Please provide some background about the project, company, situation and overall summary as to the nature of problem and what is required (approx 500 words)
This research is an investigation on the adoption of the Computerised Vehicle Routing and Scheduling (CVRS) technology in the British road freight industry and it will evaluate the success of this software used in the strategic, tactical and operational roles of a Midlands based distribution and logistics company named FullForce Services Limited.
"FullForce was formed in 1988 by two entrepreneurs, responding to the needs of local businesses for a dedicated, same day delivery solution within the Midlands region. The company quickly expanded into enhanced services such as Import/Export, Warehousing, Pick and Pack, Dedicated Specialist Delivery and, since 2008, UK pallet services via a pallet distribution network. It's a fast growing industry and we're a fast moving company, dedicated to being efficient, flexible and totally reliable." (FullForce 2010)
There are different types of problems in a CVRS system that requires particular approaches and there are various methods or algorithms that can be chosen to produce solutions. It can be classified as:
Strategic - where similar products and quantities are regularly delivered to fixed or regular customers and it enables the company to maintain schedules drawn from past or historical data for a reasonable length of time.
Tactical or Operational - this is concerned with routes scheduled on a weekly or daily basis where it may not be possible to estimate the demand of goods and the location of delivery points can vary.
Interactive - It allows the scheduler to make changes to routes as and when required because the computer can reappraise demand requirements and check if the new order can be accepted thus completing the delivery within the allotted service constraints.
Planning - this evaluates the measurement of the effect of change and also tests or simulates the effect of changing demand, new vehicle availability, legislative changes, etc.
(Rushton et al 2006: 457-459)
The study aims to improve the speed and accuracy in strategic and operational planning by optimising the use of resources with CVRS thereby reducing the company's operational costs. This is directly related to the management aspects (attitudinal, personal and organisational factors) of the technology rather than the technical side (actual deficiencies in the technology). For this, the analysis of individual's awareness of and attitudes towards CVRS is required for its successful implementation.
"The critical success factors are: i) quality of the software, ii) the system operator's ability to use the software and iii) the driver's willingness and ability to adhere to the computer-generated route proposals." (Eibl 1996: xx)
A closing thought: "How does Santa Claus do it? Santa has a single vehicle with finite capacity that leaves from a single depot; millions of stochastic demands having tight time windows must be satisfied within a 24-hour period. I believe that the charm and challenge of VRP's are reflected in our wondering about Santa's problem, and in our desire to help Santa out and get into his good graces. He knows whether we (our solutions) are good or bad." (Golden and Assad 1988)
Is there some background to the project? - 2 mark
Does it describe the nature of the problem to be investigated? - 2 mark
Does it include an AIM for the project? - 3 mark
Is this aim detailed enough for the reader to understand what the project is? - 2 marks
Are there at least 2 good references correctly referenced? - 3 marks
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Objectives
These should be measurable and will be used in part in determining the level of achievement of the project.
The primary objective of this study is to improve the speed and accuracy of strategic and operational planning in FullForce by applying the CVRS technology in order to reduce their operational costs. For this, the corresponding objectives are:
To deduce what the adoption rate of the CVRS technology is, in FullForce in comparison to the logistics industry.
To examine if the software is able to meet the individual requirements of an organisation and if not, is it abandoned during or after implementation.
To critically analyse whether the operators of FullForce are willing to choose computerised planning instead of manual planning systems.
To evaluate the speed and accuracy of planning before and after adoption of CVRS in FullForce.
To compare the operational costs of FullForce in terms of manual and computerised planning systems.
To investigate if the operators are concerned about the adverse impact of the CVRS's technicality issues in operation such as improper routing, wrong scheduling, etc due to incorrect inputs
Are each of the objectives clear and of Masters level (Critically evaluation/analysis)? - 5 marks
Are each of the objectives SMART (Specific, Measurable. Achievable, Time based) - 5 marks
Are the objectives comprehensive - when looked at together do they encompass the overall aim of the project - 2 marks
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Project Deliverables:
Provide a list of key outcomes of the conducted project (can be for each of the above objectives/ stages) these can be studies, reports, recommendations etc
The following are the possible outcomes of this project:
Literature review containing information on the
adoption rate of CVRS in the British road transport and in particular, the logistics industry.
background information on the critical success factors of implementing the CVRS in a company.
general opinion of the operators' awareness of CVRS and whether technical training is needed in this company in order to maximise the resources of this technology.
Critical examination of the implementation of CVRS and operators' choice of CVRS over manual planning systems including their willingness to incorporate the technology
Reduced operational costs in the company such as:
Decrease in running costs as efficient routing reduces mileage and need to hire extra vehicles
Savings in management time since schedules can be produced consistently and quickly
An increase in the level of control since accurate management reporting is possible.
Reduction in the chance of breaking transport regulations through the ability to program the vehicle in legislative constraints
(Rushton et al. 2006: 475)
Critical evaluation of this software in strategic, tactical and operational roles of FullForce
A report on the findings based on numerical data analysis and interpretation using a developed questionnaire posed to the employees, mainly operators, of FullForce
A set of suggestions and recommendations on appropriate implementation, user satisfaction and factors associated with the adoption and success of the CVRS technology
Are each of the deliverables clearly described and link to an objective? - 5 marks
Are each of the deliverables SMART (Specific, Measurable. Achievable, Time based) - 5 marks
Are the deliverables comprehensive - when looked at together do they encompass the overall aim of the project - 2 marks
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Why are you interested in the project?
Provide a reason for your interest, what greater general interest it serves (In Industry or as part of Research) and who it could benefit (the target audience(s) that this project would be beneficial to)
This should indicate why the student is interested but also should cover the broader issues of the interest of others.
The key concepts of Logistics and Distribution are: Planning for Logistics, Procurement and Inventory decisions, Warehousing and Storage, Freight Transport and Operational Management. Of these, I chose the subject on freight transport and in particular the British Road Freight because I was interested to learn about the co-ordination and planning involved in the routing and scheduling of vehicles.
Although CVRS has been existing for many number of years, according to Eibl (1996: xix) his findings highlight the fact that CVRS technology is used by very few organisations in spite of being an effective means to improve the efficiency of transport operations.
Hence I was interested to explore the reasons for the low adoption rate of CVRS in organisations and particularly to study the effects of its implementation in one logistics company and therefore study the tangible benefits to the company which will expose this software to the other logistics company, thereby improving their performance levels which will save a lot of time, cost, resources and energy invested into achieving the same using other planning methods. Therefore, it is highly beneficial to the functional managers of a company in many different ways.
The target audience who will benefit from using this software are the operators who are involved in planning and assigning transport vehicles as well as the drivers owing to the instant route re-calculation and schedule modifications considering all sorts of constraints that CVRS can generate at a faster pace.
This should indicate why the student is interested but also should cover the broader issues of the interest of others. - 5 marks
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What research methods do you intend to use?
The methodological framework of this research will consist:
Qualitative Methods and
Quantitative Methods
Qualitative methods are used when there is not enough data of statistical significance but it can also be used to support statistically significant findings while Quantitative methods are more useful when there is a lot of relevant numerical data available.
Table 1: Differences between quantitative and qualitative data:
No.
Quantitative Data
Qualitative Data
1.
Based on meanings derived from numbers
Based on meanings expressed through words
2.
Collection results in numerical and standardised data
Collection results in non-standardised data requiring classification into categories
3.
Analysis conducted through the use of diagrams and statistics
Analysis conducted through the use of conceptualisation
Sources: Developed from Dey (1993); Healey and Rawlinson (1994); authors' experience (Saunders et al. 2007: 472)
Qualitative Research:
The qualitative methods to be used in this research are:
Case studies: Generally, case studies are a great source of rich, unique and comprehensive evidence on the problems, benefits and organisational consequences of using CVRS in distribution operations and are of reasonable value for the analysis of complex issues such as the CVRS implementation process where quantitative research methods provide no results or only limited ones. (Eibl 1996: 10)
However, it may not suggest one successful implementation method as the requirements for every company varies and the software may have to be modified accordingly.
Interviews: Interviews can be done in two ways:
Face-to-face interviews and
Telephonic interviews.
In this study, telephonic interview with the few suppliers of CVRS technology to the logistics industry can be conducted to derive the overall adoption rate of the software in the industry as well as to deduce the perception of the companies (on CVRS ) implementing this product.
The face-to-face interviews can be conducted with the employees of FullForce, mainly the operators and drivers to identify their attitudes towards and awareness of this software.
The drawback here is that interviews are time-consuming, costly and information gathered may not be totally reliable as it depends on individual's opinion at that moment.
Quantitative Research
The quantitative method to be used in this research is the 'Questionnaire Method'. There are three surveys to be administered to the following employees:
Managers - who operate in the strategic level and possess the decision-making authority of whether to implement the software or not, or stop using the software. This questionnaire will pose questions related to factors affecting their decisions in terms of operational activities.
Schedulers - they are the planners who assign the vehicles' routes and tasks. The questions posed will analyse their observation on the usage of this software and will enable a critical evaluation of manual planning methods versus CVRS. This will suggest if technical training is needed for schedulers to maximise the resources of this software.
Drivers - this questionnaire will gather data on the driver's performance and ability to adhere to the standards generated by the computer-generated route plan, his involvement in adopting the software and his level of satisfaction in using the software.
The problem in this survey could be low response rates, incomplete questionnaires, or difficulty in following-up.
Is there an indication of an understanding of the difference between qualitative and quantitative research? - 2 marks
Do the students acknowledge a range of research methods to be used? - 4 marks
Are the research methods suggested appropriate to the project? - 3 marks
Would they be able to collect the data in the methods suggested? - 2 marks
Do they acknowledge any problems with their research methods? -1 mark
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What primary and/or secondary data sources do you intend to use?
Primary data are immediate data that provide first-hand information whereas secondary data are the information that relates to a past period which is reproduced or reused.
Primary data can be collected through observation, personal or group interviews, focus groups, experiment, company records and questionnaire. This is usually referred to as field research
The primary data to be used in this research are:
Surveys - collection of the 3 types of surveys already mentioned under 'Questionnaire' in quantitative research which includes details on what information is being looked for and why.
Personal Interviews - this is a one-to-one survey with respondents which would help gather information on each individual's perception on the implementation and use of CVRS.
Group Interview - groups of employees can be gathered to record their views and opinions on the technicality of the software in order to analyse the need for technical training
Company records - if possible and allowed by the company, the company records can be researched to find out the past and current usage of the software to compare differences in their operational costs.
Secondary data are desk based research gathered by another source such as newspapers, text books, magazines, journal articles, case studies, etc
In this study, the secondary data to be used are:
Case studies - as explained already, case studies provide comprehensive evidence on the problems, benefits and organisational consequences of using CVRS, it will help to analyse the complex issues of the CVRS implementation.
Journal articles and Magazines - these are good sources of information on British road freight , methods and algorithms used to solve transport problems, and would also provide a detailed note on CVRS technology, its uses and drawbacks
Text books - text books will help formulate the research design, patterns, develop questionnaire, prepare project report and other details necessary for completing this project
Basic understanding of what primary and secondary data is - 2 marks
Several reasoned examples of each of these - 5 marks
Detail on what information is being looked for and why - 5 marks
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Please provide draft chapter headings for your report
Chapter 1: Introduction to the study
This chapter will introduce the subject of the study; provide definitions of the terms, the aim of this research, objectives of the research, need and scope of the study, industry, company and product profiles.
Chapter 2: Basics of CVRS:
This chapter will give detail illustrations on the basics of CVRS, brief description of British road freight, background information of CVRS in the logistics industry.
Chapter 3: Literature review
This chapter will include the conceptual review and the other various reviews of literatures based on this study in order to evaluate the relevance, value and sufficiency of the literature found and to apply the knowledge, skills and understanding gained from reading these literatures into the research project.
Chapter 4: Gap analysis
This chapter uses the business research tool named gap analysis which compares the actual performance with the potential performance; it will answer the company's two main questions: i) where we are and ii) where we want to be. In this study the analysis will be between the review of literature and the study itself.
Chapter 5: Methodology
This chapter will explain the research methodology, details about research design, data collection methods, formulate research instruments (questionnaire), sampling, analytical tools, details on any algorithms (if any) to calculate efficiency of the software, etc.
Chapter 6: Data Analysis and Interpretation
This chapter will depict the data collected through questionnaires in the form of graphs and tables and interpretation of these will be recorded along with it. If any algorithms are needed to support this study, its numerical evaluation will be explained here.
Chapter 7: Findings
This chapter will include details based on the analysis and interpretation of data and the findings that are derived from it. It will involve the critical evaluation of the objectives in this study.
Chapter 8: Suggestions and Recommendation
This chapter will include the suggestions and recommendations for the company based on the results from the previous chapter.
Chapter 9: Conclusion
This chapter will draw conclusions on the research and steps to be taken to ensure that the implementation of the CVRS technology is successful.
If they only have the basics - 2 - 3 marks
If some areas have a little detail - 3 - 4 marks
If detailed drafts - 5 marks
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Please attach or outline a project schedule (Gantt chart) which incorporates the phases of your project and activities to undertake, duration, start and end dates, any milestones/ deliverables and major dependencies.
The following table lists the activities to undertake in this project, the dependencies, resources and one or two risks involved.
Table 2: Activity list
No.
ACTIVITY
DEPENDENCY
RESOURCES
RISK
1
Prepare project outline
-
Text books
Planning risks
2
Search and Read literature
1
Library, databases, Internet, etc.
Resource risks
3
Read methodology literature
1, 2
Text books
Resource risks
4
Develop questionnaire
3
Data from 2, 3
Difficulty in constructing it.
5
Collect primary and secondary data
1, 2, 3
Interviews, questionnaires, case studies, etc.
People risks
6
Analysis and interpretation of data
4
Questionnaire
Incomplete questionnaires
7
Prepare findings
6
Data from 6
Insufficient data
8
Critical Evaluation
All the above
Data gathered until this point
Information and data analysis risks
9
Prepare suggestions and recommendations
6, 7, 8
Based on 6 & 7
Resource risks
10
Draft project report
All the above
Data gathered until this point
Loss of information
11
Submit to tutor and await feedback
All the above
-
Delay in submission
12
Revise draft and finalize report
11
Feedback from tutor
Loss of report, insufficient time to revise report before submitting.
The Gantt Chart
The project schedule is spread across a Gantt Chart and is outlined below. Since it is not very clear to read, it is attached separately.
