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50 pages, 1421 KB

Open AccessArticle

Strategy, Structure and Systems: Sun Tzu’s Thinking and the Holonic Network of the Toyota Dealer System (TDS)—A Romanian Case Study

by Aurel Burciu, Carla Alexandra Barbosa Pereira, Nicolae-Florin Prunău, Rozalia Kicsi, Denisa-Alexandra Chifan, Camelia Băeșu and Alexandra Maria Danileț

Systems 2025, 13(8), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems13080723 - 21 Aug 2025

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Abstract

Globally, 93 million cars are currently produced, with Toyota accounting for about 10% of the global market. However, its position is more modest in the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry. The automotive industry in Romania began at Dacia Pitesti in the 1970s, based on a license obtained from Renault. This research explores how a profound strategic vision, inspired by Sun Tzu’s philosophy, can influence a company’s organizational structure over time. In Toyota’s case, this vision resulted in a dealer network that functions not only as a logistics system but also as a holonic system. The study is based on 194 questionnaires administered by the authors, along with 40 interviews with managers and specialists from Toyota Dealers Romania. Its novelty lies in analyzing the Toyota Dealer System (TDS) through the concept of holonic networks. The study concludes that the success of keiretsu groups is explained by combining Sun Tzu’s thinking with the principles of holonic networks. The findings are valuable both conceptually, for future research, and practically, as they offer clear directions for developing strategies and organizing a company’s market relationships. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Supply Chain Management)

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18 pages, 2636 KB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Twin Based SUDIHA Architecture to Smart Shopfloor Scheduling

by Hassan Khadiri, Souhail Sekkat and Brahim Herrou

J. Manuf. Mater. Process. 2023, 7(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp7030084 - 26 Apr 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3327

Abstract

Standing on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution, Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are considered the basic components of the Smart Factory. One important challenge in cyber physical production systems is dynamic scheduling that can handle random disruptions such as failures, raw material shortages and quality defects. To achieve dynamic scheduling, we have proposed a Supervised and Distributed Holonic architecture we called SUDIHA. This architecture incorporates three Holons: Product Holon, Resource Holon and Order Holon and combines global supervision, achieved by Product Holon, with dynamic local control, achieved by Resource Holon. The Digital Twin (DT) concept is generally used to design CPS; it is virtual copies of the system that can interact with the physical counterparts in a bi-directional way. It seems to be promising to tackle the complexity and increase manufacturing system flexibility. In this paper, we use a DT Model to improve the SUDIHA architecture. We propose a Digital Twin based SUDIHA architecture (DT-SUDIHA). The paper will describe Digital Twins’ configuration of each Holon of the SUDIHA Architecture, and the intelligent and real time data driven operation control of this architecture. A case study is carried out at the ENSAM-Meknes flexible workshop to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart and Advanced Manufacturing)

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8 pages, 310 KB

Open AccessArticle

FL* Interpretation of a Dichotomy in the Spin Susceptibility of the Cuprates

by Pieralberto Marchetti

Condens. Matter 2023, 8(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/condmat8020030 - 23 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2035

Abstract

We propose that some dichotomic Fermi liquid versus non-Fermi liquid behaviours of physical quantities in hole-doped cuprates can be explained in terms of the FL* fractionalized Fermi liquid concept, introduced some years ago, even beyond the region of underdoping. The particle excitations of this FL* system are the holon carrying charge, the spinon carrying spin 1/2, gauge fluctuations coupling them and the hole as a spinon–holon bound state or resonance due to gauge binding. In our proposal, physical responses have a Fermi-liquid-type behaviour if they are dominated by the hole resonance, whereas a non-Fermi liquid behaviour appears if they are dominated by spinon–spinon (and possibly also holon–holon) gauge interactions. The specific case of spin susceptibility in the so-called "strange metal phase" is discussed. The uniform susceptibility turns out to be hole-dominated, the spin-lattice relaxation rate in the Cu sites is spinon-dominated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluctuations and Highly Non-linear Phenomena in Superfluids and Superconductors VII)

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31 pages, 2508 KB

Open AccessReview

Are There Biomimetic Lessons from Genetic Regulatory Networks for Developing a Lunar Industrial Ecology?

by Alex Ellery

Biomimetics 2021, 6(3), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics6030050 - 9 Aug 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5094

Abstract

We examine the prospect for employing a bio-inspired architecture for a lunar industrial ecology based on genetic regulatory networks. The lunar industrial ecology resembles a metabolic system in that it comprises multiple chemical processes interlinked through waste recycling. Initially, we examine lessons from factory organisation which have evolved into a bio-inspired concept, the reconfigurable holonic architecture. We then examine genetic regulatory networks and their application in the biological cell cycle. There are numerous subtleties that would be challenging to implement in a lunar industrial ecology but much of the essence of biological circuitry (as implemented in synthetic biology, for example) is captured by traditional electrical engineering design with emphasis on feedforward and feedback loops to implement robustness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomimetic Design and Techniques for Space Applications II)

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17 pages, 4590 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Hawaiian Islands: Conceptualizing an Industrial Ecology Holarchic System

by Marian R. Chertow, Thomas E. Graedel, Koichi S. Kanaoka and Jooyoung Park

Sustainability 2020, 12(8), 3104; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083104 - 13 Apr 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4826

Abstract

The Hawaiian Islands form a holarchic system with at least five nested layers (holons) at increasing spatial scales: from a single enterprise to cities, to individual islands, to the archipelago (the group of islands), and to the global resource base that connects them all. Each holonic layer operates individually but is also linked to holons at lower and higher levels by material input and output flows. An integrated study of the holarchic system allows us to explore the value of applying this concept to industrial ecology. We present examples from a multi-level material flow analysis combining a large quantity of material and energy flow data for Hawaii from the five holarchic levels. Our analysis demonstrates how a holarchic approach to the study of selected interacting systems can reveal features and linkages of their metabolism not otherwise apparent and can provide a novel basis for discovering material, energy, and societal connections. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Metabolism of Islands)

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17 pages, 2440 KB

Open AccessArticle

Holonic Crisis Handling Model for Corporate Sustainability

by Levente Bakos and Dănuț Dumitru Dumitrașcu

Sustainability 2017, 9(12), 2266; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9122266 - 7 Dec 2017

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5623

Abstract

The new approaches of risk and crisis management of organizations point to corporate responsibility and corporate sustainability. In the ‘Internet of Everything’ era, when the new media and social networks create the possibility to ruin in a few seconds the reputation of a company built in decades, it is important to afford the maximum attention to risk management and crisis communication. Long-term sustainability requires a transparent, trustful communication in due time. In our study, we propose a crisis management model that leads to sustainable corporate behaviour. We consider organizations as complex systems, and we use the holonic multiagent modelling concept to depict the emergent behaviour of these systems. This theoretical paper has as its main result a crisis communication model, based on the adaptability feature of holons. In our non-linear approach for unpredictable situations we merged some findings of sustainability theory, corporate social responsibility (CSR) management, crisis communication, the holonic manufacturing concept and the latest security standards in computer communication. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Risk Assessment and Management)

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