This paper reviews the applications of Firefly Algorithm (FA) in various domain of optimization problem. Optimization is a process of determining the best solution to make something as functional and effective as possible by minimizing or maximizing the parameters involved in the problems. Several categories of optimization problem such as discrete, chaotic, multi-objective and many more are addressed by inspiring the behavior of fireflies as mentioned in the literatures. Literatures found that FA was mostly applied by researchers to solve the optimization problems in Computer Science and Engineering domain. Some of them are enhanced or hybridized with other techniques to discover better performance. In addition, literatures found that most of the cases that used FA technique have outperformed compare to other metaheuristic algorithms.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to evaluate inventory management in the private healthcare sector in Malaysia, with a particular focus on the distribution of medicines from a wholesaler to clinics. Currently, there are issues with service levels to clinics that need addressing. Design/methodology/approach -The paper adopts a case study approach, with data collected through process mapping, interviews and data analysis. Data flow diagrams are used to visualise the organization's supply chain current and future process. Interviews are used to identify the main supply chain issues, with triangulation of these opinions through data analysis. Findings -The findings identify two main issues within the case study company -urgent orders and stock availability at the wholesaler. From this, a future state design of the supply chain is proposed, based around vendor-managed inventory. Barriers to achieving this are also identified, including consideration of current supply chain management capabilities in Malaysia.Research limitations/implications -Only a single case study supply chain is studied, although two echelons are investigated. While this may limit the generalisation of the findings, there is value in demonstrating the benefits modern supply chain management techniques can bring to developing world healthcare supply chains. Practical implications -The paper shows that modern supply chain management techniques can bring benefits to healthcare supply chains in developing countries. Originality/value -The value of the paper arises from providing a detailed analysis of a healthcare supply chain in the developing world. There have been only a small number of other studies published in the literature.
A R T I C L E I N F O In recent years, besides high productivity of the manufacturing process, quality issues (including safety requirements and cost efficiency) have both become major market drivers. In order to meet all the above objectives, so as to achieve competitive advantages, a number of quality techniques need to be implemented within the manufacturing process. Starting from the general manufacturing model and presenting a supply-chain philosophy, this paper provides an overview of the quality tools and methods such as quality techniques and links to manufacturing process quality and manufacturing cost-effectiveness; it focuses on manufacturing processes and perceived quality problems associated with the supplier's quality issues. Additionally, the impact of the component supplier on the overall quality of the final product needs to be distinguished from the impact of the manufacturing process. Based on the model of the general manufacturing process the authors propose methods of effective deployment for the most common quality methods and tools within different manufacturing areas. In the discussion the authors propose certain quality techniques to improve the key performance indicators (KPI) within the manufacturing process. References [1] Tang, D. (2005). Partnership development between product customer and tool and die supplier,
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