Browsing by Author "Wickramarachchi, Ruwan"

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Adoptability of Chaos Engineering with DevOps to Stimulate the Software Delivery Performance
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Arsecularatne, Merishani; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
The efficiency of the business processes has a major impact on improving the productivity of organisations. Many organisations use IT-related tools, primarily software, to enhance the efficiency of their business processes. Therefore, timely and reliable delivery of software products has become a top priority. As a result, advancing the concept of “Agility”, organisations implement DevOps practices. However, maintaining the quality of the software delivery service has become an issue due to several challenges related to the implementation of DevOps. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim of understanding the DevOps-related challenges and how “chaos engineering” can be applied along with DevOps to address those challenges. The practice of "chaos engineering" contributes to the reduction of chaos. A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the concept of “chaos engineering” and the challenges that DevOps-implemented organisations face. Later, a qualitative study was conducted to see how chaos engineering practices can be used to address the identified DevOps challenges. Based on the thoughts and views of the industry experts who participated in this study, it was revealed that implementing chaos engineering with DevOps helps organisations address most of the DevOps challenges both directly and indirectly. Also, the study suggests a methodology to implement chaos engineering with DevOps within organisations to successfully overcome DevOps-related challenges.
Business process reengineering in public sector organizations: Systematic literature review of critical success factors
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2021) Amarasinghe, A.A.T.M.; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) focuses on critically analyzing existing business processes in an organization and redesigning enhanced effectiveness and functional efficiencies. Although private sector organizations have widely adopted BPR, it has been observed that public sector organizations are less successful in utilizing this exercise to improve their processes. This paper aims to investigate and identify the critical success factors (CSFs) that impact the implementation of BPR in the public sector and develop a framework to support improving success rates. A critical review of the literature was conducted to identify CSFs and derived fifteen CSFs that influence BPR implementation in the public sector under five dimensions. According to findings, Management commitment, financial resources, organizational structure, Human resources, and IT infrastructure are the main five CSFs in public sector BPR implementation. CSFs of BPR are crucial for an organization to achieve the end goal or mission of the BPR project.
Challenges Affecting the Successful Adoption of DevOps Practices: A Systematic Literature Review
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024) Nayanajith, Akalanka; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Contemporary business organizations are increasingly turning to IT-related tools, particularly software, to enhance the efficiency of their operational processes. As a result, time to deliver to market and the quality of software product has been a major concern to software development companies. Hence these organizations are willing to implement DevOps practices. DevOps has emerged as a promising approach in software development and operations, aiming to enhance collaboration, automation, and efficiency in delivering high-quality software products. While DevOps practices have gained significant attention globally, the successful adoption of DevOps practices in specific regions, may encounter unique challenges for various reasons. It also has become a critical endeavor for organizations in the developing countries, like Sri Lanka, seeking to enhance their software development and delivery processes. This systematic literature review explores the challenges affecting the successful adoption of DevOps practices by extensively analyzing relevant scholarly articles, conference papers, and industry reports. The identified challenges encompass organizational culture, technical infrastructure, skill gaps, regulatory compliance, and resource constraints. More specifically, the analysis revealed major challenges such as resistance to change, absence of supportive and visionary leadership, outdated legacy systems, high cost of investment, skills gaps, communication gaps between development and operations teams, and a deep-seated company culture.
Decision-making models for a resilient supply chain in FMCG companies during a pandemic: A systematic literature review
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Madhavi, B. R. H.; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Decision-making during a crisis impacts the performance of an entire organization. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations had undergone supply chain disruptions due to the forward and backward propagation of disruptions in the global supply chain networks, implying the importance of building up resilience in the supply chain networks. This study intends to systematically review the existing literature to determine the impact of optimal decision-making during crises to build up supply chain resilience. The paper has focused on the need for evaluating the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the FMCG industry and how supply chain resilience would improve in performance during such crises. The study also assessed the existing decision support systems for resilience in a supply chain network and their applicability during a crisis. Some of these models could be used to facilitate decision-making during an epidemic as well. Precisely determining resilience factors affected during an unexpected circumstance would enhance the value of the decision support system in use. Furthermore, it was concluded that the use of quantitative models should be further investigated, as most published work focuses on the conceptualization of a restricted number of resilience factors instead of the development of integrated, comprehensive approaches.
Designing a Data Governance Model to Implement GDPR in Sri Lankan Enterprises
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2021) Ranathunga, P.A.Indhumini; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
The volume and complexity of data have expanded while demanding the need for specialized data protection solutions for many data-driven enterprises. Personal data is the internet's new oil and the digital world's new currency, has a big impact on privacy and security. Various laws have been implemented in many nations to protect people's personal information. One of them is GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which is particularly relevant for EU data processing businesses. Though it does not apply directly to Sri Lanka, it is directly applied to European Union counterparties. To avoid losing business with the EU, Sri Lanka must also comply with GDPR. Although there aren't many resources for GDPR implementation guidance, the existing ones are not very comprehensive. To resolve the issue, we went through a series of processes to construct a comprehensive model, after which we were able to develop a data governance model to deploy. The data governance model provides extensive direction for data management. We established the indicators and drivers that must be observed while applying the GDPR principles through interviews with industry professionals and completing an extensive literature study. A data governance model is provided in this study for data-driven organizations to simply implement compliance.
Identifying interrelationships of key success factors of third-party logistics service providers
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Perera, Theruwanda; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan; Wijayanayake, A. N.
To be more cost-effective as well as to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, many enterprises tend to improve their business practices by having a strong relationship with third-party (3PL) logistics service providers. The main objectives of this paper are to determine the key success factors associated with the Sri Lankan 3PL industry and identify the interrelationships of these key success factors. A systematic literature review and expert opinions were used to identify the key success factors of the 3PL industry in Sri Lanka. In total 21 key success factors were obtained, and those key success factors were grouped into four categories as organization strategy, management, and process, human resources, and customer orientation. Q-sort technique was used to group key success factors into four categories. Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to capture the interactive relationships among the key success factors of 3PL service providers, and the casual effect map analyzed. Data were collected through questionnaires from middle and senior-level managers of 3PL firms. A total of eleven experts in the 3PL industry participated in the data collection process. The result shows that organization strategy is a core success factor since it has both high prominence and high interrelationship. Management and process were classified as driving factors since they had a low prominence but a high interrelationship. However, human resources and customer orientation had high prominence but low relationship, which are influenced by other factors and cannot be directly improved. The findings may assist managers to formulate long-term flexible decision strategies in their 3PL firms.
Impact of AI-based predictive analytics on demand forecasting in ERP systems: A Systematic Literature Review
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024) Fathima, Fazaal; Inparaj, Rishani; Thuvarakan, Dushyanthan; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan; Fernando, Ishenka
Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized demand forecasting within Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, offering a powerful tool to enhance accuracy and efficiency in predicting future demand patterns. This literature review explores the impact of AI-based predictive analytics on demand forecasting in ERP systems by synthesizing and analyzing existing research. This paper provides a comprehensive examination of the transformative effects of AI-driven demand forecasting across diverse industries, including fashion retail, biopharmaceuticals, energy management, and transportation. We highlight the unique benefits and applications of AI-driven demand forecasting, such as anticipating customer needs, optimizing inventory levels, and making data-driven decisions, ultimately leading to a competitive edge in the marketplace. Our study emphasizes the importance of AI integration into ERP systems for businesses seeking to enhance decision-making and achieve organizational success in today's dynamic and competitive business landscape. By providing valuable insights and showcasing significant improvements in forecasting accuracy, real-time insights, supply chain efficiency, and risk management facilitated by AI-based predictive analytics, this research contributes to advancing knowledge in the field and offers practical guidance for businesses and researchers alike.
Impact of IoT Integration on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: A Comprehensive Literature Analysis
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024) Wijesinghe, Shalani; Nanayakkara, Imasha; Pathirana, Rashmi; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan; Fernando, Ishenka
The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technology with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems has gained significant attention in recent years. This research study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the impact of IoT integration on ERP systems. The study explores the benefits, challenges, and potential solutions associated with combining IoT and ERP. The findings highlight that IoT integration with ERP offers several advantages, such as real-time data collection, improved supply chain visibility, enhanced asset tracking, and predictive maintenance capabilities. These benefits lead to increased operational efficiency, reduced costs, and better decision-making. The integration of IoT with ERP also presents challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges include data security and privacy concerns, IoT traffic, and data management. The research identifies potential solutions and best practices to overcome these challenges. Furthermore, the study discusses the implications of IoT integration on various functional areas of ERP systems, such as healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, inventory management, and customer relationship management. The research methodology includes an extensive review of existing literature and case studies. This research provides valuable insights into the impact of IoT integration on ERP systems, offering guidance for organizations considering already implemented IoT-enabled ERP solutions or currently implementing ERP solutions.
A Knowledge Transfer Model to Implement Lean Practices for Apparel Industry based Multi-stakeholder 3PLs
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2020) Gamini, Lakshika; Vidanagamachchi, Kasuni; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Warehousing plays an important role in the logistics sector in order to facilitate economic and business benefits for both parties including customer and the service provider. 3PL (third-party logistics) service providers are specialized in providing end-to-end logistics solutions including warehousing, transportation and distribution to their multi-stakeholders in various sectors (Apparel, FMCG). Lean knowledge transferring process from 3PLs to their apparel based multi-stakeholders is a kind of challenging process for both parties due to several factors. The way of transferring and receiving knowledge is directly affected by the success of any business. In this research, a framework is developed on the perspective of 3PLs by examining the factors that affect effective knowledge transferring on lean practices for their clients. Based on these, the model which consists of relevant factors named extent of lean practices, capabilities of the source and the recipient and the relationship between them are providing a clear roadmap to the service provider and their stakeholders. The proposed model will help the 3PL service provider to identify critical success factors for sharing the knowledge of lean practices effectively. Also, it facilitates the successful collaboration with the multi-stakeholders and finally it helps to improve the overall warehouse operational performance.
A Literature-Based Survey on Industry 4.0 Technologies for Procurement Optimization
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2020) Chandrasekara, Sachini; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
To survive in the market and acquire a competitive edge, industries need to invest in advanced technology. However, most companies fail due to poor integration of technology in their supply chain. The concept of Procurement 4.0 has emerged to optimize supply chain performance developing new value propositions and meeting new business needs. It is the integration of Industry 4.0 concepts in procurement. Although Industry 4.0 concepts have been studied in different industrial contexts, a limited number of researches have been conducted on the use of emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Big data and Cognitive analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud technologies, etc. in relation procurement while more existing researchers have focused web-based applications which facilitates real-time communication across supply chains. Therefore, the applicability of industry 4.0 technologies in procurement should be investigated. In this research, a literature survey involving systematic identification and review of 45 articles published in different sources between 2000 and 2019 was carried out to identify different emerging technologies that can be used across the procurement process. Further, the results include the applications of these technologies in the different areas of procurement that supports procurement optimization.
A Model for On-Premises ERP System and Cloud ERP Integration
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2020) Niranga, Mahikala; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Market demand changes have led to the emergence of cloud ERP solutions that have become the growing trend nowadays as that they bring new processing capabilities without making significant changes in the existing system. But it alone does not provide businesses with all necessary and best functionalities as different businesses have different requirements. So, integrating multiple best-of-breed applications with cloud to build or fortify a near-custom ERP will automate processes and increase revenue for the business. A survey done by AMR research with 639 companies on integration requirements of SaaS customers shows that 70% of the companies expect to integrate their on-premises legacy applications to the SaaS solution. Also, states that application integration strategy will play the key role in post-modern ERP market. Though integration has been around for over a decade and there are many integration approaches between the two systems, they result in a brittle environment and a progressively more complex architecture as new integrations are added over time. This study analyses whether technological integration, business integration and socio-organizational integration affect the successful integration and aims to develop a model based on the findings for successful integration.
A Review on City Logistics and Two Echelon Freight Modelling
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2020) Warnakulasuriya, M.M.; Niwunhella, D.H.H.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
When cities are growing in both size and complexity, the freight distribution and management make a significant challenge for transportation management. Freight transportation execution is one of the main sectors that is looked into when planning. The concept of city logistics explicitly tries to optimize the urban transport network and many optimization approaches have been introduced to optimize the vehicle routing methods considering several objectives. Since recent times, there is drawing attention for two-echelon freight consolidation modelling efforts with the emerging of megacities. This paper reviews the available literature under the city logistics modelling, and two-echelon freight consolidation for identifying the perspectives adhered. The study was conducted through a systematic review of literature using multiple studies published under the area of city logistic modeling and two-echelon-distribution modelling in thorough key word base search of city logistic modelling efforts, and performance parameters used for freight analysis within city networks from the findings. The review framework takes into account the diversity and complexity found in city logistics practices. It was evident that there is a lack of modelling efforts in two-echelon vehicle routing for city logistic combining with optimization models for dealing with multiple objective and modeling uncertainty.
A Review on Improving Performance Through Digital Transformation: A study of Best Technologies and Key Success Factors
(IEOM Society International, 2020) Fairoos, M. F. M.; Niranga, Mahikala,; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Digital transformation is enabling the organization to deliver on commitments to customers partners shareholders and employees using technology to optimize every organizational interaction. However, organizations cannot be success with only transforming to a digital environment. The success depends on many technologies and success factors. An analysis of the literature was conducted to identify a gap within published articles between the years 2015 to 2020 that are relevant to digital transformation. Many authors emphasize on the importance of digital transformation when it comes to improve the organizational performance and also indicated that key technologies and key success factors that need to be followed in a digital environment. It is recommended that organizations should play an active role in ensuring that the implementing of key technologies and key success factors to triumph in digital transformation.
A Review on Organizational Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Information Security Management Systems in IT Sector Organizations in Sri Lanka
(Department of Marketing Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka., 2021) Abrew, Kaluhath Maduka Nadeeshani De; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
In an era where data is essential in the context of a business, and access to information has become way too easier and faster with distributing computing, information security has become a crucial concern for almost every business. Hence In Sri Lanka also as a legal necessity, most public and commercial businesses have focused on obtaining an information security compliance certification. To successfully manage their information assets, businesses must utilize an Information Security Management System (ISMS) as it enhances the resistance against cyber assaults and lowers the information security expenses. Organizational factors are crucial among all key factors since no system or technology will be properly applied if the human aspect of the context is ignored. Conducting research on organizational and human factor aspects is important for any system's operations to become a success. Although there are studies done on how the ISMS implementation is affected by internal and external factors there is less focus on out of all success factors how the organizational factors matter for ISMS success. Moreover, there is a gap in research done since no previous study has been undertaken in terms of organizations operating in Sri Lanka. Additionally, the IT sector plays a key role when it comes to information security aspects. Hence there is a need to develop research is aimed at identifying the organizational factors on the effectiveness of ISMS in IT sector organizations in Sri Lanka. This study used a qualitative approach by analyzing the selected previous studies that were focusing on the ISMS implementation or any related Information Security system/process using the critical success factors method. Twenty (20) papers were selected because those papers detail numerous Critical Success Factors that have an impact on the efficacy and success of ISMS and they are all published in recent years. A conceptual model is developed based on the 6 constructs namely Management support, Employee Acceptance and readiness, Security awareness, Employee knowledge & training, Organizational culture & Information security standard compliance, developed on identified organizational factors from previous. This research has only followed the qualitative approach to build a conceptual model to identify Organizational factors affecting the effectiveness of ISMS in IT sector organizations operate in Sri Lanka. But further studies should be carried on with a quantitative approach with some survey results which may be able to support or evaluate the validity of the results of this research. The findings of this research will help the IT sector organizations as recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the ISMS and adding to that, this study results can be useful for some other countries as well creating a more academic value for this study. As a result, this research has attempted to identify these elements and their significance in the effectiveness of ISMS. Understanding the major impact of organizational variables will aid businesses in developing more effective information security strategic planning and creating information security awareness deployment suited for all employees, from the top down to the bottom up.
Strategic Decision Making for a Resilient Supply Chain during a Pandemic
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Madhavi, B. R. Hasini; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations experienced supply chain disruptions to various degrees. Due to the nature and magnitude of the pandemic, many commonly practiced supply chain practices became impractical, highlighting the importance of building up resilience in the supply chain network to enable them to operate effectively in uncertain conditions. In an organizational context, modern-day supply chains are prone to experience quick disruptions because of their inherent complexity. Due to the nature of the Sri Lankan economy, the scope of disruption to trade and the ripple effect of disruptions to associated industries would be different from those of developed nations. The objective of this study is to understand the concept of supply chain resilience and its applicability when facing a critical disruptive force such as a pandemic. A thorough literature review and interviews were conducted with leading FMCG companies in Sri Lanka to determine how supply chain resilience could be achieved by overcoming the most critical risks encountered during a pandemic. Based on the data collected, a conceptual framework was developed to support strategic decision-making to achieve supply chain resilience during high-impact low-frequency disruptions such as a pandemic.
A Systematic Review on Factors Affecting Lean Marketing Readiness in the Retail Sector in Sri Lanka
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2021) Illanganthilake, Apoorwama; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
This paper is focused on the overview of the organizational factors affecting Lean marketing readiness in the retail sector in Sri Lanka. Retail businesses are one of the fast-growing sectors in Sri Lanka. However, retails have to compete with each other for the small consumer base inside the country. Those retailers should be able to attract their consumers and communicate with them using marketing. This study is conducted as a systematic literature review by reviewing 34 papers using the PRISMA framework. This study has identified several main organizational factors affecting lean marketing readiness: Management and leadership; Lean tools, techniques, and knowledge about Lean concepts; availability of organizational resources; organizational culture and business processes; employees' involvement and skills; communication management. This systematic review is the first attempt to overview the organizational readiness for Lean marketing readiness in the retail businesses area.
A Systematic Review on Factors Affecting Remote Working Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2021) Siyambalapitiya, Narmada; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
The pandemic has changed the lives of everyone. To adapt to this unexpected situation employees in most sectors have shifted to remote working and it has become the “new normal” almost overnight. Therefore “telecommuting” has suddenly become a quite popular concept. This current paper systematically reviews the available literature under remote working practices and its impact on employees. It was identified that previous research has focused on different categories of factors. Therefore, the identified factors were categorized accordingly. Also, the impact on employees were closely studied. The current study was conducted through a systematic review of literature using the PRISMA framework. 36 studies which were carried out before and during the pandemic from different countries and sectors related to remote working has been reviewed. Based on the findings of the current review proper guidelines have been provided for the decision makers of organizations and directions for future research has been provided.
Transforming Agriculture Supply Chain with Technology Adoption-: A Critical Review of Literature
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2020) Karunanayaka, Chapa; Vidanagamachchi, Kasuni; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
With the increase in the global population, natural disasters and climatic changes the agricultural supply chain faces lots of challenges due to fluctuations of both supply and demand sides. This is adding pressure on the agriculture supply chain demanding it to be more productive and efficient. Adapting to technology to improve the agriculture supply chain have been identified as one solution. As the rest of the world is moving towards digital transformation, agriculture supply chains should follow the suite in order to meet the current challenges they face. This article reviews the literature on technology and technology applications in the agriculture supply chain. This article has identified the technological applications that have been built with respect to agricultural processes. Among them, it has found that, IoT as the technology which was based on many technology applications developed within the past few years. Further, this highlights IoT, Big Data and Blockchain as true enablers for the transformation of the agriculture supply chain to a digital agriculture supply chain.