In this work, novel cellulosic fibers are extracted from Washingtonia Filifera (WF) plant using an environment friendly technique. Morphological, physico-chemical, thermal and mechanical properties are reported in this paper. Micro graphical SEM shows the presence of cells in the fiber. FTIR and XRD experimental analyzes show a cristinality index of 48.88%, and the WF fibers are found to be thermally stable until 201°C by using TGA and DTG thermo graphic analyzes with an appropriate activation energy of 72.46 kJ/mol, where Young modulus and tensile strength of strain were determined using tensile tests of single fiber at 2.17 GPa, 134 MPa and 26.55%, respectively. Mechanical properties are analyzed using a statistical method.

In the current decade, with an increase in e-commerce, the logistics activities have grown rapidly. However, the logistics industry of the Malaysian country is declining, as the ranking of this industry has shown downfall continuously during the past few years. The decrease in logistics industry performance reduces the contribution in a Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, to address this issue, the primary objective of this study was to examine the role of strategic management accounting practices to enhance the profitability of the Malaysian logistics firms. Questionnaires were adopted to collect the primary data and they were distributed among the employees of the logistics companies. All the questionnaires were distributed through area cluster sampling technique. Partial least square (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the collected data. The results indicate that strategic management accounting practices had a significant positive relationship with supply chain outcomes and supply chain outcomes had a significant positive relationship with the profitability of the logistics companies. Finally, this is one of the pioneer studies, which examined the impact of strategic management accounting practices on the outcome of the logistics firms.

The current study measures the mechanical behavior of both natural and the monobloc elastomeric disc prosthesis (CadiscTM-L) by employing a finite element method (FEM) to study the fiber-reinforced constitutive formulation provided in the literature. The three-dimensional geometry was created by computed tomography (CT) scan imaging technique. Frontal pure rotational, sagittal, and axial momentum of 7.5 N·m were applied on the top of L3 while the lower half of the L5 was fixed in all directions. This investigation was performed considering two stages: (1) intact L3–L5 lumbar spine (INT model), and (2) Cadisc implemented between L4 and L5 (IMP model). The numerical results for the INT model were validated by experimental data from the literature. Several parameters including the inter-segmental rotation, range of motion in flexion-extension, axial rotation and lateral bending were analyzed. Our numerical results show that the IMP model has a 50% reduction in the ‘range of motion’ and a 33% reduction in flexion in lateral bending compared to the INT model. These outcomes of this paper reveal the feasibility of applying a fibre-reinforced constitutive formulation to generate an accurate three-dimensional FEM model.

Indonesian agriculture sector has a major contribution in the nation’s economy. However, due to decrease in supply chain performance, the overall performance is declining which affect negatively on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The contribution of Indonesian agriculture sector in GDP is declined to 84110 IDR Billion in the second quarter of 2018 from 84577.50 IDR Billion in the first quarter of 2018. The supply chain is one of the responsible factors of this issue. Therefore, to address this problem, the objective of the current study is to investigate the role of cost accounting system (CAS) on supply chain operations by considering the internal and external contingent factors. Moreover, the moderating role of legal obligations was also examined. In rare cases, some studies formally documented the effect of CAS on supply chain operations. Managerial employees of agricultural firms were selected to collect the necessary data and 150 questionnaires were distributed among them. Results of PLS-SEM show that CAS had a significant positive contribution in supply chain operations. Better implementation of CAS in agriculture firms had the ability to boost the performance. Moreover, other factors such as firm size, product diversity and competition also had a significant effect on CAS implementation. In this survey, legal obligations moderated the relationship between firm size and CAS. Finally, this study is beneficial for agriculture firms to enhance their performance by using better supply chain strategies through CAS.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in supply chain management. To achieve this purpose, quantitative research approach was used, and the study preferred cross-sectional research design rather than longitudinal research design. Based on literature, six hypotheses were proposed concerning the relationship between international financial reporting and supply chain management. Data were collected from the employees of the dairy companies in Indonesia through area cluster sampling technique. Only those employees were selected having direct relationship with supply chain and accounting activities. Structural equation modelling was sued to test the hypotheses. The results of the study reveal that international financial reporting had significant association with supply chain management. The elements of supply chain accounting quality, namely; value relevance, earnings management and timely loss recognition had significant positive relationship with supply chain management. A better implementation of international financial reporting is the key to enhance the supply chain management.

This paper investigates the relationship between supply chain management practices and organizational performance with the mediating role of innovation. Data were collected from 207 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Punjab, Pakistan. PLS-SEM was used to analyze the proposed hypotheses. Findings reveal that strategic partnership with supplier and level of information sharing had no influence on organizational performance. In addition, quality of information sharing, internal supply chain process, and lean practices had significant influence on organizational performance. Moreover, all five practices of supply chain management had significant and positive influence on innovation. Meanwhile, innovation significantly and positively mediated the relationship between supply chain management five practices and organizational performance. The findings of this study will help managers of SMEs enhance their performance.

During the past few decades, logistic industry has grown rapidly worldwide, however, the performance of Indonesian logistic industry is decreasing due to various supply chain issues. Logistic companies are suffering with low performance which has negative consequence on gross domestic product (GDP). To address this issue, the primary objective of the current study is to investigate the role of innovation in supply chain management. By using the cross-sectional research design, 300 questionnaires were distributed among the employees of logistic companies. All the questionnaires were distributed by using area cluster sampling. PLS-SEM was preferred to achieve the objectives of the current study. Findings of the study have revealed that collaboration with supplier, customers and external partners had significant positive relationship with radical and incremental innovation. Moreover, radical and incremental innovation maintained significant positive relationship with open-innovation performance. An increase in open-innovation increases the supply chain performance among Indonesian logistic companies. Therefore, logistic companies must focus on innovation to boost their performance. This study contributed in the body of literature by examining the important role of radical and incremental innovation in supply chain performance.

In this paper, we present a new decision-making tool aimed at improving the efficiency of the operational planning of pick-up processes in logistic distribution centers. It is based on a memetic algorithm (MA) solving both the Order Batching Problem (OBP) and the Order Picking Problem (OPP). The result yields a sequence of simultaneous pick up operations of lots for different clients in a storing facility, satisfying a previously defined distribution plan. The objective is the minimization of the operational cost of the entire process, which is directly proportional to the time spent on different activities involved. The failure to satisfy the conditions, either leads to overstocking, delays in delivery or creates inefficiency costs. The analysis of the results obtained with our algorithmic tool indicates that it has a good performance in comparison with other known algorithms used to solve this kind of problem.

The Textile and Apparel industry of Malaysia used to contribute about 1.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the past. However, this position has followed a reverse trend in recent years. The imports were increased as compared to the exports which decreased the overall contribution of Textile and Apparel industry between 2015 and 2016. To address this issue, this study examined the effective supply chain activities through radio frequency identification (RFID) using survey method to collect the necessary data. Questionnaires were distributed among the employees of Textile and Apparel companies. While analyzing the data by using PLS-SEM, it was found that RFID was contributing majorly in supply chain operations and maintained significant and positive effect on the performance of supply chain. Moreover, staff services quality had moderating role between RFID and the operations of Textile and Apparel industry. The study is one of the first attempts to examine the effect of RFID on supply chain operations of Textile and Apparel companies. Thus, the current study is helpful for practitioners to resolve the issues of concerned industry.

One of the most important questions in outsourcing management is to decide on the allocation of the activities, processes or services either from the inside or from the outside of the organizations through outsourcing operations. It is necessary to determine the factors influencing outsourcing decision making as well as their impacts on decisions. In this paper, the existing approaches and models and their related criteria are studied and the necessary criteria are explored based on different conditions in marine manufacturing industries. These criteria are categorized in four dimensions; namely Capacity, Technology, Strategy and financial, and Risk called CTSR. After determining the weights of the criteria based on paired-wise comparisons, the related calculations are carried out using PROMETHEE method. Finally, a Black, White, Gray (BWG) analysis is executed to determine whether a candidate should be outsourced or not.