Volume 30 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Nowadays, the competitive, fast-moving business environment has permanently transformed the supply chain and the management of its functions. Convinced of new opportunities offered by the global economy, Morocco has opted for a new industrial strategy based on Supply chain management practices aimed at improving the performance and making the country an attractive space for global value chains. The main aims of this paper are to evaluate the literature on the different definitions, approaches, trends and practices of the supply chain management, and presents results of a semi-directive qualitative study conducted in Morocco in order to obtain a deeper understanding of the supply chain management practices implemented in the Moroccan context. The results indicate that the practices of companies based in Morocco are highly linked to the management of the supplier and customer relationship and internal integration among the internal functions of the firms.

Nowadays innovations became the most important element of the country’s economic development, since they provide a qualitative increase in the efficiency of processes or end production demanded by the market. In this article, the innovation of processes, viz. the processes of logistic management of the production-economic organization is proposed. Innovations in logistics management, as a direction of logistics activity improvement provide the development of new tools (methods, criteria, indices) in methodological logistics’ groundwork, as well as improving the mechanism for the formation and functioning of micro- and macro-logistic systems. The aim of the research is to develop scientific and methodological recommendations for the application of logistics management innovations that involve designing the logistics system through the improvement of the enterprise’s organizational structure as an element of the economic macro environment. Logistic system designing approach is suggested, that anticipates an enterprise’s organizational structure formation under the process-matrix principle (unification of functional and process management approaches) and the establishment of the effective enterprise’s logistic service that plays the role of coordinator and integrator of its business-processes. Efficient organization structure formation, that provides logistics approach implementation in practical enterprises’ activity is grounded by authors. The result of the innovations in logistics management appliance is effective logistic system’s design, in which the coordinated material, informational and financial flows motion is carried out. In the result, it ensures efficient enterprise’s business-processes functioning and organic improvement of its organizational structure.

Improved Human Resources Performance can be realized in the employee’s absence. The sophistication of technology to accommodate the absence is the use of a Mobile-Based Attendance Application. Attendance can be used to measure employee performance. One of the measuring tools in measuring performance is the Key Performance Indicator (KPI). KPI values can be obtained from the Mobile-based Attendance Application, as currently implemented by an IT Company. But in its development, there is a shortage on the application features of Daily Attendance, Leave, Report Recaps Attendance and Report Recaps Leave. The value engineering method with the Analytical Hierarchy Process is used in this paper to obtain prioritized alternatives in the development of application feature updates. The results of the research show that the alternative with the largest percentage is owned by Alternative IV (45.6%). These results indicate that this alternative can be used as a recommendation for renewal of attendance application features on IT Company. Alternative IV shows optimal results such as the realization of application feature requirements for users, consumption of fewer workdays for 1-2 days, low costs, easy-to-understand feature design, and uncomplicated programming techniques.

The article deals of assessing the competitiveness of enterprises in the confectionery industry to improve information and analytical support of ecological management. A unified methodology for assessing the competitiveness of business entities in the context of ecological management has not yet been developed. The article proposes to assess the competitiveness of confectionery enterprises on the basis of an integral index. Its peculiarity is that, in addition to economic production, market characteristics, it also includes environmental ones, which reflect significant environmental aspects (air emissions and the formation of hazardous waste). Calculations were made and the results of the study were tested on the basis of the leading confectionery enterprises of Ukraine. This made it possible to identify among the studied set of enterprises leaders who improved economic results and strengthened their market positions by reducing anthropogenic impact on the environment, introducing ecological management and corporate social responsibility. Taking into account their successful experience will contribute to the improvement of the ecological management system at other enterprises of the confectionery industry.

A purposeful growth in efficiency of large industrial companies largely depends on a balanced decision-making concerning the content, the cost, and the quality of corporate projects to increase business productivity. A traditional project management methodology does not allow improving all project’s parameters simultaneously. This leads to difficulties in implementing the developed measures and in providing the planned productivity growth. To search balanced decisions in labor productivity projects it is suggested to use an integrated approach, focused on a range of efficient instruments from allied management fields. It is recommended to integrate project management methodology with some instruments of strategic and innovative management, production systems development concepts LEAN, QRM and Agile, human resource and project portfolio management. A model of an integrated approach to labor productivity projects, which was developed and tested, is reasonable to use in large companies to develop hi-tech products and conduct organizational changes.

The publication is part of a new trend in popularizing Industry 4.0. The primary objective is to present the key directions in the transformation of the steel industry from steelworks 3.0 to steelworks 4.0. The work was based on a literature review and data analysis on steel 4.0 technologies. The analytical part of the thesis was prepared on the basis of the Polish steel sector (sections from the classification of economic activities: 24 and 25). On the basis of the literature study, a thesis was formulated about the need to digitize processes in enterprises heading for Industry 4.0. The application of selected technologies (ICT) in the Polish steel sector (percentage of companies using the analyzed technologies in the total number of enterprises in the sector) constitutes the scope of the research. Further research will be carried out in the area of digitization development in steel Industry toward steel 4.0.

The purpose of the study is to review the internationally recognised CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) standards, codes of conduct (cross-industry and industry-specific used in electronics, automotive and steel industry) and selected codes and supplier evaluation approaches applied by individual customer organisations. It also aims to identify problems related to CSR compliance demonstration from the view of supplier organization supplying its products for more industry sectors. Literature review, interview with the selected large manufacturing organisation and synthesis of information were conducted to achieve the purpose of the study. The difficulties for supplier organisations during CSR verifications and audits conducted by customers or third parties according to a variety of standards are discussed in the paper. It often results from different structure, terminology and content of the CSR standards and codes. One of the possible solutions is to create and maintain the intelligent database of CSR requirements of customer organisations. There is a lack of studies dealing with the existence of various CSR standards and codes and its impact on suppliers supplying their products to more industry sectors. The paper contributes to fill the knowledge gap and extend the existing literature.

The paper evaluates application of CO₂ injection for the control of water encroachment from the aquifer into gascondensate reservoir under active natural water drive. The results of numerical simulations indicated that injection of CO₂ at the initial gas-water contact (GWC) level reduces the influx of water into gas-bearing zone and stabilizes the operation of production wells for a longer period. The optimum number of injection wells that leads to the maximum estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) factor was derived based on statistical analysis of the results. The maximum number of injection wells at the moment of CO₂ break-through into production wells for homogeneous reservoir is equal to 6.41 (6) and for heterogeneous – 7.74 (8) wells. Study results indicated that with the increase of reservoir heterogeneity, denser injection well pattern is needed for the efficient blockage of aquifer water influx in comparison to homogeneous one with the same conditions. Gas EUR factor for the maximum number of injection wells in homogenous model is equal 64.05% and in heterogeneous – 55.56%. Base depletion case the EURs are 51.72% and 49.44%, respectively. The study results showed the technological efficiency of CO₂ injection into the producing reservoir at initial GWC for the reduction of water influx and improvement of ultimate hydrocarbon recovery.

Spiroid gear is one of the progressive varieties of intersecting axis gears. It has a number of advantages: increased overlap coefficient, favourable contact conditions. Spiroid gears are notable for high loading and overloading ability, increased smooth running and less sensitivity to manufacturing and assembly errors, high reliability and durability. The analysis of the results of experiment on research of vibration of the spiroid gear PS-124 has shown, that the vibration level at frequency 200-300 Hz is reduced on 5 dB at increase of the resistance moment up to 1000 Nm at clockwise rotation of the reducer and at increase of the resistance moment up to 800 Nm at counterclockwise rotation of the reducer. The vibration level at frequency 700-800 Hz is also increased on 5 dB at increase of the resistance moment up to 1000 Nm at clockwise rotation of the reducer and at increase of the resistance moment up to 800 Nm. If these vibration levels are exceeded, a defect is likely to occur. Economic efficiency of application of diagnostics systems is caused by increase of reliability and quality, reduction of accidents, decrease in defects, reduction of idle time of expensive equipment, reduction of expenses for maintenance and repair.

The study purpose is to measure the performance of the Vietnamese garment and textiles industry by means of the Negative Malmquist model using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. The empirical results presented the efficient, inefficient cases, and average efficiency for all garment and textile companies in Vietnam during from 2016 to 2020. The main findings determined that five companies, including HTG, TET, MSH, M10, and BDG possessed efficiency scores in whole terms. An overall picture of the garment and textiles industry in Vietnam is used to evaluate the operational process. The research recommends a feasible alternative method to deal with inefficient cases.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of generic strategy on R&D spending and the impact of R&D spending on firms’ performance conditional on their strategic position. This empirical study uses accounting data of 597 listed Taiwanese firms in the manufacturing industry from 2013 to 2017. The data was obtained from Taiwan Economic Journal (TEJ) database. The results indicate that firms that adopt a differentiation strategy have more R&D spending than companies with a cost leadership strategy. Furthermore, the authors find that R&D spending positively affects firms’ performance if they pursue a differentiation strategy. Meanwhile, the relationship between R&D spending and firm performance forms an inverted U-shape for those who adopt a cost leadership strategy. First, for firms adopting the differentiation strategy, the investment in R&D is critical because the more investment on R&D these firms spend, the better performance they will gain. Second, for firms with a cost-leadership strategy, R&D spending is also essential to improve efficiency. However, they should allocate the budgets wisely and reasonably, as controlling cost is the main focus of this strategy to keep their competitive advantages. This study examines the relationship between R&D spending, business strategy, and firm performance in Taiwan. Further, the study suggests that manufacturing firms in Taiwan allocate their resources wisely and efficiently according to their system.

The article contains the analysis of factors influencing the efficiency of work of equipment maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) units of industrial enterprises. We have systematized various classifications of these factors, which were proposed in economic literature by different authors. We have divided the factors into following groups: general and local; primary and secondary; external and internal; major and non-essential; direct and oblique; reducing and boosting the expenses on equipment MRO and repair cost; production and non-production; depending on management and independent; economic, operation, organization ones; structural and production-technical ones; which are interconnected. It has been proposed to classify factors influencing the efficiency of equipment MRO units into five groups: economic, exploitation, organization, production-technical and structural ones. Using expert evaluation method, the factors have been divided into three groups according to degree of their influence on efficiency of work of equipment MRO units of industrial enterprises. The priority was given to the factors of the first group, having decisive influence on formation of efficiency. The most significant factors have been identified. In opinion of experts, these factors include: method of organization of work of equipment MRO service; level of economic autonomy of MRO enterprise in terms of organization of equipment MRO; financial and market situation of enterprise; the degree of repair complexity of production equipment.