Dans le contexte contemporain d’évolution rapide de la distribution et du e-commerce, la recherche s’inscrit dans le cadre d’une problématique générale articulée autour du thème de la distribution multicanal, et s’intéresse notamment au phénomène d’intégration en soulignant l’importance majeure d’une vision globale du management des différents canaux mobilisés par une entreprise. Circonscrite à une perspective BtoB, et positionnée du point de vue de l’entreprise, nous avons tenté de répondre cette question centrale : comment les entreprises industrielles de type multicanal doivent-elles intégrer leurs canaux de distribution ? Les réponses sont apportées par une étude de cas approfondie au sein de la société Nestlé France. D’une part, celle-ci a permis d’identifier et d’expliquer les facteurs exogènes et endogènes explicatifs du niveau d’intégration multicanal obtenu. D’autre part, la coordination relationnelle entre les services du département de la logistique, du commerce / marketing et du système d’information a émergé comme une dimension d’intégration multicanal souhaitable pour l’entreprise étudiée. La recherche souligne par ailleurs l’influence positive de l’intégration multicanal sur la performance perçue de l’entreprise, et identifie les défis à relever en termes d’estimation de l’impact de l’intégration. Il en ressort qu’il est probable que l’entreprise étudiée n’ambitionne pas d’atteindre le niveau d’intégration extrême des différents canaux de distribution. Il s’avère plus pertinent d’atteindre un niveau satisfaisant d’intégration et un point d’équilibre entre le trop et le trop peu d’intégration multicanal en renforçant les avantages actuels. / In the contemporary context of rapidly evolving distribution and e-commerce, this research investigates a general problem articulated around the topic of multichannel distribution. We are particularly interested in the phenomenon of multichannel integration and lay emphasis on the major significance of an overall vision when a company tries to manage its different distribution channels. While adopting a BtoB approach and a business management perspective, this academic work tries to address a central question: how can industrial companies integrate their multiple distribution channels? The answers are provided by a qualitative approach based on an in-depth case study in Nestlé France. The findings of this research suggest a series of endogenous and exogenous factors that influence the level of multichannel integration obtained by a company. Some of those factors, which are associated with the relational coordination across the logistics, marketing and information system departments, could be regarded as a strongly expected dimension for the company under study to establish the multichannel integration procedures. Furthermore, the adoption of multichannel integration appears to create a positive influence on the perceived performance of the company. Some challenges met in terms of estimating the impacts of integration are also identified. Finally, the results indicate that the studied company is probably not attempting to reach the extreme level of multichannel integration. It would be more interesting to reach a satisfactory level and find the point of balance between too much and not enough integration by reinforcing the current advantages of multichannel integration.

在全球競爭劇烈、市場迅速變化的環境下，企業能否在所屬產業的供應鏈中做適當且敏捷的調整，以維持創新與產品開發績效，成為影響企業競爭優勢的重要課題。一般供應鏈相關論文大多將供應鏈整合放入單一構面討論，較少研究能將其作進一步區分並探討構面內部可能的關係。本研究將供應鏈整合區分成企業內部與外部整合，且再將外部整合區分為供應商整合、顧客端整合，並根據相關文獻探討構面之間的關係。其中”整合”的意義有別於傳統的作業整合，強調在放眼中長期規劃的策略整合，進而形成供應鏈策略整合。依據資源基礎觀點，本研究探討供應鏈整合策略、創新能力對於企業供應鏈績效的影響。本研究資料來源為高績效工廠計畫 (High Performance Manufacturing，HPM)，其中收集了歐、美、亞共八個國家，橫跨產業為高科技、機械、運輸三大製造業供應鏈訪查資料，本計畫總共訪問約238家廠商，其中有效問卷共199份。本研究計量方法採用近年逐漸被重視的偏最小平方法(Partial Least Squares)，並使用SmartPLS工具做衡量。 研究結果顯示，企業內部整合對供應商整合有正向顯著性影響; 企業內部整合對顧客端整合有正向顯著性影響;供應商整合對創新能力有正向顯著性影響; 顧客端整合對創新能力影響不顯著;創新能力對供應鏈績效有正向顯著性影響; 創新能力在供應商整合與供應鏈績效有中介效果;創新能力在內部整合與供應鏈績效間具有中介效果。最後我們將論述本研究相關的管理意涵。 / Under intense global competition and rapidly changing market environment. It is an important issue for a company that whether can properly adapt and agile supply chain in their respective industry. In previous studies, most of them put supply chain integration (SCI) into a single dimension for discussion, However, it causes too many sub-constructs and questions to distinguish actual cause effect in single dimension. In this case, we separate a supply chain integration from a single dimension into multiple dimensions, which are internal integration, customer integration and supplier inte- gration , and related reviews are discussed in this thesis. This study also focus on long term vision of strategy integration instead of tradition operational integration to form our supply chain integration strategy. From Resource Based View, we would like to discuss how supply chain integration strategy can generate a unique capability, which is innovative capability, and impact supply chain performance in a company. This study is based on the High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project database collected from 238 manufacturing plants in eight countries and three representative industries (machinery, electronics and transportation components), using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS) methods. In our research result indicate as following: Internal integration is positively related to supplier integration. Internal integration is positively related customer integration. Innovation capability is positively related to supply chain performance. Innovation capability has indirect effect between internal integration and supply chain performance. Innovative capability has indirect effect between supplier integration and supply chain performance.

台灣經濟發展對外貿易依存度高，專業貿易商扮演極重要的中介角色，於產銷鏈中媒合供給與需求。然隨著全球貿易自由化、新興市場低成本競爭以及科技進步所帶來之資訊透明化，均對台灣專業貿易商之生存空間造成極大的衝擊與威脅，且台灣專業貿易商一直以來缺乏自有品牌，產品的辨識度也不高，致使其面臨被「去中間化」之危機。 本研究根據過去有關自創品牌關鍵成功因素之文獻整理歸納出六個最重要的項目，分別為：研發設計能力、優異的產品品質、可控制之行銷通路、資金與財務控管、高階主管領導與品牌人才、原有業務（OEM、ODM）與自創品牌之平衡。然過去的研究多半著墨於製造商自創品牌，而較少觸及專業貿易商自創品牌的相關論述，故本研究在分析製造商與專業貿易商的異同之後，將製造商自創品牌關鍵成功因素適用於專業貿易商，並將之所產生的問題做一闡述。 以供應鏈整合理論為基礎，本研究建構專業貿易商自創品牌的經營模型，並基於前述六項自創品牌關鍵成功因素，延伸發展出專業貿易商自創品牌所需具備的條件與關鍵成功因素，分別為：創新研發設計、垂直整合、品質控管、保護競爭知識、市場定位與差異化、可控制之行銷通路、資金與財務控管以及高階管理者帶領品牌行銷人才等八項，並藉由個案訪談之方式，研究分析兩個具代表性的個案，以驗證本研究之論述得以適用於專業貿易商自創品牌之經營模式。 / Trading companies are playing important roles in economic development in Taiwan, especially in matching buyer and seller in supply chains. However, liberalization of trade, advancement of technology, keen competition with emerging countries, and lack of own brand marketing lead trading companies in Taiwan to face the crisis of disintermediation. The research is based on six key success factors of manufacturer’s brand, including research & development ability, product quality, marketing channel, capital and financial management, brand marketing human resources and the balance between OEM/ODM and own brand marketing. We are trying to analyze the differences between manufactures and trading companies, and then apply those key success factors to trading companies. According to the theory of supply chain integration, we develop an own brand business model for trading companies in Taiwan. The six key success factors of own brand are adjusted to eight, which are innovative research & development, vertical integration, quality control, protection of intellectual property right, market positioning and differentiation, marketing channel, capital and financial management and brand marketing human resources. Furthermore, we interview two trading companies which have own brand in order to testify that the own brand business model for trading companies can really take into practice.

During the last decade, research related to Supply Chain Management has got a great deal of attention. The focus has especially circulated around supply chain integration and centralisation due to the increasingly competitive global market. The aim of this thesis has been to investigate how the supply chain performance in international manufacturing companies could be improved. By having a qualitative approach, this thesis contributes to earlier conducted research by providing a holistic view on supply chain management. This is by the authors considered crucial to manage the complexity of supply chain management and supply chain change. The specific context examined in this thesis concerns the spare parts distribution of large international manufacturing companies. The methods used during the case study consisted of a thorough literature review, external interviews and workshops with experts within supply chain management and supply chain change, and several interviews with employees at different levels and functions at the focal company, Toyota Material Handling Europe. Two of the interviewed external experts were managers at the supply chain function at Volvo Construction Equipment and Ericsson. To answer the main research question, three sub-queries have been examined. The first one concerns what main areas of difficulty that can be identified in the current supply chain of the focal company and in international manufacturing companies in general. The second sub-query concerns which supply chain policies that could be used to solve identified areas of difficulty. Finally, the third sub-query concerns which prerequisites that could be identified to successfully manage change within supply chains. The results imply that Information and Inventory Management are the main supply chain related areas in need of improvements at the focal company, as well as in international manufacturing companies in general. Thereby supply chain performance could be improved if performance within these areas is enhanced. To solve these two identified areas of difficulty, four theoretical supply chain policies related to supply chain integration have been examined due to complexity, need of investments during an implementation, as well as each policy’s possibility to solve the identified areas of difficulty. The supply chain policy Vendor-Managed Inventory was considered the most appropriate policy for the focal company to implement. As a consequence, an evaluation of the focal company’s readiness to implement a Vendor-Managed Inventory policy was also conducted by using a supply chain readiness framework developed by Niranjan, Wagner and Nguyen (2012). Based on the literature review, including the theoretical evaluation of the appropriateness of implementing Vendor-Managed Inventory, together with the findings from the external expert interviews, the focal company is recommended to implement a Vendor-Managed Inventory strategy. However, the focal company is also recommended to see such an implementation as an opportunity to later investigate the possibility to also include large suppliers in the collaboration. This would increase the level of integration among supply chain members further and thereby secure the company has the possibility to receive the advantages associated with sharing information (including Points-of-Sales data) with all supply chain members.   From a theoretical perspective the conclusion is that Vendor-Managed Inventory, with its focus on supply chain integration through collaboration and information sharing among supply chain members, is considered appropriate to implement when companies want to improve performance in one or all of these areas. Furthermore, the usage of a consignment stock agreement might be an appropriate complement to Vendor-Managed Inventory due to the international context. However, the authors suggest that international manufacturing companies should strive towards including large suppliers in the supply chain collaboration to increase performance further. Thereby they should move towards capabilities promoted in the supply chain policy Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment, which advocate a higher level of integration than Vendor-Managed Inventory. Another main finding pinpoints the importance of a well-formulated and communicated vision in the beginning of a transformation, to manage supply chain change successfully. As a consequence, the authors of this thesis expanded the supply chain framework developed by Chopra and Meindl (2010) to also include vision. In addition, legal has been added as an important supply chain driver since it affects supply chain possibilities and decisions. The added parts are considered critical for the framework to be applicable in an international and rapidly changing business environment. Furthermore, the authors suggest the extended framework should be used to support companies evaluate the current and a desired future supply chain in accordance with examined change management literature. / Supply Chain Management har under det senaste decenniet fått mycket uppmärksamhet. På grund av en ökande internationell handel har forskningen framförallt behandlat Integration och Centralisering inom distributionskedjor. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur man kan förbättra prestandan av distributionskedjan hos internationella tillverkningsföretag. Genom ett kvalitativt angreppssätt bidrar denna studie med ett holistiskt synsätt av Supply Chain Management, vilket av författarna är ansett kritiskt för att kunna hantera komplexiteten relaterad till Supply Chain Management och förändringsarbete inom detta område. Studiens forskningsfråga har kunnat besvaras genom att undersöka tre delfrågor. Den första behandlar att identifiera huvudproblemområden i distributionskedjan hos fokusföretaget samt internationella tillverkningsföretag generellt. Den andra delfrågan behandlar vilka teoretiska supply chain policies som skulle kunna användas för att lösa de identifierade problemområdena, medan den tredje och sista delfrågan handlar om att identifiera förutsättningar för att kunna hantera förändringsarbete av, och inom, distributionskedjor på ett lyckat sätt. Samtliga delfrågor och huvudfrågan har kunnat besvaras genom genomförandet av en litteraturstudie, intervjuer och workshops med externa områdesexperter inom Supply Chain Management och Supply Chain Change, samt interna intervjuer med anställda på olika avdelningar och nivåer inom fokusföretaget, Toyota Material Handling Europe. Två av de intervjuade experterna utgjordes av chefer på logistikavdelningen på två stora internationella tillverkningsföretag. Företagen i fråga utgjordes av Volvo Construction Equipment respektive Ericsson. Resultaten visar att Informations- och Lagerhantering anses vara de huvudområden inom Supply Chain Management, vilka är i störst behov av förbättringar och förändringar på fokusföretaget samt i stora internationella tillverkningsföretag generellt. Därmed kan prestandan av distributionskedjan förbättras om företag fokuserar på dessa två områden. För att förbättra Informations- och Lagerhanteringen har fyra teoretiska supply chain policies utvärderats, vilka alla mer eller mindre fokuserar på att öka integrationen mellan medlemmar inom distributionskedjan. Genom att utvärdera dessa supply chain policies med avseende på komplexitet, implementationskostnader samt möjlighet att lösa de identifierade huvudproblemområdena, har författarna kunnat dra slutsatsen att policyn Vendor-Managed Inventory bör vara mest passande att implementera på fokusföretaget. I och med detta resultat utvärderades fokusföretagets lämplighet att implementera Vendor-Managed Inventory utifrån en teoretisk modell utvecklad av Niranjan, Wagner och Nguyen (2012). Resultatet av denna utvärdering stödde det tidigare antagandet att Vendor-Managed Inventory är lämpligt för fokusföretaget att implementera. Författarna rekommenderar dock att en VMI-implementation ska ses som ett första steg varefter förtaget även skall utvärdera möjligheten att inkludera sina större leverantörer och därmed öka integrationen av distributionskedjan ytterligare. Detta för att verkligen uppnå de fördelar informationsdelning kan medföra om information delas med samtliga medlemmar i kedjan. Författarna har med hjälp av dessa resultat kunnat dra den teoretiska och generella slutsatsen att Vendor-Managed Inventory, med dess fokus på att öka integrationen i distributionskedjan genom ökat samarbete och ökad informationsdelning mellan distributionskedjans medlemmar, anses lämplig att implementera då företag vill eller behöver förbättras inom dessa områden. Vidare kan avtalsmodellen Consignment Stock komplettera Vendor-Managed Inventory i en internationell kontext genom användandet av en legal ägare av lager, oavsett lagerposition. Författarna rekommenderar även att stora internationella tillverkningsföretag bör sträva mot att inkludera sina större leverantörer och därmed öka integrationen av, och samarbetet inom, distributionskedjan. Detta skulle medföra att prestandan av distributionskedjan förbättras ytterligare. Därmed bör de utvecklas mot supply chain policyn Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment, vilken förespråkar en högre nivå av samarbete än Vendor-Managed Inventory. Vidare visar studien vikten av en välformulerad och kommunicerad Vision i början av större förändringsprojekt. Detta för att öka chanserna till lyckade och välmotiverade förändringar. I och med identifieringen av visionens vitala del i förändringsprojekt, vidareutvecklade författarna modellen; Supply Chain Decison-Making Framework, utvecklad av Chopra & Meindl (2010), till att även inkludera Vision. Dessutom adderades Legala aspekter, då de påverkar både beslutsfattande och möjligheter inom en internationell kontext. Både Vision och Legala aspekter anses av författarna vara kritiska delar för att modellen skall vara applicerbar i en internationell och föränderlig miljö. I linje med forskning inom förändringshantering som identifierats i litteraturen, anses Chopra & Meindl’s vidareutvecklade modell nu vara lämplig att användas som en hjälp för företag att utvärdera sin nuvarande och önskade framtida distributionsstruktur.

The purpose of the study is to: 1. develop a model for studying the strategies of third-party providers, and 2. preparing empirically supported hypotheses regarding the TPL providers strategies. Empirical data has been gathered from 21 Australian, European, and North- American targeted TPL providers, all recognized as large, innovative or influential industry representatives. The thesis propose an empirically supported model for studying positions or for positioning of TPL providers, based on both served markets and internal industry variables. Further, the TPL providers expected development, the values delivered to clients, and activity and capability for supply chain integration are explored. The results of the study indicate that the TPL providers in general have similar strategies, and expect to develop in similar ways. The main values provided to clients are Cost and the possibility to Focus on Core, and the main mechanisms for creating that value are Operative Competence and Systems Development.

D. Tech. (Logistics management, Faculty of Management Science), Vaal University of Technology / Nowadays, the business environment is characterised by faster technological development, customer satisfaction, shorter product life cycles, and more intense global competition. This new competitive landscape has forced firms to acquire new ways to achieve competitive advantage actively since a firm's competitive advantage is now dependent on operating efficiency and productivity across functional areas of the firm. The most successful manufacturers seem to be those that have carefully linked their internal processes to external suppliers and customers in unique supply chains. The manufacturing sector represents 15 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of the South African commercial industry. Competitive challenges in the modern business environment have resulted in the need for firms to collaborate their business processes strategically across other business units within the supply chain. Supply chain network theory, dynamic capabilities theory, and the resource-based view theory are discussed to better understand the importance of firms' supply chain capabilities, supply chain agility, and firm performance. The primary objective of this research study was to investigate the association between supply chain capabilities (supply chain network design, supply chain information competency, and supply chain integration) and supply chain agility on firm performance in the manufacturing sector of the Gauteng province in South Africa. It also aimed to ascertain the kind of relationships between supply chain network with supply chain agility, supply chain network with firm performance, supply chain information competency with supply chain agility, supply chain integration with supply chain agility, supply chain integration with firm performance, and finally supply chain agility with firm performance. Structured questionnaires were distributed to various manufacturing firms in the Gauteng province. The data were collected from manufacturing firm managers and owners. SPSS 25.0 was used to analyse the data, and AMOS 25.0 used to perform the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis. The structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the proposed model fit and to test the statistically significant relationship between the various hypotheses. The research study results revealed that supply chain technologies and supply chain vi agility positively influence firm manufacturing performance. This study contributes new knowledge to the existing literature by providing a research framework that can enhance manufacturing firms' performance and also offer practical recommendations based on the research findings for manufacturing firms and future research. Furthermore, as one of the first studies to address the association between supply chain capabilities and supply chain agility on firm performance in the Gauteng province, this study generates new insights and information, as well as outlines the strategic reasons for manufacturing firms' managers and owners to improve on their organisational relationships. Hence, the study found that firms have realised significant supply chain coordination through supply chain capabilities and supply chain agility and that firms have been able to attain strategic goals, reduce risks and improve internal and external coordination of operational processes. Keywords: supply chain network design; supply chain information competency; supply chain integration; supply chain agility; firm performance.

M. Tech. (Department of Logistics Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The rail industry in South Africa performs an important role in the transportation of goods and people. It also contributes in various ways to the socio-economic success of the country’s economy. However, the industry faces various performance-related challenges in areas such as maintenance of rail lines, poor train availability and non-operation of long-distance rail service, decline in fleet availability and accidents, most of which are linked to ineffective supply chain management. To resolve these challenges, this study proposes the implementation of supply chain integration as a method to improve the resilience and performance of the rail supply chain in South Africa. Hence, the aim of the study was to investigate the connection between supply chain integration, resilience, and performance in the rail industry. To achieve the objectives of the study, a quantitative approach based on the positivist paradigm and deductive reasoning was followed. The sample consisted of 300 purposively selected supply chain management professionals including other departments working with supply chain, for example the industrial department and engineering department drawn from the rail industry in Gauteng Province. The collected data was analysed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results of the study indicated significant positive relationships for the three components of supply chain integration, namely internal integration (β=0.132), supplier integration (β=0.369), customer integration (β=0.596) and supply chain resilience. Among these three independent constructs, customer integration emerged as the most significant predictor of supply chain resilience. Significant and strong positive relationships were also observed between supply chain resilience and the tangible (β=0.781) and intangible (β=0.673) dimensions of supply chain performance. Among other things, the study recommends the training of professionals on the importance of supply chain integration, improvement of communications within the rail industry, adoption of relevant technologies and the nurturing of organisational cultures that promote both intra and inter-organisational collaboration. The study is significant in that it contributes new knowledge to the exiting literature in the South African rail industry. It also directs supply chain management research to the rail industry, which is an important economic sector and where there are many emerging issues that require empirical attention. Practically, the study shows that if rail industries improve supply chain integration there will be benefits to the firm in the form of enhanced resilience and performance of the supply chain.

Collaboration among hospital supply chain organizations and their internal and external partners has taken many forms partially in response to significant increases in health care costs in the United States while the quality of care delivered has not significantly improved outcomes for patients. An increasingly important factor of this high-cost profile is the cost of supplies including medical/surgical supplies and implants which are the primary focus of this research. The development of new supply chain capabilities alongside internal cost control and process improvement efforts as well as collaborative efforts between hospitals and suppliers have, in many cases, led to incremental efficiencies. However, there has not been a broad study of integration of United States hospital supply chains with their partners, the resulting capabilities, the achievement of supply chain and financial performance outcomes. In a discussion of hospital performance, it is important to note that patient care is critical in decisions made about hospital cost management, thus it is understandable that a specific capability or performance element prioritized in one hospital may be prioritized differently in another. This research examines the relationship between integration capabilities with supply chain and financial performance. Outcomes from multiple studies of this research includes empirical support for a strong link between supply chain capabilities (Study 1) and supply chain performance and directional link between supply chain capabilities as well as supply chain performance and financial outcomes (Studies 2 and 3). Additionally, this research created a practitioner-oriented benchmarking resource intended to aid in the identification of capability/performance gaps and advantages. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

Partnering as a collaborative procurement procedure has gained a lot of attention during the recent years in construction, and has been associated with many positive outcomes in the industry. However, previous research indicates that it has generally failed to reach its full potential in the form of strategic partnering and has stopped at the project level. A critical moment for the successful shifting from project to strategic, long-term partnerships is the completion of the first project, since it has to create momentum for subsequent projects to be awarded. This study proposes a general strategy, with focus on this critical moment. After the relationship between the two main partners, client and main contractor is consolidated, further integration of the supply chain is necessary. Therefore, a new mindset has to be adopted and the focus should be shifted from temporary to developing long-term relationships. Furthermore, the traditional adversarial relationships will have to give way to relational trust among actors that promotes collaboration. Loosening the couplings on the temporary, project network and at the same time tightening the couplings on the permanent network is essential. Finally, since the partnering endeavors are won on the interpersonal level, the main focus should be shifted from procedures to strengthening interpersonal relationships between the people that represent the actors in the partnership. / Partnerskap som ett samarbetsupphandlingsförfarande har fått stor uppmärksamhet under de senaste åren inom byggindustrin och har förknippats med många positiva resultat i branschen. Tidigare forskning tyder dock på att det i allmänhet inte har nått sin fulla potential i form av strategiskt partnerskap och har stannat på projektnivå. Ett kritiskt steg för en framgångsrik övergång från projekt till långsiktig strategisk partnerskap är slutförandet av det första projektet, eftersom det måste skapa fart för efterföljande projekt att tilldelas. Denna studie föreslår en generell strategi, med fokus på detta kritiska steget. Efter att relationen mellan de två huvudpartnerna beställare och huvudentreprenör har förstärkts, är ytterligare integrering av leverantörskedja nödvändig. Därför måste ett nytt tänkesätt antas och fokus bör flyttas från tillfälliga relationer till att utveckla långsiktiga relationer. Vidare kommer de traditionella motstridiga relationerna att behöva ge vika för relationellt förtroende mellan aktörer som främjar samarbete. Att lossa kopplingarna på det tillfälliga projektnätverket och samtidigt dra åt kopplingarna på det permanenta nätet är viktigt. Slutligen, eftersom partnerskapssträvandena vinner på den mellanmänskliga nivån, bör huvudfokus flyttas från procedurer till att stärka mellanmänskliga relationer mellan de personer som representerar aktörerna i partnerskapet.

To remain competitive in today’s business environment, companies must continuously become more efficient and improve their business. This can be achieved through developing and streamlining a company's Supply Chain.   Bombardier Rail Control Solutions (RCS) has grown mainly through acquisitions, however, the acquisitions have not been integrated in a good way into their existing Supply Chain. This has result in a decentralized Supply Chain where RCS’s different sites are using different ERP systems. The consequence of this has led to an increased manual workload, a lack of visibility between sites and an inefficient Supply Chain.   The goal of this project has been to identify how Bombardier RCS can develop and streamline its Supply Chain by centralizing different parts of it, e.g. ERP systems and different processes. To achieve this, there has been a close collaboration with Bombardier through the project through interviews, meetings, discussions together with studying literature. In addition, presentations have been presented continuously to ensure that the results have followed Bombardier RCS’s goal. RCS’s historical data has also been analyzed.   Based on the above-mentioned methods, several problems have been solved and improvement areas have been identified. Issues that have been solved include centralizing master data and how to centralize processes at Bombardier RCS. Improvement areas include the benefits of centralizing Bombardier RCS Supply Chain and the advantages with a central warehouse. Bombardier RCS should also centralize their entire ERP system to enable global MRP calculations and so on. Furthermore, it has been identified that there is an improvement potential regarding Bombardier RCS's delivery performance, which can be solved by either integrating RCS’s Supply Chain or/and through keeping products on stock.   The conclusion is that Bombardier RCS should centralize their Supply Chain step by step since it is impossible to centralize everything at once. By centralizing the Supply Chain, this can reduce manual workload, create visibility between different sites, contribute to a better delivery performance and streamline the Supply Chain. By doing this, Bombardier RCS can get more competitive, which can contribute to a continued strong market position in the industry. / För att vara konkurrenskraftig i dagens företagsklimat måste företag ständigt förbättras och bli effektivare. Detta kan uppnås bland annat genom att utveckla och effektivisera ett företags värdekedja.   Bombardier Rail Control Soutions (RCS) har växt framförallt genom företagsförvärv, dock har förvärven inte integrerats på ett bra sätt in i den existerande värdekedjan. Detta har resulterat i en decentraliserad värdekedja där RCS:s olika arbetsplatser använder olika ERP system. Konsekvensen av detta har lett till en ökande manuell arbetsbelastning, brist på synlighet mellan siter och en ineffektiv värdekedja.   Målsättningen med det här projektet har varit att identifiera hur Bombardier RCS kan utveckla och effektivisera sin värdekedja genom att centralisera olika delar av den, exempelvis ERP system och olika processer. För att uppnå detta har ett nära samarbete med Bombardier genom projektet varit centralt med intervjuer, möten och diskussioner, tillsammans med en litteraturstudie. Dessutom har presentationer framförts kontinuerligt för att säkerställa att resultaten följt Bombardier RCS:s mål. RCS:s historiska data har också analyserats.   Utifrån ovannämnda metoder har flera problem löst och förbättringsområden har identifierats. Problem som har lösts är bland annat att centralisera RCS:s masterdata och hur man kan centralisera processer hos Bombardier RCS. Förbättringsområden är bland annat fördelarna med att centralisera Bombardier RCS:s värdekedja och vinsterna med ett centrallager. Bombardier RCS bör även centralisera deras ERP-system för att möjliggöra globala MRP-beräkningar och så vidare. Vidare har det identifierats att det finns en  förbättringspotential för Bombardier RCS:s leveransprecision som kan lösas dels med att integrera värdekedjan (med leverantörer) eller/och lagerlägga artiklar.   Slutsatsen är att Bombardier RCS bör centralisera sin värdekedja stegvis eftersom det är omöjligt att centralisera allt på en gång. Genom en centraliserad värdekedja kan det minimera den manuella arbetsbelastningen, skapa visibilitet mellan olika arbetsplatser, bidra till en bättre leveransprecision och effektivisera värdekedjan. Genom att göra detta kommer Bombardier RCS bli mer konkurrenskraftig, vilket kommer bidra till en fortsatt stark marknadsposition i branschen.