Simulative study of the decentralized control of complex conveyor networks

Decentralised controls offer advantages for the implementation as well as the operation of controls of steady conveyors. Such concepts are mainly based on RFID. Due to the reduced expense for appliances and software, however, the plant behaviour cannot be determined as accurately as in centrally controlled systems. This article describes a simulation-based method by which the performances of these two control concepts can easily be evaluated in order to determine the suitability of the decentralised concept.

The Value of Negotiating Cost-Based Transfer Prices

This paper analyzes the potential of one-step transfer prices based on either variable or full costs for coordinating decentralized production and quality-improving investment decisions. Transfer prices based on variable costs fail to induce investments on the upstream stage. In contrast, transfer prices based on full costs provide strong investment incentives for the upstream divisions. However, they fail to coordinate the investment decisions. We show that negotiations prevent such coordination failure. In particular, we find that the firm benefits from a higher degree of decentralization so that total profit increases in the number of parameters being subject to negotiations.