Daniel R. Heiser

Improving order‐picking performance through the implementation of class‐based storage

Class‐based storage (CBS) partitions stock‐keeping units (SKUs) into storage classes by demand and randomly assigns storage locations within each storage class area. This study compares the performance implications of CBS to both random and volume‐based storage (VBS) for a manual order picking warehouse. In addition, this study considers the effect of the number of storage classes, the partition of storage classes, and the storage implementation strategy applied in the warehouse. The simulation results show that CBS provides savings in picker travel over random storage and offers performance that approaches VBS. Other operational issues having an impact on warehouse performance are examined. The results offer managers insight for improving distribution center operations.

The moderating effect of supply chain role on the relationship between supply chain practices and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between specific supply chain practices and organizational performance and whether this relationship is moderated by the role that a company assumes in its respective supply chain.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses regression analysis and the relative weights method to analyze a set of survey data from respondents within the non‐academic, North American membership of the Institute of Supply Management.Findings – The results show that the supply chain role for a company makes a difference in terms of the specific supply chain practices that lead to better performance. Further, there is a clear indication that the relative importance of a specific practice varies across the supply chain roles thereby indicating that a general link between practice and performance may be erroneous without considering the specific context of the company concerned.Research limitations/implications – Supply chain practices are complex constructs. Whi...

China‐related POM research: a literature review and suggestions for future research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the stream of China‐related POM research over 25 years (1980‐2005) to determine trends in quantity, topical coverage, research contribution, and data sources.Design/methodology/approach – From 31 POM‐relevant journals, 144 articles were identified and classified across the four parameters. The data was also segregated into three time periods to facilitate comparison and analysis. Descriptive statistics were then generated to identify trends.Findings – China‐related POM research has grown rapidly in the past 25 years. The topical coverage has expanded from an initial focus on strategy and policy issues to include quality, technology, and logistics management topics. The focus of articles has matured from a base of descriptive articles to include a growing emphasis on novel applications of POM techniques and new frameworks. Finally, the data sources tapped for the growing body of China‐related POM research has trended toward case studies and survey data.Orig...

Improving order picking performance utilizing slotting and golden zone storage

PurposeWith the current interest in all aspects of supply chain management, the demands on warehousing have changed significantly within the past few years. In an attempt to meet this challenge, warehouses have become more concerned with proper slotting and storage techniques. This paper seeks to evaluate slotting measures and storage assignment strategies in a simulated manual bin‐shelving (low level picker‐to‐part) warehouse in terms of travel distance and the fulfillment time to complete an order.Design/methodology/approachThe approach utilises Monte Carlo simulation of a manual bin‐shelving pick area.FindingsThe results illustrate that popularity, turnover, and cube‐per‐order index (COI) performed best among slotting measures. Several new storage assignment strategies utilizing the concept of “golden zone” picking, which slots high demand stock‐keeping units (SKUs) at the height between the pickers waist and shoulders, were introduced. Results from the simulation study show that the golden zone storage assignment strategies generated significant savings in order fulfillment time compared to storage policies that ignore the golden zone concept.Originality/valueProvides an evaluation of slotting measures and storage assignment strategies that generated significant savings in order fulfillment time.

Journal ranking analyses of operations management research

Purpose – Several published studies have ranked journals based on perceived quality according to operations management (OM) researchers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the ranking of journals for OM research using meta analysis.Design/methodology/approach – The study begins by using a meta‐analysis approach to combine results of five recent OM journal ranking studies. A new citation analysis using OM research articles published in International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Journal of Operations Management, and Production and Operations Management between 1999 and 2005 is presented.Findings – Results of the meta‐analysis and the citation analysis have many similarities, but there are some striking differences suggesting the evolution of OM research away from operations research and engineering. The results also illustrate the diversity of OM research ranging from analytical modeling to empirical studies influenced by other business disciplines and the behavioral sciences.Original...

Small firm entrepreneurial outsourcing: traditional problems, nontraditional solutions

Purpose – Pursuing objectives despite limited internal resources and leveraging external resources despite non‐ownership are familiar hallmarks of entrepreneurial firms. Although outsourcing is the standard way for businesses to surmount these barriers, entrepreneurial firms often lack the resources to purchase outsourcing arrangements. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how entrepreneurial firms can better procure and benefit from outsourcing arrangements.Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines six entrepreneurial firms in a Shanghai business incubator as they undertook a variety of outsourcing arrangements. It utilizes an integrative framework based on transaction cost theory, resource dependency theory, and the resource‐based view. It then cross‐hatches those three theory bases with four outsourcing modes (full, partial, spinout, inter‐outsourcing) and case study methodology.Findings – The papers findings yield three novel propositions for strategic and ex ante entrepreneurial firm...

The Eye Diagram: A New Perspective on the Project Life Cycle

The project life cycle, a well-established concept in project management literature and education, is used to highlight the dynamic requirements placed on a typical project manager. As a project moves through the selection, planning, execution, and termination phases, the project manager and team are faced with different, vying areas of concern—including the immediate task priorities, the probable sources of conflict, and the relevant critical factors for project success. Unfortunately, traditional representations of the project life cycle emphasize accounting-oriented aspects of the life cycle that are less interesting, such as percent complete and level of effort. In this article, the authors introduce a new framework, the eye diagram, that illustrates the more substantive aspects of the life cycle concept in an intuitive and accessible format.

Flowcharting with Excel

In this article we present a method for teaching the art of flowcharting to graduate and undergraduate business students using Microsoft Excel. Although the focus is on the academic environment, several aspects of the discussion are relevant for corporate trainers and novice flowcharters. The approach used is to treat flowcharting as a graphical language, complete with its own vocabulary and syntax. A number of practical suggestions and cautions are offered to enhance the legibility and communicative power of the tool. In addition, several extensions are offered to allow customization of individual process maps to the specific needs of a particular application.