Jayavel Sounderpandian

Models for Cost-Benefit Analysis of RFID Implementations in Retail Stores

We present models for cost-benefit analyses of RFID implementations for retail stores. We discuss implementations of the data networks connecting the tag readers. Our models consider the cost of implementations including the cost of tag readers, the communication network cost and other infrastructure cost. In addition, we also present analytical models to consider the benefits of these implementations including automatic check-out and reduced inventory costs due to efficient shelf replenishment

Stopping Rules for a Class of Sampling-Based Stochastic Programming Algorithms

Monte Carlo sampling-based algorithms hold much promise for solving stochastic programs with many scenarios. A critical component of such algorithms is a stopping criterion to ensure the quality of the solution. In this paper, we develop a stopping rule theory for a class of algorithms that estimate bounds on the optimal objective function value by sampling. We provide rules for selecting sample sizes and terminating the algorithm under which asymptotic validity of confidence intervals for the quality of the proposed solution can be verified. Empirical coverage results are given for a simple example.

A support system for mediating brownfields redevelopment negotiations

Purpose – To present a support system which will be useful to mediators of brownfield redevelopment negotiations between government and industry representatives.Design/methodology/approach – The support system optimizes a weighted utility function of the parties involved in the negotiation. It provides not only the optimal solution but also some sensitivity reports which the mediator can use to lead the negotiations in the most effective direction.Findings – The spreadsheet technology is sufficient to solve the optimization problem and produce sensitivity reports in real time. Consequently, a mediator equipped with a laptop computer can lead the negotiations efficiently.Research limitations/implications – It is possible to achieve Pareto optimal contingent contracts among the stakeholders of brownfield redevelopment projects.Practical implications – Many negotiations that were stalled in the past could be completed successfully using the support system presented here. New negotiations might be completed m...

Strategic planning for disaster relief logistics: lessons from supply chain management

Management of disaster relief logistics requires different techniques at different levels. We identify four stages: 1 strategic planning which concerns high level decisions such as supplier selection and confirmation of communication protocols 2 preparedness which concerns decisions regarding the amount and location of relief supplies to be stored 3 pre-event response which concerns decisions during those occasions when an approaching disaster, such as a hurricane, has been detected 4 post-event response which concerns what needs to be done immediately after a disaster has occurred. In this article, we concentrate on the strategic planning stage and build an integrated logistics model based on elements of supply chain management theory. This model provides specific recommendations to practitioners and identifies important areas to be researched. We also point out the applicable techniques at each of the other stages and cite relevant literature.

Stochastic-Tree Models in Medical Decision Making

The stochastic tree is a recently introduced generalization of the decision tree which allows the explicit depiction of temporal uncertainty while still employing the familiar rollback procedure for decision trees. We offer an introduction to stochastic-tree modeling and techniques involved in their application to medical-treatment decisions. We also describe an application of these tools to the analysis of the decision to undergo a total hip replacement from the perspectives of an individual patient (via utility analysis) and of society (via cost-effectiveness analysis).

Performance benchmarks and cost sharing models for B2B supply chain information systems

In this paper, we propose a set of standard benchmarks for evaluating B2B supply chain information systems. The supply chain management systems that we focus on communicate between collaborating partners via the Internet using such languages as the extensible markup language. We divide the benchmarks into three distinct categories: benchmarks to study the performance of querying a partners data, modifying a partners data, transmitting large amounts of data between partners. We propose a model for estimating the data‐communication and computation times incurred by the B2B information system using the above benchmarks. In addition, we discuss an algorithm for equitable sharing of the costs of a virtual private network by the partners. We present numerical examples to describe an actual application of the above models.

Lottery Acquisition versus Information Acquisition: Prices and Preference Reversals

Suppose you must choose between two pieces of information A and B. In the absence of cost, you would prefer to obtain A rather than B, and in fact would be willing to take more risk to obtain A than B. Nevertheless, you would pay more money for B than for A. Are your preferences consistent with expected utility? The answer is yes; they may very well be. We give an example to illustrate how this may happen, and relate this reversal phenomenon to the well-known discrepancy between buying and selling prices for lotteries. Along the way, we demonstrate that even though selling an information source is strictly analogous to selling a lottery, buying an information source is not strictly analogous to buying a lottery. However, for any collection of lotteries there is a decision problem with corresponding information sources, each source having both buying price and selling price equal to the buying and selling prices of the corresponding lottery. The existence of preference reversals for mode of information acquisition dispels any notion that the relative value of competing information acquisitions should not depend on the nature of the acquisition. Among expected utility maximizers, only those with constant risk attitude avoid these reversals.

Value Functions When Decision Criteria Are Not Totally Substitutable

A necessary condition for the widely used additive value function is total preferential independence, or somewhat equivalently, total substitutability among the decision criteria. We consider cases where total substitutability is absent, and study the value functions that are applicable to such cases. First we take the case of total nonsubstitutability, and prove that the maximin value function is appropriate for it. This result easily extends to the closely related maximax value function. Next we consider the case where there is neither total substitutability nor total nonsubstitutability, and show how a minsum value function can be applicable. A minsum function is one that uses only addition and minimum extraction operations. We explain how the structure of a minsum function can be inferred from substitutability information. In the process, we encounter certain subsets of criteria which we call chains and cuts.

E-Business Process Management: Technologies and Solutions

Modern day supply chain management (SCM) continues to influence the economic and political landscape while being shaped by the wide array of forces known collectively as globalization. Instead of the traditional mode of firms competing against firms, there now are supply chains competing against supply chains. What is in good currency today refers to a firm’s ability to identify the right suppliers to execute a given activity in the value chain, to organize such activities, and to manage its relationship with these suppliers.

Evolutionary Analysis of Risk Attitudes in Competitive Bidding Environments Using Simulation

Exactly how risk-averse a person should be is an elusive question that may be answerable only through evolutionary analysis. The literature on the evolution of risk attitudes is quite diffuse. Researchers have taken widely varying approaches. A survey of these approaches is presented. One approach to study the evolution is to simulate a small society of individuals whose risk taking behaviors are interrelated according to simple rules. The aim of this paper is to introduce a few different ways to conduct such simulations and visualize the results. These approaches can be extended in diverse ways. While this type of simulation is unlikely to produce normative or prescriptive results for an individual, it may reveal some facts about the collective fate of a society. Simulation codes written in Mathematica are included.