Filippo Visintin

Providing integrated solutions in the professional printing industry: The case of Océ

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion about the delivery of integrated solutions in the capital goods industry. The paper is based on an in-depth case study and presents a solution delivery framework that can help companies in the professional printing industry devise, deliver and price integrated solutions. The case of Oce suggests that succeeding as a solution provider requires developing the capability to provide highly customised service logic-based solutions while retaining the capability to provide, efficiently, standardised goods logic-based solutions. Hence, it suggests that adopting different delivery approaches to address customers with different types of needs can help achieve such a capability.

Using simulation for supply chain analysis: reviewing and proposing distributed simulation frameworks

Simulation modelling and analysis can be an extremely effective tool for supply chain performance analysis. Many development proposals apply distributed simulation to this context. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of such standards, models and/or architectures, describing the technological choices related to each of them, and to propose how and when a distributed supply chain simulation framework is to be used. Our proposal includes brief examples and experiences from experimental researches. Though detailed implementation of the framework is not in the scope of this paper, references for further information are given. In order to provide a coherent presentation of the proposal, this paper will be organised as follows: Section 1 introduces the context of supply chain management. Section 2 shows how distributed supply chain simulation (DSCS) can be an extremely effective tool for performance analysis in supply chain planning and optimisation. Section 3 points out the available technologies and the technological aspects of a distributed simulation framework, such as inter-process communication (IPC) standards and real-time infrastructures. Section 4 describes how the DSCS framework can be utilised. Section 5 reports on framework validation and gives an outlook on the experimental researches. Finally, section 6 concludes the paper summarising the proposal and discussing its benefits and drawbacks.

Devising hybrid solutions: an exploratory framework

In this study, we present an exploratory framework to support the development of hybrid solutions within the context of product-centric servitisation. We hypothesise that the development of hybrid solutions should be driven by two main variables: the potential value in use of the product and the perceived risk associated with the value creation process. Moreover, we suggest splitting the perceived risk into availability, use, process and environment-related components. Hence, based on these variables, we suggest: (i) the services that should be attached to a product; (ii) the effect of these attached services on the customer value creation process; and (iii) the benefits that both customer and supplier can achieve from the delivery of hybrid solutions. The practical implications of this study are discussed with respect to several case examples.

Photocopier Industry: At the Forefront of Servitization

The photocopier industry is undoubtedly one of the forerunners of servitization. The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of photocopiers, such as Xerox, pioneered the implementation of servitized business models and, over time, have developed considerable system-integration, application-development and consulting capabilities. Today, these companies integrate print needs within total ICT solutions and compete against system integrators, consulting firms and software vendors in a large, diverse and growing document management market. This chapter provides a state of the art analysis of servitization phenomenon in the industry as well as a retrospective analysis of its evolution. The chapter ends with a discussion of managerial implications.

Applying discrete event simulation to the design of a service delivery system in the aerospace industry: a case study

This paper presents the results of a simulation study concerned with the design of a service delivery system. In particular, it shows how discrete event simulation can be used at the point of signing a long-term service contract to assess whether a service delivery system will be able to comply with the contractual terms over time. This study also proposes a methodology based on the Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the service demand in a context where the installed base evolves dynamically over time. Such a methodology has been used to verify the discrete event simulation model. This research is based on real data from a leading global supplier of human to machine electronic controls operating in the aerospace industry. This supplier has recently signed a major contract for the provision of several devices and related services. These devices will be installed on aircrafts progressively entering service over the next seven years.

Development and implementation of an operating room scheduling tool: an action research study

Abstract In this study, we report the results of an action research project whose aim was to develop and implement an operating room scheduler at the Meyer University Children’s Hospital. The study offers insights into the features that make an MSS optimisation model and scheduler effective and easy to implement, and shed light on those actions facilitating their introduction and use. Specifically, it suggests that creating an effective operating room scheduler requires clustering patients in homogeneous surgery groups and developing a flexible tool that allows: scheduling surgery groups instead of actual patients, easily adding/removing constraints, changing the objective function(s) and adjusting the planning horizon. In addition, it posits that gaining the commitment of top management by showing credible preliminary results, inferring stakeholder preferences by letting them comment on tentative schedules, introducing changes gradually and involving staff at lower levels of the hospital hierarchy can significantly facilitate the scheduler development and implementation.

Home Care Services Delivery: Equity Versus Efficiency in Optimization Models

Home Care Services (HCS) delivery is a quite recent and challenging problem motivated by the ever increasing age of population and the consequent need to reduce hospitalization costs. Integer Linear Programming (ILP) models have been recently proposed in [5] to formulate a very general HCS problem, with the aim at balancing the operator workload. In fact, in Home Care setting “equity” criteria are crucial to guide the decisions. “Efficiency” criteria, i.e., the minimization of the operating costs, are essential as well. The aim of this paper is thus to compare equity criteria versus efficiency criteria in HCS. Preliminary computational results on a set of real instances are presented and analysed. Specifically, two alternative “balancing” objective functions are compared via optimization and simulation, by showing their impact on diverse relevant Quality of Service indicators, including cost indicators.

Investigating the Relationship Between Resources Balancing and Robustness in Master Surgical Scheduling

In this paper: (i) we present a MIP model to address the Master Surgical Scheduling problem; (ii) we discuss the impact of different resources balancing strategies upon the schedule’s efficiency and robustness. Each balancing strategy is associated with a different objective function. The resources whose utilization is balanced are the Operating Rooms and the post-surgical beds. The MIP model is solved considering deterministic values for the surgical times and length of stays. The schedule robustness against the variability of both these times is assessed via discrete event simulation.

A Goal-Programming Approach to the Master Surgical Scheduling Problem

In this paper, we propose a mixed integer goal-programming model to support the master surgical scheduling process. In order to comply with the process stakeholders, the objective function comprises four criteria, namely (1) the respect of the patients’ priorities, (2) the balancing of the utilisation of the operating rooms, (3) the balancing of the utilisation of the post-surgical units and (4) the maximisation of the number of scheduled surgeries. The model is tested on real data coming from a leading Italian hospital. The results of the preliminary numerical experiments show how the model allows obtaining reasonable trade-off among the considered objectives.

Value Constellations in Servitization

This edited book intends to provide knowledge on tools and practices of servitization to facilitate the formulation and implementation of servitization-based strategies, service infusion and manufacturing service transition globally. Including 22 practically relevant contributions, this book aims to help scholars and practitioners seeking to facilitate servitization in companies through original perspectives and advanced thinking in related issues such as business models, strategic change, practices, processes, routines, value creation and appropriation. Employing practice theory as a useful frame, the contributions span theoretical approaches such as product-service systems, service science, services-dominant logic and cocreation, resource-based views, industrial organization and institutional theory. The book presents tools and frameworks to enable and support servitization and engender understanding of servitization-as-practice.