the factories and obtained further details for strengthening the reliability of the data. The study more focused on purchase of uniform materials to the SLAF because the time and recourses available are very limited and finding and recommendation of this case study can be applying for other sister services too. VI A survey research was carried out using structured questionnaire collecting data from a sample of 32 (n=32) respondent in DTAC supply chain. Survey data collected are first used to validate the measurement properties and then hypotheses were tested. A significant relationship between factors influencing for efficient and effective supply of uniform material to public sector was observed. Further, this study reveals a moderate level of GSCM adaptation in Sri Lankan manufacturing firms. Thus, the results of this study support the view that influencing factors like collaboration do influence the performance of firms, ensuring growth and survival, regardless of the size of the firm. The key findings were compared with prevailing literature based on developed and developing countries and recommendation was given as to how this problem can minimized and what practices can be adapted by manufacturing firms in future for better performance of uniform material manufacturing process, which would lead to yield competitive advantages stakeholders in DTAC supply chain. With an in-depth investigation it was found that the Domestic textile industry can be brought on top winning track if government and other individuals take serious actions in removing or normalizing the hurdles behind this complicated process. Additionally, the government should provide subsidy to the textile industry, minimize the internal dispute among the manufactures, withdraw the withholding and sales taxes etc. Purchasing new machinery or enhancing the quality of the existing machinery and introducing new technology can also be very useful in increasing the research and development (R and D) related activities that in the modern era are very important for increasing the domestic textile sector growth of a country.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Analysis of factors influencing the implementation of green supply chain management practices : a case study on a leading supermarket in Sri Lanka
(2019) Dharmarathna GHDD; Sugathadasa R
Green supply chain management (GSCM) has emerged as a one of the key approaches for every enterprise seeking to become environmentally sustainable in the entire world. At present Sri Lanka many industries have taken their initiatives to implement and adopt GSCM in to the business. Out of them super market industry is one of the major industries to be focused on. Currently there are three large scale super market chains in Sri Lanka and few more medium scale super market chains as well. “Greening” the business is the key factor of sustainable development and it will also add many other benefits to the business. Implementing GSCM is not a single task that only the subjected company can deal with. It is linked with each and every stage of the supply chain life cycle from row materials to the end of life of product. GSCM is a process to be implemented with a proper and monitored plan and there are many factors to be considered. Adoption of GSCM in super markets is a challenging process which should be implemented along with many other parties such as suppliers and customers. This research is focused on implementing GSCM in one of the leading supermarket chains in Sri Lanka and the factors influencing the implementation of GSCM is discussed. Also the relevant recommendations are proposed to lead for a successful implementation.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Assessing and minimizing the wastages in perishable cargo : case of vegetables supply chain in Sri Lanka
Dahanayake, AP; Bandara, YMMS
Agriculture is the most common livelihood of Sri Lankans, and almost eighty (80) different varieties of fruits and vegetables are grown in Sri Lanka’s in varied agro‐climatic areas.Sri Lanka produces around 710,000 metric tons of vegetables and around 540,000 metric tons of fruits annually. Most of the population involved in agriculture is small producers or home garden growers whose individual extent of land does not exceed a hectare. Fruits and vegetables are damaged due to inappropriate methods of picking, packing, storage and transportation. A considerable portion of products are perished during this process. Insufficient information flow is another major handicap. Therefore, it is very important to study the whole supply chain and find out the necessary remedies to develop Sri Lankan fruit and vegetable industry. Agricultural wastage is a country wide issue in Sri Lanka. According to the past researches done, there are over 40% in fruits and over 30% in vegetables been wasted while passing through the supply chain from farm-gate to the final consumer. Common supply chain for fruits and vegetables can be identified in several stages in the traditional supply chain namely farm-gate to collector, collector to whole-seller and whole-seller to the retailer. The collection and distribution of vegetable in the country is largely based on several economic centers situated across the country which were established with intuitive judgments about the locations suitability interns of transport and distribution optimization attributes. Nevertheless, the mode of transport is mainly by trucks and fruits and vegetable are packed in to plastic sacks by the supplier or intermediaries. As a result of handling, transportation, and distribution, it is reported that there is a considerable portion of fruits and vegetables are wasted. The present research focuses on assessing the wastage levels, due to transport, handling, and identify a strategy that will minimize the wastages in perishable cargo supply chain in Sri Lanka. Objectives of this research are, to identify the factors that lead to high wastage of vegetables, to assess the level of vegetable wastage in the perishable supply chain, and to identify strategies to minimize wastage during transport of vegetables in Sri Lanka. This study identified sample of 100 retailers to examine the supply chain of fruits and vegetables in identical numbers. Samples were drawn from the Manning Market in Colombo, Welisara Economic Center, Meegoda Economic Center, Dabulla Economic Center, Narahenpita Economic center and other vegetables Markets in Colombo and suburbs. The sample consisted the farmers, collectors, traders. Primary data were collected by a questionnaire consisted of fifty questions and pocket discussions and interviews. Face to face interactions and other communicative channels were used to collect information on the vegetable supply chain. According to the survey results, 65% of the supply is directly transported from farm gate to Colombo or city whole sale vendor. The average waste per Kilo of fruits and vegetables is higher in which comes through shops. Leafy vegetables total productions come from the farm gate. Higher proportion of the vegetable samples, were packed into net bags and poly sack bags. Loading method of the poly sack bags in the vehicle were identified as one poly bag on top of the other thus the ventilation to the cargo in the bags were minimal. Lowest wastage for fruits and vegetables were identified as packing into cardboard boxes. The study revealed that lowest wastage exits when vegetables come directly from farm gate. Further it was identified that the wastage levels will depend on the nature of vegetables. More wastage can occur for soft vegetables when transported in large Lorries. Distance is not a significant factor to the wastage in Sri Lankan vegetable supply chain. Direct transportation from farm gate to the Colombo vendors is another advantage to reduce the wastage. When vegetables are transported through intermediate vendors, the wastage will increase. Number of additional handling will impact such wastage in this chain. Therefore, this research identifies the importance of introducing advanced handling methods and usage of new equipments main recommendations. Further the study discusses the importance of the effective use of the equipment, structural changes should be carried out inside the shops, store areas and loading & unloading bays to facilitate direct cargo loading process into the vehicles to minimize wastages.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Assessing enterprise resource plan (ERP) requirements at a small and medium scale construction organization: a case study
(2021) Chathuranga MKNR; Perera HN
The manufacturing industry gave birth to enterprise resource planning. It offers a typical in work environment for a company to take part its main corporate administration operations with a unique central database, allowing for the sharing of information and effective communication across management departments. Enterprise Resource Plan has traditionally been restricted to major businesses in the construction industry. Small to mid-size construction businesses make up a large fraction of construction firms that have either failed to deploy or are unfamiliar with this technology. The objective of this article is to give a decision-making mechanism for place in order enterprise resource planning module deployment. This study lays out a step-by-step plan for implementing an Enterprise Resource Plan system in the construction sector. This research created a four-step procedure for deploying Enterprise Resource Plan system in the correct order. The first step identifies the most widely utilized Enterprise Resource Plan system modules in the construction sector. In the second stage, the projected advantages of ERP adoption are specified. In the third stage, the significance index (I) will be defined. The primary findings of the study include a complete list of thirteen ERP modules graded by their use in the Sri Lankan construction sector. Out of thirteen modules, inventory control and logistics, procurement, and project finance and accounting were in top three places.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Barriers to the business functioning of the domestic courier industry in Sri Lanka
(2021) Ismadeen MZ; Bandara MY
A supply chain interconnects the global and local partners, suppliers, organizations in strategic level. Knowledge of supply chain management is becoming wisdom in future trends, forecasting, and providing the competitive edge in an organization’s success. Logistics plays the vital part in moving tangible movements, information, and cash on upward and backward in the entire supply chain. Logistics is accountable for all sorts of movements of goods in all modes of transportation and sizes. As one of the main players in the logistics industry, domestic courier services are connecting the rural economies to urban and the urban businesses to rural. Domestic courier services directly and indirectly help and assure the safe, reliable speed movements of business and personal goods. It helps its customers to focus on their core business activities and take the responsibility of connecting the last mile deliveries. Due to the development of e-commerce, domestic courier services adding value to collecting the cash sales and the reverse logistics part as well. This research identified the barriers to business functioning of the domestic courier industry in Sri Lanka. Further it describes the importance of the domestic courier industry in Sri Lanka. Additionally, the need for standardized, united and the competitiveness of the domestic courier industry in Sri Lanka. This study was initially conducted by interviewing the domestic courier industry experts, getting the relevant information from the management level staff in the domestic courier industry through questionnaire. Collected information was transformed into a data set. Then data has been analyzed by using Principle Component Analysis in Exploratory Factor Analysis Method.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Critical analysis of the cashew export value chain in Sri Lanka
Liyanage, LADS; Mirchandani, J; Bandara, M
The Sri Lanka economy composition consists of three main economic sectors of Services, Industrial and Agricultural. Despite the agricultural contribution is comparatively less to the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) worldwide appreciation is very high due to the natural quality of Sri Lankan agrarian products. Records show that cashew cultivation was introduced to Sri Lanka in the sixteenth century from Brazil. Currently, cashew farming plays an important role in the agrarian sector in the Sri Lankan economy mainly generating high price value of finished products.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Critical factors affecting inventory levels of an over the counter (OTC) herbal medicine :
(2019) Hemanthi PWC; Bandara YMMS
Herbal medicines have been in existence throughout the ages, giving comfort, cure and wellbeing to human beings all over the world. Although, in the last few decades, herbal medicines weren’t given much of a prominence in health and wellbeing, herbal medicines are moving back into limelight, since recent years, as people are moving back to nature cures, trending towards natural products that are more congruent to the physiological, psychological balance of human being and to cost viable products. The market for herbal medicines is being increased at a rapid rate and continuous advertising of herbal medicines are frequent these days unlike in yester years, herbal medicine brands are nowadays becoming household names, proving the increasing trend for herbal medicines in the healthcare sector. With increasing competition, herbal medicine manufacturers are looking for ways and means of making efficacious, cost viable products available to consumers and gaining market stability for their products. While, availability at the right time being the most crucial factor to make a sale, demand unpredictability and limiting shelf life of product are being contradicting nature of the product segment, maintaining right inventory levels in the supply chain plays a critical role in movement of product in the supply chain and cost viability of product in the market. In this scenario of context, where herbal medicines are gaining a wider market acceptance, it has become imperative to have a closer look at the herbal medicine supply chain, streamline, instigate precautionary measures and implement solutions in instilling right inventory levels, in order to gain an edge over competition, by bringing out efficacious, economically and ecologically viable products to market at the right time, Supply chain aspects of herbal medicines are yet rather untouched in research studies. As a preliminary to set right inventory levels, this research has tried to identify the critical factors affecting over stocking and under stocking of an Over the Counter (OTC) Herbal Medicine, based on a case study of a selected herbal medicine. In this case study research, critical factors affecting over stocking and under stocking of a herbal medicine has been identified by obtaining information through interviews, questionnaires and by using Pareto Analysis and AHP (Analytical Hierarchical Process) analysis.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Determinants of outsourcing warehouse operations in Sri Lankan ceramic industry :
(2021) De Silva S; Liyanage H
The company selected for the case study King Ceramics is the dominant market leader in Sri Lankan tile industry with the expanding their business to 16 various countries worldwide. Having an efficient distribution network comprised of 60 showrooms and 11 warehouses are the attractive capabilities of King Ceramics. Currently, more than 50% of the total group revenue is generated by tiles and associate products. Warehouse operations are playing a pivotal role in the supply chain management process since they allow purchasers to obtain the most appropriate products at a reasonable price and at the place where the purchasers can accommodate easily. Existing conditions in King Ceramics, the purpose of this study is to cater the problem of “What are the factors influencing manufacturing companies to outsource warehousing facilities in Sri Lanka?”. Identifying the factors influencing the manufacturing companies to outsource warehousing facilities in Sri Lanka is designed as the primary objective of the research. Here, data collection is primarily based on a questionnaire. Based on the analysis conducted referring to the gathered responses, cost associated with in-house warehousing operations, customer satisfaction and capability to focus on company corecompetencies variables are identified as factors with a positive relationship with effective outsourcing of warehouse operations in Sri Lanka. However, the risk associated with outsourcing of warehouse operations has a negative relationship with the effective outsourcing of warehouse operations in Sri Lanka. Impact on customer satisfaction has the highest impact compared to the other three independent variables. The cost associated with in-house warehouse operations shown the second priority and the company’s capability of focusing on its core competencies is the third prioritized factor towards the effective implementation of outsourcing of warehouse operations. According to the research findings, risk related to in-house warehouse operations on the effective implementation of outsourced warehouse operations has shown the lowest level of impact. Therefore, as a manufacturing company, King Ceramics should focus on improving and streamlining its processes to develop a seamless flow in-between outsourced operations and inhouse operations to deliver maximum satisfaction to customers and to have the maximum cost saving.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Developing online sales channels for emerging small and medium enterprises
(2021) Nawaratne NDCS; Perera HN
The worldwide total retail sales hit $23.4 trillion in 2020 of which 18.5 trillion are in traditional physical store sales and four trillion are in E-commerce related sales. With the twentieth century closing we have seen a great shift in the market from small retailers (mom and pop shops) to big box retailers. In the current century, these large shops are replaced by a digitized replication of the big box retailers at a more virtual complex than the physical kind. This paper would discuss the evolution of traditional retailing especially within the last 3- 5 years, specifically due to current world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to achieve the objectives of the research the author used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The results demonstrated by the research provide a guided outlook on, how to upgrade an existing retailing business to an E-tailing hybrid business, as well as an understanding on what metrics will be enabled in terms of data and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that can be achieved within this implementation. The thesis would have a detailed look at some of the benefits drawn by an implementation of the online sales channel as well as some barriers faced by the new adopters when trying to implement the technology in their respective organizations. The research focuses on understanding the development of ecommerce within Sri Lanka, by using a triangulation method which the author builds by creating a solid knowledge foundation on retail markets, e-commerce development, different types of e-commerce and finally ties the whole loop with literature that helps the reader understand the overall impact to the supply chain and the different data points gathered that enable a data analytics process, helping business gain new insights, and make much more informed decisions within a business. Using this knowledge, the thesis conducts a survey to understand the overall position of the online customer population using a sample and reverifies these findings with six expert interviews with top officials representing corporates that have been performing outstandingly well when it comes to the e-commerce sector. Finally, the research thesis depicts these learning on to a newly designed four stage ecommerce adoption model that will help any traditional business that is currently generating a significant amount of sale to identify which stage would best fit their business model and best strategy in implementing a digital strategy within their organization
item: Thesis-Full-text
Development of appropriate investment models for multimodal transport terminals in Sri Lanka
Indika, WSN; Kukmarage, AS
Though Multimodal Transport Terminal is a novel infrastructure development experience to Sri Lanka; the concept of “Multimodal Transport” is not. Nowadays the concept has become much popular than ever since it has been playing major role in international and local transportation in both passenger and cargo movements. The Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) have taken necessary measures to introduce Multimodal Transport Terminals (MTTs) to the country’s transport family as it has been identified as a major solution to streamline the infected transport systems in the country. But no scientific research has been conducted yet to identify the best fit Ownership, Facility Management and Terminal operation models for the introducing MTTs in Sri Lanka. This is the gap that has been bridged by this research project. The project consists of three main objectives; 1) To identify the existing ownership, facility management and terminal operation models that are successfully practiced in transport terminals in the global context. 2) To examine the existing ownership, facility management and terminal operation models that are successfully practiced in different disciplines (including transportation) in Sri Lankan context. 3) To develop the best fit ownership, facility management and terminal operation models for multimodal transport terminals in Sri Lanka. The identification of existing ownership, facility management and terminal operation models that are successfully practiced in transport terminals in global context have been done covering all three main transport modes; maritime, aviation and land transportation and several scenarios are discussed with the different institutional structures applied including their successes and failures. Different models were introduced representing most of the components in Public Private Partnership (PPP) spectrum. Thus it has been concluded that most of the global scenarios with mega investments that have followed PPP frameworks have become successful. Further the PPP model provides the enough freedom for the private partners to improve their efficiencies and public sector influence vi helps to keep them on the correct track until it reaches the expected socio economical outcomes and the partnership always pushes the project to reach its maximum outcomes. The examination of the existing ownership, facility management and terminal operation models that are practiced in different disciplines (including transportation) in Sri Lankan context have been carried out by analyzing the scenarios across all three sectors maritime, aviation and land transportation and non-transportation disciplines. It has been concluded at the end of the analysis that there are several government owned and partially government owned models that are already practiced in Sri Lanka even without properly established direct legal support from the legislature. The government’s intention on future infrastructure projects is to invest with partially government owned structures with the participation of private partners as it allows them to concentrate more on social oriented projects where in others parties are not interested. PPP initiatives are not novel to the country; but they have been developed case by case as fulfill the requirements of the partners at that particular point. Unlike other countries with well-established PPP frameworks; Sri Lanka lacks common PPP framework adopted by government which is crucial for infrastructure development projects that bears a commercial value and to attract potential private partners. Having analyzed all the scenarios from global and local contexts mentioned in the first two objectives the solutions for the main research problem have been developed based on two structural formations. I. Public Models II. PPP Models Seven optional models have been introduced at the end of the analysis including four public models (GGG, GGP, GPG, GPP) and three PPP models ([G+P]PG, ([G+P] PP, ([PPP]+G) that can be applied successfully with in Sri Lanka. It has been highlighted that the current socio political environment of the country is yet not mature enough to bear the weight of some of the models introduced. Further, having considered the existing environment of the country; an especial implementation process for the proposed models has been introduced and it is suggested to initiate the application of the proposed models with “Public Models” (like GGP or GPP) and evaluate the progress of them and then move towards the “PPP Models” which have been concluded as the best fit sustainable models for MTTs in Sri Lanka. If it is the “PPP Models” that are most sustainable to the country; a well-established PPP framework is a must for the success of the MTT projects. This research has formulated “Final Draft of the PPP framework for MTTs in Sri Lanka”. And it is recommended as a future research opportunity which is a necessity before implementation the best fit models. (Key Words: Multimodal Transport, Ownership Models, Facility Management, Terminal Operations, Public Private Partnership, Framework)
item: Thesis-Full-text
Development of conceptual model for main line container vessel berth allocation in a transhipment container terminal
Karunathilaka, KUPC; Sigera, I
Berth allocation is essential for efficient terminal utilization in container ports and it can identify as a most critical activity which should manage in strategic ways to achieve long term benefits. Previous studies have empathized that, Port/ Terminal congestion i.e unexpected waiting times before berthing, as a main factor which affects to the schedule unreliability in container Shipping. Terminal operators’ objective is to minimize the sum of port staying times of container vessels while maximizing berth occupancy of terminal and that minimizes dissatisfaction of the ships in terms of the berthing order. Main container Shipping lines strive to maintain their sailing schedules to manage expected level of schedule reliability. Focusing on that, this research is aimed to develop a common model which beneficial to both Container Terminal Operators & Shipping Lines when arranging berths in container terminals. The study was focused on main line container vessels’ berth allocation practices in Transshipment container terminals. Analysis of the study was carried out from both Terminal operators’ and Shipping Lines’ aspects. Eight criteria have identified from terminal operators’ aspect which are consider when allocating and prioritizing berths for incoming container vessels. From the Container shipping lines’ aspect eight criteria have identified which are consider by them when requesting berths for their vessels. Finalized criteria from both aspects were structured in to two questionnaires and one sent to the managerial level of selected ten major transshipment terminals and other one sent to the ten leading container shipping lines in world. Collected expert judgments regarding the subject criteria was analyzed using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique and as a final outcome those were ranked based on the weight assigned. Products of the two aspects were combined to develop a common model which considered to be as a win-win approach. Common criteria from both aspects have extracted to develop a product of two matrixes. In common model criteria named “Berthing Pro-Forma” ranked as a most critical and important one having weight of 0.2701. Other seven criteria were ranked based on the calculated weights as Punctuality of service (0.2255), Investment in terminal (0.1791), Liner connectivity (0.1268), Commercial aspects (0.0862), Relationship and market power (0.0537), Service agreements and policies (0.0317) and Special requirements (0.0222). Since mentioned eight criteria make a positive impact on the berthing arrangement equation has developed by adding those together. Within this study applicability of the modal to the real-world berth vi allocation problem have discussed as a final step of the analysis. As currently practiced in container terminals, berth allocation has done based on the practical experience and intuition of relevant professionals and it was an activity they daily performed. Since they are focusing on this as a day to day activity, in long term negative impacts can occur due to customer dissatisfaction. This happens because terminal operators and shipping lines are working separately to achieve their individual objectives by neglecting the importance of mutual agreements. That gap will fill by this study and developed model can use in berth allocation which may generate long term mutual benefits to both parties. Future studies can be focusing on to apply the same concept in feeder line operation and any type of port terminal.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Econometric analysis of the factors affecting the air express industry in Sri Lanka
(2019) Damithri HDN; Bandara M
This dissertation is a study of the air express market in Sri Lanka and ultimately identifying factors affecting air express market in Sri Lanka. A literature review related to logistics and courier, express and parcel was examined. Particularly, the factors affecting the logistics performance and CEP industry have been scrutinized and based on this foundation, descriptive analysis was carried out. The characteristics and overview of the air express market are described and determinants which affect the air express market are identified and analysed. Quantitative analysis was prepared by applying log linear multiple regressions to identify the factors and the degree of impact of those factors to the air express market in Sri Lanka. The concluding chapter identifies the recommendation s of the thesis with regard to data, methods and approaches.
item: Thesis-Abstract
An exploratory analysis on identifying the influential factors of using digitalization techniques to achieve a higher supply chain efficiency by Sri Lankan apparel industry
(2021) Perera BDP; Gamage AIT
The use of digitalization techniques has revolutionized the way of operating for many businesses today. It has become quite crucial for modern-day apparel manufacturers to use these techniques to cater to the highly customized needs of their customers with a minimum lead time to survive in the increased competition in the global market. Therefore, the apparel manufacturing firms constantly seek ways and means to improve their supply chain efficiency in terms of quality, cost, delivery, safety, and morale. As most of the apparel businesses in Sri Lanka operate as a B2B business model with contract manufacturing agreements with renowned brands in the global market, many compliance requirements are being set by those giant companies just to improve their overall supply chain efficiency. Thus, the manufacturing firms are compelled to adopt various digitalization tools to cater to their customer’s expectations. However, the implementation of aforesaid tools carries numerous benefits for all the supply chain partners. The fashion and apparel (F & A) industry are one of the sectors which have largely implemented many of the digital applications into their operations during recent times. Whilst relishing numerous benefits, contemporary businesses also had experienced various negative implications after employing the aforesaid tools. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the various types of digital technologies which could be used by the F & A businesses, the potential benefits of those applications, and the possible challenges/risks to which they are exposed. In addition, this study would evaluate how those digital technologies could assist the B2B apparel manufacturing firms in improving their supply chain efficiency and enable them in data-driven decision-making.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Factors affecting daily production wastage of tea bagging manufacturing
Perera, MAD; Amarasena, SM; Bandara, YM
This research identifies and analyses of factors affecting production wastage of teabagging manufacturing. Minimizing production wastage is a very important operation consideration of any production oriented organization. The aim of this study is to identify the variables and their relationship in relation to Packing Materials (PM) wastage of tea bags. In other words, the purpose of this study is to answer the questions what are the factors affecting tea bag production wastage, which factor is significantly contributing to generating wastages and what is the nature of the relationship of these factors. The industrial norms for tea bags PM wastage in a production run is 2% or below that however in this study, wastage of above PM‟s constitute nearly 2% and above 2% hence there is a gap between expected level and the outcome. Therefore, the issue has been identified and analyzed empirically. Nevertheless, much literature and related research knowledge on wastage of tea bag manufacturing were not found thus related knowledge is limited. In addition, there were many limitations such as the inability to access of some information, sudden changes of management decisions on production lines, even though there were variable but not significant to achieve the objective of this research trying to achieve. A descriptive approach using primary data gathered from questionnaire-based interview survey design was adopted. A statistical modelling approach using secondary data from teabagging production records from January 2017 to December 2017 was also used. According to the analysis of primary data, gathered from the structured questionnaire the employees of the organization have been able to capture many problematic areas of the packing function that was not paid enough attention by the management which causes tea bag wastage. The most statistically significant and correlated problems discovered from the primary data are as follows: Flavored Black tea/ Green tea tends to generate less wastage while Black tea/ Green tea with herbs tend to generate more wastage, Envelope tea bags generate lower wastage and other variable does not have an impact on wastage.However, according to the analysis of secondary data, the total of wastage is less impacted by wastage of Flavored Black tea/ Green tea bags than of Black tea/ Green tea with herbs while total production significantly influences the total wastage. It is concluded that on average 2% of the total production of tea bags are wasted under the existing production process. However, this study can be further extended to find out the impact on the cost of production regarding PM wastage, production vs. wastage by machines, impact on inventory management of PM by wastage, and impact on tea export supply chain by wastage.
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Factors affecting the efficiency of warehouse picking operation in retail industry
(2021) Peiris KWC; Gamage AIT
Covid-19 pandemic has changed people’s buying behavior and most of retail supermarkets are in a great challenge of fulfilling customer requirements due to “Panic buying” behavior. Since the current trend has become an e-commerce market, the necessity of well-working warehouse operation has increased. Therefore, to move with the customer changes and to increase customer satisfaction, improvements should be added for warehouse activities. Order-picking has the highest priority in warehouse operation in terms of improving the warehouse efficiency. This research was conducted to determine the factors that affect efficiency of warehouse picking operation in retail industry with a comprehensive literature study. Following factors were identified as the influential factors for the efficiency of warehouse picking operation such as training on warehouse workers, technology, incentive payments for labor, picking methodology, safety of the operation etc. Further analysis was conducted for factors identified from literature review using a self-administered questionnaire which was developed and distributed among warehouse people to get their opinions. 207 responses were collected, and consistency analysis test confirmed that the collected data set is consistent and in an acceptable level. Using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) it was concluded that “Training on warehouse workers”, “Technology” and “Machine maintenance plan” were the top 3 factors that affect the efficiency of warehouse picking operation. Therefore, rather than focusing on one area, management should give a priority for all three areas simultaneously. Such as, there should be a mechanism to train the workers which should not be only a one-time training, management should invest on technology based on the volume and complexity of the operation they have and finally rather than waiting for a machine breakdown, people should have a proper machine maintenance plan. Because of the pandemic situation, it was difficult to have many participants for the survey and total number of respondents was limited. Future studies can be conducted with another level of AHP by considering sub factors under each prominent factor and it can also be suggested to analyze the challenges going to face when implementing these factors within a warehouse. Same study can be done for other operations within the warehouse such as put-away, repacking, loading etc.
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Factors influencing inventory risk perception of automobile spare parts providers in Sri Lanka
Perera, GLRP; Adikariwattage, V
Universally, automotive industry has been accepted as a major driver of growth of a nation’s economy and is a significant contribution to the global economy. With the emerging trends in the global supply chain concept, upstream supply chain flows such as production, raw materials, assembly parts need to be placed on time as to ensure the delivery of finished products to the market on time. When referring the incremental growth rates of vehicle production during past 20 years, automotive aftermarket is considered to be the secondary market of the automotive industry. But, when this comes to Sri Lanka, automobile spare parts inventory controlling has been faced with numerous challenges which are raised mainly due to the unpredictable nature of the business industry. Since demand for the automobile spare parts is a derived demand which arise mainly from the growth of the automobiles market; inventory management has to be done with an extra attention by analyzing the main driver for proper inventory controlling of the particular business sector. Hence, this research is focused on exploring the most critical parameters affecting to risk perception of inventory controlling of the automobile industry in Sri Lanka and is expected to identify the major factors and its sub causes for failures of not having an effective inventory controlling system at the companies in Sri Lanka. This study is carried out based on the questionnaire analysis and likert scale has been used to provide a quantitative rating for the questions. Based on the research findings which were derived by the Rotated Components matrix by running SPSS software; 06 main factors such as Market Analysis and Market Development, Human Resource management, Supply Chain Integration, Product portfolio Management, Inventory Management System, Management Involvement were identified and these factors are the main drivers for raising the issues in inventory management of spare parts industry which have to be closely address the companies to overcome issues. As per the question by question analysis, it is revealed that the existing inventory controlling procedures are not in a satisfactory level which has to be re-aligned their inventory controlling with the new drivers derived from the study. Hence, suitable recommendations are made for automobile spare parts companies to take corrective actions in the weaker areas and maintain an effective inventory levels at their companies beyond their customer’s expectations.
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Factors influencing on optimizing the supply chain of shreddabel waste for cement kiln co processing in Sri Lanka
Batheegama, BP; Samarasekera, N
INSEE Ecocycle is the waste management business unit of Siam City Cement Company (Lanka ) Limited and they are serving over 300 number of customers and covers every sorts of industries in the country. Their focus is on industrial waste co processing using the cement kilns at Puttalam cement factory. This waste management business integrates comprehensive supply chain management concepts on customer management, large volumes of hazardous and non hazardous waste material transport, inventory management, material handling, Millions of rupees of financial transactions, all sorts of communication channels with customers, suppliers and internal stake holders and other sustainability drivers such as safety and compliance are always prioritized in this business. On the waste co processing operation model for Ecocycle Sri Lanka, always there is a supply demand mismatch due to acceptance limitations of the co processing facility. General reverse logistics drivers are also different on this business model. When evaluating the nature of the Supply Chain managed by the INSEE Ecocycle, gaps are visible in almost every aspect of the characteristics in which need to drive for best supply chain management practices. Optimum Supply Chain characteristics of Inventory Optimization, Rapid fulfilment, Flexibility are not visible on the INSEE Ecocycle supply chain while very limited usage of big data by the organization. Different scenarios are disrupting the smooth operation for INSEE Ecocycle and those are known by the management. However the optimization is always been a challenge. This research aims to identify the influential factors on optimizing the textile and polythene waste supply chain optimization via internal organization aspects using internal employees at 100% response rate. Factor analysis is used to identify the variables and the analysis results suggested five factors influential to waste supply chain optimization as distribution planning, immediate next day planning, behavior of accounts in charge, organization facts, and acceptance considerations. Beyond those factors, operational team is on dilemma situations on selecting the most suitable customer to be served out of several customers who are having opposite characteristics such as large volume vs small volumes or accurate planning vs poor planning. Also different opinions among the team members for the same situations such as planned maintenance or space unavailability situations are impacting adversely on for the optimization of the waste supply chain.