The academic and professional attention to the large synergies hidden in horizontal collaborations is increasing. This study attempts to address the impact of collaborative transport on transportation lead-time and lead-time variability through empirically investigating a group of SMEs involved in a collaborative distribution network. Data was collected for seven pre-cooperation and eight cooperative orders over a period of 14 months. The results of Mann-Whitney U-test show a significant average reduction of 30.8% in the duration of lead times. Lead-time variability was also found to be reduced as the result of changes in the coefficient of variances and the Bartlett’s test for homogeneity of variances. Horizontal collaboration in transport could eventually lead to reduced lead times and lower variability of lead time which results in reduced supply chain costs. This can be achieved by means of direct routing and avoiding multi-transshipment routes which reduces the uncertainty and variability by diminishing the number of stages in the transport chain. Thus, effective lead-time management is considered a source of competitive advantage as it can reduce supply chain costs by lowering inventory levels, but is also capable of improving performance and customer service by offering improved product quality service levels.
Op verzoek van Yo! Opera heeft het lectoraat Lifelong Learning voor Musici het project De Operaflat geëvalueerd, dat onderdeel was van de vierde editie van het Yo! Opera Festival in 2007 te Utrecht. Tijdens het project hebben basisschoolleerlingen van de Openbare Basisschool Overvecht, bewoners van de ‘Operaflat’, studenten zang en compositie van een aantal Nederlandse conservatoria en hun docenten elkaar ontmoet in de uitvoering van 25 miniatuuropera’s van één minuut. Doel van het onderzoek van het lectoraat was de dialoog tussen studenten en docenten van conservatoria enerzijds en de samenwerking met een professionele organisatie (Yo! Opera) anderzijds te monitoren en evalueren.
The main stream literature on social justice and European integration distinguishes between three models of providing social justice in Europe: the family, the market and the state. Markets have demonstrated their limitations in the current economic crises, and New Public Management quickly disappears behind the horizon. The Welfare State appealed to many and was a main driver of European integration, but its fiscal implications and its normative bias toward social engineering render it practically impossible. The family does well, these days, as a coping model, but individualization is widespread and this makes it impossible to view the family as a prime base for social justice in the European Union in the decades. So, where do we turn.
MULTIFILE
