Department of Operations & Supply Chain

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Operations & Supply Chain serves as the backbone of any business organization, be it a manufacturing facility or a service provider. It enables organizations to achieve their objectives through providing effective and efficient solutions to customer needs.

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Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
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    Role of optimal production plan at the focal firm in optimization of the supply chain.
    (Journal of Management and Research, 2015) M.M.Haris Aslam; Kamran Rashid; Tashfeen M. Azhar
    Supply chain management and optimization is a critical aspect of modern enterprises and an expanding area of research. Modeling and optimization are the traditional tools of supply chain management. The techniques have been used by many companies for planning, manufacturing, and otherdecision areas in supply chains. Current study is motivated by the fact that optimization studies in supply chain management have mostly considered network optimization. Supply chain management however, requires alignment between the supply chain partners at the tactical level. As a first step towards achieving this goal, current study presents a model that incorporates the activity level planning at the focal firm in a supply chain. This paper presents a new mixed integer programming model that incorporates optimization of production planning at the focal firm while optimizing the strategic alignment of the supply chain entities. The model represents a four step, multi-echelon supply chain including supplier, warehouse, manufacturer, and retailer. The manufacturer in this network represents the focal firm. This model is an attempt to integrate the production planning decisions in the network optimization decisions.
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    Managing agro supply risks the case of potato chips manufacturing firm
    (University of Management and Technology Lahore, 2016) Haider Kazmi, Zawar
    The study was conducted to evaluate the management of risks associated with potato supply in potato chips manufacturing firm, which ultimately drive business performance. The methodology adopted was case study approach with objective to find out the management of risks in supply chain of potato in a potato chips manufacturing firm, from its crop management program to ultimate consumption at manufacturing site. The findings of this research show that management of risks associated with potato supply is highly critical for the focal company because of agricultural nature. Such supply chain is highly dependent on multiple factors including natural phenomena, which could normally be forecasted but cannot be controlled. The case also illustrates that how risks associated with potato along the supply process affect the business performance. The case also discusses the risk management program, which the company ensures at each stage to ultimately mitigate the risks, ensure continuity of business and deliver performance. The research focuses on the risks and its management in supply specific to potatoes, which proved to be highly critical regarding continuity and performance of business. The significance of agro based supply risk management process and its impact on overall business performance was highlighted in the study. The findings from this research also raise the need to further strengthen the risk management of other agro based supply chains, which is high important for the continuity and performance of organizations operating with such inputs.
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    Designing ms supply chain management program using quality function deployment
    (International Journal of Business and Management Study, 2014) Kamran Rashid; Haris Aslam
    Course design is an important component in the success of academic programs. The design and execution of the academic programs according to the demand of the industry leads to the success of its graduates in their careers. Current study narrates the process through which academic program for Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MS-SCM) has been designed by a university in a developing country based on customer demands considering prospective employers as customers. In order to convert customer requirements into the program courses “quality function deployment” (QFD) has been used. The “house of quality” is the tool of QFD that has been used to translate requirements of the prospective employers into the courses to be offered in the program. In order to learn about the voice of customer a small scale survey of the managers from a variety of organizations has been conducted who play a role in the recruitment of new candidates in their respective departments. Based on the demands of the managers, courses with suitable content have been identified that can meet the requirements of the potential employers. This study shows how by using QFD, educational policy makers can ustomize the academic programs to the requirements of the employers.
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    Reverse logistics
    (Pakistan Academy of Sciences, 2013) Ijaz Yusuf; Abdul Raouf
    This paper presents framework of reverse logistics optimizing the stakeholders’ gain, social gain, economic gain and environmental gain. It identifies the roadblocks that prevail in recycling industry and describes various types of returns and wastes. Framework of the reverse logistics is evolved on the basis of actual happening of the items shown in table 1-4 disposed off from industries shown in table 6. The rejected items require environmental disposal passing through the different phases described in flow of operational framework. An operational framework of reverse logistics is developed studying fifty organizations.. In addition three best practices of reverse logistics are proposed by consolidating the experiential information and rich hands on industrial experience in supply chain and reverse logistics area. The research has proposed the Social, Stakeholder, Economic & Environmental (SSEE) sustained gain model optimizing the benefits of stakeholders and highlights the variety of waste and its operational methodology in Pakistani industry. The proposed framework does not include the hospital waste, radioactive waste, hazardous materials waste, municipal waste, agricultural waste and cold chain waste like meat, milk, etc.The operational framework is existing way of doing that takes the waste materials from point of origin to the point of recycling. A better understanding of this framework may help researchers and front line managers to develop better, more accurate models for effective and sustainable utilization of waste materials, benefiting organizations and society by simultaneously enhancing the cost effectiveness and improving environmental awareness. The paper provides an operational framework of reverse logistics and 2S2E sustained gain model. Specific applications are examined through empirical research.
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    Business excellence through total supply chain quality management
    (Emerald, 2012) Kamran Rashid; M. M. Haris Aslam
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how the quality practices such as leadership and strategic quality planning, supplier relationship management, customer focus, quality data and reporting, process management and human resource management are as relevant to supply chains as they are to an individual firm. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the review of relevant literature, propositions have been framed to stimulate future research. In order to evaluate the quality management (QM) practices in Pakistani supply chains, three cases have been presented. These cases provide information about QM practices of the case companies with respect to the supply chains they represent. Based on the case comparisons, common themes regarding the state of QM in Pakistani supply chains have been identified. Findings – The current study shows that the state of QM in the supply chain context is at a primitive level in Pakistan. Most organizations have instituted quality departments and devised quality policy and planning inspired by ISO 9000 standards. However, quality culture that promotes bottom-up improvement throughout the organization is nonexistent. Compared with the proposed framework of total supply chain quality management (TSCQM), Pakistani organizations have a long way to go before any significant integration can be achieved in the quality functions at the supply chain level. Originality/value – Building upon the current literature in the field of supply chain and QM, the current study proposes a new, more comprehensive framework TSCQM.
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    Framework of reverse logistics: the case of pakistani industries
    (2012) Ijaz Yusuf
    By products and waste materials are the parts of every manufacturing activity. These wastes can be a valuable input for various industry processes if handled properly and can cause the environmental damage if handled unprofessionally. It is usually assumed that supply based approach to recycling can disrupt the market equilibrium whose beauty reside on the well known demand and supply principle. Recycling industry is totally depends upon supply based approach because no one can predict the returns in a originating from different streams. Reverse logistics are the valuable input for the recyclers. This paper presents the framework of reverse logistics optimizing the stakeholders’ gain, social gain, economic gain and environmental gain. It identifies the roadblocks that prevail in recycling industry and describes various types of returns and wastes. This paper not only highlights the recycling activities but as well shares the best practices for effective implementation.
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    Aligning the supply chains of educational institutes with business strategy
    (PIQC Institute of Quality, 2007) Asher Ramish; Ijaz Yusuf
    Schools that offer business subjects or arts in any part of the world either offer quality education leading to high expense or would opt for medium quality education and focusing more on getting economies of scales. Supply chain optimization of educational institutions is highly dependant on number of parameters which I refer to as drivers (e.g. no. of faculty, students, empowerment of faculty etc.), the intensity level of which needs to be gauged always. A common challenge is to not only highlighting those drivers and their inter-dependencies across the business framework of the institution but to seek the line of demarcation in the entire range (intensity) offered by that specific driver. That ONLY would be possible if business strategy is clearly defined. This Paper represents a model based on integration of various causal loop diagrams on selecting the intensity levels of each driver so as to chalk out an appropriate system model aligned and optimized. This model will direct or guide you to fine tune a specific driver to create synchronization and help align your supply chain network with business strategy. We find that by varying the intensity levels of one of the drivers may misalign your educational institution’s supply chain from business strategy and vice versa. An SD model is made formulating a spectrum of education quality, one extreme of which would be a cost effective education system and the other extreme is a high quality education system. The model encompasses all parametric and structural changes in the educational institution. This system model is a true picture of how the institution’s supply chain is aligned with the business strategy and is a useful guide for all managers and administrators of those educational institutions, the supply chain of which is portraying turmoil in contrary to the business strategy.
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    South asian quality system (saqs): Model for management school
    (Quality and Productivity Society of Pakistan, 2010) Ijaz Yusuf
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    System dynamics: an effective tool for organizational analysis and prediction
    (2008) Seema Arif; Ijaz Yusuf
    We are living in a complex world, and where education and interest have created wide differences among individuals; they have also taught us to appreciate diversity as a lively attribute of life. In order to recognize diversity and recognize individual perception, and interpretation of various phenomena of life and the knowledge of different people about it, qualitative research is conducted and is becoming popular each day. The researchers and scientists keep devising new instruments and methodologies for enquiry, which are rational, holistic and solve real life problems. The problems in organizations are not smooth and patterned like those in natural science and do not conduct themselves in a predictable way. Thus, logical positivism and reductionism often fails when we deal with complex problems in organizational perspective, especially involving human decision making. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA has developed a special research methodology to address complex problems of the systems called ‘System Dynamics’. The methodology involves The methodology involves, (1) identifying a problem, (2) developing a dynamic hypothesis explaining the cause of the problem, (3) building a computer simulation model of the system at the root of the problem, (4) testing the model to be certain that it reproduces the behavior seen in the real world, and (5) devising and testing in the model alternative policies that alleviate the problem, and (6) implementing this solution. However, we have focused more upon first three keeping in view the constraints of space and time. The paper is conceptual, divided into 4 segments. 1st discusses systems approach in organizational studies; the 2nd explores connection between systems approach and qualitative research; the 3rd identifies the similarities between qualitative methodologies and those used by system dynamics and lastly the paper shortly describes the system dynamics inquiry process. Some sample models are also attached as annexure.
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    Dynamics of quality auditing for system improvement: The case of pakistani industries
    (University of Management and Technology, 2008) Ijaz Yusuf
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    Impact of integrated quality improvement teams in supply chain manufacturing (scm)
    (The cultural and Scientific Association, 2009) Ijaz Yusuf; Asher Ramish
    Impact of Integrated Quality Improvement Teams in Supply Chain Manufacturing (SCM) is a forgotten dimension. Key actors of Supply Chain manufacturing usually operate the Quality Improvement Teams in isolation. Working in isolation, they loose the insight of the problem and its long term impact is missed among the downstream and upstream departments of the Manufacturing Unit. Integrated Quality Improvement Teams working on the common theme not only can affect the operations of key actors of SCM but as well create a bottom line impact while improving the processes. This paper depicts the application model of Integrated Quality Improvement Teams in Supply Chain manufacturing and its impact to enhance the productivity in the key actors of Supply Chain Manufacturing. Quality Circles, Kaizen Groups, Quality Improvement Teams usually take the projects which are distinct in nature. Usually two circles or teams work as a disjoint sets working in their own domains. Integration of the Quality Improvement teams in different upstream and downstream departments of SCM is usually ignored in production environment and makes difficult to understand the underlying causes of the symptoms that create impact on the company profit. This application model portrays the power of integration of Quality Improvement Teams in supply chain manufacturing. Consequently, finger pointing is totally eliminated while addressing the complex inter-related issues among the key actors of supply chain manufacturing. It is hoped that this model will not only highlight the importance of team dynamics but as well improve the decision making process for value chain sustainability.
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    Demand collaboration strategy of supply chain management improves the education quality of a business school
    (The cultural and Scientific Association, 2009) Asher Ramish; Ijaz Yusuf
    Collaborating demand in an industrial sector means moving downstream of the supply chain, coming closer to the customer or end user virtually, utilizing means to know the exact demand in real time and sharing the true demand as far as upstream of the supply chain, so that optimized supply chain output can be achieved in an end to end enterprise. All stakeholders of the supply chain should get enhanced benefits in terms of cost decrease, time and quality improvements etc., resulting in a win-win for everyone.In case of service industries though, it is tricky and complex to decode the high up aforementioned strategy, in particular when it comes to an education institution, like a business school, offering business administration degrees in the town. Who would be the customer or an end user? What would be the demand? Where lies the upstream of the supply chain of a business school? Who is going to formulate the upstream part of the supply chain? All of these are queries that are answered in this formal research paper. The paper concludes that the interpretation of demand in a business school would be its education quality and total package skill set that a business school visions to inject in a student. Students would then become the direct customers of the business school. This is not as simple as it looks like. Here some of the stakeholders would add into the supply chain of a business school and would then determine the true demand of the service that is required. These stakeholders would be parents, industry employers and society in addition to students. All of the four stakeholders have to get the advantage from the knowledge, learning and a complete skill set infused to the students. Approaching closer to the aforesaid stakeholders and sharing the outcomes with the faculty and top management, can best balance the supply with demand in case of a business school.