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This paper presents a model for end-user-based evaluation of the usability of mobile ERP systems. Recent studies show that the mobile use of ERP software is both, crucial for user satisfaction and still improvable for many ERP systems. Therefore, ERP-specific usability models are necessary to meet the requirements of ERP systems in comparison to e.g., apps for private use. The research objective is therefore to develop a model that enables software providers to measure and benchmark the usability of their software products. Therefore, we introduce after a literature research a usability model for the mobile application of ERP systems (mobile ERP). Our usability model is based on the widely used PACMAD model. We modify the PACMAD model for the context of ERP systems. This results in a new end-user-based model, that differs from existing models, because of its focus on end-users and the ERP context. Subsequently, the model will be tested in an initial study with 19 test persons. The results of the study indicate two main findings. Firstly, the model allows the measurement of the usability of mobile ERP systems. Secondly, some key factors substantially affect the usability of mobile ERP systems.
This article covers the development of a specific model for the end-user-based evaluation of the usability of Mobile ERP systems employing eye-tracking technology. Recent studies show that the mobile use of ERP software is significant, even though there is also room for improvement. Simultaneously, it is undisputed that ERP-specific usability models are necessary to meet the specific requirements of ERP systems. Therefore, we examine usability dimensions in the Mobile ERP context in a first, preliminary study. In addition, we investigate how eye-tracking technology can support the usability measurement for each usability dimension. Therefore, after a detailed literature analysis, a usability model for the mobile application of ERP systems (Mobile ERP) is developed. Subsequently, we summarize the results of a first explorative preliminary study with 19 test persons. The results show that the model allows the usability of mobile ERP systems to be classified and that few decisive factors contribute to the perception of good usability in ERP systems. In the third part of this paper (after literature review and usability study), we introduce an overview of eye-tracking metrics for MERP-U to examine which MERP-U dimensions eye-tracking measures.
Die zentrale Idee des Internet of Things (IoT) ist die digitale Vernetzung und der damit einhergehende Informationsfluss zwischen unterschiedlichen Objekten. Der Informationsaustausch wird mit Hilfe von entsprechenden Protokollen realisiert. Ziel der Untersuchung ist eine Analyse des betrieblichen Entscheidungsprozesses zur Protokollauswahl auf der Application Layer sowie die Identifikation und Beschreibung der zu berücksichtigenden Entscheidungsparameter. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen,
wurden Experteninterviews durchgeführt und im Rahmen einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet. Zentrales Ergebnis aus dieser Untersuchung ist eine Übersicht über Entscheidungsparameter zur Protokollauswahl in Abhängigkeit vom Anwendungskontext.
Dem Management von Mehrwegbehältern kommt in der nachhaltigen Logistik eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Gleichzeitig sorgen Inlays und steigenden Behälteranforderungen durch die Robotik für Variantenreichtum hinsichtlich der Behälter. Die Digitalisierung und teilweise Automatisierung kann, die Effizienz und die Transparenz des Behältermanagements steigern. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, mit einer entsprechenden Studie in einer Laborumgebung zu zeigen, wie Computer-Vision-Systeme zur Digitalisierung im Behältermanagement beitragen können.
Business process knowledge is essential for efficiently executing business processes. Game-based approaches with their advantages (e.g. emotional involvement) are a promising way for building and keeping business process knowledge within an organization. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to explore, how game-based approaches support the creation of business process knowledge. The article contains three major contributions: (1) a weighted overview of game design elements in literature, (2) an extension to existing process models for game development, (3) a prototype for board game for business process knowledge.
Die digitale Transformation verändert die zukünftigen beruflichen Handlungsfelder der Studierenden, weshalb die domänenspezifische Förderung digitaler Kompetenzen in den Fokus rückt. Eine Facette im betriebswirtschaftlichen Bereich stellen hierbei ERP-Anwendungen dar, die digital strukturiert Geschäftsprozesse in Unternehmen steuern. Im Beitrag wird das didaktische Design eines Onlinekurses und dessen Entwicklungsprozess vorgestellt. Digitale Kompetenzen sollen hier über didaktische Elemente des problembasierten, begleitungsorientierten und selbstregulierten Lernens gefördert werden. Ergebnisse der ersten Testung in Form einer Persona-Analyse illustrieren, dass die Bandbreite der didaktischen Designelemente die Heterogenität der Studierenden aufnehmen kann.
Purpose of the paper:
Getting products to market in a shorter time enables a fashion brand to savor the trend in vogue and can start preparing new products later than its competitors. Shorter time-to- market could help reduce product inventory risk because not only might the design fit the market better, product replenishment can be fulfilled in a shorter time. ZARA is one of the apparel fashion brands best able to reduce finished product inventory and respond quickly to market demand; adidas CORE is a reasonably-priced fashion sports shoes targeting at younger consumers and seeking to capture market share through a responsive market strategy. Because apparel and shoes have different product structures and production processes, the supply chain design and management engaged are different. This study employed a case study method to investigate the bullwhip effect and responsiveness of ZARA and adidas CORE, and also examine the use of postponement strategies and concurrent engineering to achieve quick response.
Design/methodology/approach:
We studied fashion industry supply chain and manufacturing strategies, especially those related to design, purchasing, postponement, inventory control, production, logistics etc. that could lead to lead time reduction. ZARA and adidas CORE were used as two cases to verify the theoretical findings through direct observation, interviews and document review.
Findings:
In order to reduce out of season unsold inventory while also responding to market demand quickly, under this premise, ZARA and adidas CORE both adopted postponement strategies in their supply chains and manufacturing systems. They also adjusted production to ensure that customized processes are delayed at the postponement point until the demand is confirmed. However, due to different production structures of apparel and shoes, their postponement points are also differentiated. In addition, the two brands both use anticipatory business models in conjunction with their postponement strategies to prepare for rapid production. Because shoes require many different types of materials, to shorten development time, adidas embraced the concurrent engineering concept by inviting vendors to participate in the development process. After products have reached the market, in accordance with their sales situation, ZARA may adopt a responsiveness business model for quick response, while adidas CORE maintains a brisk production and shipment pace in order to supply the market without interruption.
Value:
The case study rationalizes from supply chain perspectives regarding how those fashion brands could make their products to market in a short time. The effectiveness of short lead time can also be confirmed from the metrics in inventory level and profits.
Purpose of the paper:
Since long, KANBAN is used in industry as an effective approach to provide the required materials to the shop floor. In its traditional form, the parameters for KANBAN, that is for each material the number of boxes and the quantity per box, are static, i.e. calculated
initially and, if at all, re-calculated only if someone suspects the parameters to be suboptimal. This paper shows how a traditional KANBAN system can be converted into a selfadaptive KANBAN, where the parameters are dynamically adjusted to reflect the dynamics of the environment. The self-adaptive approach aims to set KANBAN parameters in a way that shop-floor inventory is at a viable minimum without compromising production output.
Design/methodology/approach:
Using a simulation of the process of supplying material, we suggest an optimization method based on Evolution Strategies (ES). The strategy aims at finding the minimum quantity of material supply per box, while maintaining production efficiency, by dynamically and iteratively adjusting (self-adapt) KANBAN parameters.
Findings:
Compared to the traditional KANBAN approach, self-adaptive KANBAN is more flexible and efficient in unstable production environments, in which key variables are volatile, e.g. demand because of changes in the model mix or replenishment lead time due to the variability of capacity in picking and in-house transportation. In these cases, self-adaptive KANBAN can adjust material supply parameters for stabilizing the production output by avoiding material shortages while, at the same time, reducing on-hand inventory.
Value/Originality:
We provide an approach based on evolution strategy (ES) that aims to optimize the KANBAN system parameters automatically. We implemented a simulator for a lab-based manufacturing environment, SimCar, that relies on KANBAN-based material supply. The simulation study shows that the ES algorithm is capable of coping with two target objectives at the same time, productivity as the primary target and shop-floor inventory as the secondary target.
Research limitations/implications:
Data for this study has been collected from a simulation study, resembling SimCar, a lab- based manufacturing environment. More case-study research is required to test the approach in large-scale industrial applications. A closer look at the mutation strength σ, a key parameter in ES, is required to define a strategy for selecting the “best” σ for a certain situation. Furthermore, in essence, the self-adaptive approach is still reactive. For a proactive approach, it would be necessary to establish deep-learning algorithms on extensive data sets (including, but not limited to, availability and utilization of transportation and picking capacity) collected from the manufacturing environment.
Smart Logistics as a Digital Ecosystem: An Integrative Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
(2021)
Purpose of this paper:
Smart logistics is a popular topic these days, connecting logistics to the overarching trend of the “smart factory” or “Industry 4.0”. However, despite its attractiveness and suggested practical value, it seems to be still (1) limited to isolated applications in industry and (2) insufficiently conceptualized in academic research. The purpose of this paper is to develop a consistent conceptual framework for smart logistics that can be used to design integrated smart logistics solutions.
Design/methodology/approach:
Applying the theory lens of the digital ecosystem, we use an integrative literature review to identify and put into a consistent perspective the various conceptual elements of smart logistics suggested in extant research. We analyze these elements along three dimensions according to the main categories of digital ecosystems: (1) digital species (the smart objects in logistics), (2) space (the processes in which these smart objects are relevant), and (3) domain (the objectives these smart objects pursue). We classify the smart objects as intelligent products, while for the process dimension we make use of the building blocks (production, storage, and transportation) of the self-similar architecture of supply chains. The categories for the objective dimension are synthesized from the papers selected for the integrative literature review.
Findings:
The published research on smart logistics has already produced a set of smart objects in logistics. However, our analysis reveals that – beyond a common ground with respect to the underlying ubiquitous technologies of smart logistics – the conceptualization of the objects’ smartness, i.e. which objectives they autonomously pursue, is much less consistent. Our study shows that digital ecosystems are a promising approach to a consistent conceptualization of smart logistics.
Value:
Few papers systematically analyze the extant research on smart logistics, but they are either limited to a small subset of the supply chain, the underlying ubiquitous technologies or discuss a specific focus like the contribution of smart logistics to fulfilling individualized customer demands. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to integrate the extant literature into a consistent conceptual framework for smart logistics.
Research limitations/implications:
The conceptual framework still needs to be validated through discussions with industry experts and case studies.
Purpose of this paper:
Despite the importance of logistics innovation, not many academic papers discuss this topic in detail, even less consider the contents of logistics innovation. Other perspectives, e. g. organizational structure and process management, have attracted much more attention in logistics innovation research. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of logistics innovation from a content perspective.
Design/methodology/approach:
We have conducted a case study of the German Logistics Award (GLA), an innovation award, for which BVL, the German Association of Logistics Professionals, invites project proposals on an annual basis. In our study, we followed an interpretivist and social constructivist approach using two streams of data (1) archival data for the award-winning projects for the five years from 2015 to 2019 and (2) in-depth interviews with the BVL management as well as members of the GLA jury. Using MaxQDA, we applied Qualitative Content Analysis to the data to investigate what constitutes logistics innovation.
Findings:
Logistics innovation is rarely the lead implementation of groundbreaking new technologies in the field of logistics but is perceived as architectural innovations based on novel reconfigurations of existing technology. Although technology, and especially technology facilitating the digital transformation, is a central aspect of logistics innovation, the key innovation lies in delivering consistency, i.e. a holistic integration approach in terms of both reach (across departments and/or supply chain partners) and depth (tying together physical processes and information flow as well as harmonizing automation and human
work, etc.).
Value:
Our study contributes to the understanding of logistics innovation from a content perspective. It showcases the role of logistics as a key driver of corporate change and highlights the importance of consistency for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.
Research limitations/implications:
Logistics innovation as it is visible in the GLA-winning projects is socially constructed by the GLA jury. Further research should investigate whether the jury’s concept of logistics innovation resonates with the industry on a broader scale. An empirical survey of logistics executives is required to better understand if striving for consistency, as our study suggests, is driving the innovation cycle in logistics
Perceived abusive supervision implies detrimental human consequences and negative performance effects. However, paradoxically, there are numerous anecdotal reports on managers who appear to deliberately mistreat most of their subordinates in an effort to enhance work group performance, preferring abusive methods of influence over more constructive motivational approaches. Because destructive leadership theory does not provide a compelling explanation for this perplexing phenomenon, I conducted an inductive, longitudinal case study at the executive level of a large corporation to explore antecedents of performance-oriented abusive supervisory behavior. The analysis of rich, contextualized data reveals that empathic incompetence of superiors to consider the emotions, goals, and limitations of inferiors can imply a belief in the efficacy of harsh management tactics, resulting in abrasive supervisory conduct and an abusive supervision climate collectively perceived by subalterns. The findings suggest social dominance orientation (SDO) of upper-level managers to moderate these relationships through cognitive activation of abusive supervisory values.
Unternehmen sind im digitalen Wandel rapiden Veränderungen ausgesetzt. Teams benötigen in dieser Komplexität vielfältige Kompetenzen, die sie durch „Hands-on“- Erfahrungen der LEGO® Serious Play®-Methode (LSP®) zum gegenseitigen Nutzen einsetzen können. Für das Team des Moduls PIONIER (BMBF-Förderkennzeichen 01PL17019) war die variable und niederschwellige Anwendbarkeit von LSP Anlass, während verschiedenster Veranstaltungen und Lehrformate eine zielorientierte Verkettung einzelner Methoden vorzunehmen. So konnten mit der Adaption von LEGO® Serious Play®, Storytelling und Pretotyping, angepasst an die jeweilige Zielgruppe und Zweck der Formate, erlebbare Maßnahmen durchgeführt werden, die von allen Teilnehmenden als sehr positiv bewertet wurden. Da während des verbalen und nonverbalen Kommunikationsprozesses nicht nur die auditive und visuelle , sondern auch die kinästhetische Wahrnehmung der Teilnehmenden stimuliert wurden, erzeugte dies eine nachhaltige Wirkung auf das Teambuilding, die über den Rahmen der Veranstaltungen hinaus sichtbar wurde.
In der Region Mainfranken ist ein Rückgang der Gründungszahlen zu beobachten. Ein Ansatz, um dieser Entwicklung idealerweise entgegenzuwirken, sind die thematische Sensibilisierung und Erhöhung von Innovationspotenzialen bei Studierenden sowie der Ausbau von hochschulübergreifenden Netzwerkstrukturen. Dafür wurden in dem vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) geförderten Projekt „PIONIER“ (Förderkennzeichen 01PL17019) kompetenzbasierte Lehrmodule entwickelt, bei denen Studierende zielgerichtet bei ihrer Kompetenzentwicklung und Formung der Gründerpersönlichkeit unterstützt werden. Das Kompetenzprofil von Lehmann & Wilke (2019) wurde ergänzt und diente als Grundlage für die neu entwickelten agilen Lehrformate. Aus dem Projekt resultieren das GRÜNDUNGS:portfolio, das die erbrachten Leistungen und durchlaufenen Module zugänglich macht, sowie der interaktive GRÜNDUNGS:leitfaden als Unterstützungswerkzeug. Die Maßnahmen werden von Expertinnen und Experten aus hochschulinternen Abteilungen, Städten und Kommunen sowie Start-ups und Unternehmenspartnerinnen und Unternehmenspartnern begleitet, um den Studierenden entsprechende Unterstützungsstrukturen mittels Beratung, Coaching und Erfahrungsaustausch zukommen zu lassen. Ziel dieses ganzheitlichen Ansatzes ist einerseits, das Thema Gründertum bekannter, attraktiver und nahbarer zu machen, andererseits nachhaltige Angebote für Studierende zu schaffen, um der regional rückläufigen Gründerquote entgegenzuwirken. Gleichzeitig verfolgt das Vorhaben eine Erhöhung des Praxisbezugs von Forschung und Lehre sowie die Erhöhung der Innovationsfähigkeit von Studierenden. Somit werden die Studierenden zum Gründen animiert und auch für den schnelllebigen und anspruchsvollen Arbeitsmarkt qualifiziert.
C7. 4 Application of Laser Line Scanners for Quality Control during Selective Laser Melting (SLM)
(2021)
Currently, many sources predict increasing use of AR technology in the industrial environment. The task of immersive productive assistance systems is to provide information contextually to the industrial user. Therefore, it is essential to explore the factors and effects that influence the visibility and the corresponding quality of this information. Caused by the technical limitations of additive display technology and application conditions, this new approach has evaluated the immersive visibility of Landolt Rings in various greyscales against ambient illuminance levels on different industrial-like surfaces, coupled with and without a white virtual background. For this purpose, an empirical study in a within-subjects-design with full factorial experimental design (n=23) was conducted on Microsoft HoloLens 2 hardware. The mean values of the main effects indicate that visibility is significantly affected by ambient illuminance (best results at lower level), greyscale (best results at middle level) and virtual background (best results with background). In contrast, the choice of surface is shown to have no statistically significant effect on visibility, however it affects the response time. Additionally, cross-interactions of variables were analyzed and lead to a design recommendation for immersive industrial applications.
Although the increasing use of automation in industry, manual assembly stations are still common and, in some situations, even inevitable. Current practice in manual assembly lines is to balance them using the takt-time of each workstation and harmonize it. However, this approach mostly does not include ergonomic aspects and thus it may lead to workforce musculoskeletal disorders, extended leaves, and demotivation. This paper presents a holistic human-centric optimization method for line balancing using a novel indicator ̶ the ErgoTakt. ErgoTakt improves the legacy takt-time and helps to find an optimum between the ergonomic evaluation of an assembly station and its balance in time. The authors used a custom version of the ErgoSentinel Software and a Microsoft Kinect depth camera to perform online and real-time ergonomic assessment. An optimization algorithm is developed to find the best-fitting solution by minimizing a function of the ergonomic RULA-value and the cycle time of each assembly workstation with respect to the worker's ability. The paper presents the concept, the system-setup and preliminary evaluation of an assembly scenario. The results demonstrate that the new approach is feasible and able to optimize an entire manual assembly process chain in terms of both, economic aspects of a well-balanced production line as well as the ergonomic issue of long term human healthy work.
In subtractive manufacturing, process monitoring systems are used to observe the manufacturing process, to predict maintenance actions and to suggest process optimizations. One challenge, however, is that the observable signals are influenced not only by the degradation of the cutting tool, but also by deviations in machinability among material batches. Thus it is necessary to first predict the respective material batch before making maintenance decisions. In this study, an approach is shown for batch-aware tool condition monitoring using feature extraction and unsupervised learning to analyze high-frequency control data in order to detect clusters of materials with different machinability, and subsequently optimize the respective manufacturing process. This approach is validated using cutting experiments and implemented as an edge framework.
First time right is one major goal in powder based 3D metal printing. Reaching this goal is driven by reducing life cycle costs for quality measures, to minimize scrap rate and to increase productivity under optimal resource efficiency. Therefore, monitoring the state of the powder bed for each printed layer is state of the art in selective laser melting. In the most modern approaches the quality monitoring is done by computer vision systems working with an interference on trained neural networks with images taken after exposure and after recoating. There are two drawbacks of this monitoring method: First, the sensor signals - the image of the powder bed - give no direct height information. Second, the application of this method needs to be trained and labeled with reference images for several cases. The novel approach presented in this paper uses a laser line scanner attached to the recoating machine. With this new concept, a direct threshold measure can be applied during the recoating process to detect deviations in height level without prior knowledge. The evaluation can be done online during recoating and feedback to the controller to monitor each individual layer. Hence, in case of deviations the location in the printing plane is an inherent measurement and will be used to decide which severity of error is reported. The signal is used to control the process, either by starting the recoating process again or stopping the printing process. With this approach, the sources of error for each layer can be evaluated with deep information to evaluate the cause of the error. This allows a reduction of failure in the future, which saves material costs, reduces running time of the machine life cycle phase in serial production and results in less rework for manufactured parts. Also a shorter throughput time per print job results, which means that the employee can spent more time to other print jobs and making efficient use of the employee’s work force. In summary, this novel approach will not only reduce material costs but also operating costs and thus optimize the entire life cycle cost structure. The paper presents a first feasibility and application of the described approach for test workpieces in comparison to conventional monitoring systems on an EOS M290 machine.