Transportation, Logistics, and Finance

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Browsing Transportation, Logistics, and Finance by Subject "Business logistics."

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    Enabling Mobile Commerce through Pervasive Communications with Ubiquitous RF Tags
    (2003) Bridgelall, Raj; Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
    For many years we’ve heard of the existence of a wonderful new technology called radio frequency identification (RFID) that allows supermarket items to be checked out without human intervention. Advertisements claim that this technology will be able to locate our keys and spectacles when we lose them around the house - all for pennies. Although technologists amongst us widely recognize this as very early marketing hype, we also admit to having recently witnessed strong evidence that underlying RFID tag performance and cost are fast approaching these initially very optimistic expectations. The future success of mobile commerce or m-commerce will depend on a pervasive communications infrastructure that provides both seamless roaming and automatic object identification. In this paper, we identify key factors that will enable future pervasive deployment of RFID tag and communications technology, thereby leading to the acceleration of applications for m-commerce. For each of these key factors, we provide a summary of the existing impediments and propose potential solutions.
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    Introducing a Micro-Wireless Architecture for Business Activity Sensing
    (2008) Bridgelall, Raj; Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
    RFID performance deficiencies discovered in recent high profile applications have highlighted the danger of selecting only passive tags for an application because of their lowest cost relative to other types of RFID tags. Consequentially, battery-based RFID technologies are being considered to fill those performance gaps. A mix of both passive and battery-based RFID technologies can provide a more cost effective and robust solution than a homogeneous RFID deployment. However, it is easy to choose the wrong battery-based RFID technology given the confusing array of choices currently available. This paper explores the performance deficiencies of both passive and battery-based RFID technologies. A new micro-wireless technology that resolves these performance deficiencies is then introduced. Finally an application example is presented that demonstrates how the new technology can also seamlessly roam between passive and battery-based RFID infrastructures at the lowest possible cost to bridge their respective performance gaps.
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    Sourcing Strategy for Asphalt Production Feedstock Considering Multimodal Transport Options
    (2016) Bridgelall, Raj; Lee, EunSu; Talegani, Ali Rahim; Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute
    This paper examines the logistics and distribution channels for importing heavy crude oil, which is a source of bitumen. The study conducts a sensitivity analysis to assess the suitability of existing or new distillery locations based on the available transportation modes and carrier options. The model accommodates rate changes based on multimodal shipping rates, import taxes, and other factors to assess the effects on total cost, schedule, and risks. Although a strategic location near direct pipeline options using existing facilities could yield the least transportation cost, the lack of pipeline capacity with increasing demand and delays in building additional capacity weighs heavily against pipeline options. The analysis points to multimodal shipments via ocean vessels and pipelines as the least-cost solution for a proposed strategic location for the distillery, but other factors such as strained international relationships make them less attractive. Depending on the selected refinery location, the analysis found that railroad options present a viable alternative and could potentially lead to the best overall logistical solution for obtaining asphalt production feedstock.