This paper examines the competences that the employers in the logistics and supply chain management (SCM) field require most from employees in the Republic of Serbia. To reveal these competences, we conducted the study of online advertisements of logistics and SCM jobs published in the renowned national job portal Infostud. We used a deductive content analysis and related quantitative indicators to process and analyse the data. The results, among other conclusions, indicate the most required professional and fundamental competences from the logistics and supply chain managers in the Republic of Serbia. When the results of this study are compared with several earlier studies done in the US, the Great Britain and Germany, some similarities between these empirically obtained results are found. Several recommendations for educators that intend to improve study programmes and plans in the field of logistics and SCM are also offered. The results of this study can be valuable to interested educators, to individuals who are interested in logistics and supply chain career development, to human resource managers who are recruiting candidates for these jobs, and to others interested parties.

The material requirements planning (MRP) is a traditional topic in operations management and industrial engineering education. This paper presents an application of custom-made selection procedure of MRP educational software. The results of evaluation from the three generations of students showed that the selected MRP educational software was very useful in acquiring advanced students' MRP skills. ß 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:682-693, 2015; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21641

This article presents a novel shortest path algorithm for connected networks with nonnegative edge weights. The worst case running time of the single source shortest path version of the algorithm is O(max(m, ϵtrue^vs)) where m is the number of edges of the input network and ϵtrue^vs is the normalized eccentricity of the source vertex vs. The pseudo‐polynomial nature of the time complexity is overcome with a simple speed‐up technique. The proposed approach can be implemented on a wide class of shortest path problems. Approximate solutions can be easily maintained in the preprocessing phase. An experimental efficiency analysis shows that the proposed approach outperforms existing algorithms in total computing time. The proposed algorithm is efficient for all classes of networks and particularly for networks with small diameter.

The article, A novel pseudo‐polynomial approach for shortest paths problems, by Milos Danilovic, Dragan Vasiljevic, Biljana Cvetic, published July 14, 2020 in Networks: An International Journal, has been retracted by agreement between all the authors, the journal co‐Editors, and the Publisher, in response to extensive errors which were introduced during the production process. A corrected version of the article will be linked to the following DOI when published: https://doi.org/10.1002/net.21966

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the application of lean approach in supply chain can act and influence the improvement of performances of the overall supply chain, as well as of all its participants. Some of the benefits which can be achieved by applying lean tools, methods and techniques, with minimal required investment, in supply chain are: reduced wastes, reduced costs, improved quality, faster delivery, and consequently increased supply chain profitability. In this paper, the comparison of traditional and lean supply chain is done according to different derived characteristics. The identification of comparative characteristics is done by desk research in combination with conversational research. The paper can serve as a basis for transforming existing supply chain into a lean supply chain.

The aim of this paper is to design a conceptual framework of e-maintenance based on a hybrid system approach, and to analyse its characteristics and the effects of the system on maintenance and business performances. The Interactive Electronic Technical Manual is recognized as an effective e-learning tool and the main maintenance-related component of the framework. The major benefits of the developed framework are an automated process of data entry, maintenance of data consistency, decreased data redundancy, and customised reporting. The proposed conceptual framework should be suitable for maintenance and logistics engineers who intend to develop e-maintenance in industrial sites. OPSOMMINGDie doelwit van hierdie artikel is om 'n konseptuele raamwerk vir e-instandhouding gebaseer op 'n hibriede stelselbenadering te ontwerp. Daarna word die eienskape van die stelsel ontleed asook die effek daarvan op instandhouding en ondernemingsprestasie. Die interaktiewe elektroniese tegniese handleiding is 'n erkende hulpmiddel e-leerhulpmiddel. Die belangrikste voordele van die ontwikkelde raamwerk behels 'n geoutomatiseerde proses vir datavaslegging, die byhou van data, verminderde data-oortolligheid en doelgemaakte verslagdoening. Die voorgestelde konseptuele raamwerk is toepaslik vir instandhoudings-en logistieke ingenieurs wat e-instandhouding wil ontwikkel vir industriële toepassings.

This paper focuses on supply chain practices before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 on the sup­ply, demand, and logistical side are thoroughly explained and presented. The paper addresses how the pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities and de­ficiencies of the lean, JIT global supply chain model. This paper also presents short- and long-term strategies that companies have taken to mitigate sup­ply chain disruptions. As a contribution to the paper, results from the re­search on COVID-19 impacts on the Serbian economy and business, that the Serbian Chamber of Commerce has conducted, are shown. The paper aims to highlight the most important supply chain measures and strategies need­ed to stay competitive during any pandemic.

Manufacturing cell formation is the first and foremost issue in designing cellular manufacturing system. The main objective in the cell formation problem is to cluster machines into machine cells and parts into part families so that the minimum of both intercell and intracell flows will be achieved. The purpose of this paper is to enhance solving the cell formation problem with the help of e-Learning tools in the educational environment. An efficient method and supporting tool for solving manufacturing cell formation problem are proposed. Therefore, the original similarity coefficient-based heuristic (SCBH) algorithm for solving the cell formation problem is presented. It incorporates the pure combinatorial optimization models for maximization the sum of similarity coefficients between machine/part pairs. Additionally, the LAYOUT tool is offered as a supporting tool for the SCBH. A comparative case study is conducted to validate the performance of the proposed SCBH algorithm and LAYOUT tool, and the results showed that their implementation is significant for reducing both intercell and intracell flows. The results of this work can be helpful for future or existing practitioners to become the real-world cell formation problem solvers.