Saikat Kundu

Selection of decoupling points in supply chains using a knowledge-based approach

As consumer affluence and desire for customized products and services at affordable prices and shorter lead times continue to accelerate, supply chain operators are facing increasing challenges of becoming both physically efficient (to enable the delivery of low cost) and flexible (to enable market-responsiveness). In order to meet these challenges, organizations are devising supply chain operation strategies that enable them to gain the benefits of physical efficiency of mass production and the customer focus of mass customization. A key to gaining these benefits lies in the selection of appropriate decoupling points in the supply chain. Decoupling points lie on the push—pull boundary. The selection of decoupling points requires knowledge from a range of different experts. The research reported in this paper used knowledge-based techniques to bring together knowledge from the viewpoints of different experts in the selection of decoupling points in supply chains. A knowledge model in the form of a network of production rules is presented. Results derived from applying the knowledge model to the case studies show similar trends to published literature.

Implications for Engineering Information Systems Design in the Product-service Paradigm

In an evolving business environment, many organizations are changing their product offering from the supply of predominantly physical goods to the delivery of product-service systems. The resulting need to support both physical goods and associated services throughout their lifecycles has a number of implications. This paper focuses on the changing requirements of engineering information systems caused by the need to represent both physical goods and associated services. Key characteristics that differentiate service offerings from physical goods are surveyed. The impact of these characteristics on the design of the engineering information systems that facilitate the delivery of product-service systems are outlined. The research reported in this paper draws together theories from engineering product definition and service blueprinting approaches that have traditionally been used to capture service products in the hospitality and financial sectors. Early results from the use of the service blueprinting method in defining technical services are presented and approaches to integrating product and service definitions are explored.

Narrating past to present: conveying the needs and values of older people to young digital technology designers

In this paper we discuss preliminary findings from the first stage of our SEEDS study (SEEDS: An Organic Approach to Virtual Participatory Design), a collaborative research project between Universities of Dundee, Kent and Leeds, United Kingdom. This feasibility study investigates how to motivate older people to engage with digital technology, as well as how to improve understanding of older peoples needs and requirements amongst young designers. As part of this study we recorded interviews with older people which investigated their motivations to use or not use digital technologies and themes pertaining to their (dis)engagement. A virtual repository was created to make collected interviews, which were presented as social stories, available to engineering, technology and design students. In this paper we discuss the findings from a prototyping exercise with undergraduate and postgraduate students which took place in stage one at the Universities of Kent and Leeds.

A Blueprint for Engineering Service Definition

Increasing numbers of businesses are moving from the supply of physical products to the delivery of product-service systems. The resulting need to support information related to both physical artefacts and associated services has a number of implications for the design of information systems used to support product-service systems through their lives. The focus of this chapter lies on service in the context of product service systems. Designers of service solutions need to be able to answer the question, “What information is needed in service design to enable the delivery of service excellence?” A key prerequisite to answering this question lies in understanding service elements that need to be supported, performance requirements of the service and how the service elements are related to the required performance. This chapter introduces a service information blueprint that has been designed to support service designers in gaining this understanding. The service information blueprint is a general purpose model for service definition that has been used both to define “as-is” and “to-be” services, service breakdown structures and service performance indicators, and to specify relationships between service processes and service requirements.

Service information blueprint: A scheme for defining service information requirements

Access to high quality information is essential for effective design, development and delivery of service. In product-service systems (PSS), this includes both information to support the lifecycles of physical products and associated services and information to support the management of services. Service blueprinting is a widely used technique for visualisation and mapping of service activities. This paper introduces the concept of Service Information Blueprint, which builds on and extends the existing concept of service blueprint by including definition of service information needs and capture of service information in PSS environment. Three types of information associated with a service activity is captured in the Service Information Blueprint-input, process and output information. Applicability of the Service Information Blueprint to define technical support services is demonstrated using a case study on machine maintenance and repair service contract scenario. In addition, the impact of changes in service contract type on service definition and information requirements is demonstrated.