Abstract
A zero-one quadratic assignment model has been proposed for dealing with the storage location assignment problem when there are weight constraints. Our analysis shows that operations can be improved using our model. When comparing the strategy currently used in a real-life company with the designed model, we found that the new placement of products allowed a reduction of up to 22% on the picking distance. This saving is higher than that achieved with the creation of density zones, a procedure commonly used to deal with weight constraints, according to the literature.

Abstract
This paper presents the approach and results of an improvement project carried on by a company that provides business process outsourcing services based on customised software solutions. The critical objectives considered were to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes involved in developing customised solutions. Thus, the focus of this research was to identify problems in current processes and practices and develop possible solutions to improve. The processes were mapped, the inefficiencies were identified, and suggestions for improvements were presented and analysed. It was concluded that the main problems with the project management and software development processes are related to the lack of visibility of the team load, lack of standardisation and inefficient management processes. These causes result in problems such as IT being unable to plan work and problems associated with quality that negatively influence the lead time of projects. Therefore, suggestions for improvement were formulated and prioritised to address each of these aspects. A more agile approach to software development and redesigning the processes for creating customised solutions were the solutions developed. There was also a need to develop the existing project management software changes to adapt it to these changes. © IEOM Society International.

Abstract
This paper discusses the improvement of product management activities in a fast-growing marketing automation software company. Recently, the company experienced an expansion of its international activities, a fast-growing turnover, and a significant enlargement of the software team. The new needs coming from this situation led the company to move the product development team from a traditional functional organization to a holocratic organization, where self-organized teams are entirely responsible for their product development activities. To design effective management practices and tools for this new organizational model, the company decided to analyze its business processes in-depth. At the first stage, high-level process mapping techniques were employed to comprehensively view the product management activities, their embedding organizational structure, and context. Then, detailed process mapping techniques were employed to build up a detailed visualization of the process workflows. Then, it was possible to conduct a root-cause analysis aiming at identifying the opportunities for improvement. These opportunities were then assessed and prioritized based on their expected impact upon business performance, namely productivity and time-to-market. The actions selected for implementation addressed three main issues: standardization of the planning and monitoring procedures; teams misalignments. Through a systematic process analysis and redesign, it was possible to set up a new set of management tools that cope with these issues, reinforce the workforce commitment and involvement, and ultimately improve business performance. © IEOM Society International.

Abstract
Industry 4.0 confronts companies, in particular SMEs, with various technological, organizational and cultural challenges with great impact on traditional business models. This paradigmatic socio-technical shift, implies the redefinition of the role of people in the organisation, the integration of all organisational decision layers (from the factory floor to the decision support structures) and the digital connection of the entire value chain, including processes, people and machines. However, the lack of qualified resources and the lack of an holistic understanding of industry 4.0 derail SMES’ digital transformation journey. This research work discusses the need for industry 4.0 re-conceptualisation, tailored to SMES’ needs. A lightweight ontology is presented and discussed how it contributes to the organisation and structuring a Community Of Practice, to share knowledge in the context of SMES’ industry 4.0 initiatives. Despite of the discussed use case, the developed artefact might be used to assess SME’s digital readiness. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
AbstractThis chapter aims to identify the supply chain (SC) issues that can be considered “horizontal”, as they are cross–sectorial and faced by most companies operating both in production and distribution sectors, and to propose a set of policy recommendations that can support public and private organisations to promote and foster innovation and competitiveness of future European SCs. The definition of the Key Horizontal Issues (KHI) is the basis for developing 12 policy recommendations regarding infrastructure requirements, technological and organisational improvements and regulatory developments needed to set the stage for the European SCs for the future. Specifically, the policy recommendations entail assuring appropriate standards and legislation for European SCs; educating and training professionals for the future SCs; drafting of international agreements aiming at future European SCs; supporting and fostering incentives and funding schemes; promoting reference bodies for European SCs; and establishing infrastructure for fostering of future European SCs.

Abstract
The carsharing market has never been as competitive as it is now, and during the last years, we have been witnessing a boom in the number of carsharing organizations that appear, often accompanied by an also booming number of companies that disappear. Designing a viable carsharing system is challenging and often depends on local conditions as well as on a myriad of operational decisions that need to be supported by suitable decision support systems. Therefore, carsharing is being increasingly studied in the Operations Management (OM) literature. Nevertheless, often due to the limited transparency of this highly competitive sector and the recency of this business, there is still a "gap of understanding" of the scientific community concerning the business practices and contexts, often resulting in over-simplifications and relevant problems being overlooked. In this paper, we aim to close this "gap of understanding" by describing, conceptualizing, and analyzing the reality of 34 business to-consumer carsharing organizations. With the data collected, we propose a detailed description of the current business practices, such as the ones concerning pricing. From this, we highlight relevant "research insights" and structure all collected data organized by different OM topics, enabling knowledge to be further developed in this field.