Global economic competition is leading companies to improve their competitiveness by increasing production and eliminating the main obstacles to the process of making products available. This approach concerns both SMEs and SMIs as well as multinationals. Thus, the Compagnie Minière de l’Ogooué (COMILOG), a subsidiary of the French group ERAMET, which until recently had a monopoly on manganese mining in Gabon, must now face competition from Asian operators. To export its ore, COMILOG must first transport it by rail for nearly 650 km, from the Moanda site (south-east of the country) to the port of Owendo. However, port operations, which until then took place exclusively during the day, limited the company’s export capacities and the profits made, while increasing the stopover time of ships and their operating costs. To remedy this, the French company introduced nighttime docking and departures. This work addresses the challenges of the performance of port operations at the Owendo ore terminal and the security and natural risks of night manoeuvres. The general objective of the study is to assess the impact of these night services on ship traffic, on the one hand, and to identify the related socio-economic and security issues, on the other hand. Data collection was carried out using documentary research in libraries and research centres, consultation of websites, semi-directed interviews, questionnaire surveys and participatory observation. The sample of 50 people surveyed took into account management staff, supervisors and line managers, integrating the diversity of actors involved in the processing of ships calling at the port of Owendo. Finally, the surveys attest to a clear reduction in the time spent by ships at the Owendo Ore Port and an increase in their number calling. They also confirm the improvement in tonnages embarked and the improvement in turnover achieved by COMILOG. This study led to the conclusion that the introduction of night manoeuvres at the port of Owendo allowed COMILOG to increase its exports and the number of ore carriers received in stopover and then improve its turnover.

A logistics service company in Batam faces challenges related to warehouse load fulfillment and sorting inaccuracies. This study aims to identify proposed efficiency improvements to the goods distribution system using the cross-docking method. The research method chosen is cross-docking, a technique that eliminates the storage process in the warehouse, thus saving time and cost. The research findings show significant benefits, especially in achieving zero inventory efficiency. Data processing and discussion revealed that efficiencies were apparent by increasing the sorting tables from 1 to 6, with an output of 90,000 kg during aircraft loading and unloading (compared to approximately 77,000 kilograms). This efficiency arises from the larger output of the sorting tables compared to the input, eliminating the need for warehousing and adding ten trucks. As a result, the shipment can be completed in one trip, with no goods stored in the warehouse. The analysis shows that implementing cross-docking in the company increases efficiency in distributing goods to forwarding partners.

The H3N2 influenza virus is spiking dramatically, which is a major concern worldwide and in India. The multifunctional hetero-trimer influenza virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) is involved in the generation of viral mRNA and is crucial for viral infectivity, which is directly related to the virus’s ability to survive. The goal of the current work was to use molecular docking to determine how the RdRP protein might be affected by powerful bioactive chemicals found in Calotropis gigantia latex. By applying CB-dock 2 analysis and 2D interactions, an in-silico docking study was conducted using a GC-FID (gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection) based composition profile. Tocospiro A (15%), Amyrin (7%), and Gombasterol A were found by GC-FID to be the main phytocompounds in the latex of Calotropis gigantia. The docking result showed that ligands were effectively bound to RdRP. According to interaction studies, RdRP/ligand complexes create hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, pi-alkyl bonds, alkyl bonds, and pi-Sigma bonds. Therefore, it was suggested that Calotropis gigantia latex may represent a possible herbal remedy to attenuate H3N2 infections based on the above findings of the fragrance profile and docking.