Value chain initiatives

Not all value chain initiatives are successful. Failure often teaches us more than snccess. The most well-known case studies of failure are Coca-Cola s creation of Coca-Cola Enterprises, Walmart s introduction of RFID, and the launch of the Boeing 787. Each story is a testimonial that despite the hype and promise of new ideas, what lasts is the bnilding of trne value in the value network. It has to be based on a sustaining win-win value proposition with trading partners. 

Let us compare the ratio of radicals in oxidized 2-propanol and cyclohexanol at different temperatures when oxidation occurs with long chains and chain initiation and termination do not influence the stationary state concentration of radicals. The values of the rate constants of the reactions of peroxyl radicals (kp) with alcohol and decomposition of the alkylhydroxy-peroxyl radical (k ) are taken from Table 7.4 and Table 7.5. 

The G values are higher than the G values for initial species (ca 2.5), indicating a chain reaction. The much higher yield for the disappearance of a double bond indicates that cyclization occurs more frequently than cross-linking. Katzer and Heusinger concluded from the studies on the influence of dose rate, temperature and additives (air, anthracene and hydroquinone) that the chain proceeds via a cationic mechanism. 

Management concepts in the value chain are the generally relevant research fields for the work. Value chain as a term was initially defined by Porter disaggregating a firm into its strategically relevant activities in order to understand the behavior of costs and the existing and potential sources of differentiation . Porter s value chain consists of a "set of activities that are performed to design, produce, market, deliver and support its product (Porter 1985, pp. 33-40). Developed management concept areas for the value chain can be classified by specialization on values, demand or supply ... 

The value chain management processes are presented in a process overview initially and then further detailed with respect to process characteristics and compared within the framework. 

Initial characteristics relevant for chemical commodity value chain management are ... 

The planning objective is to plan global value chain volumes and values. Initially, the value planning model with the objective function to maximize global profit is presented. The objective function also includes a relaxation concept for hard constraints leading to potential plan infeasibility. The future-oriented inventory value planning concept based on volatile raw material prices is presented at the end of the subchapter. 

Procurement steps are initial steps in the value chain and require to link raw materials with the subsequent products. Procurement steps have no production costs. Since one raw material product is considered as pi and p2 and one procurement location as h and h, related factors are all 100%. 

Finally, the timestamp rf , / p,l e Ivcl is defined to indicate the average lead time measured in planning periods compared to the first raw material initialized with timestamp 1. Increase of the timestamp is caused by transportation e.g. between different continents, holding inventories or the further production processing in the value chain. 

The initial view on total values reveals the characteristics of a commodity value chain introduced in the work s motivation (see fig. 1) profits are monthly volatile as it can be seen in fig. 76. 

Three conditions must be fulfilled obtain complete conversion of the reactants, H2 and CI2. The first condition is that thermal equilibrium of the system be favorable. This condition is fulfilled at low and intermediate temperatures, where formation of the product HC1 is thermodynamically favored. At very high temperatures, equilibrium favors the reactants, and thereby serves to limit the fractional conversion. The second requirement is that the overall reaction rate be nonnegligible. There are numerous examples of chemical systems where a reaction does not occur within reasonable time scales, even though it is thermodynamically favored. To initiate reaction, the temperature of the H2-CI2 mixture must be above some critical value. The third condition for full conversion is that the chain terminating reaction steps not become dominant. In a chain reaction system, as opposed to a chain-branching system discussed below, the reaction progress is very sensitive to the competition between chain initiation and chain termination. This competition determines the amount of chain carriers (batons) in the system and thereby the rate of conversion of reactants. 

Exercise 10-25 Calculate the AH° values for initiation and chain-propagation steps of radical addition of hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen iodide to an alkene. Would you expect these reagents to add easily to double bonds by such a mechanism ... 

While the cause leading to the initiation of a project can be ascribed either to the situation at a single site or that of an entire value chain, the resulting project can usually not be limited to one of these perspectives. For... 

If the primary objective is the restructuring of a value chain, the solution space is wider as several plants can be affected simultaneously. Restructurings are usually initiated because of inefficiencies within the existing network or in the context of site closures and can take on one of three basic forms (cf. Bankhofer 2001, p. 95) ... 

Changes in the competitive landscape might require the analysis of alternative value chain configurations. An initial understanding of viable configuration alternatives can often be gathered by analyzing the production networks of competitors. However, to truly understand the options theoretically available and the ones that could actually be implemented in practice two core analyses were found to be helpful. 

This produced a list of strategic options different business models and value chain positions that would match the most attractive areas. These options were then assessed by a set of criteria that included economic value, feasibility, risk, investments, and fit with the overall strategy and portfolio of initiatives. To test the economic viability of individual products, specific business ideas related to single products/markets were written and pressure-tested. The final decision was made after extensive discussions and more than 80 interviews with experts. While such interviews are essential, it is also important to remain skeptical and avoid the common wisdom trap. It is too early to determine the financial success, but the company has already achieved alignment between the overall strategy, the level of investment, and the organizational setup. 

The company has changed its strategy and its underlying assumptions fundamentally in the course of the project. For example, it has learned that it needs to price the product based on long-term positioning rather than current cost, that it needs to build a plant in a low-cost environment, that value chain intermediaries will need an incentive to adopt its product, and that it is sometimes necessary to work with smaller attackers as initial commercialization partners to demonstrate proof of principle, create market pull, and get the big fish to adopt a new product. The increased focus, clear product positioning, and partnering has already resulted in a number of major market introductions over the past year. 

Fig. 14.9 Snapshots of a system of twenty 100 carbon atom long polyethylene chains deformed at 300 K. The initial slab at the top rapidly deforms with the applied stress in the x dimension of the slab, roughly doubling in the first 500 ps to / — 2.64 (second image from the top) then the rate of deformation is slower and doubles again in 1500ps to X — 5.15 (third image from the top). Beyond this point the cell deforms even more slowly to reach a final deformation of X = 6.28 (bottom image). In absolute values, the initial cell of dimensions 1.88 x 5.32 x 5.32 nm deforms to 11.8 x 2.23 x 1.96nm. [Reprinted by permission from M. C. Levine, N. Waheed, and G. C. Rutledge, Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Orientation and Crystallization of Polyethylene during Uniaxial Extension, Polymer, 44, 1771-1779, (2003).]...

Hydrocarbon distributions in the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis on Ru, Co, and Fe catalysts often do not obey simple Flory kinetics. Flory plots are curved and the chain growth parameter a increases with increasing carbon number until it reaches an asymptotic value. a-Olefin/n-paraffin ratios on all three types of catalysts decrease asymptotically to zero as carbon number increases. These data are consistent with diffusion-enhanced readsorption of a-olefins within catalyst particles. Diffusion limitations within liquid-filled catalyst particles slow down the removal of a-olefins. This increases the residence time and the fugacity of a-olefins within catalyst pores, enhances their probability of readsorption and chain initiation, and leads to the formation of heavier and more paraffinic products. Structural catalyst properties, such as pellet size, porosity, and site density, and the kinetics of readsorption, chain termination and growth, determine the extent of a-olefin readsorption within catalyst particles and control FT selectivity. 

The effective diffusivity Dn decreases rapidly as carbon number increases. The readsorption rate constant kr n depends on the intrinsic chemistry of the catalytic site and on experimental conditions but not on chain size. The rest of the equation contains only structural catalyst properties pellet size (L), porosity (e), active site density (0), and pore radius (Rp). High values of the Damkohler number lead to transport-enhanced a-olefin readsorption and chain initiation. The structural parameters in the Damkohler number account for two phenomena that control the extent of an intrapellet secondary reaction the intrapellet residence time of a-olefins and the number of readsorption sites (0) that they encounter as they diffuse through a catalyst particle. For example, high site densities can compensate for low catalyst surface areas, small pellets, and large pores by increasing the probability of readsorption even at short residence times. This is the case, for example, for unsupported Ru, Co, and Fe powders. 

For example, the respective values at pH 10.6 are 0.262, 0.494, and 1.04 mole per cent (ratio of about 1 2 4) at pH 11.2 the values are 0.420, 0.780, and 1.32 mole per cent and at pH 12.5 (pH of 1% protein solution in 0.IN NaOH), the respective values are 0.762, 0.780, and 2.62 mole per cent. (Note that the value of casein approaches that of gluten at this pH). The observed differences in lysinoalanine content of the three proteins at different pH values are not surprising since the amino acid composition, sequence, protein conformation, molecular weights of protein chains, initial formation of intra- versus intermolecular crosslinks may all influence the chemical reactivity of a particular protein with alkali. Therefore, it is not surprising to find differences in lysinoalanine content in different proteins treated under similar conditions. These observations could have practical benefits since, for example, the lower lysinoalanine content of casein compared to lactalbumin treated under the same conditions suggests that casein is preferable to lactalbumin in foods requiring alkali-treatment. 

Differences in tacticity were also reflected by thermal data. While the iso-tropization temperature of (-)-poly-(IV-ll) and ( )-poly-(IV-ll),synthesized using initiator 1, stayed approximately unchanged, the isotropization temperatures for the chiral liquid crystalline polymers shifted to higher values when initiators 2 or 3 were used. The difference was up to 7 °C. If the decreased glass transition temperatures (Tg) for the chiral analogues were taken into account, the temperature range of the liquid crystalline phase was broadened by up to 12 °C. This means that a certain diad must be responsible for this behavior. The authors assumed that the diad cmHT was most suitable one for the formation of stable liquid crystalline phases in poly(norbornene) main chains. 

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