Twenty weeks ago I got the honor to pursue a project for ABB Crane Systems. After success with an innovative direction on their Remote Control Station they wanted a continuation of industrial design in another new product development. The aim was to specify the customer needs and create a concept to a Terminal Test Box (TTB), with hopes to gain momentum and funds for continuation of the project.   The terminals earn their money based on productivity of the quay, meaning that the number of ship-to-shore lifts per minute becomes very important. Clients have requested a solution where they can simulate their cranes to ensure function. At the moment approximately five prototypes have been delivered, for example to Peel Ports in Liverpool and Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico. The current Test box lack a proper casing and user adapted features. Based on interviews with personnel at Crane Systems representing linked/adjacent work with TTB the customer needs was determined to: a solution adapted to commissioning phase,a process panel easy to reach, access to components without exposing them, oversight of components and ability to move TTB. The test box is used either standing on the floor or placed on a table. Placed on the floor the operator must twist and bend to access the box, leading to an unpleasant working posture. Set on the table the box is bulky.   The initial idea development resulted in three potential positions and seven initial concepts. Of these seven three ideas was conceptualized and graded in Pughs matrix. The concept Stand high offered a convenient and ergonomic solution independent of the available interior in commissioning phase. However Stand high had weaknesses where the other two concepts Cross and Transparent showed strengths and therefore the three concepts were combined into one. Knowledge about the included components such as an industrial computer and power supply and their requirements has driven the process.   TTB will be produced in approximately ten units per year. The slim edition made it alluring to look into state of the art manufacturing such as Additive Manufacturing compared to the more traditional use of shielded metal. Possibilities regarding the small series can be used by ABB for continuously trying the product towards the customer and offer a flexible product that can be individually adapted to some extent.   The final concept of TTB is improved compared to the Test box looking at horizontal and vertical spacing between the components, which also enables cable channels. The process panel included has an inclination of 15 degrees to avoid reflections as much as possible and to create an ergonomic working position. It has a see through front door giving access and viewing of the components. A combined CNC and 3D-printing prototype/product from the company HLH in aluminum and Plexiglas would cost approximately 24 750 SEK. Manufacturing in shaped sheet metal at Sweco (without a see through door) would cost approximately 10 000 SEK. This is creating an exciting situation, where the recommendation is to create a prototype to further evaluate the concept into completion.

Die immer schnellere Veränderung des Umfelds stellt auch die internationale Automobilindustrie vor große Herausforderungen. Vor den Experten der Branche wurden diese beispielsweise auf dem 12. Internationalen CAR-Symposium der Universität auch vom Vorstandsvorsitzenden der BMW Group Dr. Norbert Reithofer diskutiert (Car 2010). Aus dem Spannungsfeld zwischen profitablem Wachstum und Globalisierung erwachsen nicht nur größere Absatzzahlen sondern auch die Zunahme an Varianz aufgrund länderspezifischer Gesetzgebung und unterschiedlichen Kundenbedürfnissen in den Hauptmärkten Europa, Nordamerika und Asien. Ein »historisches« Beispiel für diese unterschiedlichen Kundenanforderungen war die Anforderung der amerikanischen Kunden an den »Cupholder«. Das Thema ist inzwischen gelöst. Komplexer ist der Widerspruch zwischen der Ausrichtung unserer Fahrzeuge auf das Fahrerlebnis des Fahrers in den klassischen Märkten und dem Trend zum Chauffeur in vielen neuen Märkten (v.a. China).

This diploma‘s thesis named The optimization of company processes is engaged in the most impotant company process – the software creation starting with dealing with customers and ending with handover. The analysis of present process, the proposals of the solutions and the detailed description of chosen solution with economic evaluation are parts of this thesis. Along drafting the emphasis has been posed to fulfil the condition of acceptable costs and the condition of customer friendly solution.

Die immer schnellere Veränderung des Umfelds stellt auch die internationale Automobilindustrie vor große Herausforderungen. Vor den Experten der Branche wurden diese beispielsweise auf dem 12. Internationalen CAR-Symposium der Universität auch vom Vorstandsvorsitzenden der BMW Group Dr. Norbert Reithofer diskutiert (Car 2010). Aus dem Spannungsfeld zwischen profitablem Wachstum und Globalisierung erwachsen nicht nur größere Absatzzahlen sondern auch die Zunahme an Varianz aufgrund länderspezifischer Gesetzgebung und unterschiedlichen Kundenbedürfnissen in den Hauptmärkten Europa, Nordamerika und Asien. Ein »historisches« Beispiel für diese unterschiedlichen Kundenanforderungen war die Anforderung der amerikanischen Kunden an den »Cupholder«. Das Thema ist inzwischen gelöst. Komplexer ist der Widerspruch zwischen der Ausrichtung unserer Fahrzeuge auf das Fahrerlebnis des Fahrers in den klassischen Märkten und dem Trend zum Chauffeur in vielen neuen Märkten (v.a. China).

This thesis covers the development of a component specification for the steering system of vehicles engineered by CEVT. This includes the components steering column, intermediate shaft, steering gear and tie rods. Due to the reuse of requirements on the component specification from previous projects it now lacks connection to customer needs. A verification of the component specification is necessary to ensure that no redundant or unnecessary requirements are present. The verification was performed through a comparison between a newly established specification and the current one. Identified customer needs were gathered on complete vehicle level and classified according to customer satisfaction with respect to implementation according to the Kano model. The subjective customer needs were translated into objective, quantifiable metrics on complete vehicle level that was then decomposed onto component level. Customer needs and metrics were then correlated against each other and visualized through the House of Quality matrix. Numeric targets for the metrics were based on its impact on customer satisfaction. This resulted in 50 identified metrics connected to the steering column and 58 metrics connected to the steering gear. The comparison resulted in 22 deviations between the new and current specification where 8 metrics was identified for further investigation. Further development would include investigation of these 8 identified metrics and relate targets to competitors’ performance.

<p><p>Gradually, Swedish SMEs are expanding into emerging markets in order to seize superior opportunities of growth. Within these internationalization efforts, identifying and selecting the most promising foreign target markets is regarded to be a critical success factor. The external business environment, the attractiveness of the targeted market segment in terms of the competitive situation, and the match between the customers’ needs and a company’s resources and capabilities are major factors which determine the prospects of success of establishing business in an emerging market. By applying an abductive research approach, the authors conducted a holistic single-case study of a typical case for Swedish SMEs internationalizing into emerging markets. Through that, the authors were able to answer the research questions of the paper. A theoretical framework was synthesized, combining latest research on emerging country markets with classical models. The framework guided the authors through the entire research process. Several propelling, as well as hampering factors for the case company’s prospects of success in the targeted market segment were identified. Based on the analysis of the empirical findings, the authors found that there are clear opportunities for the case company to increase its business. This conclusion is due to a weak threat of competitors in a broader context, which were regarded to not being able to satisfy the customers’ needs of key importance sufficiently. Competitors in a narrower context were regarded to not have a significant competitive advantage compared with the case company.</p></p>

Over the last decades, wood has encountered increasing competition from other building materials. Hence, it is relevant to study the underlying factors of material substitution. The market for repair and remodelling (R&amp;R) is growing in importance. The end-consumer´s, or the household?s, assessments as to material selection are generally more crucial in R&amp;R than in construction of new houses, a circumstance highlighting the importance of the end-consumer. Consequently, this thesis deals with material substitution within an end-consumer context. Proper market segmentation and targeting presuppose an understanding of why households differ as to material preferences. Prioritising customer needs in quality improvement and/or product development requires information as to the importance of different customer requirements or needs as well as the performance of wood, relative substitutes, in providing for these needs. The thesis proposes a coherent approach for market segmentation and for prioritising customer needs: (i) how to provide a basis for market segmentation and targeting, i.e., to extract the distinguishing features of different material preferences; (ii) how to extract information enabling the prioritising of customer needs, i.e., importance and performance information. Identifying prominent discriminating factors of building application material preference, in order to subsequently explain why households differ within and between samples/cultures as to material preferences, and finally assessing customer requirements or needs as to the importance and the performance of wood relative substitutes in fulfilling them, presuppose an approach for data collection and analysis, which in turn requires a theoretical frame of reference. Hence, in the thesis a theoretical framework and different methods, for extracting decisive preferential predictors and assessing customer needs respectively, are suggested and evaluated. A pronounced design profile and distinct material alternatives make floorcovering a good illustrative example. The results indicate that material substitution with an end-consumer focus should be studied within a contextual framework. Hence, the usage context, the type of room refloored and whether the dwelling is owned or not, seems to define the types of materials actively considered. Further, households obviously differ in how they perceive the concept of floorcovering in a given usage context, depending on the general life situation and individual experience. Data collection, with the aim of identifying distinguishing factors of building application material preferences, must thus handle the collection of data related to usage context as well as the general life situation and individual experience. To obtain a deeper understanding of the underlying motives open-ended questions are called for. Performance benchmarking as to customer requirements or needs should be relative competitors in the same market segment, i.e., close substitutes. The assessment of customer needs should allow analysis on benefit levels, as alternatives in material substitution most readily can be compared in terms of the more abstract benefits/consequences they provide rather than concrete attributes. The apparent causal complexity, resulting from contextual influences, severely limits the usefulness and adequacy of traditional, additive, statistical analysis. Multivariate projection methods like partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA); in coping with collinear variables, as well as the Boolean approach of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA); enabling data reduction in a theoretically guided manner, have potential for handling multiple conjunctural causation when analysing material preferences. Furthermore, both methods are able to handle binary variables resulting from open-ended questions, dependent as well as independent. PLS-DA can, however, more readily than Boolean algebra capture contextual influences. Analysis by means of PLS-DA thus seem to provide the information necessary for market segmentation and targeting, i.e., the causes of preferential differences both between and within cultures: evaluative criteria and variables related to the context. The output from the analysis of material preferences serve as input to the subsequent assessment of customer needs, as to the make-up of customer needs and as to which materials constitute close substitutes, i.e., share usage context. Customer satisfaction modelling (CSM) using partial least squares (PLS) seems well adapted for extracting the information necessary for prioritising customer needs: the impact on customer satisfaction of the fulfilment of different customer requirements or needs, and the performance of wood, relative substitutes, in providing for these needs. A valuable asset of CSM is the ability to allow analysis on customer benefit as well as attribute level. Usage context and data connected with the life situation provide instruments for market segmentation and targeting. For example: according to the present results, users of wooden flooring in the Netherlands are house owners to a greater extent and generally have a higher household income than users of laminated flooring. One of the apparently salient reasons for choosing wood, the natural material property, is part of the intrinsic nature, character, of the material. This quality of wood could provide an edge on the close substitute, laminated flooring. The results presented in the thesis further indicate that practical, functional, benefits exert the greatest impact on customer satisfaction, for wooden flooring as well as its closest substitutes laminate and carpet. This is noteworthy, as the salient evaluative criteria for choosing wooden flooring, unlike the other materials studied, were of a non-practical nature. This circumstance highlights the necessity of considering substitutes to identify latent needs. A low cost over the life cycle and hygiene are apparently the most important benefits to improve for wooden flooring manufacturers, as importance is high and performance relatively low.

Gradually, Swedish SMEs are expanding into emerging markets in order to seize superior opportunities of growth. Within these internationalization efforts, identifying and selecting the most promising foreign target markets is regarded to be a critical success factor. The external business environment, the attractiveness of the targeted market segment in terms of the competitive situation, and the match between the customers’ needs and a company’s resources and capabilities are major factors which determine the prospects of success of establishing business in an emerging market. By applying an abductive research approach, the authors conducted a holistic single-case study of a typical case for Swedish SMEs internationalizing into emerging markets. Through that, the authors were able to answer the research questions of the paper. A theoretical framework was synthesized, combining latest research on emerging country markets with classical models. The framework guided the authors through the entire research process. Several propelling, as well as hampering factors for the case company’s prospects of success in the targeted market segment were identified. Based on the analysis of the empirical findings, the authors found that there are clear opportunities for the case company to increase its business. This conclusion is due to a weak threat of competitors in a broader context, which were regarded to not being able to satisfy the customers’ needs of key importance sufficiently. Competitors in a narrower context were regarded to not have a significant competitive advantage compared with the case company.

“I changed my mind” is a case study aimed at investigating returns. Returns are often negative occurrences and can be seen as the last “block” in a supply chain. However, what this study shows is that a return is a great source for customer profiling and can lead to an increase in market shares if managed correctly. Many companies go about investigating satisfied customers and what aspects these customers are satisfied with. Instead this research focuses on finding out what dissatisfied customer feel and why they decided to return a specific product. Investigations are also made concerning the internal processes to manage product returns and if they can be improved at the case company (thereby lowering costs). This study shows how interrelated the supply chain is and illustrates how product returns can be lowered by changing the input in the supply chain. Reputation is a fragile thing and can be hurt from mismanagement related to returns and therefore I feel that it is important to study this phenomenon which is not often brought into light but nonetheless exits in almost every company (that offers returnable products). Enjoy your reading and see how your company can prevent your customers from changing their minds.

Context: Current unsustainable practices have resulted in the depletion of natural resources and a prevailing material scarcity. Urban Mining has emerged in this context and suggests the “mining” of cities or other sources in urban areas to retrieve valuable resources. It raises the topic of how urban mining as a market segment of the construction industry is like today and in the future.  Objective: The thesis sets out to study what firms in the urban mining market segment desires in terms of needs and priorities. Furthermore, what could be prioritized in the future (2030), what future scenarios could be expected and what implications these can have on organizations within the segment and on the construction industry.  Method: A foresight methodology was applied as a framework for the research design. Interview with representatives from 10 firms, including observations of their operations, resulted in a number of mutual needs shared across the urban mining segment. These were prioritized in relative importance based on a questionnaire of 67 respondents representing 44 different firms in Sweden. A combination of these studies and a review of technology trends further enabled the extrapolation of future scenarios.  Results: The findings shows that firms within the urban mining market segment prioritizes and emphasizes needs related concerns in optimization, cost control, safety, environmental and social care today. Needs related to safety, environmental and social care are indicated to remain top prioritized as a result of the future market circumstances. A holistic and lifecycle approach in urban mining practices was deemed of low priority today but was indicated to grow significantly in relative importance in the future.  Conclusion: Technology, urbanization and globalization indicates stricter and more competitive market circumstances in the future. Especially related to safety, lifecycle consideration, environmental, and social care. The research suggests that firms concerned and those operating within the urban mining segment may need to undergo transformational changes in their organization to meet what the market segment expects in the future. Moreover, the findings opens up the possibility for actors and stakeholders concerned with the construction industry to proactively go into a desired future by knowing how the future market could unfold. / Stanford University, ME310: Urban Mining