Category: General

Here’s How You Can Optimize Your Multichannel Supply Chains

BY MEGAN RAY NICHOLS

Multichannel supply chains provide many options for customers of all types, whether at a retail location, over the phone or online. While these supply chains work best when channels work together, many managers keep their channels separate.

Managers can build multichannel supply chains so different channels can work together. This provides them with better information and smooths out the experience for customers, who naturally engage with more than one channel over time.

Multichannel supply chains can also benefit from advanced technology, like the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data analytics, to improve data collection and efficiency.

Here are several ways you can optimize your multichannel supply chains.

Have Your Channels Work Together

Many supply chain managers consider their channels in isolation when they could benefit from having them work together.

While 81 percent of retailers use supply chain models that make their inventory visible across channels, only 16 percent make that inventory fully transferable to other channels. You can restructure your supply channels to integrate with each other and trade inventory as necessary to fulfill customer needs.

Making inventory transferable across channels also makes it easier for your supply chain to allow things like buying online and picking up in the store.

No retailer wants returns, but data shows customers are more likely to buy products if they think they’ll be able to return them easily. About 92% of customers consider returns as being important to them and their purchasing decisions.

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10 Websites to Help Students with Their Science Homework

Diana Adjadj

Over the last decade, the workload on the students has risen dramatically. According to the recent study, 75% of college students spend up to five hours a day doing their science homework. It’s not surprising that most learners feel tired all the time.

If you want to boost your studying process and get more free time, you should utilize digital tools and services. Here is a list of top 10 sites, which may help to improve your performance.

Google Scholar

To write a high-quality academic paper, you should conduct in-depth online research and find scholarly sources to base your work on. But the problem is that the internet is overloaded with tons of unreliable content and it’s rather challenging to find scientific papers using Google search.

If you want to get access to scholarly literature, you should use Google Scholar, a specialized web search engine. It will help you to find the following sources:

  • Scientific journals
  • Patents
  • Books
  • Government reports
  • Other trustworthy sources

Academia

Academia is another reliable search engine for academic papers. Here you can find articles published by researchers from all over the world. Even more, you can use this site to submit your own scientific works.

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10 Steps to Structuring a Scientific Research Article

Bridgette Hernandez

Writing and formatting often go hand in hand. In anything from scripts to essays, there needs to be some kind of order. Especially when dealing with difficult concepts, a robust structure can help your readers stay afloat.

In the world of science writing, structure is that much more important. Research articles pack in a lot of information. You don’t want your readers to feel bombarded. Help your readers follow along with these ten steps.

Pick a Clear and Succinct Title

Many writers struggle with picking the perfect title. It’s understandable. The title is the first thing a reader sees. However, choosing the right title will be what helps to draw readers in. Try to include plenty of description.

Long titles should be avoided at all costs. Of course, it can be easy to get carried away. There is a lot to say! Still, shorter titles will capture readers’ imagination more easily.

Include an Abstract

An abstract gives your reader a “preview” of the content. Another way to see it is a summary. Abstracts make research articles scannable. When dealing with a lot of information, they help readers decide which texts to read. Use that your advantage.

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The Science Behind The Perfect Cup Of Coffee Explained

by Jackie Edwards

Coffee drinking in the US is at its highest level for 6 years with 64% drinking coffee daily and 79% of those people preparing their daily cup of coffee at home. Scientifically speaking, the perfect cup of coffee has volatile oils and caffeine in abundance but with bitter organic acids kept to a minimum. Here’s how you can use science to influence the quality of your daily cup of coffee.

Beans And Roast

The perfect cup of coffee starts with the beans themselves. Arabica and Robusta are the 2 most popular beans in the coffee market. Robusta contains greater amounts of caffeine as well as chlorogenic acids which have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties as well as being linked to lower risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, Arabica contains larger amounts of Trigonelline, a bitter tasting alkaloid linked to battling cancer cells. As far as roasting is concerned, the strength of the roast produced by the different roast time affects the way the sugars and fats in the coffee degrade and how the sugar and amino acids react with each other affecting how it tastes. Lighter roasts have a cleaner taste and are more acidic with the darker roasts tasting less acidic with a stronger, heavier taste.

Coarseness Of The Bean Grind

The coarseness of the bean grind affects the speed that your coffee is made, which, in turn, affects the taste. The finer the grind the shorter the time needed to make your coffee due to the greater available surface area for extraction. A finer ground also leads to stronger, tastier coffee because more caffeine, oils and organic compounds will be present. Take care though, if the grind is too fine it may end up tasting too bitter.

All About Brewing

How you brew your coffee is as important as the quality of the raw materials themselves. The ideal brew ratio is a subject of much discussion amongst scientists. Too much water and the coffee tastes weak; too much and it is overly strong and unpalatable. There is also evidence to show that the calcium and magnesium ions found in hard water make a more flavorful cup of coffee than if clean distilled water is used. Scientists know that temperature affects solubility and compound extraction and the same applies when you make your cup of coffee. The hotter the water used to make your cup of coffee, the faster organic acids and caffeine are extracted. However, if your coffee boils, your coffee will be bitter and the aroma and flavor evaporate. A temperature of 195°F to 205°F is ideal according to the National Coffee Association.

How you brew your coffee is as important as the quality of the raw materials themselves. The ideal brew ratio is a subject of much discussion amongst scientists. Too much water and the coffee tastes weak; too much and it is overly strong and unpalatable. There is also evidence to show that the calcium and magnesium ions found in hard water make a more flavorful cup of coffee than if clean distilled water is used. Scientists know that temperature affects solubility and compound extraction and the same applies when you make your cup of coffee. The hotter the water used to make your cup of coffee, the faster organic acids and caffeine are extracted. However, if your coffee boils, your coffee will be bitter and the aroma and flavor evaporate. A temperature of 195°F to 205°F is ideal according to the National Coffee Association. 

As in any science experiment, there are many variables to consider when making the perfect cup of coffee and everyone’s tastes differ. The type of beans, roast and grind influence the quality of your morning coffee along with the heat and amount of water used to make your cup of joe.