Abstract
In this paper, the relevance of integrated planning concerning decisions of production and blending in a spinning industry is studied. The scenario regards a plant that produces several yarn packages over a planning horizon. Each yarn type is produced using a blend of several cotton bales that must contain attributes to ensure the quality of the produced yarns. Three approaches to managing production and blending are compared; the first deals with the solution to the production scheduling and blending problems in a single integrated model. The second approach hierarchically addresses these problems. The third procedure combines features from the integrated and hierarchical approaches. These approaches are applied to a real-world problem, and their respective performances are analyzed. The third approach proved to deal with lot sizing, scheduling and blending in the spinning industry more efficiently. Moreover, the results indicate the importance of coordinating production and blending decisions. © 2021 Brazilian Operations Research Society.

Abstract
The need of lockdown, due to COVID-19, led many manufacturing companies to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies. Manufacturing companies were strongly affected by workforce shortages associated with the spread of COVID-19 and the lockdown, as well by connectivity losses among business partners. Therefore, these companies are reviewing their strategies to increase productivity, mainly embracing digital manufacturing technologies. Here the adoption of digital technologies aims to improve efficiency and flexibility in their processes, also improving connectivity among business partners. This study investigates how collaborative academia-industry R&D cases accelerated the adoption of digital technologies by manufacturing companies, given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. Based on multiple case studies, this article reports the challenges and the strategies of three ongoing collaborative industry-academia R&D projects developed during the COVID pandemic situation. The results are presented in four different perspectives derived from industry 4.0 readiness maturity models: interpersonal communication, personal competencies and skills, systems integration, and technological strategy. It highlights the importance of manufacturing companies to have a well-designed digitalization strategy, need of continuous training and development of their workforce, and the support of Research & Technology Organizations (RTO) to bring more maturity to the efforts required during a turbulent situation. The results of this paper can provide relevant decision support for manufacturing companies, and its stakeholders, in face of challenges of the actual pandemic and post-pandemic scenario.

Abstract
This work presents a taxonomic proposition that integrates six views of business process (BP), allowing the identification of different BP perspectives as well as their elements used in the BP modelling activity. A literature review (LR) was conducted to identify the theoretical elements of the BP construct. Based on the LR findings, a taxonomic proposition of BP is presented. Finally, interviews were conducted with practitioners to validate it. The taxonomy contributes to the systematisation of knowledge around the theoretical construct BP and offers the practitioner a broad spectrum of points of view for the analysis of a given BP.

Abstract
Nowadays, online route planners for soft modes are provided by several platforms such as Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Here, or Waze. Itineraries are usually built using Shortest Path Problem algorithms that minimize the travel time or distance. In this work, we aim to identify and quantify the main features that influence itineraries’ choice by soft modes users in urban areas, able to support multi-objective routing, using simulated scenarios. We propose a set of 21 indicators, grouped into five dimensions: Safety-Security, Comfort, Air Quality, Accessibility and Time-Distance. Another contribution of this work is the simulation of scenarios to study soft modes’ multi-objective routing within urban areas.

Abstract
The rising number of people living in city centers is connected to an increase of private vehicles, traffic, and associated harmful effects. Efforts have been made to promote a modal shift to the use of more sustainable transportation means, such as walking and cycling, but several factors hinged to safety, comfort, and accessibility, still hinder this goal. Current route planners often focus on two particular dimensions, time and distance, which might not be enough to support other personal perceptions. We need to consider new aspects and different dimensions, such as air quality, noise levels, or people density, fueled by the recent advances in the area of sensorization and the Internet of Things. We tested the idea of an innovative route planner with surveys and focus groups and concluded that there is an interest for more power to customize personal routes, which could be a key element boosting soft mode mobility.

Abstract
The backroom of retail stores has structural differences when compared with other warehouses and distribution centres, which are more traditionally studied in the literature. This paper presents a mathematical optimisation approach for an unequal area facility layout problem, applied in designing the backroom layout in grocery retail. A set of rectangular facilities (backroom departments) with given area requirements has to be placed, without overlapping, on a limited floor space (backroom area), which can have a regular or an irregular shape. The objective is to find the location and format of the storage departments, such that the walking distances in the store by store employees are minimised. The proposed approach is tested in a European grocery retailer. In the computational experiments, several real store layouts are compared with the ones suggested by the proposed model. The decrease in the walking distances is, on average, 30 percent. In order to understand what the current designers' strategy is, a set of scenarios was created and compared with the real layouts. Each scenario ignores a characteristic of the problem. The goal is to understand what aspect designers are currently discarding. The findings indicate that, currently, designers neglect the different replenishment frequencies of storage departments.