1,720,980 research outputs found
Testing and deploying an RFID-based real-time locating system at a fashion retailer: A case study
No full textIn this paper, the testing and deployment of an RFID-based Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) at a fashion retailer is presented. An RTLS is a combination of hardware and software systems to determine automatically and in real-time the coordinates of an object. Although this goal might be achieved with different technologies, several studies suggest the centrality of RFID as a locating system technology. Nonetheless, the literature presents a lack of studies that investigate on real applications of RTLS in retailing. To fill this gap, our study reports the testing and deploying phases of an RFID RTLS at the Diffusione Tessile store in Pomezia, Rome (Italy). The selected store is, at present, the biggest of the whole firm in terms of number of garments exposed. During a recent refurbishment of the store, the company installed a RTLS composed of 254 antennas linked through multiplexers to 13 readers. The RTLS was designed after an extensive lab-testing phase, and it is provided with two different algorithms for locating garments on the sales floor area. A first installation of the system was finished in early 2015, but this first implementation resulted in some discrepancies amongst different antennas and some corrections were made. In autumn 2015, the system was then tested for the first time in the field: the results of all the testing phase are reported in the paper. This case study sparks interest and suggests several ideas for a deployment of RTLS in a fashion store. Also, and maybe more important, the points of strength and weakness of our implementation could help practitioners and researchers to maximise the benefits of future RTLS implementations in the fashion industry and discover new prospective research topics within this sector
Anticipating Critical Events to Customise and Improve the Performance of Federation Runtime Infrastructure UKSIM 04, Seventh United Kingdom Simulation Society Conference, March 29 – 31, 2004 Oxford, United Kingdom, Proceedings, printed in the United Kingdom, 2004
No full textImproving the remote scheduling performance of manufacuring and installation of large custom-made products
No full textImproving on-line production scheduling performance with artificial intelligence techniques
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Logistics solutions to support cross border e-commerce towards China: The case of the apparel industry
No full textPurpose: In the past few years China has experienced a significant growth of both its economy and the adoption of technologies. With 310 billion dollars turnover it has become one of the biggest B2C ecommerce markets in the world (WorldPay 2015). As Chinese consumers are generally leaned towards buying international brands, entering this market while exploiting the rising trend of online and mobile commerce adoption might be an interesting opportunity for western fashion companies. However, the ultimate success of an e-commerce initiative is strictly dependent on the effectiveness of the distribution process. Geographical and cultural distance, expected service level, tariff and non-tariff barriers are some of the elements making this activity more complex in a global environment. The aim of this paper is to provide a quantitative model to compare different logistic solutions underlying a B2C e-commerce initiative in China. The analysis takes the perspective of a European firm operating in the apparel industry. Research Approach: The paper has an empirical approach. It presents an Activity-based model to quantify the logistics costs of three logistics solutions that can be adopted to sell online in an international context. The alternatives have been identified through interviews and context data have been derived from case studies. The model has been eventually validated by industry experts and practitioners. The considered logistics options are (i) distribution from a warehouse located in China, (ii) distribution through a sorting hub located in China, and (iii) distribution from a warehouse in the Country of origin through express couriers. By elaborating some specific data (e.g. weight and volume of the garment) as inputs, the model returns the distributive solution associated to the lowest logistics costs. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is provided to take into account variations in both the annual demand of the item and its value. Originality: This study simultaneously addresses three major subjects which are relevant for a fashion company, i.e. the design of a logistics strategy, the use of e-commerce and the implementation of an internationalisation project. A preliminary literature review has revealed that these themes have largely been debated as stand-alone topics while the âintersectionâ of these fields has not been adequately investigated yet. Research Impact: The present study contributes to create knowledge in the field of technology-driven internationalisation strategies. At the same time, it paves the way to additional meaningful research that can be originated by addressing some of its limitations. For instance, one of the hints for future research on this topic is to evaluate the impact of product returns which can be complex to manage at an international level. Practical Impact: The main beneficiaries of this study are producers and/or retailers operating in the apparel industry. They can learn some of the logistics alternatives to serve the promising Chinese B2C e-commerce market and identify the most efficient strategy for them
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