<p>This study examines several emerging topics in supply chain management including the dynamic product substitution, the joint optimization of price and order quantity with demand ambiguity, and the implementation of the environmental and social responsibility (ESR) programs.</p>

[pt] As operações offshore de Exploração e Produção (E e P) são apoiadas por um sistema logístico e de serviços, chamadas de apoio marítimo. O sistema é composto por portos, aeroportos, armazéns, e utiliza diversas embarcações especializadas, helicópteros, dentre outros equipamentos. Este estudo foca no transporte de carga de convés para as unidades marítimas da Bacia de Campos. A Bacia de Campos representou 78 por cento da produção brasileira de petróleo e gás em 2011. Esta bacia é atendida principalmente pelo Porto de Macaé, que é também o principal porto de apoio marítimo do Brasil, tendo movimentado 650 mil toneladas de carga de convés em 2011, o que representa 54 por cento da carga de convés da Petrobras no Brasil. O Porto de Macaé apoia não apenas a Bacia de Campos, mas também as outras bacias. O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a viabilidade de se melhorar as opera es de transporte marítimo de carga de convés para as unidades marítimas da Bacia de Campos. Como objetivos específicos, tem-se: analisar empiricamente o transporte de carga de convés; propor diferentes políticas de atendimento para a Bacia de Campos; investigar se diferentes políticas de atendimento afetam a robustez do sistema; contribuir para o conhecimento acadêmico sobre apoio marítimo. O estudo delimita-se a campos operados pela Petrobras na Bacia de Campos, ao transporte de carga de convés, e apenas a load e backload (transbordo não será considerado). As operações de E e P são apoiadas por um sistema logístico, cujas principais atividades são o transporte de carga para as unidades marítimas e de carga de retorno, o transporte de pessoas, o armazenamento de materiais e equipamentos o transporte terrestre. Os principais clientes são as unidades de produção, as sondas de perfuração e embarcações especiais. As embarcações utilizadas são do tipo Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), possuindo área útil de convés que pode chegar a 750 m2 (pode-se considerar como área útil 75 por cento da área total do convés), e do tipo Utility (UT), que são menores e mais rápidos que os PSVs. As principais restrições de carregamento dessas embarcações são a área e a resistência do convés. A demanda das unidades marítimas varia bastante quando comparadas entre elas e, para uma mesma unidade, geralmente há uma grande variação de uma semana para outra. A dissertação está dividida em seis capítulos, sendo o Capítulo 1 a introdução. No Capítulo 2, a literatura acadêmica sobre os sistemas logísticos de apoio marítimo é revisada. Ainda há poucos estudos acadêmicos sobre o tema e são abordadas questões como os sistemas de gerenciamento, terceirização e roteirização de embarcações, dentre outros. No Capítulo 3, sobre logística do E e P, são apresentados os clientes, as cargas típicas, o sistema logístico, os tipos de embarcação, os portos, a composição da carga, a incerteza na demanda e técnicas de medição da produtividade. Também é feita uma breve descrição da logística de apoio marítimo no Brasil operada pela Petrobras. No Capítulo 4, a política de atendimento e a programação marítima para carga de convés da Bacia de Campos de 2011 é apresentada. A fim de se identificar pontos de melhoria, foi feita uma análise empírica das operações, incluindo um exemplo real e uma comparação entre as operações da Bacia de Campos, da Bacia de Santos, uma programação feita por Halvorsen-Weare e Faberholt (2011) e dois dos casos apresentados por Kaiser e Snyder (2010). O exemplo apresentado sugere que há uma falta de controle das operações e que o gerenciamento do transporte poderia ser melhorado. A análise de dados mostrou que há clusters que necessitam de mais viagens semanais do que as que são planejadas para eles, que o número de unidades marítimas por viagem é alto, assim como o número de revisitas a uma mesma unidade marítima na mesma viagem, e que o tempo de transporte entre o porto e as unidades poderia ser reduzido. Viu-se que as unidades marítimas não sabem quando irão receber uma embarcação e nem quantas visitas serão, e que os programadores das embarcações não sabem quando as unidades marítimas poderão receber as embarcações. Com isso, há um total de 17 por cento de visitas sem operação. Além disso, as saídas frequentes do porto para as unidades marítimas não reduzem o lead time. No Capítulo 5, foi proposta uma nova política de atendimento, com foco no nível de serviço, e foi feita uma simulação computacional de forma a se avaliar esta política, considerando diversos cenários. A política de atendimento visa reduzir o número de visitas às unidades marítimas e o número de unidades atendidas por viagem. Serão criadas janelas fixas de atendimento nas unidades marítimas. A embarcação partirá do porto com espaço suficiente para o primeiro backload, e prioridades e emergências serão transportadas em viagens separadas. As unidades serão dividas em clusters e cada cluster terá o número de viagens semanais requeridos por aquelas unidades. As rotas serão fixas, e somente as unidades da rota serão atendidas. A demanda de carga de cada cluster será estimada e a embarcação terá que ser capaz de atender a demanda na maior parte das vezes, de acordo com o nível de confiabilidade requerido. Unidades de produção e sondas serão atendidas em clusters separados, mas será simulado um cenário sem essa separação. Na simulação computacional, foram usados dados reais de demanda de um período de um ano. O objetivo era saber como o sistema teria se comportado caso diferentes políticas de atendimento tivessem sido adotadas. Não era objetivo achar a melhor programação ou a melhor rota, mas sim estudar políticas de atendimento. A simulação foi feita em quatro fases. Na Fase 1, foi aplicado o método de Clarke e Wright. Escolhido pela simplicidade, o método foi aplicado para cada tipo de cluster, cenário e semana. As restrições foram a capacidade das embarcações e número de unidades por viagem. Para o cálculo da demanda de cada viagem de cada cluster, foi utilizada a média da demanda semanal para o cluster, mais dois desvios-padrão, mais o primeiro backload, dividido pela frequência semanal, e comparou-se com a área útil dos PSVs para verificar se a embarcação teria capacidade suficiente para aquela demanda de carga. Na Fase 2, juntaram-se todos os tipos de clusters e montou-se uma programação com horários de atracação igualmente espaçados, mas fazendo com que as viagens de cada rota tenham o melhor espaçamento possível entre elas. Na Fase 3, foi feita a alocação da demanda a cada viagem. A Fase 4, que é a fase da simulação propriamente dita, foi dividida em 2 passos. No Passo 1, para todas as viagens planejadas, calculou-se a duração das viagens, considerando-se as diversas etapas de uma viagem (porto, navegação, tempos de espera, etc.). Estimou-se o tempo provável de espera e operação nas unidades marítimas, respeitando-se o tempo mínimo de seis horas nas unidades. O tempo de viagem resultante foi multiplicado por um fator semanal, de forma a simular as condições climáticas ao longo do ano. No Passo 2, o tempo começa a rodar. Verifica-se a disponibilidade de berços e embarcações e tenta-se alocar a demanda à menor embarcação disponível. Se não houver embarcação capaz de levar toda a carga, a carga ficará reservada para ser transportada através de viagens adicionais. Foram simulados cenários com diferentes frequências de atendimento e quantidades máximas de unidades por cluster, e os resultados detalhados foram apresentados. No Capítulo 6, são feitas as conclusões e as sugestões para trabalhos futuros. Ficou demonstrada a viabilidade de se melhorar as operações de transporte marítimo de carga de convés na Bacia de Campos. O tempo de transporte entre o porto e as unidades marítimas, os atrasos nas atracações, a quantidade de embarcações e a distância total de navegação podem ser reduzidos. Assim, pode-se reduzir o lead time e o custo financeiro. Além disso, a política de serviço escolhida afeta a robustez do sistema, como ficou demonstrado pela análise dos tempos de atraso e da quantidade de viagens que não tiveram capacidade para levar toda a demanda solicitada. A dissertação também contribuiu para o conhecimento acadêmico sobre o assunto, uma vez que foi dada uma visão geral da logística de apoio marítimo e foi feita uma análise empírica das operações da Petrobras na bacia de Campos, sendo esta análise comparada com outros estudos acadêmicos. Para trabalhos futuros, sugere-se estudar detalhadamente qual a melhor composição da frota; estudar uma política de serviço para cargas prioritárias e emergenciais e também para quando houver o fechamento do porto por condições climáticas. / [en] Offshore logistics plays a fundamental role in the E and P industry, as the offshore units need to be serviced to maintain and develop their operations. Petrobras operates about 75 offshore units in the Campos Basin, which accounts for 78 per cent of the oil and gas produced in Brazil, and it has a large fleet of Platform Supply Vessels to carry out the transportation of goods and equipment to and from the units. In this study the transportation of deck cargo was analyzed empirically and some aspects which could be improved were identified. The feasibility of reducing the lead time and fleet size was identified and a methodology to achieve this improvement is proposed herein.

[pt] A crescente importância do papel da gestão de suprimentos e compras no apoio às organizações para o alcance de aumento da lucratividade e redução de gastos vem sendo destaque nas comunidades acadêmica e industrial. Este cenário motivou a realização desta pesquisa, cujo escopo incorpora a análise da área de Suprimentos de uma empresa do segmento de serviços corporativos de maneira estruturada e embasada na literatura acadêmica, visando identificar oportunidades de melhoria que auxiliassem na evolução deste grupo de atividades. Para tanto, foram pesquisados objetivos, processos, estratégia e estrutura de compras com a finalidade de suportar o desenvolvimento de um estudo de caso. Dez dimensões de observação extraídas da literatura acadêmica orientaram a avaliação da atuação da área de Suprimentos considerada e proporcionaram a identificação de oportunidades, que culminou na elaboração de uma lista propostas de melhorias. Parte dessas propostas foi implantada e seus resultados são apresentados ao final da pesquisa, incluindo a criação, dentro da estrutura do departamento, de uma célula que buscasse a melhoria contínua. / [en] The growing importance of the role of purchasing and supply management in the support to organizations for achieving increased profitability and cost reduction has been highlighted in the academic and industrial communities. This scenario has motivated this research, whose scope includes analyzing the Supply area of a firm that belongs to a business segment of corporate services in a structured way and supported by the academic literature, towards identifying opportunities for improvement that would help in the evolution of this group of activities. Thus, the goals, processes, strategy and structure related to purchasing were studied in order to support the development of a case study. Ten dimensions of observation drawn from the academic literature guided the analysis of the Supply area considered for the case study, what resulted in the identification of opportunities and culminated in the establishment of a list of proposed improvements. Some of these proposals were implemented and their results are presented in the end of this study, including the creation, within the structure of the department, of a cell that seeks continuous improvement.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, May 2016. / This thesis presents work on four problems identi ed in the Zomba Water Distribution Network. The research was carried out on the existing network infrastructure with the aim of improving e ciency by reducing Unaccounted-For Water (UFW). The rst challenge was to develop a demand model for the city based on its in uencing factors: daily and seasonal uctuations as well as population dynamics. The model was to capture demand patterns for short-term, medium-term to long-term time periods, thereby becoming an important input factor into decision making. The developed model may be employed to generate demand which can be input into the city's 10 year infrastructure expansion plan. The second problem was to explain why houses built too close to tanks are at risk of inconsistent water supply. It was found that the requirement of observing the tank elevations, helv, had been violated. As a result, the discontinued supplies occurred. Once the required tank elevation helv had been established, an extra increase in the elevation so as to accommodate a larger population was determined to be on the order of one centimeter. Third problem was to explain the continued mains pipe failures observed in the network. It was established that the main cause was the hammering e ects started through the process of manually closing ow control valves (FCVs) tted next to tanks. A possible remedy was to rather t the FCVs at joint nodes and not at the tanks. This was estimated to greatly reduce the hammering e ects, eventually turning them into minor head losses due to elbow bends. Finally, a structural approach to designing tanks that optimize the use of gravity is presented. This is an input into the infrastructure expansion planning of the city. Regardless of any design shapes they may take, tanks with height-radius, h=r, ratio of less than 1 exhibit diminished, as opposed to increased, height changes with demand changes. Such a property would ensure consistency in the pressure at the tank, allowing for delivery of the demanded load. / GR2016

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016. / After several years of political and economic successes made since 1994, South Africa continues to experience major challenges in water availability, increased poverty, high levels of unemployment and more recently, steep increases in food and fuel prices. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is one of the regions that have been negatively affected by changes in climate variability, thereby, increasing the vulnerability and subjecting a significant number of households to increased poverty; water scarcity and food insecurity. The situation continues and there is a need to address this. This study sought to understand how the local households in the Eastern Cape Province in Nqgeleni location adapt to the extreme drought which impacts on their livelihood by exploring the different adaptive measures or systems that are implemented to cope with the climatic conditions in uplifting and providing food and nutrition security for sustainable growth and development. The primary aim of this research was thus to investigate how water scarcity influences food and nutritional security on rural household in Nqgeleni location. To achieve this aim, three secondary objectives were formulated. Firstly, to establish the relationship between water scarcity on food and nutritional security of rural households in Nqgeleni location. Secondly, to identify the drivers of water scarcity in the area. Lastly, to create an inventory of coping mechanism employed by rural households with water scarcity, food and nutritional security. An extensive literature review was undertaken to integrate prior findings and theories on water scarcity, food and nutritional security. The literature study revealed that water scarcity has a significant impact on food security. In addition, several factors such as demographic profile variables (population growth) and structural inefficiencies (infrastructure and management) were identified as potential drivers of water scarcity. In order to address the objectives set for this study, a number of items were sourced from the literature and a structured questionnaire administered to respondents who were selected by means of a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected from 111 usable questionnaires. The mixed method approach was employed as a core research methodology. The responses obtained were subjected to statistical analyses. Cronbach-alpha coefficients were calculated to confirm the internal consistency of the measuring instrument. The findings from this study are thus as follows. There was a significant relationship between water scarcity, food and nutritional security. Food security also has an impact on nutritional security. In addition, the drivers of water scarcity found in this study includes population growth, lack of infrastructure and poor management of water related issues by the municipality; all of which confirm findings in other studies. Furthermore, a number of respondents profile variables were identified as contributing factors to poverty, vulnerability, water scarcity, food and nutritional security in the Nqgeleni location. This includes lack of education, size of the household, and income level of the household. Based on the above findings, an inventory of coping mechanism was recommended to assist the rural households deal with water scarcity, food and nutritional security. This study has added to the empirical body of water scarcity, food and nutritional security in South Africa and the world at large. KEYWORDS: Water scarcity; Food security; Nutritional security; Eastern Cape; Nqgeleni location; South Africa / LG2017

The use of transnational supply chains has been perceived as the “mantra for success” in the ear of globalisation, changing customer demographics and demand. The fast-moving customer goods (FMCG) industry has also joined this bandwagon, along with other industries, such as the high-technology industry, in order gain competitive advantage. However, the trade regimes of developing (emerging) economies have played a significant role in establishing the context for the supply chain originating in a particular country, and therefore in containing the foreseen benefits accruing from supply chains becoming a transnational process. This thesis was focused on identifying issues within selected transnational FMCG supply chains origination in India and South Africa. It also identified the steps that supply chain managers were taking to address these issues. It also proposed a framework for supply chain operating model to address the identified issues. The research used a combination of analytical models to investigate the different aspects of the various transnational supply chains. To examine the underlying aspects of the various FMCG supply chains, a typology model in conjunction with an operational model, a financial model and a governance model were used. Supply chain operations reference (SCOR), an operational analytical model, was used extensively on this thesis. Detailed typology and process flow maps specific to transnational FMCG supply chains were also developed. The collective case study approach was used as the research methodology. A total of four cases spanning two countries – India and South Africa – and dealing with two product segments (packaged food and personal care products) were studied. Data for the study was collected thorough primary sources (in multiple face-to-face interviews) and secondary sources (from case-specific documents and reports). After the data was analysed, it was found that the various supply chains in the FMCG industry displayed similar typologies and issues, some of which were unique to each country. The typology of the transnational supply chains for all four cases was very similar in terms of their distribution structure setup, product life cycle, sourcing models combination, customer relations, marketing methods and degree of globalisation. However, in both countries, the supply chain issues identified in the personal care segment, such as product proliferation and supplier unreliability, were different from those identified in the packaged food segment, such as strict food-related regulatory laws and greater manufacturing complexities. Some of the typical issues affecting local supply chains, such as the bullwhip effect and lower supply chain adaptability, were not evident in the transnational supply chains. The steps supply chain managers were taking to address these issues, such as standardising processes and implementing new technology, were found to be similar in all cases. However, in India, supply chain managers were also focusing on government initiatives, establishing contracts with suppliers and customers, and implementing supply chain policies, while in South Africa they were also focusing on improving supply chain skills, improving branding in transnational markets and implementing foreign exchange controls. The overall conclusion was that there was considerable potential for achieving competitive advantage by setting up transnational supply chains, provided that the problems identified within transnational supply chains were adequately addressed by supply chain managers. However, in some scenarios, the steps taken in terms of available best practice models results in further set of issues arising. The identification of the issues facing supply chain managers and the development of a framework of operating model to address the identified issues with transnational FMCG supply chains were the most significant contributions of this research study.

A thesis submitted to the faculty of science, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017. / Water resource monitoring plays a pivotal role in a number of sectors such as determining sustainable abstraction and use of water, determining the feasibility of development projects in relation to water, and developing systematic strategies for efficient overall management of the water resources. It has been observed by a number of scholars and policy makers that through periodic monitoring of water resources, valuable data can be collected which can then provide information sufficient to determine trends and develop predictive models. It is only when sound and reliable data is available that informed decisions about sustainable and efficient use of water resources can be made. Despite the importance of water resource monitoring, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa, are not effectively and adequately monitoring the quantity and quality of water resources. Part of the reason for this state of affairs has been the absence of clearly defined roles, policies, strategies and responsibilities and a combination of these factors have resulted in significant fragmentations in the institutional structures mandated to manage water resources. Using expert sampling, interviews with key informants and other purposively chosen participants, revealed the challenges in the changing political landscape of South African water resource monitoring many of which were further reiterated in the focus group discussions. The identified challenges served as entry points that would improve water resources monitoring and enable decision makers to make sustainable management decisions. It is suggested that water resource monitoring programmes could be used as a tool for sustainable water resource monitoring in South Africa. However, climate change and urbanization bring about a certain level of complexity, uncertainty and conflict as the water landscape of water resources changes continuously. The impact of the above phenomena cannot be measured as current monitoring systems are not functioning optimally. Furthermore, monitoring programmes are not being used to their full potential due to governance challenges. This is due to conflicting roles that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) plays in the water sector i.e. policy developer, supporter and regulator, which in turn confound the roles and responsibilities of its employees. Moreover, it was found that five major challenges impede the formation of a comprehensive water resources management system namely; lack of financial resources, lack of skilled human resources, poor governance structure, ineffective stakeholder engagement – ‘working in silos’ and inefficient data management. More importantly, it was found that sustainability of monitoring programmes relies on human and economic investment. The main recommendations made include institutional reform and enabling legislation which form the basis upon which any development efforts can be pursued to achieve sustainable water resource monitoring. In addition, capacity building and strengthening is recommended as another way to help build sustainable resource management institutions which include skills and institutional memory transfer from the experienced players to the younger and newer employees. The creation and/or optimization of water resource monitoring databases is one of the viable ways for sustainable water resource management to be realized. Furthermore, research can be conducted to assess the challenges in water resource monitoring and provide sustainable solutions; with the aim of quantifying the impact of policy reforms in the water sector. And finally, research can be done on how effective regulation and co-operative governance for water sector can be achieved in South Africa through participatory processes that are aimed at developing priority water research questions. Keywords: water resource monitoring, institutional framework, integrated water resource management, water governance. / GR2018

Digitaliseringen har vuxit mer än någonsin de senaste åren och är något som även beräknas fortsätta att utvecklas. Ny teknologi och nya möjligheter dyker upp på marknaden och företag står inför skiftande trender hela tiden. E-handeln har på grund av det aldrig sett ljusare dagar och handeln som sker online är större än någonsin, men detta leder även till att kundernas krav på flexibilitet ökar. Detta är något som företagen måste anpassa sig efter för att kunna fortsätta utvecklas och möta de utmaningar som den växande marknaden skapar. Det finns tidigare forskning om just e-handel, men där fokus istället har legat på digitaliseringens utveckling. Detta gör att det finns ett forskningsgap på hur framgångsrika svenska företag arbetar för att ligga i framkant inom e-handel, samt hur den ökade digitaliseringen påverkar logistikens roll och dess funktionalitet i en växande marknad. För att genomföra denna studie har en förankrad teori tagits fram för att utveckla en modell som är anpassad efter studiens syfte. Modellen somt tagits fram är baserad på en kombination av teorier för att möjliggöra syftet och har sedan varit utgångspunkten vid insamling av empiri. Därför vill vi svara på dessa frågor: <ul type="disc">Hur arbetar framgångsrika svenska företag med e-handeln i dagsläget och dess utveckling och vad är det som prioriteras för att nå en lyckad e-handel? Hur nyttjas logistiken inom dessa företag och hur är den sammankopplad med e- handeln? Insamlingen av empirin skedde genom kvalitativa intervjuer där respondenterna fick möjlighet att förmedla vad de ansåg vara viktigt inom sitt arbetsområde och vilka prioriteringar som de arbetade med. Resultatet har visar att det finns samband mellan företagen vad de fokuserar på samt att logistiken anses bli mer komplex med digitaliserad utveckling. Studien grunder sig i två teorier som är relevanta för dagens digitalisering och e- handelsutveckling. Dessa teorier presenterar viktiga delar i att skapa en fungerande e-handel och hur du ska arbeta för att skapa det ultimata resultatet för din organisation. Teorierna har fokus på relationer och värdeskapande, för företag och kund, och är något som måste has i åtanke idag vid utveckling av onlinehandel. Resultatet, som är baserat på semi-strukturerade intervjuer, är något som visar att samarbete är det första steget för att nå en utmanande e-handel. Resultatet visar dock även andra faktorer som man måste ta hänsyn till för att skapa en utvecklas och kundorienterad e- handel. Avslutningsvis bidrar studien till en reviderad modell av E-handelns Framgångsfaktorer. Denna modell visar rekommendationer för framgångsrika företag som arbetar med e-handel över hur de bör strukturera sin utveckling för att nå bästa resultat. Studien kan även bidra till forskningen som finns idag genom att ge en djupare kunskap i över hur e- handelsutveckling och arbete ser ut i dagsläget.

O estudo consiste em analisar as diferenças do supply chain de moda entre as coleções tradicionais e o fast fashion, identificando os desafios e ações empreendidas pelas empresas têxteis que atuam no início da cadeia produtiva de moda. Tomando como base a literatura sobre as gestões da cadeia produtiva de moda e as mudanças ocorridas no mercado, identificou-se a contradição no tempo de aprovisionamento no que diz respeito às etapas de produção entre a moda tradicional e o fast fashion, termo em inglês, traduzido como moda rápida. As análises e comparações entre as gestões da cadeia produtiva de moda compreendem como esses dois sistemas atuam no mercado. Por um lado, existem as empresas de moda programada tradicional que pelo conceito e o tempo utilizado para o desenvolvimento de suas coleções funcionam como uma forma de imposição do consumo de seus produtos, já o modelo fast fashion pode ser interpretado como uma resposta do mercado consumidor. Com isso, a necessidade de diminuir o time to market para reduzir o risco exige encontrar soluções produtivas adequadas. A partir de uma revisão de literatura e de uma pesquisa exploratória, foi possível identificar como o setor têxtil, que atua no início da cadeia produtiva de moda, corresponde às diferenças de supply chain entre as coleções tradicionais e o fast fashion / This study consists on analyzing the supply chain differences between the traditional collections and the fast fashion, identifying the challenges and the undertaken actions by textile companies that act in the beginning of fashion productive chain. Taking as a base the literature on fashion productive chain management and the market changes, the contradiction on provision time was identified about the production levels between the traditional fashion and the fast fashion. The analysis and comparisons between fashion productive chain management comprehend on how theses both methods act on market. On the one hand there are the scheduled traditional fashion companies that through conception and the used time to develop their collection, it works as imposition consumption for their products, whereas the fast fashion way can be seen as the customer reply. Therewith, there is a need to reduce the time to market to decrease the risk new productive solutions must be found. From a literature review and a deep research, it was possible to identify how the textile sector, which operates at the beginning of the production chain fashion, corresponds to the supply chain differences between traditional collections and the fast fashion

In recent years the amount of newly registered electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles has increased rapidly in the Swedish market. These vehicles could be classified as battery-powered electric vehicles, and a majority carry a lithium-ion battery. The demand for lithium is expected to increase considerably, as a result of such a swift growth in battery-powered electric vehicles. Thus, if the recycling rate of lithium stays at a low level, demand could reach a scarcity-level by 2050. While neither any infrastructure nor an established process for recycling lithium-ion batteries currently exists in Sweden, this study aims to provide necessary input and verified tools for the design of a future reverse supply chain for discarded lithium-ion batteries in Sweden. The literature review of this study covers the subjects of reverse logistics, supply chain network design, and operations research. A thorough situation analysis of the Swedish market for battery-powered electric vehicles is conducted, and the composition, function, and characteristics of lithium-ion batteries are studied. The study finds that estimations of future demand of recyclable lithium-ion batteries in Sweden could be between 206 711 and 726 974 tons accumulated, based on actual and predicted sales numbers until 2030. Even if it is obvious that there are going to be large quantities of such batteries requiring recycling in the future, and even if some established processes exist, there is no defined supply chain for the collection of those batteries. Finally, a mixed-integer programming model for the design and development of a future reverse supply chain is presented. The model, characterized as a discrete multi-period facility location/allocation model, can with minor modifications be used for problems with fluctuating demand or when the demand is assumed to slowly progress until it has reached a steady state.