Planning for Data Collection Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Planning for Data Collection - Term Paper Example According to Keough and Tanabe (2011), a ressearch question is considered a significant footstep in conducting methodical investigationss. It is important to keep in mind the fact that any questions used to gather information in refrence to the scenario ought to be quantifiable, include all the variables of the study, and also be comprehensible enough. The main focus of this study in reference to the scenario is patient satisfaction. The initial questions should therefore cover quantifiable factors such as age, race, gender, and place of residence. Sebsequently, questions to determine the patients experience can be asked. The following are examples of questions that can be asked to gauge the level of patient satisfaction: In such a scenaio, face to face interviews would be the most relevant method to collect data regarding patient satsfaction. It is evident from past studies that face to face interviews lets or permits the researcher to have a personal association with the patient hence s/he is more likely to get first class and higgh quality information. This can be made easier by constructing a questionnaire to ease the whole process (Keough and Tanabe, 2011). As postulated by Keough and Tanabe (2011), to determine sample size, conducting a power analysis is vital. In reference to the scenario, the health instituion serves 10,000 patients annually. To have a distributed sample size, it would be importnt to for instance divide the annual turnover of patients by twelve in order to determine the proportion of patients visiting the instituion per month. Through the employment of an easy and unsystematic sampling tool, the equivalent fractions of patients to use as the sample monthly and subsequently annually can be determined. The participants will be selected through random sampling. For example, by the use of a sample size calculator, for an error

Corporate Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Corporate Accounting - Essay Example However, in 2013, another company was added to the list of subsidiaries. The reason for conducting the activities under different subsidiaries is to be able to allocate and utilize the resources properly. In addition to that, the company can target the market according to the products and services offered through the subsidiaries. The company can also monitor and evaluate financial performances of the subsidiaries distinctively. Moreover, with the activities distributed under different subsidiaries, the company is able to manage the operations throughout horizontal chain of authority. Had the company conducted all the activities under a single entity, it would have rendered the whole business process extremely complex. 5. No, minority or non-controlling interests have not been reported within Brickworks Limited’s balance sheet or income statement. This is precisely because minority interest is only recorded in case of ownership level of less than 50%. However, in case of Brickworks Limited, it has 100% and 50% ownership over its subsidiaries (Phillips, Libby and Libby, 2011). 6. Minority interest or non-controlling interest can generally be found under the non-current liabilities section of a company’s balance sheet. It represents a parent company’s ownership level of less than 50% over its subsidiaries. 7. Since Brickworks Limited does not have non-controlling or minority interests recorded in its financial statements, I have identified another company that has been assigned to my colleague. The company has minority interest recorded in its financial statements. I had a thorough discussion with my colleague regarding non-controlling interest. The discussion revealed that a non-controlling interest is a position that a particular entity holds over another company which does not give him any power to influence the way the held company is to be managed. This means that their ownership level is considerable insignificant, compared to the total number

Supply Chain Management in PepsiCo Pakistan

Supply Chain Management in PepsiCo Pakistan Pepsi was founded in 1898 by Caleb Bradham, a new Bern North Carolina, druggist who first formulated Pepsi-Colyeah book followed supply chain k three decisions phir push pull cycle view phr stages phr demand phr drivers phr distribution and recommendations are at the end a. Today Pepsi has expanded at a large scale and has a portfolio of beverage brands that includes carbonated soft drinks, juices and juiced drinks, humara link basically pepsi co sey b nae hai kyunki riaz bottlers are its suppliers aswell as maunfacturesr and they give that via transportations to the retailers( stores hotel etc) then it goes to customers .they have warehouses storage sites production sites.its located in gulbergso riaz bottler are everythihumara link basically pepsi co sey b nae hai kyunki riaz bottlers are its suppliers aswell as maunfacturesr and they give that via transportations to the retailers( stores hotel etc) then it goes to customers .they have warehouses storage sites production sites.its located in gulberg so riaz bottler are everything Ready-to-drink teas and coffees, isotonic drinks, bottled water and enhanced water. PepsiCo has well known beverages such as Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Tropicana Pure Premium, Aquafina, Tropicana Juice Drinks, Tropicana Twister , MIRINDA and much more. PepsiCola markets Frapoccuino ready-to-drink coffee through a partnership with Starbucks. PEPSI CO PRODUCT: the product we are taking for the project of supply chain management is MIRINDA. RIAZ BOTTLERS: Riaz Bottlers (PVT) Limited (RBL) incorporated in Pakistan as a private limited company in 1976. RBL is the franchise holder of Pepsi Cola International with seven brands. Like PEPSI, PEPSI MAX, 7UP, MIRINDA and MOUNTAIN DEW etc. They have recently launched Aquafina and are in process of moving towards some other products. RBL today is one of the best National Companies in Pakistan. At RBL, they believe that Our existence and success is more than just meeting our business objectives and we are proud of the success that the company has achieved. Together our people provide the skills, knowledge and expertise to deliver the quality of service that our customers expect and upon which our reputation depends. RIAZ BOTTLERS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: RBLs primary functions are to demeanor a methodical manufacturing and supply of the product without any tactical and strategic flaws. Backed by a powerful competitive strategy and empowered by some effective supply chain strategies, the group has been managing an effective supply chain through out the region. It has set up a urbane manufacturing and storage plant in Lahore with production units and huge production capacity. RBL has different management departments dealing with specialized Marketing, HR, IT and Supply Chain Processes. In this report we conducted the process of the basic supply chain management functions of RBL for MIRINDA by Pepsi co. COMPREHENSION OF MIRINDA SUPPLY CHAIN: The goal of every supply chain is to maximize the overall value generated. The value of a supply chain generates is the difference between what the final product is worth to the customer and the costs the supply chain incurs in filling the customers request. (Chopra, Meindl 2006) DECISION PHASES IN SUPPLY CHAIN OF MIRINDA SUPPLY CHAIN DESIGN OF MIRINDA: A proper decision regarding how to structure the supply chain over next upcoming years have been made and the short term aswell as the longterm decisions have been made by the company in regards to location and capacities of production and warehousing facilities, the products to be manufactured or stored at various locations, the modes of transportation to be made, information systems and so on. Their supply chain design is very expensive to alter on short notice and supports the companys strategic objectives. In order to ensure a good supply chain strategy, Riaz Bottlers plans one to two years in advance. It has several contracts with manufacturers, and receives raw material on a convenient basis. The company also decides where production plants are to be placed. RBL has production plants at Lahore. The production process is 80% automated. The company has to provide and manage transport for the delivery of products as well as the arrangement of third party services for the procurement of products. The shipping department handles orders and the transport department decides the vehicles for safe delivery. Material planning and sourcing is carried out as well. Sources of supply of raw material both local and foreign are identified and terms and conditions are negotiated. Capacity planning is also done at this stage. Sales forecasting and production planning depends upon the capacity of the organization with respect to: Production. Storage: Raw and packing. Storage: Finished goods. Riaz bottlers Lahore has a procurement budget of nearly Rs 10 billion. Approved suppliers cannot go beyond this budget. The supplier is audited by the most cost efficient quality control department. Distributors are also decided by the company, keeping in mind past performances. The company has increased its distribution capacity from one to ten filling lines during the last few years lending it a competitive edge over Coca Cola. FIGURE 1 SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING OF MIRINDA: After RBL set the design of their supply chain they do the planning which increases their surplus in supply chain and thats their goal too. The planning launches and make them set their constraints over some span of time according to the demand of Mirinda. Pepsi co carries out sales forecasting for local demand as well as for export purposes to countries such as Afghanistan etc for Mirinda. The annual sales target is conveyed to the supply chain department of RBL. Planning is carried out on a monthly, weekly and daily basis for order planning allocation , warehousing ,production scheduling inventory planning and optimization. at RBL. images.jpg FIGURE 2 SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATION OF MIRINDA: In RBL , the production , sales and supply chain departments get united to decide the inventory on weekly basis. There is always less uncertainty about the demand . the operation process includes customer orders in the best possible manner. During this RBL , allocate inventory or production to individual orders, set a date (which is always according to the will of customers and they dont get disappointed) that an order is to be filled, generate a proper pick lists at a warehouse in gulberg , allocate to shipping, set delivery and so on. PROCESS VIEWS OF MIRINDA SUPPLY CHAIN The processes in a supply chain are divided into a series of cycles each performed at the interface between two successive stages of a supply chain. CYCLE VIEW OF SUPPLY CHAIN: scm12 FIGURE 3 Supplier / manufacturers: The suppliers to Pepsi Co are franchise operative (RBL) as well as company operative (LAYS chips) system and are located in eight cities of Pakistan. The cities are Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkhar, Gujranwala and Faisalabad. PepsiCo has its Plant , Factory ,Workshop and Warehouse at the same place in Lahore . the Address is : Guru Mangat Road, Gulberg Lahore Distributors: They are located throughout the country; every city has its distributors. The distribution done on direct and indirect ways that would be discussed in the distribution section of the report. Retailers : retailers outlets are all sort of shopkeepers, malls , hotels etc to whom the distributors provide the stock via transportation i.e. trucks etc which carries distribution from point to point in different allocative routes. Customers: Its customers are all sort of target markets from social class A to C and range within all demographical and pyschographical parameters. PUSH AND PULL VIEW OF MIRINDA SUPPLY CHAIN: The push process implementation is commenced in anticipation to a customer order. MIRINDA has a seasonal demand. Just in time concept is pertinent in non-seasonal period and not pertinent in seasonal period. All processes that are part of the procurement cycle, manufacturing cycle, replenishment cycle, and customer order cycle are push processes. MIRINDA Sales order and processing: The Shipping Manager receives sales order from Sales Team, distributors through telephone, fax email one day before dispatch. The sales are made to base distributors on advance payment against orders then shipping manager plans according to the demand of distributors on daily basis. fig1107 FIGURE 4 COMPETITIVE AND SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES: There are three major sustainable advantages that give PepsiCo a competitive edge as they operate in the global marketplace: Big, muscular brands. Proven ability to innovate and create differentiated products. Powerful go-to-market systems. PepsiCos ( Mirinda) overall mission is to increase the value of shareholders investment. They do this through sales growth, cost controls and wise investment of resources. They believe their commercial success depends upon offering quality and value to their consumers and customers; providing products that are safe, wholesome, economically efficient and environmentally sound; and providing a fair return to their investors while adhering to the highest standards of integrity. A customer while purchasing a bottle of Mirinda will consider product quality, price and availability of the product. Thus, Mirinda in Pakistan particularly focuses its competitive strategy as to producing sufficient variety, reasonable prices, and the availability of the product. SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES STEP ONE: THE CUSTOMER AND SUPPLY CHAIN UNCERTAINTY. Identifying customer needs : RBL needs to understand the customer needs for each targeted segment and the uncertainty the supply chain faces in satisfying these needs. As RBL deals with beverages, which are a fast moving consumer good, it knows the requirements of consumers. Mirinda is considered as a drink which is refreshing during summer, and taken regularly during winter, with demand hiking around festivals such as Eid and occasions such as weddings. RBL caters to both cities and rural areas. It understands the needs of both. As demand for beverages is seasonal, the quantity of product needed for each lot is taken care of with past demand in mind. Consumers generally require a small response time, high service level, reasonable price and some variety (for example mirinda has apple flavor too now). Demand uncertainty and implied demand uncertainty: Demand for Mirinda varies by product. For example there is a greater demand for Mirinda as compared to Mirinda Apple, which is sort of new. Hence, Mirinda has a low demand uncertainty as compared to Mirinda Apple. The product Mirinda is approaching its maturity stage in the PLC whereas Mirinda Apple is in the introductory stage. Mirindas implied demand uncertainty varies with the product type as well as the customer needs. Due to decreased lead time (the customer may purchase its competitors product if Mirinda is not available at that time such as Fanta, Gourmet cola, Amrat cola ), need for greater variety and higher level of service, implied demand uncertainty increases. This is true for cities where unmet demand by Mirinda is met by Coca Cola Company, Gourmet Cola and other such competitors. Supply uncertainty is also affected by new products. New products have higher supply uncertainty. Uncertainty for the capability of the supply chain: After determining the demand uncertainty it takes a look at the uncertainty resulting from the supply chain. Mirinda is not a new product and its market is going towards maturation. The company does not have many difficulties in delivering a product and has a fixed delivery schedule (on daily basis). Mirinda hence has a predictable supply and somewhat uncertain demand depending on market conditions. STEP TWO: UNDERSTANDING THE SUPPLY CHAIN CAPABILITIES: The efficiency and responsiveness varies according to the consumer needs, implied demand uncertainty, product type and market segments. In remote areas Pepsi Co ( Mirinda) focuses on being somewhat efficient as other modes of transportation could turn the product to be highly expensive. According to the company it does not deal with distributors who do not have 20 to 25 vehicles, therefore as the company has focus on cost reduction, uses slow and inexpensive modes of transportation, the demand is certain, and uses economies of scale in production, the product Mirinda is more inclined towards being somewhat efficient. In cities, the company focuses its attention on being highly responsive as Mirinda has to meet short lead time, meet a high service level, handle a large variety of products and respond to wide ranges of quantity demanded especially at the retail stage. Highly efficient somewhat efficient somewhat responsive highly responsive In towns MIRINDA In cities FIGURE 5 STEP 3: ACHIEVING THE STRATEGIC FIT: The Mirinda supply chain assign different roles to its different stages, the company has to decide either to transfer the responsiveness to the manufacture stage or to the retailer stage as making one stage more responsive allows the other stage to focus on being more efficient. While discussing the Mirindas supply capability it is seen that Mirinda tends to be more responsive in the cities and a bit less in towns. Therefore, transferring the responsiveness to the retailer and distributor, allowing them to face the higher implied demand uncertainty. This in return allows the manufacturer and supplier to be more efficient. At the same time, multiple beverage types contribute to a broader product portfolio causing RBL to adjust its strategies accordingly; tailoring the supply chain to best meet the needs of each beverage demand. SUPPLY CHAIN DRIVERS AND METRICS: Bonding drivers with Product Life Cycle (PLC) Supply chain strategy: Mirinda mainly follows a combined cost effective responsive supply chain strategy in lahore. The intensive supply of the product is being ensured throughout the city market with the help of RBL distributors. Mirinda has been able to reach out to all market segments without any delays because of its business maturity and comparative business strength. It has the normal beverages sales volumes as compared to any other cities . Although there is an overwhelming stability in the product market yet there are some remote areas where there are conditions for a possible stock out due to their remoteness. For addressing this risk Mirinda has financed different whole sellers in those areas to respond immediately. Mirinda in Lahore and in most parts of Pakistan can be rightly placed into the category of an ever growing mature business. Responsiveness: In case of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) that target a huge segment of market, responsiveness is a deciding factor for the organizational success. In a typical Pakistani market, quick response enables supply chains to meet the customer demands for evershorter lead times, and to synchronize the supply to meet the peaks and troughs of demand. Mirindas supply chain has been able to reinforce a greater response to the uncertain and unpredictable market behavior only because it has multisided processing facilities and corresponds to a systematic production network with both dedicated and multi-product facilities. The major focus is to determine the processes that are to be integrated in the supply chain network with their corresponding suppliers, distribution centers and the associated transport links between them. The major considerations in the design are the supply chain responsiveness and profitability. Framework for Structuring Drivers: FIGURE 6 The framework is based on a motive to create strategic fit between the competitive and supply chain strategy. Mirinda Competitive strategy stands to provide a large variety of products very quickly; simultaneously the supply chain strategy stands to materialize the availability of that variety of products. Mirinda mainly follows a responsive supply chain strategy. Alignment of mirindas business strategy to a corresponding supply chain strategy is achieved through proper deployment of supply chain drivers. Mirinda has to deal with different set of market segments simultaneously. Most of the time the approach needs to be responsive enough to grow substantially to be able to compete with uncertain demand, while in many areas demand is certain and very much predictable, so there it incorporates an efficient supply chain strategy. THE FACILITY DRIVER ROLE , LOCATION AND CAPACITY : In RBL the Mirinda is stored, assembled and fabricated at gulberg Lahore..Mirinda has established a flexible and a product-focused production facility in order to respond effectively to the variability in demand.The storage facilities are designed in order to provide maximum possible capacity for the inventory. It has franchising holding bottling operations. OVERALL TRADE OFF ( RESPONSIVE) : In order to ensure the responsive strategy implementation, the role of facilities is of prime importance in the supply chain of RBL The large amount of excess capacity allows the facility to be very flexible and to respond to wide surges in demands placed on it. In alignment with the responsive supply chain strategy the facilities have been geographically located close to the market. FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8 THE INVENTORY DRIVER ROLE , LOCATION AND SEASONAL INVENTORY: RBL has established a comprehensive plan to ensure the sufficient inventory levels to keep up with the market demand effectively. The inventory type is seasonal .For this purpose the main inventory storage has been established within the main plant area maneet road gulberg Lahore inside RBL. It has the storage capacity of 200,000 Sq Ft and the area is being utilized both horizontally and vertically. The shipping department is in charge for storage and subsequent displacement of the product orders. The inventory capacity is being utilized and maintained in coordination with the production department and is based on the term production estimates. OVERALL TRADE OFF (RESPONSIVE): Increasing inventory makes the supply more responsive to the customers. At RBL, managers bear a high inventory cost to ensure maximum levels of inventory and to reduce the production and transportation costs. inventory.jpg FIGURE 9 THE TRANSPORTATION DRIVER DESIGN AND CHOICE OF TRANSPORTATION MODE: PTN is providing transport to PEPSI CO( mirinda) in the form of big large trucks.Faster transportation of the products allows RBL to maintain sufficient levels of stock on the shelves.RBLs transportation network is the collection of routes, modes and locations along which the product can be shipped. With the help of distributors the product is being supplied to the market. There are multiple supply and demand points within the city which cater to the market demand. RBL decides and selects different modes of transportation having different characteristics with respect to the speed and size of shipment. OVERALL TRADE OFF ( RESPONSIVE): The transportation network has been designed with a view to ensure responsiveness and boost the availability of the product. For RBL using fast mode of transport increases responsiveness as well as the transportation cost but lowers the inventory holding cost. Transportation driver has a large impact on the responsiveness of the business. THE INFORMATION DRIVER COMPONENTS OF INFORMATION DECISIONS: Connects all the supply chain stages effectively allowing them to coordinate and maximize total supply chain profitability. It is also crucial to the daily operations of each stage in the supply chain. The unit manager utilizes the production scheduling system that is based on information on demand to create a schedule that allows RBL to produce the right amount of product. The warehouse in charge uses this information to create visibility of the warehouses inventory items. They dont have any enabling technologies such as EDI, ERP and RFID OVERALL TRASE OFF (RESPONSIVE): Information sharing helps these firms improve its responsiveness within the market. It helps to accurately forecast demand and realize frequency of updates, measurements of the effects of seasonal factors influencing the production, measurements of variances from the plan and the ratio of demand variability to order variability. Timely and accurate information enables the distribution managers to fix potential stock out or oversupply problems. FIGURE 10 THE PRICING DRIVER FIXED PRICING VERSUS MENU PRICING: Mirinda keeps its pricing strategy with the comparison of its competitors for example FANTA. And the demand is seasonal so during the season on period the pricing is done on the fixed basis i.e. summers. And during winters which is the off season period the pricing is done on menu basis for example Rs 2 to Rs 5 ruppees off per 1.5 litre bottle etc. THE SOURCING DRIVER: OUTSOURCED, SUPPLIER SELECTION AND PROCUREMENT: Pepsico has outsourced decisions in its supply chain as RBL is an outsourced company for it. They think that it was best to outsource Mirinda and other beverages aswell because the growth in total supply chain is significant with little additional risk. The responsive components are outsourced such as the PTN aswell which provides transportation to Pepsico ( Mirinda). It has number of suppliers within Lahore and all districts of the country. Both procurement in direct aswell as indirect ways are doneand they have a good coordination between its suppliers and buyers. images.jpg FIGURE 11 DISTRIBUTION NETWORK OF MIRINDA Direct distribution: Delivery of post mix cylinders handling of key accounts: The key accounts are different wholesalers, restaurants and hotels like Pizza Hut, KFC, Metro which serve as a place for key sale. These are known as national key accounts and are very important in terms of competition. Export Parties. Indirect distribution: Through Base market distributors Through Outstation distributors Before delivering the product some certain guiding principles are followed for the assessment of distributors capability by RBL. Applicant must have 30 to 40 vehicles (depending on the area). Applicant must have 40,000 cases of empty bottles. Applicant must deposit Rs.5, 000,000 as a security. RBL uses light and heavy vehicles for safe delivery of goods to the distributors for timely delivery. It follows the just in time concept which is applicable in Non-seasonal period and not applicable in the seasonal period. REVIEW AND REVISE DISTRIBUTION: This is usually done through taking over key revenue areas. If the distributor does not achieve its sales target, the distribution is taken back and an addition of new distributor is done. Therefore MIRINDAS supply is low supply uncertainty. Some of its supply source capabilities are: Less breakdowns High quality Flexible supply capacity Mature production process FACTORES INFLUENCING DISTRIBUTION NETWORK DESIGN: At the highest level, performance of a distribution network should be evaluated along two dimensions: 1. Customer needs that are met 2. Cost of meeting customer needs While customer service consists of many components we will consider those measures that are influenced by the structure of the distribution network for Mirinda . Response Time: For Mirinda is minimal as the direct customers for it are the retailers and then the consumers. So with over 30 to 40 delivery trucks in Lahore , it is readily available to every retailer within 30 minutes or an hour max . Lahore has 12 warehouses from where the supply to the market is done through trucks provided by PTN. Product Variety: They have made their place in the market with their unique product line ranging from Mirinda to Mirinda Apple with refreshing taste and great quality. Customers Desire: customer desire more for mirinda instead of apple mirinda .Recently, the sales for 250 ml bottles has increased and 1.5 litre bottle decreased but they are trying to increase it as it gives the company higher profits. Availability: The product is always available in stock whenever an order arrives. Whenever the distributors feel that after one loading there could be a stock out they place an order to RBL in advance just to keep the floor with enough stock in hand. The Distributors have 3 days stock as back up with them in order of any malfunctioning of the plant or other such external factors. Customer Experience For Mirinda has always been positive as they receive the product with ease and on time. The retailers are the direct customers as they place an order to the distributors. There has never been a shortage or a delay for mirinda in Metro or Pizza Hut which are the key accounts for the company. Order Visibility They are not really an electronic phenomenon where you can track your order through computer. It is more of person-to-person contact and one can easily track down their orders through the designated staff in each sector of Lahore or for that sake all over Pakistan. Returnability: Pepsi Co ( mirinda) has always been very strong in a sense that unsatisfactory items can be returned and changed on the spot. This is true for both the consumers and the retailers. They have laid down a system through which they can effectively manage this requirement. The retailers are told to take down the comments and the address or phone numbers from the person who is returning the bottle. It seems at first that a customer always wants the highest level of performance along all these dimensions, in practice however this is not always the case. DESIGN OPTION FOR DISTRIBUTION NETWORK:: Distributor Storage with Carrier Delivery: In Pepsi Co ( mirinda) inventory is not held by the manufacturers at the factories but is held by distributors/ retailers in intermediate warehouses and package carriers are used to transport the products from the intermediate location to the final customer. This requires distributor storage to keep high levels of inventory because distributor/retailer aggregates demand uncertainty to a lower level than the manufacturer. Transportation costs for Pepsi are somewhat lower because an economic mode of transportation (e.g. truckload) can be employed for inbound shipments to the warehouse, which is closer to the customer. Facility cost is high because of a loss of aggregation and often end up with higher processing costs. The information structure needed is not that complex. The distribution warehouse serves as a buffer between manufacturer and customer. Real time visibility between customers and warehouse is needed whereas as visibility between customer and manufacturer is not required. Response time is also reduced. Customer convenience is high and order visibility with manufacturer storage becomes easier. Distributor storage is well suited for medium to fast moving goods and it can also handle higher level of variety than retail stores FIGURE 7 VALUE OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM: There are basically two components of distribution: Storage Distribution The storage facilities of RBL are designed in order to boost the timely availability of the product. For this purpose the distributors are fully equipped with facilities that are needed to ensure intensive supply of the product. The storage facilities are designed to contain the maximum possible inventory items that are needed at any given time. RBL has established several storage units nearer to the market in order to boost availability. Transportation conducts inventory movement from point to point in supply chain of RBL. It incorporates a combination of modes and routes at different stages. Transportation choices have a large impact on the responsiveness strategy of the business. RBL has several contracts with several distributors with multiple transport facility that ensure the maximum possible transport of inventory within a short period of time. The distribution does not work between specific supply chain components but it performs a basic function of integration amongst all supply chain components. The Pepsi Co distribution system linked the entire supply chain for all product categories. The distribution centers and its information network play a key role in that regard. The major object is to carefully track sales of items and offer short replenishment cycle times. The distributors offer stored deliveries too many retail outlets in the twin cities. Different products are being delivered conveniently on pre-orders. The distribution system is flexible enough to alter delivery schedule depending on customer demand. The Territory Distributor Managers maintain a contact with the retailers in order to book and place the orders. Whenever a store places an order it is immediately transmitted to the supplier through the distribution manager. Now RBL receives orders from all distribution centers and the shipment department delivers the orders. At the distribution centre, products from the manufacturer are delivered into different trucks and each truck makes deliveries to multiple retail stores. The number of stores depends upon the sales volume. The system works on trust and does not require the delivery person to be present when store personnel scan the delivery. This reduces the delivery time at each store. Each truck has a capacity of 1572 cans.The distribution department is in direct contact with the manufacturers and keeps updating inventory levels. They keep in stock spare three days stock to combat external uncertainty. The distribution department is responsible for all the variety of the products in their portfolio. PepsiCos overall distribution network spreads throughout Pakistan connecting the remotest of places and providing great customer service. Globalization has increased the competition that the company for its products like mirinda is constantly coming up with new projects, campaigns and distribution. RECOMMENDATIONS: RBL doesnt have proper enabling technologies such as EDI , ERP , RFID and EDD . they should be having that for the better performance of its supply chain activities. These engagements would

Essay on Voltaire’s Candide: The Accuracy of Candide -- Voltaire Candi

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Voltaire is correct in Candide, where he argues that life on earth is hell in many ways. Voltaire accurately describes how selfish people often are and how they inflict misery on others as a result. Voltaire also describes accurately common forms of cruelty in society. Although he may be mistaken that all wars are equally senseless and avoidable, Voltaire is correct in showing that war inevitably produces atrocities, which makes for hell on earth.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In support of these statements, let's examine Voltaire's accurate description of human selfishness.  Ã‚   An example would be the behavior of the sailor who Pangloss and Candide met on their voyage to Lisbon.   This sailor was rescued from drowning by Jacques the Anabaptist. Yet when Jacques fell into the sea himself, the sailor refused to risk his own life to save him. As a result of this selfishness, Jacques died. Later on, when the sailor reached shore, he ignored the sufferings of people horribly injured by a recent earthquake. Instead the sailor took money from them in order to get drunk and hire a prostitute. This sailor was wholly self-centered and uncaring about anyone else and by not helping anybody out he in effect inflicted misery on them. When the terrorists destroyed the World Trade Centers, and many police and firemen were killed, many people received money for relatives that did not die, and used the money for gambling, booze and whores. Human nature in this regard has not changed since the book was written. This being so, Voltaire's description of how human selfishness can often turn life on earth into a hell is accurate.     Ã‚   Voltaire's depiction of how common cruelty is in society is also well supported. For example, Voltaire describes how Candide en... ... again as an example, there were many instances of people who risked their own lives to save others and as a result received citations and promotions as well as the admiration of their family and friends. This objection to my argument, however, does not take an important thrust of Candide into account. That is, that Voltaire felt that he had to use exaggeration and one-sided presentation to make sure his audience did not refuse to contemplate deeply just how much cruelty and selfishness exists at all times all around them and how much people suffer because of that. Works Cited and Consulted: Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1998. Lowers, James K, ed. "Cliff Notes on Voltaire's Candide". Lincoln: Cliff Notes, Inc. 1995. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1976.

Gas Injection

In the production of oil from subsurface reservoirs, 65% of the oil initially in place (OIIP), on average, is left in the reservoir after more oil as possible has been recovered by natural depletion and with the aid of water flooding. Residual oil and gas are enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. EOR techniques are classified into thermal (such as steam or hot water injection) techniques and non-thermal techniques (including designer water flooding, gas injection and chemical flooding). The former is primarily intended for heavy oils, while the latter are normally applied in light oil reservoirs. There are some of the non-thermal enhanced oil recovery methods, such as polymer flooding, alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) and alkaline flooding are much expensive and are also subjected to some operational restrictions, such as temperature (reservoir) and formation permeability. Gas injection techniques in various forms consisting of hydrocarbon gas injection (including natural gas, enriched natural gas and a liquefied petroleum slug driven by natural gas) and non-hydrocarbon gas injection (such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and flue gas) are widely used to reduces the residual oil saturation. In gas injection, a compressed gas such as carbon dioxide (CO2), natural gas (consisting primarily of methane, CH4), nitrogen (N2), or flue gases are injected into the reservoir to displace oil toward the production wells. The injected gas either partially dissolves in the oil (immiscible gas flooding) or mixes completely with it (miscible flooding), leading mainly to swelling of the oil, viscosity reduction in the oil phase and also for miscible flooding, lowering of the interfacial tension (IFT) between the displacing phase and oil . CO2 injection is preferred because it applies for two different purposes; improving oil recovery and CO2 sequestration for diminish the greenhouse gases emissions. Several problems such as corrosion in the production wells or injection and surface facilities as well   , CO2 separation from the saleable hydrocarbons, large requirement of CO2 per increase in barrel and asphaltene precipitation which causes formation damage and wettability alteration have been reported for CO2 injection process. Injection of N2 or nitrogen-contaminated lean hydrocarbon gases are appropriate EOR processes for deep reservoirs, high pressure reservoirs, with light or volatile oil that are rich in light and also intermediate hydrocarbon components (C2–C5) due to their miscible displacement potential. Low cost, abundance and availability of nitrogen are the most reported advantages for nitrogen injection. Nitrogen is produced by cryogenic processes from air for a long period of time.CO2 (carbon dioxide) flooding enhances oil recovery by the following main mechanisms: (1) oil swelling, (2) reduction of crude oil viscosity, and (3) reduction of interfacial tension (IFT), the latter pertains to miscible flooding . The mechanism of swelling of oil by carbon dioxide injection which makes the volume of oil increase would help discontinuous oil droplets trapped in a porous medium to merge with the flowing oil phase. Reduction in the viscosity is another major mechanism which is significant at even moderate pressures. The amount of solution gas or oil ratio in case of nitrogen injection is lower than that of CO2. The swelling factors of N2 were also lower than those of CO2 due to nitrogen lower solubility in the oil. If the pressure is low (lower than 3 MPa), solubility of nitrogen and flue gas is negligible. The viscosity reduction due to N2 injection is much lower than that of carbon dioxide injection. Addition of N2 to the injection gas implies that some mechanisms other than swelling and viscosity reduction are important. One possibility is the buildup of free gas saturation with the N2 containing injectants that may decreases the relative permeability to water, thereby improving the mobility ratio. Moreover, nitrogen has a higher molar volume than CO2 which tells that one mole of nitrogen displaces a higher volume of gas than that of CO2. Therefore, N2 is more favorable in terms of displacement volume. So that our focus in this study is on N2.Literature review on N2 miscibility Immiscible gas injection can potentially recover a large amount fraction of the remaining oil after primary depletion or water flooding (WF). However, such potential has hardly ever been realized because of the low vertical efficiency and areal sweep efficiency. Nitrogen injection process is also performed either by miscible or immiscible, depending on the injection pressure of N2, reservoir temperature and reservoir oil composition. Miscibility is theoretically defined as the conditions at which there is no interface between the reservoir oil and displacing phase . In other words, it can be say that two phases are miscible when a single phase fluid is produced after intermingling of two fluids with each other at any ratio. The lowest operating pressure, at reservoir temperature, at which miscibility is achieved between reservoir fluid and injection gas is termed as the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) . There has been a few correlations in the literature for N2 MMP estimation producing different average absolute error values. A study done by Fathinasab, Ayatollahi and Hemmati-Sarapardeh   had resulted in a correlation for MMP which will be used for pure N2, nitrogen mixtures and lean gases. The developed correlation yields the least error and is a function of average critical temperature of the injection gas, reservoir temperature, C7 + fraction molecular weight of crude oil, volatile components (mole fraction) and intermediate components (mole fraction) of crude oil. Since N2 is not as good a solvent for oils as carbon dioxide (CO2), or even methane (CH4), the pressure required for nitrogen to become miscible with any oil should be greater than that for methane which, in turn, is higher than CO2 . This especially makes nitrogen attractive for highly undersaturated reservoirs at immiscible conditions. Literature review on challenges in gas flooding and a solution The major technical challenge of immiscible gas injection is to maintain proper sweep efficiency of the injected gas, improve gas utilization and delay its breakthrough. These result from a combination of gravity override and gas channeling through high permeability streaks in the formation. Gas segregation, channeling and fingering through high permeability streaks are inherent in any gas injection; they are due to the excessively higher mobility and far lower density of gas (displacing phase) compared to oil or water (displaced phase). Unfavorable mobility ratios lead to even more severe channeling in heterogeneous reservoirs and heavier oil reservoirs. Consequently, the drive fluid does not contact a large part of the reservoir and the volumetric sweep efficiency of the reservoir remains poor . Furthermore, a displacement is adversely affected by capillary end effects, arising from the discontinuity of capillarity in the wetting phase at the outlet end of the core, that, for the gas/oil system, cannot be overcome by high gas throughput rates. WAG injection is implemented to improve mobility ratio and sweep efficiency.

A Farewell To Arms †Love And War Essay

Love and War Love is an unexplainable relationship between a man and a woman. The relationship can start one way and then transform into something completely different without warning. Each character in this novel has a different understanding of love. In A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, the relationship between Catherine Barkley and Frederick Henry closely parallels Rinaldi and the priest’s different views of love. The character Rinaldi does not take love seriously; he is always in and out of love and always has many short-term flings. For example, Rinaldi is always looking for a new girl conquer, â€Å"That’s nothing. Here now we have beautiful girls. New girls never been to the front before† (Hemingway 12.) Rinaldi looks at girls and relationships as if they are a game that he can play. Girls to him are material possessions that he can keep as long as he wants, and then get rid of. Furthermore, Rinaldi can only see one facet of relationships, â€Å"Where did you meet her? In the Cova? Where did you go? How did you feel? Tell me everything at once. Did you stay all night?† (Hemingway 11.) He can only see the physical and sexual side of his and others love affairs. He doesn’t go deeper into what truly makes up the relationship, the feelings that a couple has for one another. In addition, Rinaldi is phony towards the women, he does whatever it takes to get what he wants, â€Å"I must make on Miss Barkley the impression of a man of sufficient wealth† (Hemingway 12.) When it comes to women, Rinaldi is never his true self. He feels that it is better to be someone you aren’t and get what you want, than not get anything at all. He is unlike the priest in his views of love, he is shallow and does not understand what it is to love. The priest has a sincere and deep understanding of love, his relationship with God symbolizes the true awareness of what love is. For example, the soldiers try to make fun of the priest because he does not take advantage of girls like they do, â€Å"He should have fine girls. I will give you the addresses of places in Naples. Beautiful young girls†Ã¢â‚¬ accompanied by their mothers. Ha! Ha! Ha!† (Hemingway 8.) The priest is the butt of all the jokes because he is unlike the other men. He does not always have to be involved in the physical act of love like the others do. Furthermore, he does not participate in the immoral actions that the soldiers do, â€Å"We go  whorehouse before it shuts† (Hemingway 9.) The men have a constant desire for physical gratification, it is like a emptiness they always have to fill. The priest’s relationship with God keeps him continuously satisfied. In addition, God provides the priest with an endless fulfillment of all his spiritual needs, â€Å"People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life† (John 4:13-14) The physical needs the men have are short term and will not last. The spiritual needs the priest has, the ones that are most important, are met by God. The soldier’s relationships leave them empty and wanting more, while the priests relationship with God keeps him full with love. Catherine and Henry start off as a fling, but then grow into something more, a love that is real. For example, when the relationship first takes shape, it is not a true love that exists between them, â€Å"The love that he feels is almost entirely sexual, however, and derives from the pleasure she gives him†Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Donaldson 157.) The love Henry feels for Catherine it is more of a lust. It is purely physical and he is using her for the pleasure he gets from being with her. In addition, throughout the novel Henry does not show any true feelings for Catherine, it is not until the end of the novel where he begins to show true love, â€Å"Throughout their affair, Frederic rarely displays honest and thoughtful concern for Catherine’s feelings. Where she invariably thinks of him first, he often does not think of her at all. Only when she lies dying of childbirth in the Lausanne hospital does he finally begin to want to serve and to sacrifice for her† (Donaldson 160.) It is not until Catherine is threatened with death that Henry’s true emotions begin to form. The thought of life without her sparks this reaction inside Henry. Furthermore, Henry’s sacrifices show how his love for Catherine has changed, â€Å"Please go and get something to eat,’ Catherine said. â€Å"ËÅ"I’m fine, really.’ â€Å"ËÅ"I’ll stay awhile,’ I said.† (Hemingway 314.) Henry gives up eating so he can stay be side her. This action shows a big change in Henry, he is beginning to think of her before himself. This is the beginning of what true love really is. In conclusion, Henry’s love for Catherine began to mature when he put her  needs above him. In reality this is what true love is. True love is not just a physical one; it is emotional, and spiritual as well. â€Å"Mature lovers share equally: they give and gain by giving† (Donaldson 173.) Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scriber Paperback Fiction, 1995. Donaldson, Scott. â€Å"Contemporary Literary Criticism.† Rev. of A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. Gale Research Company 1980 The New Living Translation: American Bible. â€Å"John 4:13-14† Bible.Crosswalk.com 2001.

Global Population Growth Creates Environmental Problems

Global Population Growth Creates Environmental Problems Environmentalists don’t dispute that many if not all of the environmental problems - from climate change to species loss to overzealous resource extraction - are either caused or exacerbated by population growth. â€Å"Trends such as the loss of half of the planet’s forests, the depletion of most of its major fisheries, and the alteration of its atmosphere and climate are closely related to the fact that human population expanded from mere millions in prehistoric times to over six billion today,† says Robert Engelman of Population Action International. Although the global rate of human population growth peaked around 1963, the number of people living on Earth - and sharing finite resources like water and food - has grown by more than two-thirds since then, topping out at over seven and a half billion today, and human population is expected to exceed nine billion by 2050. With more people coming, how is this going to affect the environment further? Population Growth Causes Multiple Environmental Problems According to Population Connection, population growth since 1950 is behind the clearing of 80 percent of rainforests, the loss of tens of thousands of plant and wildlife species, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of some 400 percent, and the development or commercialization of as much as half of the Earth’s surface land. The group fears that in the coming decades half of the world’s population will be exposed to water-stress or â€Å"water-scarce† conditions, which are expected to â€Å"intensify difficulties in meeting...consumption levels, and wreak devastating effects on our delicately balanced ecosystems.† In less developed countries, lack of access to birth control, as well as cultural traditions that encourage women to stay home and have babies, lead to rapid population growth. The result is ever increasing numbers of poor people across Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere who suffer from malnourishment, lack of clean water, overcrowding, inadequate shelter, and AIDS and other diseases. And while population numbers in most developed nations are leveling off or diminishing today, high levels of consumption make for a huge drain on resources. Americans, for instance, who represent only four percent of world population, consume 25 percent of all resources. Industrialized countries also contribute far more to climate change, ozone depletion, and overfishing than developing countries. And as more and more residents of developing countries get access to Western media, or immigrate to the United States, they want to emulate the consumption-heavy lifestyles they see on their televisions and read about on the Internet. How Changing U.S. Policy Could Offset Environmental Harm Worldwide Given the overlap of population growth and environmental problems, many would like to see a change in U.S. policy on global family planning. In 2001, President George W. Bush instituted what some call the â€Å"global gag rule,† whereby foreign organizations that provide or endorse abortions were denied U.S. funding support. Environmentalists considered that stance to be shortsighted because support for family planning is the most effective way to check population growth and relieve pressure on the planet’s environment, and as a result, the global gag rule was rescinded in 2009 by President Obama but put back in place by Donald Trump in 2017. If only the United States would lead by example by cutting down on consuming, reducing deforestation practices, and relying more on renewable resources in our policies and practices, perhaps the rest of the world would follow suit - or, in some cases, lead the way and the U.S. follow - to ensure a better future for the planet.