The cover image is based on the Research Article 365‐day sectional work zone schedule optimization for road networks considering economies of scale and user cost by Yuto Nakazato and Daijiro Mizutani ...et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/mice.13273.
This paper analyzes a general equilibrium economy featuring input-output connections, imperfect competition, and external economies of scale owing to entry and exit. The interaction of input-output ...networks with industry-level market structure affects the amplification of shocks and the pattern of diffusion in the model, generating cascades of firm entry and exit across the economy. In this model, sales provide a poor measure of the systemic importance of industries. Unlike the relevant notions of centrality in competitive constant-returns-to-scale models, systemic importance depends on the industry's role as both a supplier and a consumer of inputs, as well as the market structure of industries. A basic calibration of the model suggests that aggregate output is three times more volatile in response to labor productivity shocks when compared to a perfectly competitive model.
PurposeThe COVID-19 crisis has caused major supply chain disruptions, and these can be traced back to basic supply chain risks that have previously been well identified in literature. The purpose of ...this paper is to suggest a pathway for closing the gap between supply chain resilience research and efforts in industry to develop a more resilient supply chain.Design/methodology/approachBased upon virtual roundtables with supply chain executives, supplemented with interviews and publicly available datapoints about COVID-19 impact on the supply chain, we explore challenges in industry and suggest opportunity areas where research can support efforts in industry to improve supply chain resilience.FindingsDuring the COVID-19 crisis, participating supply chain executives are experiencing textbook supply, demand and control risks in the supply chain. They also observe a lack of preparedness, shortcomings of current response plans and the need for greater supply chain resilience. Focus areas in improving resilience mirror generic recommendations from literature and provide a rich opportunity to reduce the gap between research findings and efforts in industry.Research limitations/implicationsMore empirical, event-based and less conceptual research into supply chain resilience has been called for several times during the last two decades. COVID-19 provides a very rich opportunity for researchers to conduct the type of research that has been called for. This research may contribute to the structurally de-risking of supply chains. Areas of research opportunity include decision models for supply chain design that avoid overfocusing on costs only, and that consider the value of flexibility, short response times and multiple sources as well as methods for enriching supplier segmentation and evaluation models to reduce a focus on savings and payment terms only.Practical implicationsKey levers for de-risking the supply chain include the need to balance global sourcing with nearshore and local sourcing, the adoption of multiple sources and a greater utilization of information technology to drive more complete and immediate information availability. Perhaps most importantly, talent management in supply chain management needs to promote a focus not just on costs, but also on resilience as well as on learning from current events to improve decision-making.Social implicationsThere is a great opportunity for supply chain managers to grow their contribution to society beyond risk response into the proactive reduction of risks for the future. Researchers can serve society by informing this progress with impactful research.Originality/valueThis article offers initial empirical exploration of supply chain risks experienced in the context of COVID-19 and approaches considered in industry to improve supply chain resilience. Opportunities for empirical, event-based and less conceptual research that has been called for years, are identified. This research can help close the gap between supply chain resilience research and efforts in industry to improve supply chain resilience. Hopefully the research opportunities identified can inspire the flurry of research that can be expected in response to the multiple special issues planned by journals in our field.
Display omitted
•A virtual distributed energy storage service using centralized storage facilities.•Architecture and business model of Cloud Energy Storage.•Operation mechanism of consumer and ...operator for Cloud Energy Storage.•Profitability analysis of Cloud Energy Storage using actual power system data.
Energy storage is extensively recognized as a significant potential resource for balancing generation and load in future power systems. Although small residential and commercial consumers of electrical energy can now purchase energy storage systems, many factors, such as cost, policy and control efficiency, limit the spread of distributed energy storage (DES). This paper proposes a new type of DES—cloud energy storage (CES)—that is capable of providing energy storage services at a substantially lower cost. This grid-based storage service enables ubiquitous and on-demand access to a shared pool of grid-scale energy storage resources. It provides users the ability to store and withdraw electrical energy to and from centralized batteries. This paper describes the concept of CES and the control and communication technologies that are required for its implementation and its operating mechanism, as well as its business model. Simulation results that are based on actual power system operating data demonstrate the feasibility and economic benefit of CES.
Megacities pose both challenges and opportunities for the transition towards sustainability, and understanding the evolution of urbanization in megacities has profound implications for human ...societies in an increasingly urbanized world. Here, we mapped and quantified spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion in China's six megacities (i.e., Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin) from 1978 to 2015, integrating remote sensing and GIS technology combined with landscape metrics and urban growth type analysis. The results show that six Chinese megacities have all undergone extensive physical expansion over the past four decades, and the magnitude of urban expansion is ranked in the order of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing, with annual growth rates of 11.02%, 8.07%, 5.80%, 5.37%, 4.56% and 3.46%, respectively. The megacities with smaller initial urban areas were associated with higher urban expansion rates. Differences in the direction, extent and location of expansion for each megacity related largely to the topography, policies and urban master planning. Temporal dynamics of urban growth and landscape metrics suggested that the urbanization processes of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin were basically consistent with urban growth theory, while those of Chongqing and Guangzhou did not match the theory well. Temporal coevolution of the urban area with urban population implied efficiency of urban land use in Shenzhen and Beijing, which are the first special economic zone and the capital of China, respectively. The efficiency of wealth creation in the urbanized area base was observed for all Chinese megacities, signifying the effectiveness of urban expansion as a vehicle to promote economic growth. We face the challenge of managing trade-offs between the benefits and costs of urban agglomeration.
Display omitted
•Spatiotemporal dynamics of urban expansion in China's six megacities were quantified.•Megacities underwent extensive physical expansion over the past four decades.•The applicability of urban growth theory varied with megacity.•Wealth creation efficiency observed in all megacities.•Land use efficiency found in Beijing and Shenzhen.
Purpose
– Direct digital manufacturing (DDM) is conceived of as either disrupting the entire manufacturing economy or merely enabling novel production. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an ...alternative where DDM coexists with and complements traditional mass production. When multiple parts run across one manufacturing line, DDM can isolate variability associated with low volume part production and may be preferred to mass production despite being expensive. If DDM complements rather than cannibalizes mass production, this alters the understanding of who adopts DDM, the products built with DDM, and DDM’s long-term supply chain implications.
Design/methodology/approach
– This invited paper explores a DDM rollout scenario and qualitatively assesses potential supply chain reconfigurations.
Findings
– The analysis recognizes that existing manufacturers with heterogeneous bills-of-material may develop DDM capabilities to isolate disruptive, low-volume production from scalable mass production. Developing DDM competence and raw material scale advantages, these manufacturers become the locus of change in a manufacturing landscape increasingly characterized by multi-product DDM supercenters.
Originality/value
– Extant research largely focusses on two potential reasons for DDM adoption: cost-per-unit and time-to-delivery comparisons. The authors explore a third driver: DDM’s capacity to isolate manufacturing variability attributable to low volume parts. Relative to the extant literature, this suggests a different DDM rollout, different adopters, and a different supply chain configuration. The authors identify mass manufacturing variability reduction as the mechanism through which DDM may be adopted. This adoption trajectory would eventually enable a supply chain transition in which spare parts inventory migrates from finished goods at proprietary facilities to raw materials at generalized DDM supercenters.
•Techno-economic and life cycle assessments of energy storage systems were reviewed.•The levelized cost of electricity decreases with increase in storage duration.•Efficiency, lifetime, and duration ...of discharge influence the final costs and emissions.•A consistent system boundary is crucial for conducting life cycle assessment.•An integrated techno-economic and life cycle assessment model is recommended.
Incorporating renewables in the power grid has challenges in terms of the stability, reliability, and acceptable operation of the power system network. One possible solution is to integrate an energy storage system with the power network to manage unpredictable loads. The implementation of an energy storage system depends on the site, the source of electrical energy, and its associated costs and the environmental impacts. Moreover, an up-to-date database with cost numbers, energy use, and resulting emissions is required for decision-making purposes. This paper reviews the techno-economic and environmental assessments of mechanical, electro-chemical, chemical, and thermal to give an update on recent developments and generate a relevant database for costs and emissions. We reviewed 91 publications, 58 on techno-economic assessment and 33 on life cycle assessment. We found that, because of economies of scale, the levelized cost of energy decreases with an increase in storage duration. In addition, performance parameters such as round-trip efficiency, cycle life, and cycle length highly influence the final costs and environmental footprints of various storage technologies. However, further research is required to build a bottom-up model that can handle all the technical parameters to quantify the levelized cost of energy and environmental footprints of the storage systems simultaneously.
There has been concern that artificial intelligence (AI) may cause significant unemployment; however, proponents say that AI augments jobs. Both of these positions have substance, but there is a need ...to articulate the mechanisms by which AI may actually do both, and, in the process, transform the balance of work available. We examine economic studies of automation's impact on employment and skills, illustrating the favoring of nonroutine skills over the routine, and a hollowing-out of middle-skill jobs. We then use case evidence of AI and automation to show how AI is augmenting automation to the same effect, allowing firms to modularize and control routine work. The remaining work tends to be nonroutine and low-skilled (allowing for further replacement in the future), or high-skilled. We illustrate the dynamic effects that occur when AI is combined with other key technologies, creating economies of scale and scope for firms. Through augmentation, the resulting employment structures may also have lower quantities of high-skilled work. This depends on advances in AI, and its ability to replace more complex forms of work. We end with a call for more critical conversations between society and business, and on what business schools should teach.
•Economies of scale are maximal when electrode roll-to-roll processes operate at full capacity.•Balancing plant and electrode roll-to-roll capacities can reduce cost by >5 $ kWh−1.•Electrode ...roll-to-roll capacities depend on materials, cell design and production technology.•Min. efficient plant sizes are currently below 2 and exceed 15 GWh year−1 in future.•Plant investments per GWh decrease, amounts for cost-efficient plant sizes increase.
One key lever to reduce high battery cost, a main hurdle to comply with CO2 emission targets by overcoming generation variability from renewable energy sources and widespread electric vehicle adoption, is to exploit economies of scale in battery production. In an industry growth currently supported by subsidies, cost-efficient battery plant sizes are vital for the establishment of a self-sustaining industry and a transition into a long-term climate-neutral society. For optimal plant sizing, no consensus has yet been achieved in the battery literature and a detailed analysis of economies of scale is unavailable. To close this gap, a process-based cost modeling approach is taken that reflects the determinants of economies of scale. In state-of-the-art, minimum viable plant sizes are demonstrated to be below 2 GWh year−1 but may exceed 15 GWh year−1 in the future. This study finds that economies of scale are related to the capacity of the roll-to-roll processes in electrode manufacturing and can be maximized if the respective equipment operates at its capacity limit. This capacity depends on materials, cell design and roll-to-roll process parameters. Since these parameters improve over time, increased plant sizes will become necessary to achieve cost-efficient production levels. Required plant investments are found to decrease on a per GWh basis, whereas significantly increased funds will become necessary to reach efficient plant sizes in the future. Finally, implications are presented that support future battery cost reductions and a self-sustaining market breakthrough of battery-powered products.
A great challenge facing industry today is managing variety throughout the entire products life cycle. Drivers of products variety, its benefits, pre-requisites and associated complexity and cost are ...presented. Enhancing consumers’ value through variety and approaches for achieving it efficiently including modularity, commonality and differentiation are discussed. Variant-oriented manufacturing systems paradigms, as enablers of product variety, and the effective co-development of variants and their manufacturing systems to ensure economic sustainability are reviewed. Industrial applications and guidelines to achieve economy of scope with advantages of economy of scale are discussed. Perspectives and insights on future research in this field are offered.
PDF
