The diploma thesis aims to establish the basic principles in the field of motivaion of distribution subjects to buy the products from manufaturer. In the first part there are the principles and ways of motivation described. The thesis is focused on economic and non-economic bonuses. It sets the basic principles in manufacturer -- customer realtionships. In the application part of the thesis we suggest the scheme of customer trade bonuses of imaginary manufacturer and its distributor. There is a framework purchase contract between a manufacturer and distributor suggested.

This study reviews the effect of Internet bookings on the Central Florida lodging market over the past five years. As the number of lodging accommodations booked directly by the consumer over the Internet continues to increase, the ramifications brought about by this emerging distribution channel have not been fully investigated or interpreted. This study observes how Internet-enabled distribution channel bookings have trended in occupancy and average daily rate in the Central Florida lodging market in the past five years. Specifically the author segmented the survey respondents into the lodging product service categories of budget, moderate, upscale and luxury to analyze if there were any observable trends between the categories over the past five years. The author also segmented the respondents into the lodging geographic sub-categories of airport, downtown, suburban and resort/attractions area to determine if there were any observable trends between the sub-classifications over the past five years. Utilizing a descriptive approach, the author determined that each product service category and lodging sub-classification displayed continuous growth in Internet-enabled distribution channel bookings over the five-year period of 1999-2003. The author also observed that each product service category continuously represented a discounted Internet distribution channel rate over the five-year period of 1999-2003. This analysis suggests that lodging properties in the Central Florida market are discounting their Internet-enabled distribution channel rates in comparison to the property's overall average rate. At the same time, these properties appear to be increasing their Internet-enabled distribution channel bookings as a percentage of overall bookings.

Transportation and competitiveness practices of hardwood lumber exporters and other firms were studied and compared to determine the most important factors associated with exporting hardwood products. It was found that exporters differed significantly in their transportation methods, marketing activities, and production profiles from those other hardwood lumber firms. They also were significantly larger than expected in their total production and employment. As the forest products business continues to become more global, an analysis of the importance of these factors can be used how firms can begin exporting, or increase sales in international markets. It was found that certain elements of a sawmill's marketing strategy are a major determinant to the likelihood of its being an exporter. Results from logistic regression methods showed that transportation factors such as using intermodal transportation and inland port facilities and competitiveness factors such as species selection, marketing practices, and using government export assistance programs increased the probability of a firm's high involvement in international markets. Finally, data from exporting hardwood sawmills to Mexico, Europe, and Asia were analyzed to determine what makes successful exporting to these markets. Factors including export distribution methods, relationship with export distribution partner, competitiveness, transportation, and export assistance were analyzed. Such information might be useful for government agencies that wish to promote business commitment to sawmills throughout the United States for the following international markets. Hardwood sawmills should be encouraged by state officials to plan more aggressively to enter the Mexico market. Efforts are needed from U.S. trade associations to better identify the Mexican market segments, sources of market demand, and credit opportunities for US sawmills. / Ph. D.

Healthcare is a very important and intimate service virtually all people use at least at some occasion in a lifetime. It is also highly complex and variable with heterogeneous patients requiring individualised attention in order to be effectively treated. This requires large resources in terms of labour, knowledge, skill, and time which is why in the past, improving productivity has been difficult. Information and communications technology, ICT, has been seen to have potential to improve productivity in e.g. diagnosing, devising treatment plans, communicating with patients and clinical staff, and record-keeping if applied correctly. During mainly the 1990s, the banking sector changed its distribution channel strategy to focus increasingly on Internet banking rather than local branches. If parallels are drawn between the two, such as comparing local branches to clinics, what can a rheumatology department learn? A case study was conducted at Karolinska University Hospital's Department of Rheumatology. Existing communication pathways associated with the clinic-patient communication were identified, theory and knowledge of the banking sector change was compiled and some current efforts of ICT integration in healthcare were briefly reviewed. Finally, the project sought to provide a future vision for communications in rheumatology. Examples of risks and difficulties considered were legal issues, patient safety and the current compensation for the clinics, which today represent a major limitation for strategy formulation. The study identified several key issue areas to consider when implementing ICT in healthcare and the importance of aligning ICT with workflow. Parts of the banks strategic choices are also applicable in healthcare, e.g. using a multi-channel strategy where different customer segments are targeted with different channels. Further, a unified customer management system containing input from patient as well as provider is highly recommended, together with an online portal increasing accessibility for patients. Most importantly, all distribution channels and ICT systems considered for use should be thoroughly integrated with day-to-day workflow.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has recently (2005) become a sizzling topic for discussion (Lewis 2004). It is not only the subject of conversations among engineers but also the center of focus for venture capital investors and start-ups. However, behind these glamorous scenes, there are many failures in product launches, unsuccessful business operations, and worth thinking business opportunities. Is it our expectation for this revolutionary technology too high or the business strategy is fundamentally wrong? As with other emerging new technologies, adequate distribution channels are required to bring commercialized RFID products to people’s daily lives. However, as with different commercial products, dissimilar product nature and characteristics require different distribution channel strategy. / Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has recently (2005) become a sizzling topic for discussion (Lewis 2004). It is not only the subject of conversations among engineers but also the center of focus for venture capital investors and start-ups. However, behind these glamorous scenes, there are many failures in product launches, unsuccessful business operations, and worth thinking business opportunities. Is it our expectation for this revolutionary technology too high or the business strategy is fundamentally wrong? As with other emerging new technologies, adequate distribution channels are required to bring commercialized RFID products to people’s daily lives. However, as with different commercial products, dissimilar product nature and characteristics require different distribution channel strategy.

Bakgrund Den svenska dagligvaruhandeln blir alltmer koncentrerad med större och färre livsmedelskedjor. Detta har resulterat i en maktobalans mellan livsmedelskedjorna och dess leverantörer. Trots livsmedelskedjornas uppenbara maktövertag ser aktörerna många anledningar till att samarbeta med varandra. Det har blivit allt viktigare för aktörer inom distributionskanaler för färska livsmedel att samarbeta för att bland annat kunna erbjuda konsumenten högkvalitativa produkter. Som följd av detta har det skett en utveckling av relationerna inom dessa distributionskanaler med ökad interaktion mellan aktörerna. För leverantörer som erbjuder närodlade produkter har det visat sig vara av stor vikt med interaktion för att bygga en förtroendefull relation till det köpande företaget. Den svenska konsumtionen av både närodlad och ekologisk frukt och grönt har ökat markant under de senaste åren och har blivit viktiga produktkategorier för dagligvaruhandeln. Med utgångspunkt i den kunskapslucka som finns inom svenska distributionskanaler för ekologisk och närodlad frukt och grönt, avser studien att undersöka dessa produktkategorier närmare. Studien har främst fokuserat på hur odlare som erbjuder ekologisk respektive närodlad frukt och grönt kan stärka sin position på marknaden. Studien vill även påvisa skillnader mellan närodlat respektive ekologiskt och om leverantörer som erbjuder någon av dessa produktkategorier har en starkare position på marknaden än den andra. Syfte Syftet med studien är att analysera relationer och maktbalansen mellan aktörer i distributionskanaler för ekologisk respektive närodlad frukt och grönt, där fokus är att komparera dessa två produktkategorier. MetodFör att svara på syftet med studien genomfördes totalt 11 intervjuer  med fem olika företag inom distributionskanalen för frukt och grönt. Dessa företag var detaljisten och grossisten ICA, grossisten Östgöta Trädgårdshall och tre olika producenter (odlare). Slutsats Studien visar på att det finns en tendens till att leverantörer för närodlade produkter har en starkare maktposition på den studerade marknaden än ekologiska leverantörer. Det kan även fastställas att relationerna är viktiga i distributionskanalen för frukt och grönt, inte minst mellan aktörer som har ett utbyte av närodlade produkter. Relationer kan även konstateras ha en inverkan på maktförhållandet mellan aktörer, då det har visats att den enskilda leverantören kan stärka sin maktposition gentemot livsmedelskedjan genom att investera i en nära relation. / Background The Swedish food distribution industry is becoming increasingly concentrated with fewer and larger supermarket chains. This has resulted in power imbalance between supermarkets and their suppliers. Despite the power of the supermarkets, the channel members recognise the need to cooperate with each other. It has become increasingly important for members of the distribution channels for fresh food to cooperate in order to offer the consumers high-quality products. The outcome of this is an elaborated relationship and a higher interaction between channel members. For suppliers that offer local products, it has proved to be of even greater importance with interaction in order to gain trust from the purchasing companies. Consumption of both local and organic fruit and vegetables has increased significantly in the recent years in Sweden. Therefore these product categories have become important to the supermarkets. Based on the lack of research of the Swedish distribution channels for organic and local fruit and vegetables, this study intends to analyse these product categories further. The study has mainly focused on how growers, who offer local or organic fruits and vegetables, can strengthen their position in the market. The study also intends to demonstrate possible differences between suppliers offering local and organic products, to see if one of these categories has a stronger market position than the other. Purpose The purpose of the study is to analyse the relationships and the power balance between members in the distribution channels for organic and local fruits and vegetables, where the focus is to compare these two product categories. Execution To answer the purpose of the study, a total of 11 interviews with five different companies in the distribution channel for fruit and vegetables were conducted. These companies were the retailer and wholesaler ICA, the wholesaler Östgöta Trädgårdshall and three producers (growers). Conclusion The study implies that suppliers for local products may have a greater power position within the studied market than suppliers for organic products. Furthermore, the study confirms that relationships are important between actors in the distribution channel of fruits and vegetables, especially in channels that involve an exchange of local products. Relationships also have an impact on the power balance between the actors thus it appeared that individual suppliers strengthen their power position towards the supermarkets by intimate relationships.

[pt] Há mais de um século a humanidade usufrui de um invento essencial ao desempenho, economia e conforto à rodagem de veículos: o pneu. Entretanto, o pneu tem uma vida útil limitada, caracterizada pela redução de suas ranhuras - até o limite que comprometa a estabilidade do veículo. Uma vez ultrapassada a vida útil, sobra uma carcaça, constituída por materiais de alta resistência e toxicidade, que vem sendo, simplesmente, descartada e lançada à natureza. Em conseqüência, o pneu é considerado hoje um dos maiores problemas ambientais do mundo. Além de demorar até 600 anos para se decompor, um pneu pode causar diversos malefícios para a sociedade e o meio ambiente, quando dispostos inadequadamente. É nesse contexto que a logística reversa pós-consumo vem se desenvolvendo, ou seja, estudando maneiras de como um produto descartado pela sociedade pode retornar ao ciclo de negócios. Este trabalho apresenta um estudo do problema logístico reverso na reciclagem industrial por pirólise com xisto de pneus. O objeto de estudo será o programa Paraná Rodando Limpo, um projeto desenvolvido no estado do Paraná, que coleta e recicla pneus descartados. Além de descrever os agentes envolvidos, traçar e caracterizar a rede reversa desde a captação, transporte e reciclagem dos pneus, um estudo de otimização de rotas foi proposto para tornar o processo mais eficiente. / [en] For more than a century, the world civilization has benefited from an invention to essential the performance, cost reduction, and comfort of vehicles: the tire. However, the tire has a limited useful life, characterized by the reduction of its grooves, up to a limit that jeopardizes the stability of the vehicle. Once such useful life is exceeded, a carcass constituted by high- resistance and toxicity materials is discharged and thrown away in the environment. As a consequence, today the tire is considered one of the largest environmental problems in the world. It takes more than 600 years for a tire to decompose, resulting, when not properly disposed, in several problems to the society and its environment. In this context the post-consumption reverse logistics is being developed, namely, studying ways for a product that has been discarded by the society returning to the business cycle. This work presents a study of a reverse logistics problem in the industrial recycling of tires by pyrolysis with shale. The object of study will be the Parana Rodando Limpo project (Parana running in a clean way) developed by the State of Parana, which is in charge of collecting and recycling tires that are discharged. The study describes all the involved agents, outlines and characterizes the reverse logistics flows including the collection, the transport and the recycling of the tires and, in addition, proposes a routing optimization study in order to improve the efficiency of the process.

<p>The social change, with Internet as one of its innovations, is changing the way business is conducted. The main objective is to study and get a better understanding of the use of Internet as a new sales channel when there already exist a sales channel including middlemen. A description is made covering the decision situation and three areas that are affecting the decision - relationships to the middlemen, added value in the channels, and financials. European airlines as represented i Sweden and US airlines were interviewed. For explorative purposes interviews have been made with travel agents. No primary data is collected from the travel customers. Security issues and other barriers for Internet adoption are not studied. The conclusion of the study is that managers should focus on action more than"rational decison making". If the middlemen will be bypassed it is important to communicate with them. It is also necessary to have upper management's support. One of the driving forces for implementing Internet as a sales channel in the airline industry is to create customer ownership. Three generic formats for doing so is identified - learing relationship, verical facilitator, and meta intermediary.</p>

The social change, with Internet as one of its innovations, is changing the way business is conducted. The main objective is to study and get a better understanding of the use of Internet as a new sales channel when there already exist a sales channel including middlemen. A description is made covering the decision situation and three areas that are affecting the decision - relationships to the middlemen, added value in the channels, and financials. European airlines as represented i Sweden and US airlines were interviewed. For explorative purposes interviews have been made with travel agents. No primary data is collected from the travel customers. Security issues and other barriers for Internet adoption are not studied. The conclusion of the study is that managers should focus on action more than"rational decison making". If the middlemen will be bypassed it is important to communicate with them. It is also necessary to have upper management's support. One of the driving forces for implementing Internet as a sales channel in the airline industry is to create customer ownership. Three generic formats for doing so is identified - learing relationship, verical facilitator, and meta intermediary.

Background - A company’s distribution system is a critical component and businesses need to consider the aspects of customer service and total cost when designing the distribution system. A distribution system can be defined as the process of making products or services available for customers. The rise of e-commerce has increased the challenge of having a cost efficient distribution system together with a high standard of customer service.  The distribution system is put under heavy pressure to deliver goods as quickly as possible and at the lowest possible cost due to globalization and outsourcing. E-commerce involves a new approach of the distribution system with its small order sizes, daily order volumes and small parcel shipments that are often shipped the same day. Inventory management is being regarded as an important part of the distribution system. Inventory management is the ability to balance the demand of products with the supply of products in a cost-effectively way. Companies therefore need to use material planning methods to coordinate the flow of material effectively throughout the distribution system. Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study Mionix’s current distribution system with focus on customer service and total cost. Based on the findings, this thesis will identify which costs that are possible to influence and reduce.  Secondly, the aim is to study how material planning methods can help Mionix to improve the inventory management function and propose measures for improvement. Method - This thesis has used a positivistic view with a deductive approach. It is a case study that contains elements of both qualitative and quantitative research strategy. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study the authors have conducted a flow and situational analysis in order to identify services and costs in the distribution system that Mionix can influence. Further, the authors conducted a situation analysis of Mionix’s current inventory management function. The authors then calculated and analysed how material planning methods such as EOQ, Total cost, Sensitivity analysis, Ordering points and optimal safety stock and service levels could improve Mionix’s inventory management function. Next, alternative solutions are presented together with the authors’ evaluations and recommendations for the company. The data that was needed to accomplish this was collected by performing interviews, observations and extracting data from computer system e.g. Excel. Conclusion - The authors have identified two distribution channels within the distribution system: the wholesaler channel and the retailers/e-commerce channel. Mionix has the opportunity to influence two particular costs: capital costs and cost of loss of sales, which are included in inventory- and customer service costs according to the total cost model. Material planning methods can improve Mionix’s inventory management function by deciding safety stock levels, ordering points and EOQ for all products in accordance with the theoretical framework. Further, if Mionix use the authors’ recommendation the company can reduce estimated total annual cost by 23% or 26% depending on what mode of transportation that is used