The viability of introducing radio frequency identification to the South African truck tyre market: a cross-sectional study
- Authors: Francis, Merwin
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Business logistics -- South Africa Radio frequency identification systems , Inventory control -- South Africa Product life cycle
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21678 , vital:29732
- Description: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is revolutionizing business practices across industries worldwide as means for its commercial application continue to be developed. It is surpassing barcoding as the preferred means of product identification due to its’ ability to identify goods at item-level as opposed to batch- or type identification, and with no line-of-sight requirements for item detection. Although many industries have successfully employed the technology and are reaping the rewards, RFID’s adoption in the truck tyre industry is still in its infant stage. A small number of documented cases discuss the limited roll-out and testing of RFID effectiveness in satisfying the demands and expectations associated with this specific application. This study is aimed at evaluating the viability of introducing RFID to the South African market. The market readiness is reflected in the perceptions of Continental Tyre South Africa’s (CTSA’s) customers regarding the perceived benefits of RFID. More importantly, it is revealed in how it affects customers’ buying behaviour and, by implication, the impact on CTSA’s sales. The results of the study also reveal critical aspects unique to the South African truck tyre market which could potentially be addressed through the introduction of RFID. These aspects form the basis of the conclusions and recommendations for future actions by CTSA.
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- Date Issued: 2013
A model for assessing the anticipated relative financial impact of implementing the tools of lean manufacturing on a manufacturing concern
- Authors: Francis, Merwin
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Production management , Manufacturing processes , Production planning , Industrial efficiency , Total productive maintenance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:8972 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1326 , Production management , Manufacturing processes , Production planning , Industrial efficiency , Total productive maintenance
- Description: Lean manufacturing has seen its creators, Toyota, rise from insignificance in the middle of the previous century, to the biggest selling car manufacturer in the world today. Another Japanese car manufacturer, Honda, which has also been practising the principles of lean avidly during the last few decades, has also made huge strides towards becoming a dominant force in the car market. These Japanese companies‟ adoption of lean has seen many of their mass producing United States (US) and European counterparts struggle for survival. Maynard (2003:10) predicted that by the end of the decade, at least one of the „Big Three‟ auto makers in the US – Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors (GM) – would be forced to undertake significant restructuring to continue in operation. At the time of this writing all indications are that this prediction will come true. GM is in the process of major shareholding restructuring in an attempt to keep the company afloat, having run up insurmountable debts in the face of the current global economic downturn. Adopting the lean methodology has become a matter of necessity. The continued use of mass production methods alone is no longer viable; companies need to also employ lean methods intelligently in order to remain competitive. This study is regarded as a crucial endeavour to assist operations managers of manufacturing concerns in developing lean implementation strategies which will maximise the benefits to the organization.
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- Date Issued: 2011