Criada na década de vinte, a função de produção Cobb-Douglas é, ainda hoje, muito popular na literatura microeconômica. Contudo, durante o século XX, o desenvolvimento da informática e das telecomunicações possibilitou diversas mudanças na forma de gestão das firmas. Como exemplo, é possível citar a implantação de sistemas integrados de gerenciamento e o crescente investimento em pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) de novos produtos e processos, bem como a qualificação da sua mão-de-obra via treinamento. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho se propõe a identificar a influência das variáveis gerenciamento, P&D e treinamento de mão-de-obra na função de produção de empresas do setor de bens de capital brasileiro. Para tanto serão desenvolvidos modelos econométricos, baseado em uma função Cobb-Douglas modificada, com especificações que contemplem a inclusão de tais variáveis. / Built in the twenties, the production function Cobb-Douglas is still very popular in the microeconomic literature. However, during the twentieth century, the development of computing and telecommunications has enabled several changes in companies management. As an example, we can mention the implementation of integrated management systems and the increasing investment in research and development (R&D) of new products and processes as well as the qualifications of its manpower through training. Accordingly, the present study aims to identify the influence of the variables management, R&D and manpower training in the production function of companies in the brazilian capital goods sector. In order to achieve the proposed objective, this work will develop some econometric models, based on a modified Cobb-Douglas function, with specifications that address the inclusion of such variables.

A partir do processo de liberalização do setor de energia em diversos países e, em particular, no Brasil, na década de 90, mecanismos de regulação por incentivos têm sido implementados como forma de assegurar a eficiência produtiva e alocativa do setor. Entretanto, a relação entre o desenvolvimento teórico destes mecanismos e sua aplicação não tem sido amplamente analisada. Neste sentido, este trabalho tem por objetivo avaliar os efeitos da regulação por incentivos na eficiência e produtividade do setor de transmissão de energia elétrica no Brasil entre os anos de 2002 e 2014. O método Malmquist-DEA foi aplicado para avaliar a evolução da eficiência relativa e da produtividade das empresas transmissoras mais representativas do mercado nacional entre os anos de 2002 e 2014. Os resultados permitem constatar comportamentos diferentes entre as empresas e colocaram em evidência os efeitos da desverticalização e principalmente da privatização de algumas empresas do setor. Em termos gerais, o setor de transmissão apresentou um pequeno aumento do Índice Malmquist médio para o período analisado influenciado principalmente pelo acréscimo de produtividade verificados em 2007 e 2014 em relação aos anos anteriores. Em contrapartida a maioria das empresas (6 de um total de 8) apresentaram decréscimo na produtividade média no período analisado. Adicionalmente, os resultados corroboram o modelo teórico dos efeitos da regulação por incentivos para promover o aumento da eficiência do setor de energia brasileiro. Apesar deste aumento de eficiência em algumas empresas do setor, observa-se que ainda há muitas oportunidades de melhorias operacionais, eficiência produtiva, e apropriação de tecnologia por parte das empresas reguladas. O trabalho também apresenta implicações relevantes para os gestores de empresas e para os órgãos reguladores, com o intuito de aumentar a eficiência e a produtividade das empresas brasileiras do setor de transmissão de energia elétrica. / Since the process of liberalization of the energy sector in several countries, and particularly in Brazil in the 1990s, incentive regulation mechanisms have been implemented as a means of ensuring the productive and allocative efficiency of the sector. However, the relationship between the theoretical development of these mechanisms and their application has not been widely analyzed. In this sense, the objective of this work is to evaluate the effects of incentive regulation on the efficiency and productivity of the electric power transmission sector in Brazil between 2002 and 2014. The Malmquist-DEA method was applied to evaluate the evolution of relative efficiency and the productivity of the most representative transmission companies in the national market between 2002 and 2014. The results show different behaviors between companies and highlighted the effects of the de-verticalization and mainly the privatization of some companies in the sector. In general terms, the transmission sector showed a small increase in the average Malmquist Index for the period analyzed, mainly influenced by the increase in productivity in 2007 and 2014 in relation to previous years. In contrast, the majority of companies (6 out of 8) had a decrease in average productivity in the period analyzed. Additionally, the results corroborate the theoretical model of the effects of regulation by incentives to promote the increase of the efficiency of the Brazilian energy sector. Despite this increase in efficiency in some companies in the sector, it is observed that there are still many opportunities for operational improvements, productive efficiency, and the appropriation of technology by regulated companies. The work also has relevant implications for business managers and regulatory bodies, with the aim of increasing the efficiency and productivity of Brazilian companies in the electricity transmission sector.

nÃo hà / As InstituiÃÃes Federais de Ensino Superior (IFES) se encontram em um acelerado processo de transformaÃÃo em sua gestÃo devido à crescente demanda da sociedade por respostas Ãgeis a desafios cada vez mais complexos. Na busca de estabelecer melhores padrÃes de desempenho acadÃmico no Ensino Superior, capazes de garantir maior qualidade de seus serviÃos à sociedade em conjunto, com a necessidade de se conhecer o diagnÃstico situacional dos cursos de graduaÃÃo da Universidade Federal do Cearà (UFC), a presente tese tem como propÃsito realizar um estudo descritivo sobre o desempenho dos cursos de graduaÃÃo da UFC, durante o perÃodo de 2006 a 2009, mediante a aplicaÃÃo de um mÃtodo formal de avaliaÃÃo de eficiÃncia. A fundamentaÃÃo teÃrica discorre sobre: avaliaÃÃo superior no Brasil; gestÃo das IFES; indicadores de desempenho; modelo de avaliaÃÃo de desempenho acadÃmico sob os indicadores de efetividade, eficÃcia e eficiÃncia; alÃm do mÃtodo para avaliaÃÃo de eficiÃncia relativa, denominado Data Envelopment Analysis â DEA (AnÃlise EnvoltÃria de Dados). Quanto aos seus objetivos, esta pesquisa se caracteriza como exploratÃria e descritiva, de corte longitudinal, em que sÃo observadas e descritas as tendÃncias ao longo de um perÃodo preestabelecido numa topologia comparativa. Quanto à coleta de dados, consiste em uma pesquisa bibliogrÃfica e um estudo de caso, tipo ex-post facto, pois os dados trabalhados sÃo oriundos de fatos observados na unidade em anÃlise. A amostra foi do tipo intencional, composta por 30 cursos de graduaÃÃo da UFC, sediados em Fortaleza. Os dados foram fornecidos pela PrÃ-Reitoria de Planejamento, PrÃ-Reitoria de ExtensÃo, PrÃ-Reitoria de Pesquisa e PÃs-GraduaÃÃo, bem como pela base de dados disponibilizada pela PrÃ-Reitoria de GraduaÃÃo e pelo NÃcleo de Processamento de Dados, alÃm de informaÃÃes extraÃdas dos planos departamentais registrados na ComissÃo Permanente de Pessoal Docente (CPPD). Conclui-se que o baixo desempenho de eficiÃncia produtiva à uma prÃtica comum em quase todos os cursos da instituiÃÃo, durante o perÃodo de 2006 a 2009, atingindo, em mÃdia, 52,5%. Em relaÃÃo aos cursos com eficiÃncia relativa menor do que 80%, os resultados revelaram que, no mÃnimo, 50% deles possuÃam carga horÃria de professores doutores mais elevada do que os demais, com titulaÃÃo de mestre, especialista e graduado. Portanto, o desempenho quanto à eficiÃncia produtiva dos cursos depende, principalmente, do empenho, esforÃo e dedicaÃÃo da sua equipe de professores, alunos e funcionÃrios, e nÃo apenas da titulaÃÃo de seus professores. Observa-se, tambÃm, que, em uma mesma unidade acadÃmica, existem cursos que foram considerados, pela tÃcnica DEA, como eficientes e outros nÃo-eficientes, demonstrando a existÃncia de distanciamento entre os valores de eficiÃncia relativa entre cursos de graduaÃÃo da mesma unidade acadÃmica. Constata-se, assim, a necessidade de integraÃÃo de um sistema de avaliaÃÃo da eficiÃncia relativa pelo mÃtodo DEA ao sistema de informaÃÃo institucional da UFC, o que servirà de referÃncia para as tomadas de decisÃes dos gestores, minimizando as possÃveis distorÃÃes em alguns dos cursos de graduaÃÃo na UFC. / The Federal Institutes of Higher Education are in an accelerated transformation process in their administration due to an increasing social demand for agile answers to complex challenges. Trying to establish a better standard of academic performance in Higher Education, capable to guarantee a better quality of its services to society in general, it is necessary to know the situational diagnostic of the graduate courses of Universidade Federal do Cearà (UFC), the current thesis has the purpose to accomplish a descriptive study about the performance of the graduate courses of UFC, during the period from 2006 to 2009, by the application of a formal method of efficiency evaluation. The theoretical basis reflects on: evaluation of Higher Education in Brazil; administration of Federal Institutes of Higher Education; performance indicators; model of evaluation of academic performance by the indicators of effectiveness, efficacy and efficiency; as well as the method for evaluation of relative efficiency, denominated Data Envelopment Analysis - DEA. Regarding the objectives, this research is characterized as an exploratory and descriptive study, with a longitudinal cut for the observation and description of tendencies along a pre-established period in a comparative topology. Regarding the data collection technique, it is a bibliographical research and a case study, as well as ex-post facto, because the analysed data are originally from the observed facts in the unit that has been studied. A sample of intentional type was studied, composed by 30 graduate courses of UFC, in Fortaleza-CearÃ- Brazil. The data were supplied by the following university offices: planning office; extension office; research and postgraduate courses office; graduate courses office; data processing office, as well as extracted information from the departmental plans registered in the Permanent Commission of Professors. This study comes to the conclusion that the low performance of productive efficiency is a common practice in almost all of the courses of the institution, during the period from 2006 to 2009, reaching, on average, 52.5%. Regarding the courses with relative efficiency smaller than 80%, the results revealed that, at least, 50% of them possessed a higher number of professors with a doctoral degree, in comparison to professors with masterâs degree, specialists or only graduated. Therefore, the performance related to the productive efficiency of the courses depends, mainly, on the endeavor, effort and dedication of the team of professors, students and employees, and not only on the professorâs qualification. It is observed, also, that, inside of the same academic unit, there are efficient and non-efficient courses, according to the DEA technique, pointing to a distance between the values of relative efficiency in graduate courses of the same academic unit. It is verified, therefore, the need of integration of an evaluation system of the relative efficiency by the method DEA to the system of institutional information of UFC, that will be a reference for the decisions of the administrators, minimizing the possible distortions in some of the under graduate courses of UFC.

Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender a influência das práticas administrativo-pedagógicas que podem colaborar para o desempenho dos alunos de escolas públicas municipais do ensino fundamental do estado de São Paulo no IDEB. Para isso foi realizado uma adaptação da metodologia proposta por Salgado Junior (2013) que envolveu a realização de uma pesquisa de abordagem quali-quantitativa, dividida em duas etapas. A primeira etapa consistiu na aplicação da técnica DEA em 1.298 escolas públicas municipais do estado de São Paulo, cuja finalidade foi identificar as escolas eficientes em transformar investimento financeiro, nível socioeconômico e infraestrutura em desempenho no IDEB. A segunda etapa consistiu na realização de um estudo de múltiplos casos, por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas, análise documental e observação assistemática nas cinco escolas eficientes identificadas pela técnica DEA e em cinco escolas ineficientes (com escore DEA inferior a 0,80) escolhidas por possuírem características semelhantes e estarem localizadas nos mesmos municípios das escolas eficientes. A análise dos resultados, apresentados nos estudos de caso, revelou a existência de 23 práticas administrativo-pedagógicas que apresentam evidências de ter influenciado o desempenho dos alunos no IDEB. Os resultados indicam que a participação da família na vida escolar do filho, assim como a cobrança da comunidade perante o Diretor pode contribuir para melhoria no desempenho dos alunos no IDEB. A preparação específica para a Prova Brasil, a rotatividade de Professores nas disciplinas de Português e Matemática e o sistema disciplinar também foram práticas identificadas nesta pesquisa que podem contribuir para o desempenho dos alunos. Por fim, os resultados encontrados nessa pesquisa podem ser utilizados para definição sobre a destinação dos recursos financeiros por parte da SME e orientar os Diretores na gestão dos processos administrativo-pedagógico da escola, a fim de promover uma melhoria no desempenho dos alunos no IDEB / This study aimed to understand the influence of administrative and pedagogical practices that may contribute to the performance of students in public schools of primary education in the state of São Paulo in IDEB. To this was accomplished an adjustment of the methodology proposed by Salgado Junior (2013) involving the use of a qualitative and quantitative approach to research, divided into two stages. The first step was the application of DEA in 1,298 public schools of São Paulo, whose purpose was to identify the efficient schools in turning financial investment, socioeconomic status and performance in infrastructure in IDEB. The second stage consisted of a study of multiple cases, through semi-structured interviews, document analysis and systematic observation in the five efficient schools identified by the DEA and five inefficient schools (with DEA score less than 0.80) selected for having similar characteristics and located in the same municipalities of effective schools. The results presented in the case studies revealed the existence of 23 administrative and pedagogical practices that show evidence of having influenced the performance of students in IDEB. The results indicate that family participation in school life of the child, as well as pressure of the community before the principal can contribute to improvement in student performance in IDEB. The specific preparation for the Prova Brasil, the turnover of teachers in the disciplines of Portuguese and Mathematics and the disciplinary system were also identified in this research that may contribute to student performance. Finally, the results found in this research can be used for the definition on the allocation of financial resources by the SME and guide the directors in the management of administrative and pedagogical processes of school in order to promote an improvement in student performance in IDEB

Companies in the supermarket sector have faced significant changes in the last decades, mainly due to the increase in the use of Information Technology (IT), in the automation of cashiers operations (check-outs), business management or ecommerce. However, the relation among the efficiency of IT investments has been widely studied in the past years, with the purpose of understanding and measuring the improvements in organizational performance generated by such investments. This study has the following objectives: (1) to analyze the efficiency of investments made in Information Technology by supermarket stores from cooperatives in the state of Rio Grande do Sul; (2) to identify which areas within the company make use of IT resources; and (3) verify if investments in certain IT resources imply an increase on sales and profit. Sixteen supermarkets from cooperatives in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were analyzed. The method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was utilized, following the framework proposed by Shafer and Byrd (2000), having as inputs the average of investments related to software, hardware, direct and indirect IT labor between the years 2003 and 2005, and having as outputs the average of annual growth of revenues and profit between the years 2001 and 2005. The Spearmann statistical test was also used to analyze the correlation between IT investments and the growth of revenues. Results show that despite the huge existent gap among companies and financial controls concerning IT, there is a strong correlation among the investments in software, hardware and IT labor and the increase on the annual average revenue growth, confirming the existence of significant positive impacts on the organizational performance. / As organizações de um modo geral e, em especial, as empresas do setor supermercadista têm passado por modificações bastante significativas nas últimas décadas principalmente em função do aumento do uso da Tecnologia da Informação (TI) seja na automação de operação de caixa (check-outs), gestão administrativa ou comércio eletrônico. No entanto, a relação entre a eficiência dos investimentos realizados em TI tem sido amplamente estudada nos últimos anos com a intenção de entender e mensurar o incremento na performance organizacional a partir de tais investimentos. Este trabalho tem como objetivos: (1) análisar da eficiência dos investimentos realizados em Tecnologia da Informação por lojas de supermercados de cooperativas do Rio Grande do Sul; (2) Identificar quais as áreas da empresa utilizam recursos de TI; e (3) Verificar se investimentos em determinados recursos de TI implicam no aumento de vendas e lucro. Foram analisados 16 supermercados de Cooperativas do Rio Grande do Sul. Foi utilizado o método de Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA) através do framework proposto por Shafer e Byrd (2000) tendo como inputs a média dos investimentos relativos a software, hardware e mão-deobra direta e indireta de TI entre os anos de 2003 e 2005 e como outputs média de crescimento anual de faturamento e lucro entre os anos de 2001 e 2005. Também foi utilizado o teste estatístico de Spearmann para analisar a correlação entre investimentos em TI e aumento de faturamento. Os resultados indicam que, apesar da enorme lacuna existente entre as empresas e os controles financeiros relativos a TI, existe forte correlação entre os investimentos em software, hardware e mão-deobra TI e o aumento da Média de Crescimento Anual de faturamento, confirmando a existência de impactos positivos significativos na performance organizacional.

Dans cette thèse nous avons tenté d’expliquer la performance des entreprises en se basant sur l’approche basée sur les ressources (RBV) et l’approche basée sur les capacités dynamiques (DCV),deux approches relevant de la théorie des ressources qui gagneraient à être intégrées. Pour aborder la problématique, nous avons développé deux axes de recherche : « La détention des ressources/capacités et la Performance » et « La gestion des ressources/capacités et la Performance ». Le premier modèle conceptuel a présenté les relations liant les différentes capacités opérationnelles à la performance. Le modèle conceptuel global a traité de la relation « Capacités opérationnelles – Environnement -Stratégie de diversification - Capacités dynamiques- Performance ». Notre posture épistémologique dans cette recherche se voulait positiviste. Au niveau des choix méthodologiques nous avons opté pour une démarche hypothético-déductive avec une approche quantitative basée sur des données secondaires collectées de la base de données française DIANE et des statistiques de l’INSEE, et pour évaluer les capacités nous avons eu recours à la méthode DEA. La première étude empirique a testé la relation capacités opérationnelles-performance sur quatre échantillons mono-sectoriels représentatifs de l’industrie manufacturière française : le secteur pharmaceutique, le secteur automobile, le secteur de la chimie et le secteur de l’habillement. La seconde étude empirique a testé le modèle mettant en relation les capacités opérationnelles, les capacités dynamiques, l’environnement et la diversification,sur la base d’un échantillon plurisectoriel regroupant les quatre secteurs. Les résultats ont permis de découvrir en premier lieu, l’importance de la capacité financière pour tous les secteurs, en deuxième lieu, le rôle modérateur de l’environnement et de la diversification et en troisième lieu l‘importance des capacités dynamiques d’apprentissage (d’absorption) et adaptative dans l’explication de la performance. Ces résultats peuvent servir les décisions managériales et l'action publique. / In this thesis we have tried to explain business performance based on the resource-based View (RBV) and the Dynamic capabilities View (DCV), two approaches within the resource-based theory (RBT)that benefits from being integrated. To address the problem, we have developed two main stream of research: "The detention of resources / capabilities and performance" and "The management of resources / capabilities and performance." The first conceptual model presented the relations linking the various operational capabilities to performance. The global conceptual model has focused the relation “Ordinary capabilities – Environment – Diversification strategy- Dynamic capabilities –Performance”. Our epistemological position in this research wished to be positivist. At the methodological level we opted for a hypothetical-deductive approach with a quantitative approach based on secondary data collected from the French database DIANE and INSEE statistics, and to evaluate capabilities we used the DEA method. The first empirical study that aims on “ordinary capabilities – performance” link, is based on four industries samples representing the French manufacturing industry: the pharmaceutical industry, the automotive industry, the chemical industry and the clothing industry. The second study tested the empirical model linking ordinary capabilities,dynamic capabilities, environment and diversification, based on a multisectorial sample comprising the four sectors. The results revealed first the importance of financial capability for all sectors, second the moderating role of the environment and the diversification and thirdly the magnitudes of dynamic learning (absorption) and adaptive capabilities in explaining performance. These results could serve managerial decisions and public policy.

Data envelopment analysis models are common tools to measure efficiency of decision-making unit. This thesis presents several DEA-based approaches and describes data that are collected and closely watched by Czech Tax Offices. Presented methods are used to evaluate Tax Offices. Each Tax Office will be evaluated with efficiency rate by every presented approach. In the last part of this thesis, the Tax Offices will be ordered by achieved results and the methods will be compared.

Today mobile network operators utilize IP Packet exchange (IPX) carriers to interconnect their networks with other operators. Mobile network operators are free to choose one IPX carrier for their data traffic and another for their control traffic. This thesis examines the case of control traffic, specifically Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) carrying Diameter protocol traffic arising from users roaming from their home Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to another operator’s LTE network. The thesis project aims to identify a set of SCTP parameter configurations that can provide improved application/service level availability between two Diameter nodes in different network connectivity environments, specifically for IPX carriers who are Diameter service providers. These service providers provide Diameter connectivity for their customers who are mobile network operators. These mobile network operators in turn provide LTE roaming services to their customers. Unfortunately, applying the ‘One size fits all’ configuration recommendations given in the SCTP documentation is unsuitable for different network environments. In addition, the amount of Diameter signaling traffic is growing at a very rapid rate. Therefore, it is valuable to identify suitable parameter selection criteria for Diameter service providers to ensure 100% Diameter connectivity reliability for their customers. In this thesis project, author investigated how tuning SCTP parameter values affect Diameter message transmission in terms of Round Trip Delay and identified its determining parameters for packet loss recovery performance. Both IPX carriers and mobile network operators may use these values as reference when attempting to ensure high availability of Diameter transmissions under reliable, semi reliable, and unreliable network transport conditions. / Mobilnätsoperatörer använder sig av IP Packet exchange (IPX) tjänstetillhandahållare för att koppla ihop sina nät med andra operatörers nät. Mobilnätsoperatörer kan fritt välja en IPX tjänstetillhandahållare för sin datatrafik och en annan för sin kontrolltrafik. Denna uppsats undersöker fallet för kontrolltrafik, specifikt Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) kommunikationsprotokoll för Diameter protocol-trafik vid användares roaming från sitt Long Term Evolution (LTE)-hemmanät till en annan operatörs LTE-nät. Examensarbetet avser etablera en uppsättning av SCTP-parameterkonfigurationer som ger förbättrad applikations-/tjänstetillgänglighetsnivå mellan två Diameter-noder i olika nätmiljöer, särskilt för IPX tjänstetillhandahållare som är Diameter tjänstetillhandahållare.  Dessa tjänstetillhandahållare erbjuder Diameter-konnektivitet till sina kunder, som är mobilnätsoperatörer. Dessa mobilnätsoperatörer tillhandahåller i sin tur LTE-roamingtjänster till sina kunder. Tyvärr är det olämpligt att tillämpa de enhetliga konfigurationsrekommendationer, som ges i SCTP- och Diameter-protokollens dokumentation, i olika nätmiljöer. Samtidigt ökar Diameter-signaleringstrafiken mycket snabbt. Därför är det värdefullt att identifiera lämpliga parameterkriterier för Diameter-tjänstetillhandahållare att säkerställa 100% tillförlitlig Diameter-tillgänglighet för sina kunder. I detta examensarbete har författaren undersökt hur trimning av SCTP-parametervärden påverkar Diameter-meddelandeöverföring vad avser överföringstiden tur- och retur, och identifierat de avgörande parametrarna för återställande av paketförluster. Både IPX tjänstetillhandahållare och mobilnätsoperatörer kan använda dessa värden som referens för att åstadkomma hög tillgänglighet för Diameter-överföring vid tillförlitliga, halvtillförlitliga och otillförlitliga nättransportförutsättningar.

Denna studie undersöker sambandet mellan svenska bankers förändring i effektivitet samt produktivitet och det ökande användandet av betaltjänsten Swish. Det undersökta urvalet är elva svenska banker under perioden 2006-2021. Ett centralt begrepp i studien är produktivitetsparadoxen som innebär att investeringar i IT är svåra att fånga upp i en produktivitetsmätning. För att testa sambanden används först en DEA-baserad Malmquist Index för att beräkna bankernas produktivitets- samt effektivitetsvärden, vilka sedan används som beroende variabler i en regression tillsammans med de oberoende Swish-variablerna. Trots det utbredda användandet av Swish i landet finner vi endast negativa samband som är statistiskt signifikanta mellan variablerna för årligt antal Swish-transaktioner samt Swish-användare, vilket kan ses som stöd för existensen av en produktivitetsparadox.

Circular product flows are found as a business model in several companies and are characterized by the rental of various products. As a result of the products being returned, it creates changes in what can be regarded as a classic linear product flow. The study aims to evaluate the management of rental products at a specific case company and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of selected methods when applied to a circular product flow. The case company with which the study was conducted is Hjälpmedelscentralen Region Västernorrland, which has the task of providing technical aids to individuals with special needs. The methods used to fulfill the purpose are Value Stream Mapping, ABC-XYZ classification and DEA. By applying the methods, it makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of the case company and the advantages and disadvantages of the methods when applying to circular product flows. The Value Stream Mapping resulted in four potential future states and that a non-value-adding process could be identified. The ABC-XYZ classification shows that about 5 percent of the articles have a high demand and a low variation while about 58 percent have a low demand and a low variation. Based on the DEA analysis, Hjälpmedelscentralen is currently 75 percent efficient in relation to the potentially most efficient state. In evaluation of the studied models, it can be stated that the choice of parameters for ABC-XYZ classification on a circular product flow differs from the most common parameters used in ABC-XYZ. Furthermore, it appears that VSM is not adapted for circular product flows, which contributes to a source of uncertainty in the DEA. / Cirkulära produktflöden återfinns som affärsmodell hos flera företag och kännetecknas av uthyrning av diverse produkter. Till följd av att produkterna returneras skapar det förändringar i vad som kan anses som klassiska linjära produktflöden. Studien syftar till att utvärdera hanteringen av uthyrningsprodukter hos ett specifikt fallföretag samt utvärdera valda metoders för- och nackdelar vid applicering på ett cirkulärt produktflöde. Fallföretaget som studien är genomförd hos är Hjälpmedelscentralen Region Västernorrland, som har till uppdrag att tillhandahålla tekniska hjälpmedel till individer med speciella behov. Metoderna som används för att uppfylla syftet är värdeflödesanalys, ABC-XYZ klassificering samt DEA. Genom att tillämpa metoderna möjliggör det att utvärdera fallföretagets effektivitet och metodernas för- och nackdelar vid applicering på cirkulära produktflöden. Värdeflödesanalysens resultat är fyra potentiella framtida tillstånd och att en icke-värdeskapande process kan identifieras. ABC-XYZ klassificeringen påvisar att cirka 5 procent av artiklarna har en hög efterfrågan och en låg variation medan cirka 58 procent har en låg efterfrågan och en låg variation. Utifrån DEA-analysen är hjälpmedelscentralen i dagsläget cirka 75 procent effektiv i förhållande till det potentiellt effektivaste tillståndet. Vid en utvärdering av studiens modeller går det att konstatera att val av parametrar för ABC-XYZ klassificering på ett cirkulärt produktflöde skiljer sig från de vanligast förekommande parametrarna som används vid ABC-XYZ. Vidare framgår det att VSM inte är anpassad för cirkulära produktflöden, vilket bidrar till en osäkerhetskälla i DEA.