The effect of a Make-To-Order (MTO) production strategy on the applicability and impact of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is investigated through a mixed method approach comprised of an exploratory and explanatory survey followed by three case studies. Data on MakeTo-Stock (MTS) companies is also collected as a basis for comparison. The exploratory data demonstrates, for example, that MTO adopters of ERP found the system selection process more difficult than MTS adopters. Meanwhile, a key reason why some MTO companies have not adopted ERP is that it is perceived as unsuitable. The explanatory data is used to test a series of hypotheses on the fit between decision support requirements, ERP functionality, and company performance. In general, a poor fit between the decision support requirements of MTO companies and ERP functionality is identified, although certain modules can lead to performance improvements -most notably for Customer Enquiry Management (CEM). MTS companies make more use of planning tools within ERP systems, and it is concluded that production strategy is an important contextual factor affecting both applicability and impact. Follow-up cases with two MTO adopters and one MTO nonadopter develop a deeper understanding of the survey results. For example, in one adoption case, a system was rented to minimise the consequences of making a poor selection decision. Future research could explore how more MTO-specific planning concepts can be embedded within ERP systems to improve alignment.
A frequently voiced critique is that due to lower yields on organically managed farmlands, one cannot feed a country using organic agriculture. In this paper, we aim to mathematically disprove this claim by developing a linear programming model and produce a detailed agriculture plan for Turkey sufficient to feed her population with a 2400 kcal daily menu on average, solely comprising of organic foods. The model uses information about population sizes and food needs of 81 cities in Turkey, and yields of 120 food, feed, forage crops, and four animal products. Intensive and extensive livestock production methods as well as food transportation between cities has been incorporated into the model. The resulting problem with 950 thousand variables and 40 thousand constraints can be solved with an optimization package in under a minute. Results, prescribing how many acres of each crop should be grown in each city, indicate that to feed the country fully on organic produce, 63% of the arable land suffices, yielding 8.9 million hectares of unused land where further organic foods could be grown for export or aid. We also run the model under different scenarios: fully vegetarian diet, omnivore model, different transportation structures, drought conditions and a limit on fruit trees. With this work, we have shown that it is possible to feed the whole population of Turkey with an agricultural practice that is not harmful to human health, soil, water and air; respects biological cycles and reduces food miles and fossil fuel consumption, thus contributing to sustainability and fighting climate change. We tested preliminary scenarios to understand the robustness of organic agriculture in the face of extreme weather events. The proposed model can also be applied to other countries when appropriate data are used.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.