Inventory management is today seen as more competitive oriented, process oriented and better integrated into the companies than before. But still do several companies run their inventories according a traditional approach. There is therefore a need for some companies to evaluate their inventory management and adapt the new view. There is also a need to adjust for increased focus on sustainability, previous research calls for strategies and tools that include sustainable parameters without lowering the profitability. The purpose with this study is to assess inventory management principles and purchasing routines related to the acquisition of packaging material in a process industry. The study aims to develop a framework for decision makers in inventory management. This framework will be the basis for a support tool incorporating a relatively simple and easy-to-use user interface. This master thesis is performed as a case study research and uses several data collection methods, such as a literature review, observations, and interviews. The findings from the data collection is used to evaluate which impact inventory management has on a company’s profitability, and which basic parameters that could be included in the support tool. The empirical findings show that Barilla Sweden’s current inventory management match the traditional approach, but also that they strive to become more competitive and process oriented in their management of inventories. There is however some constraints in their working strategy that prevents them from taking the next step. Comparison between Barilla Sweden’s current order size and an economical order quantity (EOQ) and just-in-time (JIT) approach is made. The comparison shows that Barilla Sweden has money to save and warehouse space to release with changed order quantities. Adapting a new inventory management approach require review of uncertainties, such as delivery accuracy and forecast changes. It is also necessary to evaluate supplier relations and internal working strategies. The effect of these parameters on inventory management can be noticed in the support tool. The tool compares total costs, average stock, tied capital, and environmental and social consequences between the EOQ model and JIT. The support tool visualizes drawbacks and benefits with different order sizes and has an easy-to-use interface.

The just-in-time purchasing literature resoundingly endorses long-term, cooperative buyer-supplier relationships. Significant anecdotal and descriptive evidence indicates that such relationships are rare in practice, raising questions as to the performance consequences of this gulf between theory and practice. Using an accepted theoretical model of the buyer-supplier relationship, transaction cost economics, this study examined the purchasing performance implications of the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship under just-in-time exchange. The focal purpose of the study was to examine the performance consequences of crafting long-term, cooperative relationships. The research design employed was a cross-sectional field study, involving a static-group comparison, implemented through the use of a mail survey. A dual-stage cluster sample of eight hundred purchasing managers and professionals employed in the two digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 36, Electronic and Other Electrical Equipment and Components, was provided by the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM). The questionnaire was pretested and the substantive validity of the measurement scales assessed. Scales were purified via correlational and reliability analyses. Criterion-related and construct validity were established via correlational, exploratory factor, and confirmatory factor analyses. The three hypotheses of the study, involving extant tests of the association between the nature of the buyer-supplier relationship and purchasing performance (i.e., as reflected by transaction costs), were tested via analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models. All three hypotheses were supported by the data to varying degrees. The confirmation of the theoretical model of the study provides empirical evidence to researchers and practitioners as to the superiority, in exchange efficiency terms, of cooperative relationships under conditions of just-in-time exchange. It may not be presumed, however, that cooperative exchange will enhance efficiency in all exchange environments.

U.S. companies have implemented just-in-time purchasing (JITP) and total quality management (TQM) techniques to improve their global competitive position. The lack of empirical research on these techniques with firm's performance is the reason to explain further their strategic values as management innovations in different types and sizes of organizations. From a theoretical foundation on the relations between innovation, strategy and performance, the following research questions were generated: (1) Are JITP and TQM positively related to the firm's performance?, (2) Do the combination/sequence of implementing JITP and TQM have a relation with the firm's performance?, and (3) Is the relationship between JITP and TQM to the firm's performance moderated by any of industry type, firm size,firm type and/or duration of JITP and TQM techniques? A model is developed and hypotheses are proposed. A survey is mailed to firms operating in the U.S. that have implemented one or both techniques. Questionnaire items measuring JITP, TQM, performance, and moderating variables - industry type, firm size,firm type, and duration of JIT purchasing and TQM techniques— are either developed or borrowed from other studies. From rosters of the American Society for Quality Control and the National Association of Purchasing Management, 1884 target respondents result in a 20.3 percent response rate. Reliability and factor analysis of the constructs are established. The research model is tested by canonical correlation analyses before a separate hierarchical regression analysis of sets is run for each of the three performance factors: financial and market, time-based quality and material productivity. The extent of JITP and TQM implementation positively and significantly relate with firm's performance. Furthermore, the relation between JITP and financial and market performance is higher in industries that face high foreign competition. Firm size, firm type and duration of JITP and TQM techniques are nonsignificant moderators. An improved research model is offered.