This study considers whether or not optimizing process metrics and settings across a supply chain gives significantly different outcomes than consideration at a firm level. While, the importance of supply chain integration has been shown in areas such as inventory management, this study appears to be the first empirical test for optimizing process settings. A Partial Least Squares (PLS) procedure is used to determine the crucial components and indicators that make up each component in a supply chain system. PLS allows supply chain members to have a greater understanding of critical coordination components in a given supply chain. Results and implications give an indication of what performance is possible with supply chain optimization versus local optimization on simulated and manufacturing data. It was found that pursuing an integrated approach over a traditional independent approach provides an improvement of 2% to 49% in predictive power for the supply chain under study.

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part isabout“Managing buyer-supplier relationships in autoproduction chains ­ a case study of Volvo and its supplierrelationship management”. The second part is about“Managing buyer-supplier relationships in telecom supplychains ­ a case study of Ericsson and its supplierrelationship models in different business situations”. The scope of this study is restricted to supply chains inautomotive and telecommunication industries, where the successof supply processes is dependent on how well a company managesits supply chain with horizontal or vertical integration tofulfill customer demands. The research is carried out as a number of case studies ofbuyer-supplier relationship management in the auto and telecomsupply chains. The aim was to analyze how a company fulfillscustomer demand in the best way through different supplierrelationships, and how and why alternative relationship typesare used in reality. The study is based on the relationship between two focalcompanies and their suppliers. Case study methodology is used,and data is collected from selected cases through interviewsand observations. Analysis is carried out within and acrosscases. From the case interpretation and analysis, conclusionsare drawn as to which strategic level of buyer-supplierrelationship is appropriate for different situations. As a result and in conclusion, a static supplychain-reaction model is built at the end of the Part I. Thestatic model describes the importance of collaborativebuyer-supplier relationships in the product developmentprocess. Based on this model, it is concluded in Part II thatthe most suitable supplier relationship is different fordifferent products. For the same product, the most appropriatebuyer-supplier relationship varies with the product’s lifecycle timing. Therefore, two dynamic buyer-supplierrelationship models under different business conditions and indifferent product life-cycle periods are created in Part II.The models apply to dynamic processes, not to interactingcompany organizations in general. The study increases the knowledge regarding selection of themost appropriate supplier relationships in different businesssituations. Key words:buyer-supplier relationship, sourcingstrategy, supply chain management / <p>Qc 20130827</p>

Since January 1st 2008, companies have the opportunity to become certified by the new common customs system Authorized Economic Operator (AEO). This opportunity is presented so that authorities together with operators are trusted to ensure that it is the correct cargo that gets transported. Attends Healthcare AB (Attends) has decided to implement this certification. To qualify there are a number of criteria that needs to be met. The aim of this thesis is to verify if Attends can meet the required criteria. This is to create a useful basis for the audit by the Customs Board.   The data collection and gap analysis carried out results in that a number of critical and less critical gaps are identified. An example of the gaps which were identified is a documented routine that deals with export declarations in the current situation. The gaps were mainly identified in the security and customs areas. After consultation with staff at Attends and the Customs Board, the decision was made that a number of routines and additions should be created to deal with the most critical gaps before the audit. With the less critical gaps, it was determined that action should take place only after the audit if the need occur. By dealing with the less critical gaps later, it should be less time consuming. This is because when the Customs Board has obtained some knowledge of the company’s routines, they will be able to give more detailed information to Attends about what needs to be fixed.   A systematic approach was performed in which all processes and documents deemed relevant to the certification were provided. Categorization was used to create a better understanding of the area that belongs to the documentation. This approach resulted in a register with the purpose to simplify identification of the documents.   After completed collection of data and analysis the conclusion shows that Attends Healthcare AB has a large number of routines and other related documents from the company's ISO-certifications and their operations system, Total Process Management that can be reused. This previous work will simplify the implementation of an AEO certification substantially. / Sedan 1 januari 2008 har företag möjlighet att bli certifierade av det nya gemensamma tullsystemet Godkänd Ekonomisk Aktör. Detta för att tillsammans med myndigheter och aktörer säkerställa att det är rätt gods som finns med i transporterna. Attends Healthcare AB har beslutat att införa denna certifiering men för att bli godkänd finns det ett antal kriterier som måste uppfyllas. Målsättningen med detta examensarbete är att verifiera att företaget har den dokumentation som krävs för att uppfylla kraven som ställs av Tullverket. Detta för att skapa en bra grund vid revision av Tullverket.   Datainsamlingen och gapanalysen som genomförts resulterade i att ett antal kritiska samt mindre kritiska gap kunde identifieras. Ett exempel på gap som identifierats är de rutiner som behandlar exportdeklarationer och i dagsläget inte finns dokumenterade. Huvudsakligen upptäcktes gapen inom säkerhets- och tullområdena. Efter samråd med personal på Attends och Tullverket bestämdes att ett antal rutiner och kompletteringar ska skapas för att åtgärda de mest kritiska gapen innan revision. För de mindre kritiska gapen så bestämdes att åtgärder först kommer ske efter revision ifall behovet då uppstår. Genom att åtgärda i efterhand bör kompletteringar bli mindre tidskrävande. Detta för att Tullverket har bättre insyn och kan därför ge ingående kritik till Attends om vad som behöver åtgärdas.   En systematisering genomfördes där samtliga rutiner och dokument som ansågs relevanta för certifieringen angavs. Uppdelningen i olika kategorier är till för att ha övervakad kontroll på vilket område dokumentationen tillhör. Detta resulterade i ett register för att enkelt identifiera dokumenten.   Efter slutförd datainsamling och analys kan slutsatsen dras att Attends Healthcare AB har ett stort antal rutiner och andra relaterade dokument som kan återanvändas ifrån företagets ISO-certifieringar och deras verksamhetssystem, Total Process Management. Detta tidigare arbete kommer förenkla genomförandet av en Godkänd Ekonomisk Aktör certifiering avsevärt.

This report is the result of a Master Thesis written at Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE), with the purpose to map the existing spare part supply chain structure and to analyse future suggested supply chain structures with a focus on transportation flows. TMHE is one of the world’s largest producing forklift distributers with large market shares throughout Europe. Besides the main activity of forklifts the aftermarket of distributing spare parts is a major business. With a current decentralised supply chain, the Future Logistic Concept (FLC) project was established to analyse the possibilities of a more centralised European supply chain. While earlier analyses within the FLC have been focusing on the customer market, this thesis aims towards completing with analyses on the opposite side of the supply chain. It will present an aggregated view over a possible FLC supply chain setup with focus on suppliers, replenishment flows and usage of express transportation solutions. An analysis was performed based on supplier localisation and historically delivered tonnages. To be able to analyse the replenishment flows between European Distribution Centre (EDC) and Regional Distribution Centres (RDC), an inventory control and transportation model was developed. The model calculates costs for inventory holding, replenishment flows and express flows and optimises the relationships between these controlling variables. This makes it possible to analyse the transportation flows in a specified set of possible supply chain structures. The results of the localisation analyses based on suppliers, show that the central part of the supply chain should be located in the northern parts of central Europe. To be able to minimise the supplier inflow facilities should be established in Mjölby and Ancenis. A warehouse in Eastern Europe is probably necessary to be able to keep customer lead times at an acceptable level, but from a supply point of view this location is not supported due to the low amount of Easter European suppliers. The results from the model suggests a supply chain structure with a central distribution centre in Antwerp, Belgium (Scenario 2 in the analysis) and regional warehouses in Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic.

Logistik kan bidra till kostnadsbesparingar bland företag vid användning av resurser, utöver det så kan en framgångsrik logistik ge företag fördelar när det handlar om att skapa värde åt kund. Vid marknadsföring så kan logistik även ha en stor inverkan på hur bra slutresultatet blir (Fuller et al., 1993). Hur bra kvalitén är på logistiktjänsterna är därför en viktig faktor inom marknadsföring för att skapa kundtillfredsställelse. För att effektivt kunna använda logistik som ett hjälpmedel för att få ett konkurrensmässigt övertag så krävs det ett samspel mellan företagets marknadsavdelning och de som arbetar med logistiska frågor (Mentzer et al., 2004).   Syftet med denna undersökning är att utveckla och testa en modell för analys och förbättring av försörjningskedjor med hänsyn till ett supply chain- och marknadsperspektiv. Modellen har skapats med stöd av litteraturstudier och empiri i form av dokument och intervjuer från företaget, även möten med handledare. Målsättningen är att modellen ska vara generellt utformad, vilket gör att andra företag ska kunna använda sig av den. Den teori som vi har använt oss av och som återfinns i den teoretiska referensramen är främst insamlad via böcker och vetenskapliga artiklar.   GLT-Laserstans är ett företag som befinner sig i Sandviken, de kan beskrivas som en legoverksamhet inom plåtindustrin som arbetar mot kundorder. Utöver legoverksamheten har de även en egen produktserie av tejphållare som de tillverkar. Dessa tejphållare anses som väldigt attraktiva på marknaden och de förekommer i många olika typer av varianter. Företaget vill ha hjälp med att undersöka vad de har för sorts kunder, vilka eventuella konkurrenter som finns och hur stark produkternas position är på marknaden.   Resultatet av denna undersökning blev till slut en handlingsplan i punktform som företaget kan använda sig av vid det kommande förbättringsarbetet. Denna handlingsplan består av förbättringsförslag som är framtagna med hjälp av modellen och företaget kan sedan välja vilka punkter som man väljer att arbeta vidare med. Modellen applicerades med goda resultat vid denna studie.   En slutsats som kan dras är att både logistik och marknadsföring syftar till att skapa värde för kund. Det som skiljer de två begreppen åt är de metoder som används för att skapa detta värde. Utan ett samspel mellan logistik och marknadsföring kan det vara svårt för organisationer att skapa hållbara förändringar.

Logistics Transportation is an indispensable step that connects production, storage, and the final customers. Plenty of previous research has been done to achieve the goals such as low cost, high accuracy in timing, good customer service, and low damage rate, within the transportation system. However, most of those improvements are on the operational level. There are few supply chain collaborations that try to optimize logistics transportation from a strategic level. This thesis proposes a new collaboration policy, Carrier Managed Transportation (CMT). It is a coordinated relationship between the carrier and the clients in a supply chain. As opposed to the traditional approach, where the client decides when to request shipments of the products, in CMT, the carrier will make these decisions on their behalf through information sharing. Due to the complexity in relationships and responsibilities of chain members, we divide the business scenarios into four cases and discuss the impact of CMT on each case. Comparisons and numerical examples across cases are also provided, along with some conclusions regarding the implementation of CMT.

Nowadays firms must develop inventory policies that enable them to cope with the changing marketplace. Determining proper inventory locations can help decrease costs related to inventory holding and transportation. Moreover, this allows firms to respond in a timely manner to customers’ requirements. As a result profit margins can be enhanced as well as the competitiveness of a firm. However, the decision of where to locate inventory in a supply chain is difficult since many companies are managed independently. The present research is developed as a case study where product classification, customer and supplier segmentation schemes are reviewed in order to determine appropriate inventory locations along the supply chain. The thesis is written upon literature and empirical research, where most of the data was collected through personal interviews and observations at the supply chain management offices of a distributor for sealing material parts in Europe. Our conclusion shows that product classification has an important impact on inventory location decisions. Also, we conclude that products should be classified based on both physical characteristics and demand factors, as well as according to customers’ requirements. Another factor to be considered when deciding on inventory location is supply risks, due to issues related to raw material availability and capacity. Nonetheless, the selection of classification variables is challenging as it is hard to determine which factors are more relevant than others as this varies depending on each firms’ needs. In addition, we find that supply chain strategies are not realistic due to the constant changes in the business environment and the inability of a firm to manage whole supply chains. Furthermore, a high level of communication among supply chain partners is fundamental, especially when a centralized inventory policy and a postponement strategy are in place.

Corporate Social Responsibility increases in importance, especially in the context of Supply-Chain Management. This is anchored in the rising competitiveness between entire supply-chains, as a competitive shift from individual companies to supply-chains as entities is taking place. Hence, the entire supply-chain becomes more critical in the creation of a competitive advantage. Corporate Social Responsibility has the potential to create legitimacy in the eyes of stakeholders and thus, also may contribute to the creation of this competitive advantage for entire supply-chains. Therefore, changing societal demands and stakeholder pressure stimulate the necessity for supply-chains to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility and thus, the three dimensions of the Triple-Bottom-Line (People, Planet, Profit) approach (as opposed to the traditional economic paradigm) into their operations.   With regards to this necessity it becomes worthwhile to explore how individual actors within supply-chains perceive pressure and whether the shift from inter-firm competition to inter-supply-chain competition is accompanied by a similar shift in stakeholder pressure (based on the Triple-Bottom-Line) from individual companies to entire supply-chains. A set of four interrelated theories, namely ‘business as open systems’, ‘social contract theory’, ‘stakeholder theory’ and ‘legitimacy theory’, is used to approach this topic. Then, the perceived pressure is investigated by means of a series of qualitative interviews with representatives of seven companies within the clothing industry, located at different positions of supply-chains. These positions include Suppliers of Raw Material, Manufacturer, Logistics and Retailers. Findings show that primary stakeholders, especially employees and customers, are perceived to be the most influential sources of CSR-related pressure. This pressure includes a wide range of demands, covering all three dimensions of the Triple-Bottom-Line. The assumption that supply-chains as entities perceive stakeholder pressure is not yet supported by these findings. What can be identified is a noticeable ‘trickle-up’ effect, meaning that pressure flows upstream from retailers to suppliers of raw materials. The shift in stakeholder pressure onto chains as entities is not identified due to the sample available to the authors. Further research should investigate this shift by means of examining single supply-chains instead of various companies from different chains.

Abstract   Problem discussion: The significance of the oil industry’s impact on the global economy is obvious. Oil supply chain management has to solve a lot of challenges caused by the nature of the supply chain in the oil industry such as complexity, inflexible characteristics, long lead time, limited transportation forms at the different stages in the supply chain, rigid take or pay procurement and limited primary distribution capacity. Other challenges are caused by unforeseen events such as political or economic changes which have an impact on the price of the oil. This thesis seeks to add value by signifying and indicating optimization as a way to address uncertainties and points out a way to utilize resources efficiently in order to gain further development and cost savings in the long term. Finding options for optimization of the oil supply chain is vital because any cost saving means vast amounts of money for the oil companies therefore optimization is at the centre of attention in the oil supply chain management. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate supply chain management in the oil industry and find options for optimizing the supply chain in the oil industry by reviewing and analyzing previously written literature on the chosen topic for the research.  Method: A single case study was applied in this thesis. The company chosen for the case study is called MOL Hungarian oil and gas PLC and is located in Hungary. To carry out the research, a qualitative research approach was implemented. Primary data was collected through semi structured interviews via telephone and the internet with the company’s staff. In addition to this, secondary data from different sources such as articles and books were used to construct or build the theoretical frame of reference for the thesis.  Delimitation: The scope of the thesis is limited to the supply chain management in the oil industry and its optimization. Further narrowing the scope, this thesis gives more attention to the downstream section of the supply chain in the oil industry. Conclusion: Optimization is recognised as main tool for the oil companies to achieve competitive advantage. Analysing MOL Group gives a factual example how optimization works in an oil company and contributes to manage its supply chain efficiently and handle the many uncertainties surrounding the oil industry. It is demonstrated what factors play key role in optimization and how they interact with each other. MOL Group’s solution for optimization builds around a serious planning process, IT solution, marketing and refinery operation triggering and working in synergy with many other factors which cannot be excluded from the optimization process. Due to the excellence of supply chain optimization, MOL Group has a very strong presence and leading position in the East Central European region generating increasing profit margin year by year in last two decades.

Problem – Companies and supply chains, such as those in the grocery industry, continuously face stricter requirements in the form of customer satisfaction, quality, profit margins, as well as information sharing in order to stay competitive. One specific technology that may be used in dealing with increasing competitive demands is the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. A wide body of research recognizes the positive impacts from RFID, yet even so, doubts and uncertainty have been present among different supply chain members in industries striving to put the RFID technology to use. Nevertheless, many actors in the Norwegian grocery industry are replacing traditional wood pallets with plastic pallets, and these pallets are integrated with RFID tags. Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how plastic pallets with integrated RFID tags can contribute to improve supply chain efficiency in the grocery industry. Also, the managerial perception on the pallets and their accompanying technology will be compared to the existing literature, to identify if the managerial opinion supports the literature, and if not, where the gaps exist. Method – The thesis combines an exploratory and an explanatory qualitative study of the managerial perception of RFID pallets in the Norwegian grocery industry, and investigates whether the perception supports the literature. The empirical material is gathered through telephone interviews with logistics and warehouse managers in the various companies. Conclusions – Physical implications: The managerial perceptions’ support towards the addressed implications of the reviewed literature is mixed. RFID pallets improve automatic operation processes through reduction in downtime and eases physical handling of pallets. Additionally, sorting of pallets becomes less labor demanding. Regarding holding of goods, the managerial perceptions do not seem to view RFID pallets as an important factor for efficiency improvement. Information related/RFID aspects’ implications: The managerial perceptions in these concerns were based on plans and thoughts, since the technology had not been put to use. There is a difference in producers’ and wholesalers’ perception of whether efficiency in receiving of goods can be improved through utilizing RFID pallets. Concerning dispatching of shipments, the managerial perceptions support the literature in that information-related activities can be automated, and thus improve efficiency and reduce risk of human errors. In regards to information sharing, the managerial perception supports the literature, but highlights that the information’s nature determines whether sharing is considered. Further research could include the retail store level to get a more complete supply chain picture, and also apply the research methods to a larger area in order to investigate the transferability to other industries and countries.