Browsing by Author "Wijayanayake, A. N."

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Analyzing Factors that Impact on Performance of Pickers in Third-Party Logistics Warehouses in Sri Lanka
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Prasadika, A. P. K. J.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.
Order picking is the most crucial and expensive operation in a warehouse which affects customer satisfaction and the profitability of the warehouse. Picker is the employee who is responsible for the order picking process. So, picker performance is very important in improving the overall performance of the warehouse. Therefore, identifying the factors that have an impact on the performance of the pickers is advantageous. The main objective of this research is to identify the relationship between factors that has an impact on picker and picker performance through the Partial Linear Square – Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique using SmartPLS software. Initially, the most important twelve factors were identified by reviewing the past literature and industry experts’ opinions. They were divided into three main categories based on the characteristics and to reduce the complexity of the model which are picker-related factors, management-related factors, and warehouse-related factors. The data analysis was done in two steps to discover direct and moderator relationships, separately. The product type that the pickers handle is the moderator used in this study. The results of the PLS-SEM analysis show that picker-related factors and warehouse-related factors have a significant impact on picker performance at the significance level of 0.05, while management-related factors have a significant effect on picker performance at the significance level of 0.10. Further, the product type moderates all three relationships. The outcomes of the study help the managers of the warehouses to improve the performance of the pickers so that the overall performance of the warehouse can be improved.
Application of Game Theory on financial benefits and employee satisfaction: Case study of a state bank of Sri Lanka
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Jayasekara, D. D. G. T.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Dissanayake, A. R.
The principal agent problem revolves around the competing interest between shareholders and the employees. The organization focus is on maximizing shareholder wealth, while employees try to obtain the maximum benefits for themselves. As per the motivational theories, people have different types of needs. Therefore, management should focus on a wide range of factors to motivate the employees to work to their full potential in the interest of the organization. The study focuses on both employee and the management of a state bank. The organization is always eager to minimize the cost and maximize the profit. Game Theory was used to provide a mathematical framework for understanding the optimal outcome and what the tradeoffs are to achieve that outcome. The objective is to find the right balance between financial gains and employee satisfaction. To fulfill that objective, one needs to evaluate the benefits given to employees, the effectiveness of those benefits on employees and finally recommend an effective benefits allocation mix to the organization, which will address both employee and the top management of the bank.
An Effective Lateral Transhipment Model for A Multi-Location Inventory Setting to Minimize
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Kumari, A.G.K.C.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.
Managing inventory levels to ensure on-shelf availability of products is a challenge that retailers face on a daily basis. Even though it is desirable to have additional inventory to ensure the availability of products, it increases the inventory holding cost. Hence, retailers use lateral transhipment as a method to redistribute inventory from a location which has excess inventory to another outlet which faces / will face stockouts. This paper proposes a mathematical model to minimize the total cost through proactive lateral transhipment while reducing the stockouts, significantly. A multi-item, multi-location inventory system was considered, and a cost minimization model was developed based on the tradeoff between the potential gain and the transhipment cost. The model was implemented using Python programming language and validated using a real-world data set from one of the leading supermarket chains. The results from the model have shown that it can reduce the total cost and stockout occurrences significantly.
Evaluating the Factors that Affect the Reverse Logistics Performance in Plastic Supply Chain
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Thilakarathne, H. G. K. L. S.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Peter, S.
Reverse Logistics includes all the processes involved in moving goods from their typical final destination to recapture value or for proper disposal. This study aims to identify the factors affecting reverse logistics performance within the plastic supply chains in Sri Lanka and the identification of factors that would facilitate the enhancement of reverse logistics performance. Factors were identified through literature review and by industry experts. Factors were classified under five domains: economic and market factors, knowledge and awareness factors, policy and legislature factors, management and leadership factors, and technology and infrastructure factors. Factors were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares, Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique to evaluate their effect on reverse logistics performance. Results of the analysis show that the policy and legislature factors are the only significant factor to affect reverse logistic performance in plastic supply chains in Sri Lanka. All the remaining factors do not show a significant relationship with the reverse logistics performance though they show a positive correlation with the performance.
Framework to mitigate supply chain disruptions in the apparel industry during an epidemic outbreak
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Perera, M. A. S. M.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Peter, Suren
Billions of people use social networks, and they play a significant role in people's lifestyles in the current world. At the same time, due to globalization and other factors, the use of these social platforms is expanding daily, and a variety of activities take place inside these platforms. These networks are centralized, allowing social network-owned companies to track and observe the activities of their users. Therefore, this has been challenged to the privacy of the data of users. Also, these companies tend to sell them to third parties keeping huge profits without users' permission. Since data is the most valuable asset in today's and tomorrow's world, many have pointed out this issue. Even though decentralized, community-driven applications have come to play as a solution to this problem, there is still no successful application that competes with centralized social network platforms. Therefore, this study attempted to develop a decentralized social network architecture with the basic functionalities of a social media platform to assure the privacy of the users' data.
Identifying and Prioritizing Barriers to Adopting GSCM Practices in Sri Lankan Rubber Product Manufacturing Industry
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Peiris, M. P. P. L.; Kavirathna, C. A.; Wijayanayake, A. N.
The rubber industry is one of the leading industries contributing to the Sri Lankan economy, but it is considered an industry with high environmental pollution potential. The competition and customer pressure coming from the international market have further highlighted the need for GSCM (Green Supply Chain Management). Therefore, focusing on GSCM is crucial but, the RPMI (Rubber Product Manufacturing Industry) in Sri Lanka is struggling to adopt GSCM. This study was conducted to identify and prioritize barriers to GSCM adoption in Sri Lankan RPMI and to find out the inter-relationships among barriers and GSCM practices. Through the literature review and expert opinions, eight barriers and five GSCM practices were identified and finalized. DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) was used to find cause and effect relationships and interrelationships among factors related to each GSCM practice. Findings showed that major existing barriers and their significant interrelationships differed depending on the GSCM practice. Lack of knowledge, skills and expertise, lack of information flow and lack of technology are the major existing barriers to adopting GSCM practices in Sri Lankan RPMI. The findings may assist managers in making better long-term decisions to successfully adopt GSCM practices in Sri Lankan RPMI.
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.
Identifying the Relationships of Green Drivers, Initiatives and Performance in the Third-Party Logistics Industry in Sri Lanka
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) De Silva, G. H. L. S.; Kavirathna, C. A.; Wijayanayake, A. N.
The growing level of attention towards global warming, non-renewable resources reduction, and pollution reduction force the firms to implement sustainable green initiatives into their supply chains. The green supply chain concept is introduced to alleviate environmental degradation and control air, water, and waste pollution through the adoption of green practices in business processes. In the last few decades, sustainability issues have gained the increasing interest of society. Further, the corporate world has taken sustainable development as a promising criterion for achieving a wealthier world in which natural resources and the environment are preserved for future generations. Despite increasing interest in environmental issues, most industries have considered and addressed green supply chain management and practices. However, a comprehensive and updated assessment of the third-party logistics industry in the literature is still missing. The main objective of this study is to identify the Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) drivers, initiatives, and performances which have a vital impact on reducing the adverse effect on the environment. To implement the GSCM initiatives, a survey was carried out with the experts in the third-party logistics companies in Sri Lanka. This study emphasizes that some factors of green drivers strongly influence the driver-initiative relationship, and the initiative factors strongly influence the initiative-performance relationship. The findings of this study are useful for managers in the supply chain and logistic domain and for policymakers, who could be inspired by the role of drivers in the implementation of GSCM initiatives, and then the initiatives on the level of performance achievable and thereby reduce the global warming and reduce the pollution to the environment.
Impact of Warehouse Management Factors on Performance Improvement of 3rd Party Logistics Industry
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Kodithuwakku, P.I.E.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Kavirathna, C.A.
The alarming attention towards the warehousing performance improvement based on different aspects of warehouse management factors has proven to be more critical, especially for the growth of the third-party logistics (3PL) industry. Warehouse performance alleviates discrepancies between warehousing management criteria and performance indicators to assure that the smooth flow of the supply chain aggregates its demanding areas to a satisfactory level. For the last few years, urgent requirements for enhancing improvement have been prominent, especially in the service sector attached with the practical performance in the 3PL industry. Despite analysing the criterion and its effectiveness, identification of the direct relationship between warehouse management factors and how it has impacted the warehousing performance based on the different aspects of indicators in the Sri Lankan 3PL industry, is not yet taken into consideration. This study uses a systematic literature review and expert opinions to identify the key warehousing factors of 3PL industry in Sri Lanka. In total, 12 key success factors were obtained, and those factors were grouped into three categories: operational, economical and environmental factors. A conceptual model is developed to identify the relationship between the warehousing critical success factors and warehousing performance. The study reveals the lack of attention paid to warehouse performance criteria along with warehouse management factors. The findings of this study could inspire the decision-makers who wish to improve the 3PL industry performance while improving warehouse performance in the 3PL industry in Sri Lanka.
Impact of Workplace Burden Due to COVID-19 Pandemic on Employee Performance
(Smart Computing and Systems Engineering, 2022, 2022) Perera, L. D. L.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Withanaarachchi, A.
The Sri Lankan apparel industry accounts for 7% of the country's GDP and employs 15% of its workforce. Frightening levels of the spread of Coronsvirus-19 (COVID-19) have captured the attention of the apparel industry not only locally but globally. During this epidemic crisis, identifying the factors that affect the employees' workplace burden in the apparel industry is vital to the GDP of a country like Sri Lanka, as the economy of the country relies on growth in the Sri Lankan apparel sector. Each workplace burden has a distinct impact on employees' job performance. The objective of this study is to determine how the intensity of the COVID-19 epidemic affects employees' workplace burden and performance. Thereby assisting policymakers in responding to how to overcome the workplace burdens of the employees during this epidemic crisis. A mixed research approach, with both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, was used in the research. Considering the past literature and the industry experts’ opinions, factors related to workforce burden due to COVID-19 were identified and categorised into four categories. Partial Least Square (PLS) was used to analyse the relationship between the workforce burden factors and employee performance during the COVID- 19 pandemic period. As the ultimate findings under the data analysis, exposure to COVID–19 and workplace preparation and work-related relationships have a significant positive impact on employees’ performance. The workload has a significant negative impact on the behaviour and results-based employees’ performance that has no significant impact on trait- based performance. Job-related uncertainty in the future has no significant impact on employees’ performance. Improving workplace safety regulations, developing online employee interactions, and increasing immediate management attention to employees are some of the suggestions to mitigate identified workplace burdens. The findings of this study related to the factors affecting workplace burdens must be addressed promptly by policymakers or employers in the Sri Lankan apparel sector to improve employees’ performance and, ultimately, industry performance. The outcome of this research would be useful in the future when a pandemic situation arises.
A MILP model to optimize the proportion of production quantities considering the ANP composite performance index
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Thalagahage, N. T. H.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.
The apparel industry is considered as one of the most labor-intensive industries where Production Planning and Control (PPC) is considered as an important function, because of its involvement from scheduling each task in the process to the delivery of customer demand. Line planning is a sub-process within PPC, through which the production orders are allocated to production lines according to their setting and due dates of production completion. The decisions that address line planning functions still heavily rely on the expertise of the production planner. When production planners are required to select production lines for the production of a particular type of product, little emphasis has been placed on ways to apportion certain production orders to the most appropriate production system. In this research, a framework is developed using Analytical Network Process (ANP) which is a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method, enabling the incorporation of all the planning criteria in the selection of a production line. The weighted scores obtained by the best alternative production lines are used in a Linear Programming model to optimize the resource allocation in an apparel firm.
Model to optimize the quantities of delivery products prioritizing the sustainability performance
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Prabodhika, A. P. K. J.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.; Wijayanayake, A. N.
Many manufacturers and retailers often outsource their logistics functions to Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) to focus more on their core business process. Due to the competitiveness and the popularity of the sustainability concept, those organizations evaluate their prospective LSPs not only based on economic aspects like cost, service quality but also on social and environmental aspects as well when selecting LSPs. This paper proposes a methodology that can be used by organizations when evaluating and selecting LSPs based on their sustainability performance. Analytic Network Process (ANP) is used in evaluating the LSPs’ sustainable performance since multiple dimensions and indicators need to be incorporated when measuring the sustainability performance. A Linear Programming Problem (LPP) model was proposed which allows the organizations to decide both desired number of LSPs and the volume to be allocated for those selected LSPs. The proposed methodology is flexible as it depends on the sustainability requirements of the organization when selecting LSPs. Both the indicators and their relative importance are up to the organization to decide.
A Model to Optimize the Sales and Purchases Invoice Payments of Working Capital in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Industry
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Rathnasekara, J. P. D. T.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Withanaarachchi, A.
Working capital optimization is critical in real business scenarios since it changes dynamically along with complex physical cash flows. In previous literature, working capital payment optimization mainly focused on the cash conversion cycle and cash on hand. In those studies, the objectives were to maximize the profit, maximize on hand cash flow or minimize the cost during the predefined period. However, in most cash maximization models, the time value of the money concept was not addressed. Further, in real-world scenarios, the time value of the money concept mainly affects the working capital and cash flow performances. In the proposed model, the time value of money concept was considered to get actual available cash at present. The objective of this proposed model is to maximize the current value of the money on hand while minimizing the cost within the considered time frame. The model was tested using Python along with CPLEX libraries. This study will be helpful to researchers, academics, and those working in the finance sector of the manufacturing industry to make better decisions on working capital invoice payments.
Simulation-Based Efficiency Assessment of Integrated First-Mile Pickup and Last-Mile Delivery in an E-Commerce Logistics Network
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2022) Ranathunga, M. I. D.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.
Logistics operations are crucial in the e-commerce supply chain as they deal with high costs as well as they have a significant environmental impact. The first-mile and last-mile delivery operations in e-commerce logistics are regarded as the operations with the highest costs. As a result, e-commerce service providers are keen to improve their first mile and last-mile delivery processes. Therefore, this study has been conducted to optimize transportation cost and distance of combined first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery operations while meeting some practical requirements such as a variety of package types, package compatibility on different types of vehicles, and a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles. After a careful literature review, this paper introduces a mathematical model to optimize the simultaneous first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery. The proposed mathematical model was simulated in SupplyChainGuru® modelling and simulation software. The study concluded that when first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery are routed simultaneously, rather than distributing and collecting the products as two separate operations, the overall cost is minimized by about 34%, and the distance is reduced by about 42% while reducing the number of vehicles on the route and utilising the maximum possible capacity of vehicles. This simultaneous pickup and delivery will improve the routing of the e-commerce logistic supply chain and will serve as a platform for extending the simultaneous pickup and delivery process to other industries as well.
Solution approach to incompatibility of products in a multi-product and heterogeneous vehicle routing problem: An application in the 3PL industry
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Weerakkody, H. D. W.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.; Wijayanayake, A. N.
Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is an extensively discussed area under supply chain literature, though it has variety of applications. Multi-product related VRP considers about optimizing the routes of vehicles distributing multiple commodities. Domestic distribution of goods of multiple clients from a third-party logistics distribution center (DC) is one example of such an application. Compatibility of products is a major factor taken into consideration when consolidating and distributing multiple products in the same vehicle. From the literature, it was identified that, though compatibility is a major consideration, it has not been considered in the literature when developing vehicle routing models. Therefore, this study has been carried out with the objective of minimizing the cost of distribution in the multi-product VRP while considering the compatibility of the products distributed, using heterogeneous vehicle types. The extended mathematical model proposed has been validated using data obtained from a leading 3PL firm in Sri Lanka which has been simulated using the Supply Chain Guru software. The numerical results showcase that cost has been reduced when consolidating shipments in a 3PL DC. The study will contribute to literature with the finding that the compatibility factor of products can be considered when developing vehicle routing models for the multi-product related VRP.
Solution approaches for combining first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery in an e-commerce logistic network: A systematic literature review
(Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2021) Ranathunga, M. I. D.; Wijayanayake, A. N.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.
Logistics is one of the primary areas of operation within cutting-edge supply chain operations. In the e-commerce supply chain also logistics operations play a vital part. The logistics operations must be controlled effectively and efficiently since they deal with the high-cost besides environmental impacts. In e-commerce logistics operations, first-mile and last-mile delivery operations are considered as the operations with the highest costs incurred. So, e-commerce service providers are interested in optimizing their first-mile and last-mile delivery operations. Though it is known that the integration of first-mile pickup and last-mile deliveries will minimize the cost of transportation, there are more practical concerns to be taken into account when combining the first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery operations. Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) is discussed in the literature as a solution approach for this kind of problems. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current CVRP related literature, including models, algorithmic solution approaches, objectives, and industrial applications, with a focus of identifying interesting study paths for the future to improve distribution in e-commerce logistics networks by combining first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery operations. The findings of the study have demonstrated that constraints and features of Vehicle Routing Problem with Backhauls are very attractive with today's e-commerce operations, and the majority of the cited publications employed approximation methods rather than precise algorithms to solve these types of models.