Search results for: requirements and potentials in customer operation

Authors: Jyothirmayee Pola

Abstract:

Ideally, a test-driven development (TDD) or agile or any other process should be able to define and implement performance, scalability, and reliability (PSR) of the product with a higher quality of service (QOS) and should have the ability to fix any PSR issues with lesser cost before it hits the production. Most PSR test strategies for new product introduction (NPI) include assumptions about production load requirements but never accurate. NPE (New product Enhancement) include assumptions for new features that are being developed whilst workload distribution for older features can be derived by analyzing production transactions. This paper talks about how to shift left PSR towards design phase of release management process to get better QOS w.r.t PSR for any product under development. It also explains the ROI for future customer onboarding both for Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and Microservices architectures and how to define PSR requirements.

Keywords: component PSR, performance engineering, performance tuning, reliability, return on investment, scalability, system PSR

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Malki Fatima Zahra Nadia, Kellal Chaimaa, Brahimi Houria

Abstract:

The world has witnessed a great revolution in to field of technology and communication, especially after the opening of markets (globalization) . Which has led to a change from traditional marketing, which depends on direct selling and buying to electronic marketing, consequently different corporation have adopted this concept so as to gain time , efforts and money for the sake of the customer’s satisfaction. It is the main reason of the study, which is to know the impact of electronic marketing on the consumer’s satisfaction in the fields of communication through practical studies of Ooredoo customer’s where the descriptive analytical method has been used with statistics to analyze the results of the survey. It concluded that e-marketing effectively contributes to customer satisfaction.

Keywords: e-marketing, consumer, consumer behavior, satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Joshua Loiselle

Abstract:

This paper discusses the challenges engineering teams face in conducting Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) studies. This paper focuses on the specific topic of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of FMEA studies. Modern economic needs and increased business competition require engineers to constantly develop newer and better solutions within shorter timeframes and tighter margins. In addition, documentation requirements for meeting standards/regulatory compliance and customer needs are becoming increasingly complex and verbose. Managing open actions and continuous improvement activities across all projects, product variations, and processes in addition to daily engineering tasks is cumbersome, time consuming, and is susceptible to errors, omissions, and non-conformances. FMEA studies are proven methods for improving products and processes while subsequently reducing engineering workload and improving machine and resource availability through a pre-emptive, systematic approach of identifying, analyzing, and improving high-risk components. If implemented correctly, FMEA studies significantly reduce costs and improve productivity. However, the value of an effective FMEA is often shrouded by a lack of clarity and structure, misconceptions, and previous experiences and, as such, FMEA studies are frequently grouped with the other required information and documented retrospectively in preparation of customer requirements or audits. Performing studies in this way only adds cost to a project and perpetuates the misnomer that FMEA studies are not value-added activities. This paper discusses the benefits of effective FMEA studies, the challenges related to conducting FMEA studies, best practices for efficiently overcoming challenges via structure and automation, and the benefits of implementing those practices.

Keywords: FMEA, quality, APQP, PPAP

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Kholod J. Alotaibi, Andrew M. Gravell

Abstract:

Usability is an important software quality that is often neglected at the design stage. Although methods exist to incorporate elements of usability engineering, there is a need for more balanced usability focused methods that can enhance the experience of software usability for users. In this regard, the potential for Usage-Centered Design is explored with respect to requirements gathering and is shown to lead to high software usability besides other benefits. It achieves this through its focus on usage, defining essential use cases, by conducting task modeling, encouraging user collaboration, refining requirements, and so on. The requirements gathering process in UgCD is described in detail.

Keywords: requirements gathering, usability, usage-centred design, computer science

Procedia PDF Downloads 330

Authors: Ese Urhie, Olabisi Popoola, Obindah Gershon, Olabanji Ewetan

Abstract:

Modern agriculture involves the use of improved tools and equipment (instead of crude and ineffective tools) like tractors, hand operated planters, hand operated fertilizer drills and combined harvesters - which increase agricultural productivity. Farmers in Nigeria still have huge potentials to enhance their productivity. The study argues that the increase in agricultural output due to increased productivity, orchestrated by modern agriculture will promote forward linkages and opportunities in the processing sub-sector; both the manufacturing of machines and the processing of raw materials. Depending on existing incentives, foreign investment could be attracted to augment local investment in the sector. The availability of raw materials in large quantity – which prices are competitive – will attract investment in other industries. In addition, potentials for backward linkages will also be created. In a nutshell, adopting the unbalanced growth theory in favour of the agricultural sector could engender industrialization in a country with untapped potentials. The paper highlights the numerous potentials of modern agriculture that are yet to be tapped in Nigeria and also provides a theoretical analysis of how the realization of such potentials could promote industrialization in the country. The study adopts the Lewis’ theory of structural–change model and Hirschman’s theory of unbalanced growth in the design of the analytical framework. The framework will be useful in empirical studies that will guide policy formulation.

Keywords: modern agriculture, industrialization, structural change model, unbalanced growth

Procedia PDF Downloads 269

Authors: Amauri Josafat Gomez Aguilar, Jean Pierre Kenné

Abstract:

This research presents the development of a self-sustainable manufacturing system from a circular economy perspective, structured by a multi-stage serial production system consisting of a series of machines under deterioration in charge of producing a single product and a reverse remanufacturing system constituted by the same productive systems of the first scheme and different tooling, fed by-products collected at the end of their life cycle, and non-conforming elements of the first productive scheme. Since the advanced production manufacturing system is unable to satisfy the customer's quality expectations completely, we propose the development of a mixed integer linear mathematical model focused on the optimal search and assignment of quality stations and preventive maintenance operation to the machines over a time horizon, intending to segregate the correct number of non-conforming parts for reuse in the remanufacturing system and thereby minimizing production, quality, maintenance, and customer non-conformance penalties. Numerical experiments are performed to analyze the solutions found by the model under different scenarios. The results showed that the correct implementation of a closed manufacturing system and allocation of quality inspection and preventive maintenance operations generate better levels of customer satisfaction and an efficient manufacturing system.

Keywords: closed loop, mixed integer linear programming, preventive maintenance, quality inspection

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Jaimala Ghambir, Tilak Thakur, Puneet Chawla

Abstract:

As per the statistical data, the Doubly-fed Induction Generator (DFIG) based wind turbine with variable speed and variable pitch control is the most common wind turbine in the growing wind market. This machine is usually used on the grid connected wind energy conversion system to satisfy grid code requirements such as grid stability, fault ride through (FRT), power quality improvement, grid synchronization and power control etc. Though the requirements are not fulfilled directly by the machine, the control strategy is used in both the stator as well as rotor side along with power electronic converters to fulfil the requirements stated above. To satisfy the grid code requirements of wind turbine, usually grid side converter is playing a major role. So in order to improve the operation capacity of wind turbine under critical situation, the intensive study of both machine side converter control and grid side converter control is necessary In this paper DFIG is modeled using power components as variables and the performance of the DFIG system is analysed under grid voltage fluctuations. The voltage fluctuations are made by lowering and raising the voltage values in the utility grid intentionally for the purpose of simulation keeping in view of different grid disturbances.

Keywords: DFIG, dynamic modeling, DPC, sag, swell, voltage fluctuations, FRT

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Ulas Vural, M. Ergun Okay, E. Mesut Yildiz

Abstract:

Telecommunication service providers demand accurate and precise prediction of customer churn probabilities to increase the effectiveness of their customer relation services. The large amount of customer data owned by the service providers is suitable for analysis by machine learning methods. In this study, expenditure data of customers are analyzed by using an artificial neural network (ANN). The ANN model is applied to the data of customers with different billing duration. The proposed model successfully predicts the churn probabilities at 83% accuracy for only three months expenditure data and the prediction accuracy increases up to 89% when the nine month data is used. The experiments also show that the accuracy of ANN model increases on an extended feature set with information of the changes on the bill amounts.

Keywords: customer relationship management, churn prediction, telecom industry, deep learning, artificial neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Mengyu Lu, Yongsheng Guo

Abstract:

This study investigates how employee incentives affect employee performance in financing from customers. This study followed a grounded theory approach where data were collected through 29 interviews. Main themes and categories were identified through the coding processes. This study found that casual conditions, including financial barriers, informal finance, business location, customer base and customer relationship, influenced the adoption of customer finance in the case of SMEs. The SMEs build and maintain long-term relationships with customers through personal communications. The SMEs engage and motivate employees in customer communications and business financing strategy through financial incentives programs, including bonuses, salary rises, rewards and non-financial incentives, including training opportunities, extra holiday leave, and flexible working hours. Employee performance was measured through financing contribution and job contribution. As a consequence, customers will be well served by employees and get a better customer experience. SMEs can get benefits such as employee engagement, employee satisfaction and sustainable financing sources. This study gets in sight of employee incentives in improving employee performance in customer finance and makes implications to human capital theories. Suggestions are provided to the decision-makers in businesses as incentive programs improve employee performance that, eventually contributes to overall business performance.

Keywords: SMEs, financing from customers, employee incentives, performance-based measurement

Procedia PDF Downloads 29

Authors: Mansur Ahmed Kazaure

Abstract:

The emergence of internet-based social media has made it possible for one person to communication with hundreds or even thousands of people about a company goods and services and the companies that provides them. Thus, the impact of customer-to-customer communications has been significantly magnified in the marketplace. Therefore, the essence of this paper is to critically evaluate the literature of social media and their implication for practice, but the author pay attention on twitter as a new marketing communication tools. The author found out that, despite the implication of using social media especially twitter by the companies as part of their marketing communication tool, but still it can enhance the opportunity for the companies to develop and maintain long-term customer relationship. The paper concludes that, using twitter as a marketing communication tool is a market trend and it is the best way for marketers to add value to their customer, however with the Twitter marketers can get a feedback about the performance of their product and its brand in the marketplace. The paper is purely a conceptual discourse based on secondary data.

Keywords: social media, marketing communication, marketing communication tools, Twitter, Facebook

Procedia PDF Downloads 441

Authors: Jeong-Hyun Park, Young-Sik Park, Hyo-Teag Jung

Abstract:

This paper presents static analysis deployment model for code quality on R&D Projects of SW Development. The proposed model includes the scope of R&D projects and index for static analysis of source code, operation model and execution process, environments and infrastructure system for R&D projects of SW development. There is the static analysis result of pilot project as case study based on the proposed deployment model and environment, and strategic considerations for success operation of the proposed static analysis deployment model for R&D Projects of SW Development. The proposed static analysis deployment model in this paper will be adapted and improved continuously for quality upgrade of R&D projects, and customer satisfaction of developed source codes and products.

Keywords: static analysis, code quality, coding rules, automation tool

Procedia PDF Downloads 495

Authors: Mahfoodh Saleh Al Sabbagh, Venkoba Rao

Abstract:

There is plenty of research, both in academic and consultancy circles, about the importance and benefits of employee engagement and customer engagement and how it gives organization an opportunity to reduce variability and improve performance. Customer engagement is directly related to the engagement level of the organization's employees. It is therefore important to measure both. This research drawing from the work of Human Sigma by Fleming and Asplund, attempts to assess engagement level of customer and employees - the human systems of business - in an educational setup. Student is important to an educational institute and is a customer to be served efficiently and effectively. Considering student as customer and faculty as employees serving them, in–depth interviews were conducted to analyze the relationship between faculty and student engagement in two leading colleges in Oman, one from private sector and another from public sector. The study relied mainly on secondary data sources to understand the concept of engagement. However, the search of secondary sources was extensive to compensate the limited primary data. The results indicate that high faculty engagement is likely to lead to high student engagement. Engaged students were excited about learning, loved the feeling of they being cared as a person by their faculty and advocated the organization to other. The interaction truly represents an opportunity to build emotional connection to the organization. This study could be of interest to organizations interest in building and maintaining engagement with employees and customers.

Keywords: customer engagement, consumer psychology, strategy, educational institutes

Procedia PDF Downloads 445

Authors: Ravneet Kaur

Abstract:

The concept of Agile Requirements Engineering and Management is not new. However, the struggle to figure out how traditional Requirements Management Process fits within an Agile framework remains complex. This paper talks about a process that can merge the organization’s traditional Requirements Management Process nicely into the Agile Software Development Process. This process provides Traceability of the Product Backlog to the external documents on one hand and User Stories on the other hand. It also gives sufficient evidence that the system will deliver the right functionality with good quality in the form of various statistics and reports. In the nutshell, by overlaying a process on top of Agile, without disturbing the Agility, we are able to get synergic benefits in terms of productivity, profitability, its reporting, and end to end visibility to all Stakeholders. The framework can be used for just-in-time requirements definition or to build a repository of requirements for future use. The goal is to make sure that the business (specifically, the product owner) can clearly articulate what needs to be built and define what is of high quality. To accomplish this, the requirements cycle follows a Scrum-like process that mirrors the development cycle but stays two to three steps ahead. The goal is to create a process by which requirements can be thoroughly vetted, organized, and communicated in a manner that is iterative, timely, and quality-focused. Agile is quickly becoming the most popular way of developing software because it fosters continuous improvement, time-boxed development cycles, and more quickly delivering value to the end users. That value will be driven to a large extent by the quality and clarity of requirements that feed the software development process. An agile, lean, and timely approach to requirements as the starting point will help to ensure that the process is optimized.

Keywords: requirements management, Agile

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Bassam Istanbouli

Abstract:

With the technology evolving every day and with the increase in global competition, industries are always under the pressure to be the best. They need to provide good quality products at competitive prices, when and how the customer wants them.  In order to achieve this level of service, products and their respective supply chain processes need to be flexible and evolvable; otherwise changes will be extremely expensive, slow and with many combinatorial effects. Those combinatorial effects impact the whole organizational structure, from a management, financial, documentation, logistics and specially the information system Enterprise Requirement Planning (ERP) perspective. By applying the normalized system concept/theory to segments of the supply chain, we believe minimal effects, especially at the time of launching an organization global software project. The purpose of this paper is to point out that if an organization wants to develop a software from scratch or implement an existing ERP software for their business needs and if their business processes are normalized and modular then most probably this will yield to a normalized and modular software system that can be easily modified when the business evolves. Another important goal of this paper is to increase the awareness regarding the design of the business processes in a software implementation project. If the blueprints created are normalized then the software developers and configurators will use those modular blueprints to map them into modular software. This paper only prepares the ground for further studies;  the above concept will be supported by going through the steps of developing, configuring and/or implementing a software system for an organization by using two methods: The Software Development Lifecycle method (SDLC) and the Accelerated SAP implementation method (ASAP). Both methods start with the customer requirements, then blue printing of its business processes and finally mapping those processes into a software system.  Since those requirements and processes are the starting point of the implementation process, then normalizing those processes will end up in a normalizing software.

Keywords: blueprint, ERP, modular, normalized

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Š. Čemerková, M. Wilczková

Abstract:

The paper deals with the importance of information flow for providing of defined level of customer service in the firms. Setting of the criteria for the selection and implementation of logistics information system is a prerequisite for ensuring of the flow of information in firms. The decision on the selection and implementation of logistics information system is linked to the investment costs and operating costs, which are included in the total logistics costs. The article also deals with the conclusions of the research focused on the logistics information system selection in companies in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: customer service, information system, logistics, research

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: B. Groß, P. Fronia, P. Nyhuis

Abstract:

In addition to the production, which is already frequently optimized, improving the distribution logistics also opens up tremendous potential for increasing an enterprise’s competitiveness. Here too though, numerous interactions need to be taken into account, enterprises thus need to be able to identify and weigh between different potentials for economically efficient optimizations. In order to be able to assess potentials, enterprises require a suitable method. This paper first briefly presents the need for this research before introducing the procedure that will be used to develop an appropriate method that not only considers interactions but is also quickly and easily implemented.

Keywords: distribution logistics, evaluation of potential, methods, model

Procedia PDF Downloads 483

Authors: Shadan Dwairi

Abstract:

Defining proper requirements is one of the key factors for a successful construction projects. Although there have been many attempts put forward in assist in identifying requirements, but still this area is under developed. In Buildings Information Modelling (BIM) projects. The Employer Information Requirements (EIR) is the fundamental requirements document and a necessary ingredient in achieving a successful BIM project. The provision on full and clear EIR is essential to achieving BIM Level-2. As Defined by PAS 1192-2, EIR is a “pre-tender document that sets out the information to be delivered and the standards and processes to be adopted by the supplier as part of the project delivery process”. It also notes that “EIR should be incorporated into tender documentation to enable suppliers to produce an initial BIM Execution Plan (BEP)”. The importance of effective definition of EIR lies in its contribution to a better productivity during the construction process in terms of cost and time, in addition to improving the quality of the built asset. Proper and clear information is a key aspect of the EIR, in terms of the information it contains and more importantly the information the client receives at the end of the project that will enable the effective management and operation of the asset, where typically about 60%-80% of the cost is spent. This paper reports on the research done in developing the Ontology-based tool for Employer Information Requirements (OntEIR). OntEIR has proven the ability to produce a full and complete set of EIRs, which ensures that the clients’ information needs for the final model delivered by BIM is clearly defined from the beginning of the process. It also reports on the work being done into transforming OntEIR into a smart tool for Defining Employer Information Requirements (smartEIR). smartEIR transforms the OntEIR tool into enabling it to develop custom EIR- tailored for the: Project Type, Project Requirements, and the Client Capabilities. The initial idea behind smartEIR is moving away from the notion “One EIR fits All”. smartEIR utilizes the links made in OntEIR and creating a 3D matrix that transforms it into a smart tool. The OntEIR tool is based on the OntEIR framework that utilizes both Ontology and the Decomposition of Goals to elicit and extract the complete set of requirements needed for a full and comprehensive EIR. A new ctaegorisation system for requirements is also introduced in the framework and tool, which facilitates the understanding and enhances the clarification of the requirements especially for novice clients. Findings of the evaluation of the tool that was done with experts in the industry, showed that the OntEIR tool contributes towards effective and efficient development of EIRs that provide a better understanding of the information requirements as requested by BIM, and support the production of a complete BIM Execution Plan (BEP) and a Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP).

Keywords: building information modelling, employer information requirements, ontology, web-based, tool

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: A. Rahim Baharudin, Nor Arinee binti Mat Saaud, Muhammad Afiq Azman, Farah Adiba A. Sani

Abstract:

Objectives: This paper shares the case study on the engineering analysis, data analysis, and real-time data comparison for qualifying the stand wires' minimum breaking load and safe working load upon loadout operation for a new project and, at the same time, eliminate the risk due to discrepancies and unalignment of COMPANY Technical Standards to Industry Standards and Practices. This paper demonstrates “Lean Construction” for COMPANY’s Project by sustaining fit-for-purpose Technical Requirements of Loadout Strand Wire Factor of Safety (F.S). The case study utilizes historical engineering data from a few loadout operations by skidding methods from different projects. It is also demonstrating and qualifying the skidding wires' minimum breaking load and safe working load used for loadout operation for substructure and other facilities for the future. Methods: Engineering analysis and comparison of data were taken as referred to the international standard and internal COMPANY standard requirements. Data was taken from nine (9) previous projects for both topsides and jacket facilities executed at the several local fabrication yards where load out was conducted by three (3) different service providers with emphasis on four (4) basic elements: i) Industry Standards for Loadout Engineering and Operation Reference: COMPANY internal standard was referred to superseded documents of DNV-OS-H201 and DNV/GL 0013/ND. DNV/GL 0013/ND and DNVGL-ST-N001 do not mention any requirements of Strand Wire F.S of 4.0 for Skidding / Pulling Operations. ii) Reference to past Loadout Engineering and Execution Package: Reference was made to projects delivered by three (3) major offshore facilities operators. Strand Wire F.S observed ranges from 2.0 MBL (Min) to 2.5 MBL (Max). No Loadout Operation using the requirements of 4.0 MBL was sighted from the reference. iii) Strand Jack Equipment Manufacturer Datasheet Reference: Referring to Strand Jack Equipment Manufactured Datasheet by different loadout service providers, it is shown that the Designed F.S for the equipment is also ranging between 2.0 ~ 2.5. Eight (8) Strand Jack Datasheet Model was referred to, ranging from 15 Mt to 850 Mt Capacity; however, there are NO observations of designed F.S 4.0 sighted. iv) Site Monitoring on Actual Loadout Data and Parameter: Max Load on Strand Wire was captured during 2nd Breakout, which is during Static Condition of 12.9 MT / Strand Wire (67.9% Utilization). Max Load on Strand Wire for Dynamic Conditions during Step 8 and Step 12 is 9.4 Mt / Strand Wire (49.5% Utilization). Conclusion: This analysis and study demonstrated the adequacy of strand wires supplied by the service provider were technically sufficient in terms of strength, and via engineering analysis conducted, the minimum breaking load and safe working load utilized and calculated for the projects were satisfied and operated safely for the projects. It is recommended from this study that COMPANY’s technical requirements are to be revised for future projects’ utilization.

Keywords: construction, load out, minimum breaking load, safe working load, strand jacking, skidding

Procedia PDF Downloads 85

Authors: O. B. Enemuo, A. A. Onubuogu

Abstract:

This work evaluated the influence of interior of decoration on customer perception of hotels in Uyo Akwa Ibom State. Specifically the study identified the various interior decoration used in hotels in the study area, determined the interior decoration used in hotels that appeal to the customer more, ascertained the influence of interior decoration on the level of patronage in the hotel in the study area and suggested ways of improving the interior decoration of hotels in the study area for sustainability. The study was guided by four research questions and two hypotheses. It adopted survey research design; structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The samples for the study were four hundred (400) staff and managers from the various hotels in the study area. Data generated were analyzed using mean and standard deviation analyses of variance (ANOVA) derived from regression analyses to test the hypotheses. The result of the finding showed that satisfactory interior decoration has a positive influence on the sustainability of the hospitality establishments in Uyo. The hypothesis showed that there was a significant relationship between the gender perception on the influence of interior decoration in the hotel and significant relationship between the gender perceptions on the influence of interior decoration in the hotels. From the finding, it was recommended that the hotels should design interior decorative service delivery system which has an impact on customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry and practiced healthy decorative environment and increased customer satisfaction.

Keywords: influence, interior decoration, customer’s perception, hotels

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Nnedum Obiajuru Anthony Ugochukwu, Ezechukwu Emmanuel Ntomchukwu

Abstract:

The research investigated the importance of marketing and customer relationship management in post-consolidated banks in achieving success and survival in the face of intense competition and global economic meltdown. The problem lies in the fact that during the pre-consolidation era in the banking industry in Nigeria, banks were comfortable transacting their businesses from their armchairs. Little attention was paid to marketing by banks as a veritable means of achieving and consolidating their profit position. This situation, no doubt sustained because banks were more or less currency exchange centers where customers buy and sell foreign exchange which was highly demanded, but in very short supply. Today, deregulation and consolidation of banks in Nigeria have tremendously increased the tempo of activities in the banking industry, and competition has become very severe among banks. The weak link in the success of post-consolidated banks in Nigeria is the utter neglect, and light or unserious consideration of customer relationship marketing by banks. Armchair banking which banks have been practicing has no regard for marketing as a means to survival. However, in order to survive, post-consolidated banks must take relationship marketing and customer relationship management seriously especially in the face of the current global economic crisis. This paper aims at exploring the role of marketing in building and managing customer relationships as a means to survival in post-consolidation banking in Nigeria.

Keywords: marketing, customer relationships, banking sector, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: S. Taghavi Kalajahi, A. Koerdt, T. Lund Skovhus

Abstract:

Cathodic protection (CP) is an electrochemical method to control and manage corrosion in different industries and environments. CP which is widely used, especially in buried and sub-merged environments, which both environments are susceptible to microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). Most of the standards recommend performing CP using -800 mV, however, if MIC threats are high or sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) is present, the recommendation is to use more negative potentials for adequate protection of the metal. Due to the lack of knowledge and research on the effectiveness of CP on MIC, to the author’s best knowledge, there is no information about what MIC threat is and how much more negative potentials should be used enabling adequate protection and not overprotection (due to hydrogen embrittlement risk). Recently, the development and cheaper price of molecular microbial methods (MMMs) open the door for more effective investigations on the corrosion in the presence of microorganisms, along with other electrochemical methods and surface analysis. In this work, using MMMs, the gene expression of SRB biofilm under different potentials of CP will be investigated. The specific genes, such as pH buffering, metal oxidizing, etc., will be compared at different potentials, enabling to determine the precise potential that protect the metal effectively from SRB. This work is the initial step to be able to standardize the recommended potential under MIC condition, resulting better protection for the infrastructures.

Keywords: cathodic protection, microbiologically influenced corrosion, molecular microbial methods, sulfate reducing bacteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Katharina Buttenberg

Abstract:

Customer and brand-oriented capabilities have been identified as key influencing capabilities for business performance. Especially in the early years of the firm, it is crucial to develop and consciously manage these capabilities. In this paper, the results of a quantitative analysis, investigating the causal relationship between customer- and brand-oriented (marketing) capabilities and business performance will be presented. The research displays the dependencies between the constructs and will provide practical implications for young firms in the acquisition and management of these capabilities.

Keywords: brand-oriented capabilities, customer-oriented capabilities, entrepreneurship, resource-based theory, young firms

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: Abiola Olukemi Ogunyemi

Abstract:

Many organizations would like to gain customer loyalty, and to achieve this they invest in customer management systems which help them to learn and anticipate the customers’ needs, get feedback from them and serve them. One of the most elementary ways to achieve customer loyalty is for employees to be able to empathize with their customers, and to be able to feel what they feel when the company betrays their trust, which usually otherwise shown in patronage and loyalty. Unfortunately, the staff and management of organizations do not always realize the negative impact of treating customers badly, because they do not stop to think how these customers feel. If they did, they would be more careful and more respectful of these people who are human beings just like they are. They would be wiser, since this would ultimately make them more profitable businesses. This paper looks at thirteen descriptions of situations in which customers felt treated badly by organizations they trusted, and focuses on the feelings of these customers. If the organization (made of people) could empathize with the customer, then customer service would be surely enhanced. It is expected that these stories, real experiences narrated by young professionals working in Nigeria, can awaken greater empathy for consumers within organizations. Thus, they may help the organization to learn empathy and to incorporate it into their foundational principles for ethical behavior. The paper’s contents contribute to a heightened appreciation of empathy as an organizing mechanism by showing how putting one in the consumer’s shoes can help managers to understand how he or she feels. This will lead organizations to be even more innovative in finding ways to meet their customers’ needs and to deserve and win their loyalty. It addresses an issue that cuts across cultures, and therefore can be quite thought-provoking for every business owner or for team leads within organizations. By trying to stimulate empathy across the seller-buyer divide, it necessarily contributes to a deeper understanding of empathy as a building block for a sustainable society.

Keywords: customer service, empathy, ethical behavior, respectfulness

Procedia PDF Downloads 237

Authors: Adithya Jaikumar, Sudarsan Jayasingh

Abstract:

The dramatic technology led changes that continue to take place at the market place has led to the emergence and implication of online brand pages on social media networks. The Facebook brand page has become extremely popular among different brands. The primary aim of this study was to identify the impact of post formats and content type on customer engagement in Facebook brand pages. Methodology used for this study was to analyze and categorize 9037 content messages posted by 20 automobile brands in India during April 2014 to March 2015 and the customer activity it generated in return. The data was obtained from Fanpage karma- an online tool used for social media analytics. The statistical technique used to analyze the count data was negative binomial regression. The study indicates that there is a statistically significant relationship between the type of post and the customer engagement. The study shows that photos are the most posted format and highest engagement is found to be related to videos. The finding also reveals that social events and entertainment related content increases engagement with the message.

Keywords: content analysis, customer engagement, digital engagement, facebook brand pages, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 300

Authors: Andreas Ahrens, Ojaras Purvinis, Jelena Zascerinska

Abstract:

A successful shopping experience without overcrowded shops and long waiting times undoubtedly leads to the release of happiness hormones and is generally considered the goal of any optimization. Factors influencing the shopping experience can be divided into internal and external ones. External factors are related, e. g. to the arrival of the customers to the shop, whereas internal are linked with the service process itself when checking out (waiting in the queue to the cash register and the scanning of the goods as well as the payment process itself) or any other non-expected delay when changing the status from a visitor to a buyer by choosing goods or items. This paper divides the customer-server interaction into five phases starting with the customer's arrival at the shop, the selection of goods, the buyer waiting in the queue to the cash register, the payment process, and ending with the customer or buyer's departure. Our simulation results show how five phases are intertwined and influence the overall shopping experience. Parameters for measuring the shopping experience are estimated based on the burstiness level in each of the five phases of the customer-server interaction.

Keywords: customers’ burstiness, cash register, customers’ wait-ing time, gap distribution function

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: V. Jagadeesh, K. Venkata Subbaiah, P. Govinda Rao

Abstract:

This paper explaining about the significance of information technology tools and software packages in supply chain management (SCM) in order to manage the entire supply chain. Managing materials flow and financial flow and information flow effectively and efficiently with the aid of information technology tools and packages in order to deliver right quantity with right quality of goods at right time by using right methods and technology. Information technology plays a vital role in streamlining the sales forecasting and demand planning and Inventory control and transportation in supply networks and finally deals with production planning and scheduling. It achieves the objectives by streamlining the business process and integrates within the enterprise and its extended enterprise. SCM starts with customer and it involves sequence of activities from customer, retailer, distributor, manufacturer and supplier within the supply chain framework. It is the process of integrating demand planning and supply network planning and production planning and control. Forecasting indicates the direction for planning raw materials in order to meet the production planning requirements. Inventory control and transportation planning allocate the optimal or economic order quantity by utilizing shortest possible routes to deliver the goods to the customer. Production planning and control utilize the optimal resources mix in order to meet the capacity requirement planning. The above operations can be achieved by using appropriate information technology tools and software packages for the supply chain management.

Keywords: supply chain management, information technology, business process, extended enterprise

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: T. Godwin

Abstract:

The design of a supply chain always entails the trade-off between responsiveness and efficiency. The launch of e-commerce has not only changed the way of shopping but also altered the supply chain design while trading off efficiency with responsiveness. A concept called ‘virtual responsiveness’ is introduced in the context of e-commerce supply chain. A simulation model is developed to compare actual responsiveness and virtual responsiveness to the customer in an e-commerce supply chain. The simulation is restricted to the movement of goods from the e-tailer to the customer. Customer demand follows a statistical distribution and is generated using inverse transformation technique. The two responsiveness schemes of the supply chain are compared in terms of the minimum number of inventory required at the e-tailer to fulfill the orders. Computational results show the savings achieved through virtual responsiveness. The insights gained from this study could be used to redesign e-commerce supply chain by incorporating virtual responsiveness. A part of the achieved cost savings could be passed back to the customer, thereby making the supply chain both effective and competitive.

Keywords: e-commerce, simulation modeling, supply chain, virtual responsiveness

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Teng Teng, Christos Tsinopoulos

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to explore the link between IS capabilities, customer connection, and quality performance in the service context, with investigation of the impact of firm’s stable and dynamic environments. The application of Information Systems (IS) has become a significant effect on contemporary service operations. Firms invest in IS with the presumption that they will facilitate operations processes so that their performance will improve. Yet, IS resources by themselves are not sufficiently 'unique' and thus, it would be more useful and theoretically relevant to focus on the processes they affect. One such organisational process, which has attracted a lot of research attention by supply chain management scholars, is the integration of customer connection, where IS-enabled customer connection enhances communication and contact processes, and with such customer resources integration comes greater success for the firm in its abilities to develop a good understanding of customer needs and set accurate customer. Nevertheless, prior studies on IS capabilities have focused on either one specific type of technology or operationalised it as a highly aggregated concept. Moreover, although conceptual frameworks have been identified to show customer integration is valuable in service provision, there is much to learn about the practices of integrating customer resources. In this research, IS capabilities have been broken down into three dimensions based on the framework of Wade and Hulland: IT for supply chain activities (ITSCA), flexible IT infrastructure (ITINF), and IT operations shared knowledge (ITOSK); and focus on their impact on operational performance of firms in services. With this background, this paper addresses the following questions: -How do IS capabilities affect the integration of customer connection and service quality? -What is the relationship between environmental dynamism and the relationship of customer connection and service quality? A survey of 156 service establishments was conducted, and the data analysed to determine the role of customer connection in mediating the effects of IS capabilities on firms’ service quality. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to check convergent validity. There is a good model fit for the structural model. Moderating effect of environmental dynamism on the relationship of customer connection and service quality is analysed. Results show that ITSCA, ITINF, and ITOSK have a positive influence on the degree of the integration of customer connection. In addition, customer connection positively related to service quality; this relationship is further emphasised when firms work in a dynamic environment. This research takes a step towards quelling concerns about the business value of IS, contributing to the development and validation of the measurement of IS capabilities in the service operations context. Additionally, it adds to the emerging body of literature linking customer connection to the operational performance of service firms. Managers of service firms should consider the strength of the mediating role of customer connection when investing in IT-related technologies and policies. Particularly, service firms developing IS capabilities should simultaneously implement processes that encourage supply chain integration.

Keywords: customer connection, environmental dynamism, information systems capabilities, service quality, service supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Suglo Tohari Luri

Abstract:

Data analysis is an important aspect of business performance. With the application of artificial intelligence within databases, selecting a suitable database engine for an application design is also very crucial for business data analysis. The application of business intelligence (BI) software into some relational databases such as Neo4j has proved highly effective in terms of customer data analysis. Yet what remains of great concern is the fact that not all business organizations have the neo4j business intelligence software applications to implement for customer data analysis. Further, those with the BI software lack personnel with the requisite expertise to use it effectively with the neo4j database. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how the Neo4j program code alone can be applied for the analysis of e-commerce website customer visits. As the neo4j database engine is optimized for handling and managing data relationships with the capability of building high performance and scalable systems to handle connected data nodes, it will ensure that business owners who advertise their products at websites using neo4j as a database are able to determine the number of visitors so as to know which products are visited at routine intervals for the necessary decision making. It will also help in knowing the best customer segments in relation to specific goods so as to place more emphasis on their advertisement on the said websites.

Keywords: data, engine, intelligence, customer, neo4j, database

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: O. Nkwonta, B. Dzwairo, F. Otieno, J. Adeyemo

Abstract:

The effective management of water resources is of great importance to ensure the supply of water resources to support changing water requirements over a selected planning horizon and in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Essentially, the purpose of the water resources planning process is to balance the available water resources in a system with the water requirements and losses to which the system is subjected. In such situations, water resources yield and planning model can be used to solve those difficulties. It has an advantage over other models by managing model runs, developing a representative system network, modelling incremental sub-catchments, creating a variety of standard system features, special modelling features, and run result output options.

Keywords: complex, water resources, planning, cost effective, management

Procedia PDF Downloads 426