Jure Erjavec

The impact of color combinations on the legibility of text presented on LCDs

The paper investigates the impact of text and background color combinations on the legibility of text presented on LCDs. The legibility of 56 elementary color combinations was tested by 308 participants. The first task required the participants to identify 21 uppercase alphabetic characters selected and presented in conformance with a Snellen chart in various color combinations. For each color combination, the number of correctly identified characters was recorded as a visual performance measure. In the second task, participants subjectively rated the legibility of color combinations on a ten-point Likert scale. The results show that neither the Le Courier legibility table nor the CRT legibility table is appropriate for LCDs. A new legibility table is proposed for LCDs where the highest ranked are contrastive color combinations with positive polarity whereas for CRT displays, the highest ranked are contrastive color combinations with negative polarity. The findings of this study can be used to determine the best possible color combinations when developing content displayed on LCDs.

Renovation of the Cutting Stock Process

In this paper a new approach to the cutting stock (CS) problem as one of the activities in the CS process is proposed. A thorough critical review of the literature is conducted in order to identify the main limitations of the current state of research. The main finding is that the CS problem is treated too narrowly and that the connection of the CS process with other processes in a company, along with a better transfer of information, should be studied further. The paper presents a methodology for evaluating CS process renovation benefits. A process flowchart technique is used to compare as-was and as-is states, and simulations are conducted to provide an estimate of the benefits and to compare the costs of trim loss with other production costs. A case study of a company involved in non-ferrous metal and iron retail activities is used to analyse the effects of renovation of the whole CS process, which led to a considerable reduction in cutting costs and lead times. A decrease in the variability of the CS process lead time is also noted, which can lead to a more standardised fulfilment of customers’ orders. The measurement and reduction of costs can improve the competitiveness of companies that undertake cutting or similar (e.g. packing) operations in production.

One-Dimensional Cutting Stock Optimization with Usable Leftover: A Case of Low Stock-to-Order Ratio

This paper describes a method for solving one-dimensional cutting stock problem with usable leftover CSPUL in cases where the ratio between the average stock and average order length is less than 3. The proposed method can solve general CSPUL where standard stock lengths, non-standard stock lengths, or a combination of both are cut in the exact required number of pieces. The solutions of sample problems are compared with other methods.

Local Online Platforms – Surviving in a Global Market

Many companies are trying to change their existing business models and start with the digital initiative. Online business will continue to grow; however, in the digital world where almost every organization is present online, the critical success factors for surviving on the market are more than needed. The purpose of the research is thus to study the factors influencing the success/failure of local online platforms’ providers in competition with global providers. The fact that some local providers are even market leaders in a local environment while many others have failed implies that there exist some specific factors determining the success of global competitor in a local market. The study will present a valuable opportunity particularly for new companies or existing companies that are deciding about launching new online services in order to judge whether there is a potential for their service on the market and which factors they should consider before starting the competition with global market leaders.

Environmental Impact of Supply Chains

The second part of the chapter provides a literature review of recently published scientific papers of the fields relating to green and sustainable supply chain management. The review includes scientific papers from various research fields such as supply chain management, operations research, sustainable development, green environment, logistics etc. Several other reviews that were conducted in past decade are also referenced in order to provide additional insight into the field. Special focus of the literature review lies on interdisciplinary papers that cover different interconnected fields of research with focus on sustainable development, green environment and supply chains.