مجله مدیریت تولید و عملیات
سال سیزدهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 30، پاییز 1401)

The oil and gas industry has an annual investment of 700 billion dollars in the world, and the issue of cost savings to stabilize competitiveness is at least 140 billion dollars per year. Previously, in the oil and gas industry, the use of blockchain technology was considered cautiously, but now large companies are seriously looking for ways to implement such technology in their companies. The oil and gas industry presents a unique and compelling opportunity to exploit blockchain technologies due to high transaction value (and thus risk) and economic pressures to reduce costs. a security system that reduces risk, increases transparency, provides an audit trail, and significantly reduces transaction costs may be attractive to oil and gas companies. Oil and gas, contrary to the size and scale of transactions between banks, are sold in large volumes and thus require significant value. the frequency of transactions is also high. oil companies must also be aware of where the crude resource will ultimately babsorbed. Blockchain can provide a fully transparent and secure record of the entire supply chain. Using a distributed ledger, digital tokens can be used to represent an asset being traded. This paper aims to evaluate the readiness to use blockchain in the
National Iranian Gas Company.

Design/methodology/approach:

 The approach of this study is survey-based. In terms of its purpose, it is applied research and in terms of its nature and method, it is descriptive-survey research. In this study, two library and field methods have been used to collect data. The library method has been used to write the theoretical foundations, the background of the research, and to find the desired components and metrics, and the questionnaire of pairwise comparisons with a spectrum of nine has been used for field research and collecting the required data.

By examining the existing models and using the opinions of blockchain experts, the effective factors in the evaluation of this technology in National Iranian Gas Company were identified and to examine the factors identified in the company and to rank, score and prioritize the factors, the fuzzy hierarchy method has been used. Factors have been weighted by Chang's development analysis method and the weight of all components was determined. Also, by forming matrices of importance and status using experts' opinions and using fuzzy screening, the maturity level of factors in the National Iranian Gas Company was identified. After identifying and confirming the effective factors, the questionnaire of paired comparisons was designed and submitted to nine experts and by collecting the questionnaires and using the fuzzy hierarchy method and data analysis, the weighting of all the criteria and sub-criteria was carried out, with the organizational factor having the highest weight and the environmental factor having the lowest weight. Th support of the senior manager has had the highest weight and the size of the organization has had the lowest weight under the criteria. Also, ranking, prioritizing, and measuring the maturity of the finalized criteria were done using the fuzzy screening method, and the criteria of organizational readiness, technology readiness, environmental readiness, and human readiness were placed in first to fourth places, respectively.

Research limitations/implications: 

It is suggested that the National Iranian Gas Company and the country's oil and gas industries, in general, seek to provide the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of such technology to use and benefit from it and formulate a suitable road map by forming specialized units. The lack of familiarity of human resources of organizations with blockchain technology and the financial and human cost of changes in each organization are among the main limitations of using blockchain in the oil and gas industry.

Practical implications: 

Blockchain technology can be used to reduce costs, improve processes, track and secure product and customer data, increase product safety, and reduce counterfeiting and fraud.

Social implications:

 The impact of oil and gas on human life is clear and cannot be ignored. it is enough to look around and see the countless uses of such products. Therefore, the optimal use of oil and gas seems significant. Blockchain technology, by influencing the supply chain, increasing the security of exchanges, optimal marketing, etc. can be the basis for increasing productivity and, as a result, the possibility of using such strategic products as much as possible for human society.

Originality/value: 

The value of using new technologies to increase productivity in organizations is not hidden from anyone. However, the question is whether the conditions for using this technology are available in organizations. This is particularly important when the technology is used incorrectly and leads to negative results. For the first time, this paper sought to investigate the possibility of using blockchain technology in the National Iranian Gas Company.

Perishable products suffer from spoilage and quality loss after a period, so their demand decreases. To raise the level of demand and reduce the cost due to product spoilage and increase in waste, a markdown policy is used. This paper aims to find the optimal amount of discount and the initial order amount so that the total profit is maximized. The discount is offered twice during the sales period; the first discount is provided before the onset of deterioration, when and attractiveness of the product for purchase decreases. The second one is given after the deterioration starts when product spoilage is visible.

Design/methodology/approach:

 After an extensive literature review, the initial mathematical model has been shaped and solved using an analytical approach. Considering experts' opinions, the internal validity of the proposed model has been checked and confirmed. Also, the concavity conditions of the objective function and the existence of the global optimal point of the model have been investigated. Then, the values ​​of parameters have been determined by experts and placed in the model. Finally, Ofoq Kourosh Chain Stores' original sales data have been collected as a case study and the model has been solved in MATLAB software.

In this paper, the amount of the initial order was determined. Then, the optimal amount of the discount was obtained to reach the maximum profit. In this paper, the authors’ observation indicated that using the markdown pricing strategy is more profitable than the fixed pricing strategy during the sales period. This result is the most important finding of the paper, which can be calculated during the sales period examined in the Ofoq Kourosh Chain Stores. It can help decision makers of the discount chain store to set better strategies for their fresh and dairy products.

Research limitations/implications: 

Choosing a demand function that takes into account all factors affecting demand; also, Considering the optimal discount times, corresponding to the optimal discount values ​​as decision variables, complicates the model. It should be mentioned that due to limitations in the IT infrastructure of the case study and our boundaries to get information from these brick-and-mortar chain stores, it is not possible to record data in short periods (hourly) and the warehouse inventory is only available daily.
Practical implications: Since one of the main goals of the institution is to obtain maximum profit, by applying the markdown pricing strategy on perishable products, due to the quality of perishable goods being proportional to their price from the customer's point of view, it is possible to encourage them to buy the product and increase their demand. Besides, it can reduce waste which also leads to the maximization of profit. It should be noted that with the implementation of the proposed model in Ofoq Kourosh Chain Stores, it is practically shown that its implementation can make an important contribution to increasing profits.

Social implications: 

The results of this research can be used to improve the sales of perishable products, seasonal products, and fashion goods and can increase the profitability of products and reduce waste. This is also possible for consumers to have access to fresh or seasonal products at various and lower prices with different income levels. Such changes can lead to greater equality in society.

Originality/value: 

The literature review shows that the inventory control models have discussed more optimal order amount and time and less about pricing strategies and price discounts, simultaneously. The subject that is less considered in the literature, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the determination of discount values ​​to maximize profit, which was considered in this paper.

In addition to its inherent impact on the health section, the distribution of pharmaceutical products has also an economic aspect. This paper aims to design a supply chain for pharmaceutical distribution companies so that they have the best coverage and performance at the lowest cost.

Design/methodology/approach:

 An operations research model has been developed based on minimizing distribution costs and construction costs to address the problem. The model’s constraints included the rules governing the national pharmaceutical supply chain. Due to the complexity of the model and the high dimensions of the problem in real conditions, the model has been solved using a two-tier genetic algorithm in combination with priority-based coding and the K-medoids clustering method. To optimize the performance of the algorithm, the parameter tuning of the Taguchi method has been used.

Clustering demand points from 429 to 50 centers had less than 1% implication on the total costs. Distribution costs might even grow in optimal designs, however, the total cost was reduced by 36%. Optimal points for distribution centers were located and an optimal distribution plan for goods was recommended for a company distributing 239 types of pharmaceutical products.

Research limitations/implications:

 In this paper, only costs were considered due to establishing new distribution centers and dispatching goods. In future studies, inventory costs can be considered either. Also, there may be more legal aspects that have not been considered such as the minimum number of distribution centers.

Practical implications: 

To evaluate the efficiency of the model in practice, a case study was implemented on the drug distribution company, i.e., Adorateb. For the studied company, an appropriate distribution network, as well as an optimal distribution pattern of drugs, were identified and compared in terms of cost with the current situation of the company. The recommended optimal location relative to the current situation indicated a significant reduction in costs.

Social implications: 

Designing supply chains strongly influences the performance of the pharmaceutical supply chain. By reducing costs through optimal network design, while covering demand requirements, a society may have sustainable access to pharmaceutical products in a long term.

Originality/value: 

The main innovation of this paper is the recommendation of a mathematical model for designing a pharmaceutical distribution network while considering real supply chain national regulations along with a hybrid solution approach that can handle real-size problems. The applicability of the model and the solution approach were verified by a case study.

The automobile industry is a leading industry in Iran. It is one of the industries that have the greatest impact on environmental pollution, so its movement towards sustainable production by observing world-class production standards can help the prosperity of the industry. This paper aims to propose a performance evaluation model with a sustainable production approach at the global level in Iran's automotive industry.

Design/methodology/approach:

 In this research, by using library studies and using the Meta-synthesis approach, the influencing factors on the evaluation of sustainable production performance and the evaluation of world-class performance have been extracted. Also, using the opinions of 10 experts in the automotive industry, the influencing indicators have been screened. Then, based on the expert's opinions and the use of Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), the desired performance evaluation model has been designed. Finally, the model has been validated using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method and the Goodness of Fit (GOF) index.

The results indicated that the performance evaluation model with a world-class sustainable production approach had 13 indicators in 6 levels. The most influential indicators in this model were the sanctions and managerial concepts. The social concepts were identified as the most impressionable indicators. Also, among the factors, sanctions with a 79% impact on managerial concepts and a 76% impact on innovation had the most impact.

Research limitations/implications: 

The findings of this study were a result of the knowledge and empirical views of the industry experts, which, like other qualitative research, affected the generalizability of the findings. Also, according to the studied sample, the results cannot be generalized to other industries. For future study, it is recommended to implement this model in other industries, particularly in the industries that have significant environmental damage. Examining the barriers to moving towards world-class sustainable production in the automobile industry, as well as providing a mathematical model with the possibility of dual-purpose usage during the sanctions and the removal of the sanctions, are the other suggestions for future study.

Practical implications: 

Considering the importance of innovation and technological concepts in this model and their impact on the movement of the Iranian automobile industry towards sustainability and world-class production, suitable investments in such sectors can lead to the improvement of automobile companies. Also, creating a relationship between the industry and the university to produce knowledge and pay attention to the knowledge-based companies will cover the technological gaps in the automobile industry.

Social implications:

 In the proposed model, the environmental and social issues were mentioned as impressionable indicators, and was indicated that paying attention to the issues of sustainability and world-class production will lead to the improvement of the mentioned indicators. Changing the attitude in the industry, from design to production, will also reduce environmental pollution while increasing quality and flexibility along with reducing prices will lead to the end users’ increased satisfaction.

Originality/value: 

The integration of sustainable production indicators and world-class production and their impact on the automotive industry, and the examination of managerial and technological indicators among sustainable production indicators are the innovations of this study. Also, examining ‘sanction’ as an independent index in the model and determining the impact of the sanction on the automobile industry can be considered as another innovation aspect of this study.

The market share of life insurance and savings from the portfolio of the insurance industry is considered as the criteria for the development of the countries. The share of life insurance and savings in the production insurance premium of the insurance industry has always been less than 16% in Iran, which is very low compared to the share of life insurance and savings in most of the countries wherein the share is more than 50%. The purpose of this research is to propose a dynamic model for analyzing the sale of life insurance and savings according to the special social, economic and cultural structure of Iranian society and the structure of insurance companies in the country.

Design/methodology/approach:

 In this study, first the variables affecting the sale of life insurance and savings in insurance companies and their interrelationships have been identified by reviewing the previous studies and interviewing insurance industry experts. Then, the variables including an insurance company, network sales, competitors, community members, and their items were identified. Finally, the circular causal model and the state-flow diagram of the life insurance and savings sales system in Iran have been drawn and validated using the system dynamics approach.

The results were analyzed based on four scenarios in a ten-year horizon. Based on the results, it was found that insurance premium collection, investment rate and profitability of mathematical reserves, Central Insurance of Iran investment rate regarding the income received from life insurance and savings to introduce and make people aware of the benefits of the product, affected the share of production insurance premiums and the number of life insurance policies and savings. Bank interest did not have much effect on life insurance and savings. In addition, Central Insurance of Iran could play a more effective role than the insurance companies in creating the attractiveness of this field among the insurance company's shareholders, sales network, and society.

Research limitations/implications: 

Major research limitations were the complications and lack of transparency of the regulations related to the investment of the resources received by insurance companies from the sale of life insurance and savings, as well as the lack of transparency of the investment rate regulations of the Central Insurance for the development of life insurance and savings from the previous restrictions.

Practical implications:

 Banks and bank interest were not strong competitors for insurance companies. Also, the reduction of bank interest was one of the most important factors affecting the growth of society's willingness to buy life insurance and savings, but this factor alone could not increase production insurance premiums or other key variables. The investment profit of mathematical reserves allocated to policyholders could be used as an important advertising tool by the insurance company. Increasing the profitability of reserves by investing in suitable markets increases the production insurance premium and other key and significant variables.

Social implications: 

Based on the results, it is possible to increase the share of life insurance and savings by affecting social and cultural variables such as the society's awareness of the benefits of life insurance, which shows the mutual effects of economic, social and cultural factors on the growth of the share of life insurance premiums and savings.

Originality/value: 

A dynamic model was proposed based on the mutual and dynamic effects of economic, social, cultural, and managerial factors. Also, it provides an opportunity for the managers of insurance and central insurance companies to make their decisions on the numerical number of insurance policies, and the amount of production insurance premiums.

In this paper, the competition for the collection of electronic and electrical waste between the manufacturer and the retailer has been discussed to recover them, taking into account the improvement of the quality and greening of the collected products to increase the level of customer satisfaction and increase profits, and reducing dangerous effects on the environment. For this purpose, a closed two-loop supply chain has been designed with three models. A centralized model has been considered for cooperation in the collection channel of the entire chain with the integration of the manufacturer and retailer and two decentralized models for competition in the collection of returned products between the manufacturer and retailer with two scenarios. In the first scenario, the impact of improving the quality and greening of manufactured products of a decentralized two-person model has been analyzed, consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer, and its performance compared to a centralized model. In the second scenario, the profits-sharing agreement between a retailer and a manufacturer has been used in the decentralized model.

Design/methodology/approach: 

The decisions of product quality improvement have been investigated in a simple dynamic environment and consumer preferences have been considered for new and remanufactured products as a performance of new product quality. In the developed model, the topic of quality and greening has been given, and the demand functions and profit functions have been written accordingly considering two demand functions for the manufacturer and retailer, and also two profit functions for the manufacturer and retailer. Mathematica software has been used for solving problems and also graphs related to sensitivity analysis. The discussion has been drawn and the analysis related to the profit functions of the manufacturer and the retailer has been done regarding the parameters.

The results indicated that the manufacturer preferred to work with the retailer in a non-competitive manner. The retailer used the first scenario because due to its profit. The retailer’s profit was more concentrated in the second scenario. The proposed approach was suggested to be applied to multiple manufacturers and retailers in future studies. It was also recommended to consider the storage and inventory costs for the collection products and to estimate the duration in which, they can stay in the manufacturer's warehouse with no costs increase. Another suggestion was to consider the demand with different functions or with a stochastic variable.

Research limitations/implications: 

The limitations of this research are: i) determining the quality level of collected products; ii) the location for remanufacturing by the manufacturer and recycling by the retailer; iii) sales estimate; iv) forecasting the number of products and types of products that have been collected; v) estimating consumer demand for remanufactured products; and vi) grading the greening of the collected products.

Practical implications: 

In general, economic profitability is considered the main driving factor for the entry of original equipment manufacturers and independent remanufacturers of the remanufacturing industry. According to the results, manufacturing companies can remanufacture the valuable wastes after retailers collected them and then determine their quality level. By increasing the quality and production of greening products, they have entered the competitive market and have offered products at a lower cost and more profit, when a centralized model was used.

Social implications:

 In today's society, one of the important issues is environmental sustainability. In this regard, the remanufacturing of returned products and the greening of products by the manufacturer have reduced the use of raw materials, saved energy, and reduced air pollution. In this paper, the subjects of competition for the collection and recycling of electronic and electrical waste (i.e, medical equipment, lighting devices and lamps, all kinds of audio and video equipment, IT equipment and household electrical appliances) between the manufacturer and the retailer, the improvement of the quality and greening of the collected products to increase the level of customer satisfaction/profits, and reducing dangerous effects on the environment were discussed.

Originality/value: 

This study contributed to the quality improvement of returned products and greening products. Based on this research, product quality decisions are investigated in a simple dynamic environment, and consumer preferences for new and remanufactured products are considered as a function of new product quality. In summary, this research has examined the interactions between improving the quality of remanufactured products and greening.