Improving Supply Chain Strategies towards Mitigating the Effect of Crude Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry: A Case Study of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)

Generically, SCM may be said to include all activities carried out to ensure proper functioning of the supply chain. The activities included in proper management of a supply chain broadly include logistics activities, planning and control of the flow of information and materials in a firm, management of relationships with other organizations and government intervention, However, crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism are established products supply chain disruptors in Nigeria which are rendering the task of running an efficient petroleum supply chain onerous. This paper aims to establish the importance of effective supply chain strategies for companies in the oil and gas industry with special focus on the Nigerian oil and gas sector and the strategies by which the state oil and gas corporation in this sector may mitigate disruptions to its supply chain. This study investigates the enhancement of supply chain strategies towards meeting the challenge of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, using the Nigerian National Corporation (NNPC) as a case study. Based on this study, data were collected from two sources: A summary of incident reports obtained from NNPC and an interview with personnel in the PPMC Department. Incident report refers to a report produced when accidents such as equipment failure, injury, loss of life, or fire occur at the work site. Content analysis is utilized to evaluate data obtained from interview responses, CBN financial stability reports, NDIC annual reports, circulars, banking supervision reports and implementation guidelines. The study found out that NNPC should endeavor to sustain its value chain and ward of pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves by engaging in community partnership, detailing security outfits to ensure its pipelines’ right of way and bridging. Concluded that the oil supply chain of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has been plagued by disruptions in the form of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism which has had debilitating effects on its value.

Application of Deep Learning to Production Forecasting in Intelligent Agricultural Product Supply Chain

Production prediction is an important factor influencing the realization of an intelligent agricultural supply chain.In an Internet of Things(IoT)environment,accurate yield prediction is one of the prerequisites for achieving an efficient response in an intelligent agricultural supply chain.As an example,this study applied a conventional prediction method and deep learning prediction model to predict the yield of a characteristic regional fruit(the Shatian pomelo)in a comparative study.The root means square error(RMSE)values of regression analysis,exponential smoothing,grey prediction,grey neural network,support vector regression(SVR),and long short-term memory(LSTM)neural network methods were 53.715,6.707,18.440,1.580,and 1.436,respectively.Among these,the mean square error(MSE)values of the grey neural network,SVR,and LSTM neural network methods were 2.4979,31.652,and 2.0618,respectively;and theirRvalues were 0.99905,0.94,and 0.94501,respectively.The results demonstrated that the RMSE of the deep learning model is generally lower than that of a traditional prediction model,and the prediction results are more accurate.The prediction performance of the grey neural network was shown to be superior to that of SVR,and LSTM neural network,based on the comparison of parameters.

Optimal production lot sizing model in a supply chain with periodically fixed demand considering learning effect

This paper presents an optimal production model for manufacturer in a supply chain with a fixed demand at a fixed interval with respect to the learning effect on production capacity. An algorithm is employed to find the optimal delay time for production and production time sequentially. It is found that the optimal delay time for production and the production time are not static, but dynamic and variant with time. It is important for a manufacturer to schedule the production so as to prevent facilities and workers from idling.

Collaborative production planning between supply chain partners by Lagrangian relaxation

A collaborative planning framework based on the Lagrangian Relaxation was developed to coordinate and optimize the production planning of independent partners in multiple tier supply chains. Linking constraints and dependent demand constraints were added to the monolithic Multi-Level, multi-item Capacitated Lot Sizing Problem (MLCLSP). MLCLSP was Lagrangian relaxed and decomposed into facility-separable subproblems. Surrogate gradient algorithm was used to update Lagrangian multipliers, which coordinate decentralized decisions of the facilities. Production planning of independent partners could be appropriately coordinated and optimized by this framework without intruding their decisionities and private information. Experimental results show that the proposed coordination mechanism and procedure come close to optimal results as obtained by central coordination.

DISRUPTION MANAGEMENT FOR SUPPLY CHAIN COORDINATION WITH EXPONENTIAL DEMAND FUNCTION

The coordination problem of a supply chain comprising one supplier and one retailer under market demand disruption is studied in this article. A novel exponential demand function is adopted, and the penalty cost is introduced explicitly to capture the deviation production cost caused by the market demand disruption. The optimal strategies are obtained for different disruption scale under the centralized mode. For the decentralized mode, it is proved that the supply chain can be fully coordinated by adjusting the price discount policy appropriately when disruption occurs. Furthermore, the authors point out that similar results can be established for more general demand functions that represent different market circumstances if certain assumptions are satisfied.

Altruism and Pricing Strategy in Dual-Channel Supply Chains

With the development of behavioral operational management, human behavior such as altruism, fairness and trust has received considerable attention. This paper studies the effect of altruism on retailer’s and manufacturer’s pricing strategy in two classic dual-channel supply chains by presenting Stackelberg game models. The analysis shows that the player’s altruism preference strongly affects their pricing strategies. The more altruistic one player is, the more profits the other player obtains. Moreover, the effect of manufacturer’s altruistic preference is larger than that of retailer’s. In addition, online price is always lower than offline price in dual-channel supply chain, which still holds true considering altruism. The results also reveal that the product web-fit has significant effect on the player’s optimal pricing strategies. The more compatible with online market the product is, the lower the retail price is set, and the more profit the manufacturer obtains whereas the less the retailer gets.

On Construction of Supply Chain System for China's Modern Agricultural Products

In view of drawbacks in supply chain of China's traditional agricultural products,this paper proposed building supply chain system for modern agricultural products: taking informationization as basis,channel system as core,organization system as support,and service system and safety system as guarantee,to promote high efficient operation of the supply chain system. The channel system stresses alliance and integration of channel system,informationization of channel management,and terminalization of channel operation; the organization system stresses organization,large scale,group,and brand of participant entities; service system stresses construction of service means,service platform,and operation mechanism; safety system stresses building quality safety based agricultural product supply chain management mode. In order to ensure high efficient operation of supply chain for modern agricultural products,it is required to straighten out supply chain management system,actively cultivate core enterprises of supply chain,strengthen information construction of supply chain,select suitable supply chain mode,and improve benefit allocation mechanism.

Analysis of Supply Chain Model of Agricultural Products and Quality Safety——A Case Study of Heilongjiang Province

This paper analyses the supply chain models of four types of agricultural products,namely fruits and vegetables,poultry,aquatic products and dairy,and the food safety problems arising from the links of supply chain.In view of different models,corresponding suggestions are put forward to ensure the quality safety of agricultural products in Heilongjiang Province.

Agricultural Supply Chain Traceability System Based on Multi-Agent System

In order to overcome defects in existing ASCTS(Agricultural Supply Chain Traceability System,a new traceability system based on Multi-Agent System(MAS) is put forward.By qualitative method,I analyze problems of application of Agent technology in tracing quality of agricultural products.Physical model is built for this system and structure of traceability system is determined.Finally,algorithm is presented for major entities.From analysis of algorithm,it is proved that this system has some reference value in improving breadth and depth of product traceability.

SWOT Analysis of Agricultural Producers in the Supply Chain of Chinese Agro-products

On the basis of defining the producers in the supply chain of agricultural products,the SWOT analysis is adopted to analyze the advantages,disadvantages,opportunities and threats of producers in the supply chain of Chinese agricultural products.The paper analyzes the advantages of producers in the supply chain of agricultural products from three aspects including land resources,technology level of producers and input costs.The disadvantages of producers in the supply chain of agricultural products are analyzed from three aspects including scale level,mechanization and technology level and profit level.The opportunities of producers in the supply chain of agricultural products are analyzed from the aspects of laws,policies,capitals and technologies.The threats confronted by the producers in the supply chain of agricultural products are analyzed from foreign producers,negotiation control of supply chain of agricultural chain,environment protection and quality safety standard.On the basis of the analysis,the relevant suggestions on facilitating the interests of producers in the supply chain of Chinese agricultural products are put forward,including fully displaying the advantages of land resources;improving the knowledge and technology level of supply chain of agricultural production;establishing the alliances of producers of agricultural products to expand production scale;improving the quality of agricultural products to satisfy the relevant safety quality standard and environmental protection standard.

Researches on Risk Evaluation of Green Agro-product Closed Supply Chain

Closed supply chain is a superior form of management model of chain supply and an effective means of improving the modernization of agro-product circulation. Based on the research results of the current literatures on supply chain risk and agro-product supply chain, related subjects of the agro-product closed supply chain involving production, management and consumption are studied and analyzed and the primary risking factors in the supply chain system are classified as environmental risk, system risk, information risk, management risk and quality risk. Risk of agro-product closed supply chain is evaluated by using the method of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation and the values are acquired. The result shows that risk of agro-product closed supply chain is moderate with relatively high risk, which basically accords with the present actual situations. It can be seen from the index weights of various levels that the key first-level indices influencing the risks are system risk, information risk, quality and safety risk and the key second-level are the coordinating and controlling ability of core enterprises, the implementation of information traceability and the construction of quality safety system. Therefore, risk of agro-product closed supply chain should be reduced by taking prevention and controlling measures mainly from these aspects.

Construction of Network Management Information System of Agricultural Products Supply Chain Based on 3PLs

The necessity to construct the network management information system of 3PLs agricultural supply chain is analyzed,showing that 3PLs can improve the overall competitive advantage of agricultural supply chain.3PLs changes the homogeneity management into specialized management of logistics service and achieves the alliance of the subjects at different nodes of agricultural products supply chain.Network management information system structure of agricultural products supply chain based on 3PLs is constructed,including the four layers (the network communication layer,the hardware and software environment layer,the database layer,and the application layer) and 7 function modules (centralized control,transportation process management,material and vehicle scheduling,customer relationship,storage management,customer inquiry,and financial management).Framework for the network management information system of agricultural products supply chain based on 3PLs is put forward.The management of 3PLs mainly includes purchasing management,supplier relationship management,planning management,customer relationship management,storage management and distribution management.Thus,a management system of internal and external integrated agricultural enterprises is obtained.The network management information system of agricultural products supply chain based on 3PLs has realized the effective sharing of enterprise information of agricultural products supply chain at different nodes,establishing a long-term partnership revolving around the 3PLs core enterprise,as well as a supply chain with stable relationship based on the supply chain network system,so as to improve the circulation efficiency of agricultural products,and to explore the sales market for agricultural products.

Research on Integrated Green Supply Chain Management

On the basis of the analyzing product life cycle and value chain management in green supply chain,integrated green supply chain is put forward and constructed which involve lean production,agile manufacturing and green supply chain. This integrated structure provides an effective method for resolving some questions such as cost,market,environment,etc. in enterprise. A case study is presented at the end of paper to demonstrate how integrated supply chain implemented successfully in enterprise.

Risk Assessment of Agricultural Products Supply-Chain Finance Based on D-S Theory

Agricultural products supply-chain finance, as one of the solutions to the issue of “capital problems” of agriculture, countryside and farmers, has proposed a kind of characteristics model to assess the risk of agricultural production, processing and marketing, which can improve the issue of farmers and enterprises lacking of funds. This model is proposed on the basis of uncertain information processing method of D-S theory and its data combination rules, combined with the “discount rate” correction model, and it includes a risk assessment index system of agricultural products supply-chain finance, fully considering the five aspects of production, processing, marketing, cooperation of supply chain and collateral. At last, a taro supply chain is taken for example. And the risk assessment of its supply-chain finance based on this model has been discussed in detail. And the result has proved that the model and its algorithm are practical and feasible.

Analysis on construction of the Supply Chain and Brand of Guangxi Characteristic Economic Agricultural Products——A Case Study of Guilin,China

Firstly,it is briefly introduced that Guangxi characteristic economic agricultural products are currently characterized by typical regional features and strong competitiveness.Then,Guilin is taken as an example,the problems existing in constructing the supply chain and brand of Guilin characteristic economic agricultural products are pointed out after the analysis of its current situations,the problems include weak agricultural production infrastructure,weak deep products processing capacity,low modernization level of storage and transportation as well as short of fixed marketing channels;meanwhile,brand construction faces the problems of little top brands and few differentiated products.Finally,some measures are proposed to solve these problems from the perspectives of establishing the management idea of agricultural products supply chain and enhancing the awareness to protect agricultural products brand,it is also suggested that these measures be extended to the whole Guangxi autonomous region in order to explore the way of the development of Guangxi characteristic agriculture.

Study on Inventory of Supply Chain of Supermarket-oriented Agricultural Products

Using principle and method of the system dynamics,this paper takes a qualitative analysis on the inventory of supply chain of supermarket-oriented agricultural products,and compares with the supply chain of wholesale-oriented agricultural products. Two inventory models are established for these two different modes of supply chain. Through simulation of two models in the case of random demand and quantitative analysis of results,it is found that the inventory of supply chain of supermarket-oriented agricultural products has smaller fluctuation than that of wholesaler-oriented agricultural products. Besides,both the inventory level and bullwhip effect of above chain are lowered.

Improving the Performance of Urban Waste Management Systems in the Context of a Closed-Loop Supply Chain

The saving of non-renewable energies, as well as the reduction of emissions into the environment, are two crucial objectives of industrial production. The recovery of post-consumer products associated with the use of end-of-life products is part of a context of optimization of these objectives. This recovery maximizes the use of resources from end-of-life products in a circular logic while recording the environmental footprint. This study considers a recycling strategy adapted to the need and urgency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by global warming. The proposed model aims to optimize the profits of the circular manufacturing strategies while minimizing operational costs (collection, sorting, recycling), transport, GHG emissions and recycling. In this paper, a compromise between the gains of CM and the costs associated with it was studied. The robustness of the designed model was tested using a case study based on real-world scenarios. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to study the impact of the emission cost on the overall objective, considering the two options currently offered to industries. The obtained results support companies to take the ecological aspect into account and integrate sustainable development into their strategic axes for their logistics supply chains.

Construction of Regional Grain Industry Chain and Supply Chain in Yunnan Province

As a southwestern border province of China,Yunnan is featured by the geographical advantage of proximity to the Indo-China Peninsula which is known as World Rice Warehouse,and its capital and technology are ahead of the neighboring countries of China.Therefore,to enhance its support capability in consolidating and improving the national food security strategy,Yunnan should further develop its comparative advantages by building the regional food industry chain and supply chain depending on the province's grain system of production,processing,storage and transportation,as well as its agricultural economic and trade cooperation platforms and channels with the neighboring countries of China.In this study,comparative analysis and related methods were used to systematically analyze the scale of grain production in Yunnan,the proportion of its grain production to the national total amount,the transition of its grain variety structure and the characteristics of its food security system,as well as the grain export trade of the 6 countries in the Indo-China Peninsula from 2010 to 2019.Then,the problems in grain production in Yunnan were clarified,such as the decrease of grain ration production capacity,the decline of comparative benefits of grain production and the insufficient support for agricultural"going global"strategy.Finally,a series of countermeasures were put forward,including further implementing the strategy of"reserving grain in land and technology"to increase Yunnan's production capacity of grain,focusing on agricultural products storage and transportation system to improve the ability to obtain grain from abroad,expanding the border processing and logistics industry,optimizing the policy of agricultural products'import and export,and etc.

A Review of Research on Risk Assessment of Fresh Agricultural Product Supply Chain

With the establishment of a well-off society in an all-round way,Chinese residents have put forward higher requirements for the quality and safety of fresh agricultural products.In recent years,domestic and foreign academic circles have also paid more and more attention to the risk of fresh agricultural product supply chain.This article collects and sorts out the research findings of domestic and foreign scholars on the risk assessment of fresh agricultural product supply chain in recent years,and summarizes and discusses from three aspects:supply chain risk factors,risk assessment indicator selection,and risk assessment methods.It is intended to provide a reference for future new research ideas and research perspectives.

Medical Products Supply Chain and Its Information System Design

This paper introduces the supply mode of medical products, and analyzes the development trend of medical products supply enterprise in China. From the aspects of basic management, resource integration and database design, we put forward the design concept of the informationization of the supply chain system of medical products in China. The information system can ensure the precision and rationality of the supply of medical products, and provide high-quality services and service efficiency, and meet the different needs of different customers.