Optimizing the Primary Forest Products Supply Chain

Optimizing the Primary Forest Products Supply Chain
Author: Jeff D. Hamann
Publisher:
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2008
Genre: Business logistics
ISBN:

This thesis is a collection of four submitted manuscripts that present methods to assist forest ecosystem service managers wanting to develop operational sampling, monitoring, and production plans for a set of specific quantifiable ecosystem services, which are formulated as a series of general multi-objective optimization problems. The problems are solved using a heuristic solution technique to determine the best trade-off, efficient, or Pareto frontiers, among the potentially competing and possibly non-commensurate objectives, with the intention that the decision maker(s) will select and implement a single plan from the Pareto frontier. The first manuscript presents the general formulation and solution framework, and demonstrates the method with a problem that has five objectives. The method demonstrates that Pareto frontiers for problems with unknown inputs, many competing objectives, and complex constraints can be analyzed using simple search rules. The second manuscript examines design-based estimation and model-based prediction methods to obtain guesses of unknown inputs, and the resulting outputs, for operational production plans. The results indicate that model-based prediction methods, using simple correlation models, provide benefits by reducing production uncertainties, and thus offer substantial cost savings, or increases in net revenue, when comparison to traditional design-based methods. The third manuscript approximates the Pareto frontier between the maximum information content (i.e. entropy) and the minumum cost for a forest sample, where the results from the sample will be used for many objectives (e.g. prediction, simulation, and optimization). The results depend on the definition of the sample design, but follow similar patterns for all 36 sample designs examined. Finally, the fourth manuscript presents an examination of the Pareto frontier for an operational harvest schedule, using the sample that contains the maximum information content, and the objectives for the operation must satisfy multiple internal and external customers (i.e. production, financial, environmental, logistics, and marketing). By including additional information (i.e. spatial correlation) in the prediction, simulation, and optimization process, these manuscripts demonstrate substantial potential increases in financial objectives (i.e. maximize net revenue, minimize costs), environmental objectives (i.e. maximize unharvested area), materials management objectives (i.e. minimize product degredation), information objectives (i.e. maximum entopy sampling) as well as provide a framework for the objective examination of complex forest ecosystem supply chain problems with multiple objectives.

Forest Value Chain Optimization and Sustainability

Forest Value Chain Optimization and Sustainability
Author: Sophie D'Amours
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2016-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498704875

This book provides a global perspective on the various issues that the industry has to face as well as to provide some key global strategies that can help coping with those global challenges, such as collaboration, strategic value chain planning, and interdependency analyses. It presents literature reviews, strategic research orientations, assessment of some current key issues, and state-of-the-art methodologies.

What Impacts Will Uncertain and Important Drivers Have on the Structure-conduct-performance of Idaho's Primary Forest Products Industry

What Impacts Will Uncertain and Important Drivers Have on the Structure-conduct-performance of Idaho's Primary Forest Products Industry
Author: Keith M. Coulter
Publisher:
Total Pages: 606
Release: 2009
Genre: Dissertations, Academic
ISBN:

What does the future hold for Idaho's Primary Forest Products Industry (PFPI), an industry comprised of logging contractors, mills, and commercial forestland owners? The ability to anticipate future impacts and drivers of Idaho's forest products industry would be valued information for Idaho's logging contractors and milling sectors. An objective of this research is to implement a futures research study by constructing plausible future scenarios so as to assist in the strategic planning within the primary forest products industry of Idaho. The forest products industry requires this knowledge to help in shaping perceptions, alternatives and choices about the future. Idaho's primary forest products industry has experienced tremendous raw material supply chain disruptions in the past twenty years, resulting in a severe decline in stumpage supply from federal lands in Idaho. Idaho's primary forest products industry has now fallen back to its current structure which has fewer, geographically dispersed milling facilities that are located near reliable supplies of reasonably priced state and private raw material sources. The forest products industry of Idaho can be characterized by many atomistic sellers (logging contractors) and few concentrated buyers (mills). There appears to be too many automated and efficient logging contractors for the available supply of stumpage. Continued loss of markets, loss of mills, and mill consolidation is leaving fewer options for the remaining logging contractors to effectively optimize their businesses. Three futures scenarios were developed that outline potential future scenarios for Idaho's primary forest products industry. In addition to U.S. national housing starts, access to reliable supplies of raw materials at reasonable delivered prices will be crucial to the future vibrancy of Idaho's primary forest products industry. Indications are that Idaho's primary forest products industry is supply limited. Because of this, the future of the industry is dictated by its ability to maintain existing sectors and to attract and create new forest product market segments given a limited supply of raw materials.

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains
Author: Calliope Panoutsou
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2017-08-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0128123044

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains: Top Down and Bottom Up Assessment for Agricultural, Forest and Waste Feedstock provides scientific evidence for assessing biomass supply and logistics, placing emphasis on methods, modeling capacities, large data collection, processing and storage. The information presented builds on recent relevant research work from the Biomass Futures, Biomass Policies and S2Biom projects. In addition to technical issues, the book covers the economic, social and environmental aspects with direct implications on biomass availability. Its chapters offer an overview of methodologies for assessing and modeling supply, biomass quality and requirements for different conversion processes, logistics and demand for biobased sectors. Case studies from the projects that inspire the book present practical examples of the implementation of these methodologies. The authors also compare methodologies for different regions, including Europe and the U.S. Biomass feedstock-specific chapters address the relevant elements for forest, agriculture, biowastes, post-consumer wood and non-food crops. Engineers in the bioenergy sector, as well as researchers and graduate students will find this book to be a very useful resource when working on optimization and modeling of biomass supply chains. For energy policymakers, analysts and consultants, the book provides consistent and technically sound projections for policy and market development decisions. - Provides consistent ratios and indicators for assessing biomass supply and its logistical component - Explores assumptions behind the assessment of different types of biomass, including key technical and non-technical factors - Presents the existing modeling platforms, their input requirements and possible output projections

The Global Forest Sector

The Global Forest Sector
Author: Eric Hansen
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2013-12-04
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1439879273

Changes in production, demand, supply, and trade patterns; the impact of green building and bioenergy on industry practices and policy infrastructure; and new economies with production advantages and large consumption bases all present challenges and opportunities in the forest sector. With contributions from leading experts in academia and professional organizations, The Global Forest Sector: Changes, Practices, and Prospects fills a gap in the literature that is preventing students, scholars, and policy makers from developing a timely, structured, big-picture view of forest sector business. In addition, the book reviews current thinking on a wide variety of business management issues in the forest sector. The book covers managing change in the global forest sector and the impact of globalization on forest users. It discusses markets and market forces, new products and product categories, and the influence of China and Russia. The book then examines the environmental paradigm, including environmental activism, sustainability, and the impact of green building and bioenergy. The book concludes with coverage of the role of information technology, corporate social responsibility, innovation, and next steps. Overall, this book helps readers both develop a bird’s eye view of the changes surrounding the forest sector as well as have a magnified view of numerous managerial issues associated with these changes. The content paints a picture of the current and changing forest sector including the state of forests, the nature of markets, the newly emerged patterns of stakeholder impact, and evolution of key business practices. It provides the foundation needed to develop the conservation-based economy required for future success in the global forest sector.

Forestry Applications

Forestry Applications
Author: Gregory Paradis
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2018-10-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 135126995X

In 2012, a Forestry Special Interest Group (FSIG) was founded within the Canadian Operational Research Society (CORS). Besides a general commitment to promoting the application of operational research (OR) to forest management and forest products industry problems, the FSIG has two concrete mandates: organizing the forestry cluster at the annual CORS conference, and managing the editorial process for forestry-themed special issues of INFOR. The FSIG has been very successful in the first of these two mandates, with record attendance at the forestry cluster over the last four years, hosting of several special sessions, financial and in-kind support from the NSERC Strategic Network on Value Chain Optimization (VCO), and the inauguration of the David Martell Student Paper Prize in Forestry (DMSPPF). This is the first compilation of forestry-themed papers since the inauguration of the CORS FSIG. The six pieces selected for the special issue, now published as a book, feature applications of OR to a wide range of forest management and forest products industry contexts, including supply-chain planning, lumber production planning, demand-driven harvest and transportation planning, and fire-aware wood supply planning. This book was originally published as a special issue of the INFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research journal.

Geometric Modelling, Numerical Simulation, and Optimization:

Geometric Modelling, Numerical Simulation, and Optimization:
Author: Geir Hasle
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 559
Release: 2007-06-10
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 3540687831

This edited volume addresses the importance of mathematics for industry and society by presenting highlights from contract research at the Department of Applied Mathematics at SINTEF, the largest independent research organization in Scandinavia. Examples range from computer-aided geometric design, via general purpose computing on graphics cards, to reservoir simulation for enhanced oil recovery. Contributions are written in a tutorial style.