C. Muralidharan

Vendor rating in purchasing scenario: a confidence interval approach

Vendor rating is a process having strategic implications for managing a supply chain. Vendor rating can be done using analytic hierarchy process either by a single decision maker or by a group of decision makers. This approach may suffer from some drawbacks including bias in estimation process. A methodology is proposed in this paper which makes use of estimation of the rating by a group on an individual basis following the principle of anonymity. A statistical analysis is carried out to determine the confidence intervals for the estimates of the composite rating of the vendors. The procedure presented here helps in identifying those members whose opinions may significantly deviate from that of the group. Emphasis is placed on establishment of confidence limits in group decision‐making. Participants in group decision making, whose opinions fall outside the group’s confidence limit, are further studied to understand the source of variation. Implementation guidelines have also been provided to account for the dynamic nature of the vendor evaluation process and to take appropriate actions in managing the vendor rating process in the overall supply chain.

Establishing empirical relationships to predict grain size and tensile strength of friction stir welded AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy joints

AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy (Al-Mg-Si alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of light weight structures requiring a high specific strength and good corrosion resistance. Compared with the fusion welding processes that are routinely used for joining structural aluminium alloys, friction stir welding (FSW) process is an emerging solid state joining process in which the material welded does not melt and recast. Joint strength is influenced by the grain size and tensile strength of the weld nugget region. Hence, an attempt was made to develop empirical relationships to predict grain size and tensile strength of friction stir welded AA 6061-T6 aluminium alloy joints. The empirical relationships are developed by response surface methodology (RSM) incorporating FSW tool and process parameters. A linear regression relationship was also established between grain size and tensile strength of the weld nugget of FSW joints.

Perceptions of service providers and customers of key success factors of third-party logistics relationships – an empirical study

This paper provides a comparison of third-party logistics (3PL) service providers and 3PL customers with respect to the perception of key success factors (KSFs) for building and fostering relationships. The KSFs and their related sub-factors were derived from the extant literature and modified to reflect the nature of 3PL arrangements. The relevant data were collected from separate, but consistent, mail surveys that were sent to 3PL service providers and 3PL customers. The results indicate statistically significant differences in the perception of critical success factors between 3PL service providers and 3PL customers. The results show that customers see a focus on service-based solutions as being an important feature of 3PL provision providing a set of benefits beyond mere cost control.

AQUA: Analytical model for evaluation and selection of Third-Party Logistics service provider in supply chain

Selection of Third-Party Logistics (3PL) service provider is a strategic decision making in supply chain network. The challenge and need for supply chain analyst is to develop a real-life simple and implement-ease model, which can handle the voice of customer and internal and external business metrics for evaluation and selection of 3PL service provider. We develop a three-phase analytical model with the integration of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD). In the current competitive scenario, the consideration of business metrics and voice of customer for evaluating the selection criteria of 3PL service provider benchmarks the agility of an organisation. The analytical model is validated and illustrated with a real-life case study.

Application of control charts in analytic hierarchy process

Vendor rating can be done using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) by a single decision maker or a group of decision makers. This approach may suffer from some drawbacks including bias in estimation process. The proposed methodology in this paper involves estimation by a group on an individual basis following the principle of anonymity. A control chart is constructed with an upper control limit and a lower control limit. Implementation ofthiscontrol chart will take into account the dynamic nature of vendor performance and also can be used for continuous monitoring of the vendor performance. This procedure can be used for a single vendor as well as for multiple vendor rating.

Integration of IPA and QFD to assess the service quality and to identify after sales service strategies to improve customer satisfaction – a case study

Abstract Customer satisfaction is considered very essential nowadays as it shows how firms are dedicated to afford quality products or services to their customers. Retaining the existing customer and acquiring the new customers are the basic objectives of any organisation and after sales service (ASS) has acquired a strategic role as a mean to achieve customer satisfaction. Importance–performance analysis (IPA) and quality function deployment (QFD) are the powerful tools successfully applied in many fields. However, studies on application of these tools in investigating the ASS quality and customer satisfaction seems to be scarce. This article investigates linking of IPA, which is a simple and effective customer satisfaction tool and QFD in the improvement of ASS attributes in an effort to determine the appropriate ASS strategic action plans to be adopted with the objective of enhancing customer satisfaction. In this study, a customer-driven model is proposed to examine the importance of the various ASS attributes and the performance of the organisation via questionnaire survey, and through the IP analysis, the areas to be focused are identified to help the decision makers in devising suitable policies, to improve the ASS performance. This is achieved through the employment of QFD that will help decision makers in the strategic planning to attain better customer satisfaction. A case study is carried out to exhibit the effectiveness of the developed model in a firm involved in manufacturing the home appliances.

Developing Empirical Relationships to Predict Grain Size and Hardness of the Weld Nugget of Friction Stir Welded AA7075-T6 Aluminium Alloy Joints

High-strength, precipitation-hardening AA7075-T6 alloy is used extensively in aircraft primary structures. Friction stir welding process is an emerging solid state joining process in which the material that is being welded does not melt and recast. The FSW process and tool parameters play a major role in deciding the joint strength. Joint strength is influenced by the grain size and hardness of the weld nugget region. Hence, in this investigation an attempt has been made to develop empirical relationships to predict the grain size and hardness of the weld nugget of the friction stir welded AA7075-T6 aluminium alloy joints. Six factors, five levels, central composite, rotatable design matrix is used to optimize the experimental conditions. The empirical relationships are developed by response surface methodology incorporating tool and process parameters. A linear regression relationship is also established between grain size and hardness of the weld nugget of friction stir welded joints. The weld nugget grain size is related with hardness of the joint. The developed relationships can be effectively used to predict the weld nugget grain size of the joint non-destructively by measuring the weld nugget hardness.

Development of a composite model for selection of third party logistics service provider

The selection process of third party logistics (3PL) service provider with multiple criteria is little sceptical in the current competitive and uncertain market/economic scenario. To overcome the uncertainty, fuzziness in the multi-criteria needs to be accounted. This research focuses on the development of a composite model for selection of 3PL service provider with multiple criteria under fuzzy situation. The composite model comprises two folds: 1) evaluation of 3PL service provider based on multiple criteria by integration of fuzzy logic and analytic hierarchy process; 2) ranking of 3PL service providers based on technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) technique. The objective is to decrease the influence of decision-makers subjective preferences and control the uncertain and imprecise variation during the evaluation process. The devised composite model has been demonstrated through an illustrative example.

Customer Needs and Customer Satisfaction Analysis in a Textile Dyeing Process A Case Study

Selection of potential critical quality attributes for customer’s satisfaction with considerations of producer’s capacity necessitates logical prioritization of customer needs. A few major challenges remain unaddressed for customer need analysis, such as quantitative measure of customer satisfaction, decision support, and capacity assessment of the producers. This paper presents a customer preference analysis for customer need and satisfaction, following the basic principles of traditional Kano model. This customer preference analysis quantifies the customer need and customer satisfaction. It adopts the customer preference indices for measuring customers satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The relative weight of the potential critical quality attributes are calculated based the customer preference indices. The management makes sure their capacity to provide this satisfactory preference to the customers. The overall customer preference analysis framework addresses the customer need analysis from a broader scenario, such that the customizable potential critical quality attributes can be better managed at the experimental design planning.

Development of after Sales Service Strategies for the Manufacturing Firm

The last few decades have seen a growing trend toward aggressive global competition, increased marketplace demands, and accelerated technological changes. These developments are forcing organizations to take a closer look at their marketing channel strategy including addressing the issue of how to distribute their products and offer associated after-sales service support. A SWOT analysis, standing for analyzing company strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, helps small businesses optimize their after sales service performance. To ensure the successful implementation of the best strategy, here raises a critical issue of how firms can better evaluate and select a best strategy before implementation. In this study, a framework is proposed to address the inner dependence relations of SWOT factors and sub factors with the aid of analytical network process (ANP). Finally the recommendations are presented to improve the performance of after sales service operations of the home appliances business firm.