Ob für Pressenhersteller, Pressenbetreiber oder Werkzeugbauer, genaue Kenntnis über das Betriebsverhalten von Pressen unter Last ist entscheidend für eine erfolgreiche Pressenabnahme gegenüber dem Kunden sowie eine gezielte Werkzeugentwicklung und zügige Einarbeitung auf der Produktionsmaschine.

Nowadays, manufacturing companies compete as much with their products as with their supply-chain. Within the overarching stages of supply-chain, purchasing is a process that responds to the organizations needs of acquiring raw materials, components and semi-finished products in order to enable the execution of operations. Purchasing is an important aspect of an organization, having a big influence on its competitive positioning. In order to achieve better organizational performance, companies spendings are often separated into discrete groups of products and services, using a combination of supplier-relationship management, category-specific strategies and cross-functional teams. This segmentation is called purchasing category management, and is expected in many cases to improve the overall purchasing performance. Therefore, a case study was conducted with the purpose of investigating how PCM could help a luxury automotive manufacturer facing purchasing problems to improve its operational performance. This thesis presents a framework built on previous studies exposing what factors are linked to purchasing performance and explaining the concept of purchasing category management. The framework shows the importance of purchasing expertise, cross-functional work, clear organizational structures, strategic purchasing and monitoring of performance. The study identifies the problems the case company is experiencing: Lack of cooperation between departments; a troublesome purchasing structure leading to duplicated work and insufficient technical knowledge; a conflictual cross-functional cooperation between purchasers and engineers and lastly a lack of monitoring of the performance of purchasers and suppliers. At last, a discussion is held of how these problems could be mitigated by guidelines found in the literature and the use of category management. This study identifies a gap in research on the topic of purchasing category management. This gap was compensated through the use of complementary literature on the topics of purchasing and purchasing performance. / Numera konkurrerar tillverkningsföretag lika mycket med deras produkter som med deras leveranskedja. Inom de övergripande stadierna i leveranskedjan är inköp en process som svarar på organisationens behov av att skaffa råvaror, komponenter och halvfabrikat för att möjliggöra genomförandet av verksamhetens funktioner. Inköp är en viktig aspekt av en organisation och har stort inflytande på dess konkurrensposition. För att uppnå bättre organisatoriska resultat delas företagens utgifter ofta i diskreta grupper av produkter och tjänster, med en kombination av hantering av leverantörsrelationer, kategorispecifika strategier och tvärfunktionella team. Denna segmentering kallas för Purchasing Category Management (PCM) och förväntas i många fall förbättra den totala inköpsprestandan. Här genomförs en fallstudie med syftet att undersöka hur PCM kan kan hjälpa ett företag som står inför inköpsproblem för att förbättra den operativa prestationen. Denna avhandling presenterar ett ramverk som bygger på tidigare studier som visar vilka faktorer som är kopplade till inköpsprestanda och förklarar begreppet inköpskategorihantering. Ramverket visar vikten av inköpsexpertis, tvärfunktionellt arbete, tydliga organisationsstrukturer, strategisk inköp och prestationsövervakning. Undersökningen identifierar de problem som fallföretaget har: Brist på samarbete mellan avdelningar; en besvärlig inköpsstruktur som leder till duplicerat arbete och otillräcklig teknisk kunskap; ett konfliktövergripande tvärfunktionellt samarbete mellan inköpare och ingenjörer och slutligen brist på övervakning av inköparnas och leverantörernas resultat. Äntligen diskuteras hur dessa problem kan mildras genom riktlinjer som finns i litteraturen och användningen av kategorihantering. Denna studie identifierar ett gap i forskning om ämnet PCM. Denna klyfta kompenserades genom användning av kompletterande litteratur om ämnena inköp och inköpsprestanda.

Yes / The evaluation of impact of collaborative research on robust design methodologies and methods is important to both academic and industry stakeholders. This paper introduces a framework for impact evaluation which combines the broader framework adopted for the academic research impact assessment with the organisation viewpoint centred on business results, process improvement and product development teams capability improvement. A large scale empirical study conducted with evidence from technical reports on workplace projects from an automotive OEM proved the validity of the proposed framework.

Yes / This paper presents an evaluation study for the System State Flow Diagram function modeling framework based on a large-scale study with an automotive OEM. Technical reports are used to evaluate the usage of the framework within the organization. The paper also introduces a list of the type of problems that engineers are interested in in practical function modelling. The findings suggest that there is a widespread uptake of the framework across the organization and it supports the usage of relevant key engineering tools within the context of a broader model-based Failure Mode Analysis methodology.

This master thesis was conducted at a large Swedish manufacturer, where the perception on and challenges regarding digital transformation were studied. Digital technology is a gateway to numerous possibilities, simplifying production, altering products and creating new value offers. This study is focused on commercial digitalization, such as digital services and solutions that challenge or strengthens existing business models. A manufacturing firm, accommodated with the development of physical products is not adapted for the speed, flexibility and cross-functional collaboration which digital development requires. Though, the digital business area for a manufacturing firm is somewhat unresolved, with limited knowledge and guidelines as well as uncertain profitability. Reallocating resources from existing business towards digital development can thus be risky. Evidently, development of digital initiatives within a manufacturing firm requires high pace, support, structures and clarified roadmaps. Synergies from cross-market collaboration are important, but it can also increase complexity and tardiness in a large organization. Based on findings from this study, a manufacturer should alter its organizational structure to benefit their digital transformation. Speed should be prioritized over collaboration and traditional development should increasingly focus on business and consumer contact rather than technology. A common back end function should be increasingly utilized, developing digital technology for the whole organization, to ensure unanimity and simplifying development of similar initiatives. Digital initiatives tightly connected to products or existing business models should be developed within the corresponding functions. Support and inspiration towards digital development should derive from a holistic function that can aid and guide the whole organization. This function should also be responsible for digital initiatives that differentiate from traditional business. Increasing experience and proactively develop digital solutions will be important to stay ahead of competition and fulfill customer demands. / Denna masteruppsats utfördes hos ett stort svenskt tillverkningsföretag, där uppfattning om och utmaningar kring digital transformation studerades. Digital teknik öppnar upp för otaliga möjligheter, förenklar produktion, förbättrar produkter och skapar nya värdeerbjudanden. Denna studie fokuserar på kommersiell digitalisering, så som komplementerande tjänster och lösningar som utmanar eller stärker existerande affärsmodeller. En produkttillverkare, van vid utvecklingen av fysiska produkter är inte anpassad till den snabbhet, flexibilitet och det samarbete mellan affärsfunktioner som digital utveckling behöver. Det digitala marknadsområdet är dessutom osäkert, med begränsningar i erfarenhet, riktlinjer och osäker lönsamhet. Omdisponering av resurser från existerande affärsverksamhet kan därför vara farligt. Bevisligen behöver digital utveckling inom ett tillverkande företag snabbhet, stöd, strukturering och tydliga mål. Synergier från samarbete mellan kundgrupper i en organisation är viktigt, men kan också öka komplexitet och tröghet i ett stort företag. Baserat på studiens resultat bör ett tillverkningsföretag anpassa sin organisationsstruktur till fördel för digital transformation. Snabbhet bör prioriteras framför marknads-överskridande samarbete och mer traditionella instanser borde öka fokus på utveckling av affärsmodeller och kundrelationer. En gemensam back end instans borde användas i större grad genom att utveckla digital teknologi för hela organisationen. Detta skulle skapa enighet, minska duplicering och förenkla utvecklingen av likartade projekt. Digitala initiativ som är kopplade till fysiska produkter eller nuvarande affärsmodell borde utvecklas tillsammans med dessa. Stöd och inspiration för digital utveckling borde komma från en holistisk instans som kan stötta och ledsaga hela organisationen. Denna instans bör även vara ansvarig för att utveckla mer radikala digitala initiativ. Att öka erfarenhet och att proaktivt arbeta för digital utveckling kommer vara mycket viktigt för att motstå konkurrens och uppfylla kundkrav.

網路通訊設備製造業是屬於台灣大宗出口的產業之一。 近年來廠商逐漸的將工廠搬遷至中國大陸。 經過多年的成長， 競爭和瓶頸也都一一的浮現。 我的研究初始是點出這些廠商所面臨的瓶頸， 包括了台灣內部和中國大陸外部的因素。 其它如政府過渡的管制， 技術的瓶頸對廠商所造成成長上的限制等。 進而研究到中國大陸網路通訊產業新興的競爭廠商。 最後希望以我個人的見解提議兩岸應當不是競爭對立， 而是一起提出世界級的技術規格進而提高產品的利潤， 製造雙贏的局面。 讓我先從介紹網路通訊業所生產製造的產品開始。 / The networking equipment manufacturing is an important industry in Taiwan, it accounts for a great portion of the net export. Over the years, these manufacturing facilities had been gradually moved to mainland China. After years of development, there are some bottlenecks appear and competitors arise. My study will be identifying these bottlenecks, both internally in Taiwan and external factors in China. Others like over regulation or technology barrier that may hinder the growth of industry. Further on the studying of emerging mainland networking manufacturers. Despite of competition, eventually I hope to suggest the industry in joint developing the world class standard to create a win-win situation for this industry on both side of strait. I will start with an introduction of what is this industry making to sell.

記憶體模組製造產業(Memory module manufactures)競爭激烈，產品價格會受到DRAM與NAND Flash市場價格之影響，而且毛利率也如同筆記型電腦產品一樣，走向薄利(low profitability)的趨勢；除少數市占率(market share)能超過10%的大廠外，絕大多數的廠商市占率差異不大。面對變化劇烈的市場，記憶體模組製造商除了試圖穩住市占率，以求達到生產的經濟規模（Economies of scale），並且藉著不斷提升技術，開發出具差異化(differentiation)的產品，希望能提高產品的毛利率。個案公司能在這個競爭激烈的產業中立足，並且維持穩定的獲利能力(profitability)，其關鍵成功因素值得探討。 　　本研究主要採用個案深入訪談及問卷調查方式蒐集資料。第一部分個案深入訪談，以個案公司及通路夥伴之高階主管為對象，探討個案公司之關鍵成功因素以及與通路夥伴的合作模式。第二部份以問卷之方式對個案公司之客戶進行紙本問卷，藉以研究關鍵成功因素與顧客滿意度及顧客忠誠度之相關性、顧客滿意度與顧客忠誠度之相關性，同時亦研究顧客人口變數與關鍵成功因素、顧客滿意度與忠誠度是否具顯著差異。並以SPSS軟體做為統計資料分析工具。 　　本研究結果關鍵成功因素為與客戶建立長期合作關係、生產管理與技術創新、提升企業形象、品牌推廣與行銷通路、掌握市場環境與產業趨勢。且其與顧客滿意度、忠誠度皆成正相關。而人口變數對於關鍵成功因素、顧客滿意度及忠誠度大部份是不具顯著差異，僅在教育程度此變數呈現有顯著差異，意即表示此人口變數對成功關鍵因素、顧客滿意度及顧客忠誠度存在不同程度之要求。 　　本研究亦對個案公司之未來經營提出研究建議，希望對於提升市占率與獲利力能有所幫助。 / Facing on the extremly competitions in Memory module manufacturing industry, the price decisions of the product itself are therefore influenced by the DRAM’s market prices as well as the NAND Flash’s . The flows of the gross rates in memory modules commodities tend to be like low profitability, which is the same as in laptops merchandises. Generaly speaking, no manufactures can gain grater than 10% market shares in this industry, excepting few large organisations. Facing by the competitive impacts and in order to create gross rate increasing, those manufactures have the opportunities to develop new technologies, and innovate new products that have great differentiation to others. However, quite a few individuals can survive in such competitive industry, and successfully make stable profitability. It is critical to pay attention on how they can succeed, and valuable to analyse the major factors in depth. The relevant information of this study was collected based on the interviews and surveys. Firstly, I conducted interviews with A company’s top management and industrial specialists. During the interviews, two important topics were discussed. One was about A company’s key points to success in relations to market segmentation, and the other was on the business relationship between A company and its channel partners. Secondly, the collective information was derived from the surveys, which were distributed to A company’s channel partners and customers. The survey was used to ask for distributor’s point of view on A company’s success, their satisfactory to the overall business model, and the degree of brand loyalty in relation to A company. At the same time, this study would also examine whether the variable of distributor’s number had any relationship with key success factors, and if any difference between distributor’s satisfactory and loyalty. SPSS software was used for data analysis. In this research, the recommendations are concluded based on prospective bussiness strategies for the companies investigated, expecting to expand the market share and increase the profitabilities.

O presente estudo tem por objetivo mensurar e avaliar a prontidão para exportar das Indústrias Paulistas utilizando, para isso, o referencial teórico presente na literatura sobre Estratégia e Marketing Internacional e o software CORE (Company Readiness to Export) desenvolvido pela Michigan State University. Como anseios adicionais, espera-se aferir a aplicabilidade deste software à realidade brasileira e levantar hipóteses sobre as políticas públicas passíveis de serem implementadas no sentido de fomentar a exportação de indústrias do Brasil. Este trabalho apoiou-se em pesquisa descritiva, realizada em uma amostra aleatória composta de 393 empresas industriais sediadas no Estado de São Paulo. As principais conclusões apontam para a falta de prontidão da indústria paulista para a atividade exportadora e, simultaneamente, sugerem estratégias e ações alternativas para superar essas dificuldades. O método de análise de dados incluiu a elaboração de modelos de regressão linear e múltipla para detectar a influência das variáveis independentes avaliadas (porte, setor, ação internacional, presença de capital estrangeiro) sobre a variável dependente Prontidão para Exportar. / This study has the objective of measuring and evaluating the readiness to export of Manufacturing Companies from São Paulo (Brazilian State) using the theoretical mainframe present in the literature about International Strategy and Marketing and the software CORE (Company Readiness to Export) developed by Michigan State University. As secondary aims, it is expected to gauge the applicability of this software to the Brazilian context and to raise hypothesis over public policies capable of being implemented in order to foment the Brazilian manufacturers exports. This work is sustained in a descriptive research, conducted on a random sample composed of 393 manufacturing companies based in São Paulo State. The main conclusions point to the lack of readiness to export of manufacturing companies based in São Paulo State and, simultaneously, suggest strategies and alternative actions to overcome these difficulties. The data analysis method included the elaboration of multiple and simple regression models to detect the influence of the independent variables (size, industry, international action, presence of international capitals) over the dependent variable Readiness to Export.

Empresas de manufatura contratada terão sucesso se conseguirem definir sua estratégia por meio do desenvolvimento de competências operacionais alinhadas aos requisitos do mercado, direcionando decisões e ações que as impulsionem a obterem um melhor desempenho. As incertezas, tanto de produtos como de volumes que serão demandados, envolvidas no relacionamento com as empresas-cliente reduzem a oportunidade de um planejamento antecipado da produção, requerendo, então, uma política de atendimento da demanda do tipo make-to-order (MTO). O grande desafio enfrentado pelas empresas que operam no ambiente MTO é atender à demanda do cliente de forma rápida e confiável, ou seja, respeitando-se os prazos e as quantidades requeridos. O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi analisar como práticas do sistema Lean Manufacturing (LM) poderiam ser efetivamente implementadas em conjunto a um sistema de planejamento e controle da produção (PCP) apropriado, visando ao desenvolvimento de competências operacionais alinhadas à política MTO. Os objetivos específicos do estudo concentraram-se em identificar na literatura as principais competências operacionais requeridas no ambiente MTO, discutir o processo de implementação de práticas do sistema LM e comparar, conceitualmente, sistemas de PCP. A empresa de manufatura contratada escolhida para este estudo representava um caso puro da utilização da política MTO, dada a natureza de seu relacionamento com os clientes. A aplicação da metodologia pesquisa-ação permitiu que o estudo fosse conduzido de forma participativa e com uma abordagem de solução de problemas, além de fornecer um roteiro de referência, relacionando as etapas da pesquisa aos conceitos abordados na literatura. Como resultado, verificou-se que a adoção de práticas do sistema LM auxilia de forma significativa no desenvolvimento de competências operacionais em empresas que operam em ambientes MTO. No entanto, é necessário que estas práticas estejam associadas a um sistema de PCP apropriado - Workload Control (WLC) - para que se obtenham os resultados esperados. / Contract manufacturing companies will succeed if they can define their strategy through the development of operational competencies aligned to market requirements, directing decisions and actions that lead them to have a better performance. The relationship with the hiring firm involves multiple products and demand uncertainty, reducing the opportunities for advanced planning, requiring a make-to-order (MTO) demand management policy. The main challenge faced by companies operating in an MTO environment is to achieve high delivery reliability in terms of order quantities and delivery schedules. The general objective of this study was to analyze how Lean Manufacturing (LM) practices could be effectively implemented together with an appropriate production planning and control system (PPC), aiming to develop operational competences aligned to the MTO policy. The specific objectives of this study include identifying in the literature the main operational competencies required to operate on a MTO basis, discussing the LM implementation process and comparing conceptually PPC systems. The contract manufacturing company chosen for this study operated according to a MTO policy due to the nature of its relationship with the customers. The application of the action research methodology allowed conducting the study in a participative manner, using a problem solving approach and providing a reference guide relating the action research steps to concepts discussed in the literature review. As a result, it was found that the adoption of LM practices contributes substantially to the development of operational competences in companies operating in an MTO environment. However, it is necessary that these practices are associated with an appropriated PPC - Workload Control - to obtain the expected results.

“To develop a process-based management system at a textile company” is the title of this thesis.The thesis is a compulsory part of the master programme: Quality and environmental management at Högskolan i Borås, the master programme is worth 60 ECTS credits. It has been carried out as an interdisciplinary project between students of the School of Engineering as well as the Textile School in Borås.Almedahls is a textile company located in Kinna, Sweden. They are in a need of process-based management system for their four different strategic business areas and three companies.The purpose of the thesis is not only to develop a process-based management system for Almedahl-Kinna, which is one of the three companies, but also to create the new management system in order for it to work for all three parts of the company in the future.The theory used in this project focuses on the definition of business process mapping as well as its application in use. The theory also includes process-based management systems, business process management and measurements.The theory and interviews with the employees at Almedahl-Kinna can be considered as the foundation of the result of this thesis. Result of the thesis is a shared process-based management system for Almedahl-Kinna developed in a business process map.The result also consists of sub-processes linked to the core process of the BPM. The sub-process is based on the inputs and outputs found in the core process.A common vision between Almedahls and the study group was essential to achieve an acceptable result in the end, hence the project was driven by an initial BPM provided by Almedahls and in fact it became one of the main aims of this project: how to change the management’s point of view towards thinking in processes?Based on the nature of process-based management systems, the idea to choose this system was correctly selected for Almedahls to gather all four strategy business areas and three companies together.