<p> </p> <p><em>This study examines data-driven contract design in the small data regime and large data regime respectively, and the implications from contract pricing in the pharmaceutical supply chain. </em></p>

The road freight transport industry is facing radical changes that have the potential to fundamentally change the industry and pressure actors to embrace sustainability throughout their operations and implement technology in the broadest sense. The road transport industry is permeated by the use of fossil fuels and accounts for a significant part of the total CO2 emissions in the world. The entire industry is facing a fossil-free transition to reach the global environmental initiatives that countries have undertaken. At the same time as the industry is phasing out fossil fuels and using more sustainable fuels, the literature has a coherent view that transported goods are expected to increase significantly, and the imprint of the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly affecting the industry with shortages of drivers and more vulnerable supply chains. This study has aimed to identify changes that affect the road freight transport industry in the short term (0-5 years) and the long term (5-20 years) with a focus on Europe. Furthermore, the study has applied the results of the study to a framework of future scenarios that previous research has contributed with, in collaboration with over 50 industry experts from the transport industry, to evaluate the impact of the changes concerning the expected futures that the research has resulted in. The study has applied literature search, a document study, and interviews with actors from the industry to collect relevant data and has resulted in most of the identified changes that the road transport industry is expected to be affected by in the short and long term.  The changes have been divided into three levels: ecosystem, business, and technology. The macro factors that affect the industry are increased regionalization and urbanization, increased customer requirements and consumption, and extensive introduction of laws and regulations concerning environmental impact and technology. Furthermore, the business changes are increased operational costs, the establishment of partnerships and alliances, circularity, and lack of staff. The technical factors consist of AI, IoT, and new more sustainable fuels. The primary effects include increased local production of goods that contribute to shorter transport distances but more transport, fossil-free transport with mainly electricity and hydrogen as fuel and thus new establishments of electricity and hydrogen infrastructure, many global initiatives to achieve sustainability, extensive application of technologies to streamline supply chains as well as more comprehensive rules and requirements regarding new unexplored technologies. Furthermore, future scenarios have been applied to evaluate the possible impact on the industry, which is visualized in figure 14. Suggestions for further research in the field are changes in the industry that take place but which this work has not addressed as it is not perceived as having significant effects on the road transport industry, such as increased deliveries of fresh goods, 3D printing, multimodal transport, and an older population and thus increased shipments of medical devices. / Vägtransportbranschen står inför radikala förändringar med potential att förändra industrin fundamentalt och pressar aktörerna till att anamma hållbarhet genomgående i sina operationer och implementera teknologi i vid bemärkelse. Vägtransportbranschen genomsyras av användning av fossila bränslen och står för en väsentlig del av de totala CO2 utsläppen i världen. Hela industrin står inför en fossilfri omställning för att nå upp till de globala initiativen som länder åtagit sig att genomföra i ett försök att bromsa den negativa klimatpåverkan som utsläpp leder till. Samtidigt som branschen ska fasa ut fossila bränslen och använda hållbarare drivmedel påstår litteraturen att transporterat gods ökar markant och COVID-19 pandemins avtryck påverkar i allt större utsträckning med brist på chaufförer och sårbarare försörjningskedjor. Denna studie har syftat till att identifiera förändringar som påverkar vägtransportindustrin på kort sikt (0–5 år) samt på lång sikt (5–20 år) med fokus på Europa. Vidare har studien tillämpat resultaten på ett ramverk av framtida scenarion som tidigare forskning bidragit med i samarbete med över 50 industriexperter för att utvärdera förändringarnas påverkan med avseende på de möjliga framtiderna som forskningen resulterat i. Studien har tillämpat litteratursökning, dokumentstudie samt intervjuer med aktörer från vägtransportindustrin i syfte att samla relevant data och har resulterat i flertalet identifierade förändringar som vägtransportbranschen förväntas påverkas av på kort och lång sikt.  Förändringarna har uppdelats i tre nivåer; ekosystemets, affärsmässiga samt tekniska. De makrofaktorer som påverkar industrin är ökad regionalisering och urbanisering, ökade kundkrav och konsumtion samt införande av lagar och regler. Vidare är de affärsmässiga förändringarna etableringar av partnerskap och allianser, cirkularitet och brist på personal. De tekniska faktorerna består av AI, IoT och nya hållbarare drivmedel. De primära effekterna innefattar ökad lokal tillverkning av varor som bidrar till kortare transportsträckor men fler transporter, fossilfria transporter med främst elektricitet och vätgas som drivmedel och därmed nyetableringar av el- och vätgasinfrastruktur, många globala initiativ för att uppnå hållbarhet, omfattande tillämpning av teknologier för att effektivisera försörjningskedjorna samt mer omfattande regler och krav gällande nya outforskade teknologier. Vidare så har framtida scenarios tillämpats för att utvärdera möjlig påverkan på industrin, detta är visualiserat i figur 14. Förslag på fortsatt forskning inom området är förändringar i industrin som sker men som detta arbete inte behandlat då det inte uppfattats som att de ger väsentliga effekter på vägtransportbranschen, exempelvis ökade leveranser av färska varor, 3D-printing, multimodala transporter samt en äldre befolkning och därmed ökade transporter av medicinska hjälpmedel.

This thesis examines the challenges faced by businesses in implementing sustainable governance policies, particularly in the context of the reconfiguration of global supply chains and the politicization of corporations. The European Union's efforts to establish unified sustainable due diligence regulations for supply chains are analyzed using Multi-level Perspective theory and Institutional Theory. Through a case study approach, this thesis focused on the development process of Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive, which will be a significant legal framework in the future European market from 2026. The empirical analysis draws on various sources, including semi-structured interviews, media press releases, and official EU document, using Critical Discourse Analysis to analyze the texts. The results highlight the dynamic factors influencing the development of these regulations and shed light on the challenges and opportunities faced by Swedish companies. Large enterprises generally support due diligence regulations to maintain competitiveness, while small and medium-sized enterprises exhibit a more conservative attitude due to potential additional costs. Government attitudes and support are crucial in driving the implementation of Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive. Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in implementing sustainable supply chain practices and emphasizes the importance of government involvement in promoting such initiatives.

<p dir="ltr">The transportation industry is undergoing a significant transformation with the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). This transition has spurred the development of innovative methodologies aimed at addressing operational challenges and optimizing infrastructure planning for EV mobility. However, the availability of comprehensive EV trajectory datasets remains limited, leading to potentially biased solutions. Moreover, persistent consumer concerns such as range anxiety and inadequate charging infrastructure hinder widespread EV adoption. Therefore, to accelerate the adoption of EVs and improve the efficiency of electrified mobility operations, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive framework that encompasses dataset preparation, system performance evaluation, and the development of EV operational strategies.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation endeavors to advance the field of energy-efficient EV mobility systems through a comprehensive approach integrating data analysis, machine learning & reinforcement learning techniques, and optimization methodologies. Initially, a framework is proposed to overcome the challenge of limited and unreliable EV trajectory datasets by accurately detecting and generating EV trips from mixed vehicle trajectory datasets. Subsequently, the study investigates the impact of EVs on existing mobility systems, particularly within the ride-hailing systems where EVs play a significant role. The analysis includes consideration of taxi drivers' charging costs in queueing models to reveal the influence of electricity rates on system performance, such as driver supply and passenger demand. Additionally, practical algorithms are developed to optimize EV efficiency operations, including energy consumption estimation, energy-efficient routing, and charging control strategies. Specifically, this dissertation analyzes correlations between EV energy consumption and various factors to devise prediction intervals that accommodate uncertainties in road-level energy consumption estimation. Besides, a novel model for EV online energy-efficient routing is proposed, facilitating the identification of minimal expected energy consumption paths for multiple origin-destination pairs simultaneously. These algorithms, augmented with a path elimination mechanism and variance-covariance information, exhibit superior performance compared to traditional methods, significantly reducing energy consumption and enhancing overall operational efficiency. Finally, a framework for EV charging control recommendation is designed under a power-sharing strategy, considering multiple objectives, such as charging time & costs and the pressure on the power grid.</p><p dir="ltr">The methodologies and insights presented in this dissertation advance the understanding and implementation of energy-efficient EV operations and lay the scientific foundations of a more sustainable and efficient EV mobility system. Furthermore, this dissertation offers valuable guidance for policymakers, urban planners, and industry stakeholders in developing more efficient and environmentally friendly transportation networks.</p><p><br></p>

Due to its environmental attributes, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a clean fossil fuel source of energy has witnessed a steady increase in demand worldwide over the last decade. This increase is mainly attributed to higher demand from the power generation sector as well as from domestic and industrial usages .This growing role of LNG among competing energy sources has raised concerns over the safety and security of the LNG chain of production, transport and distribution and its related infrastructure. Within this context, LNG ports and marine terminals, being strategically located at the midstream of the LNG Supply Chain (SC), are further exposed to safety and security risks and represent credible targets for international terrorism. Ensuring uninterrupted, robust and resilient LNG SC requires first, adequate management of safety and security risks in LNG ports and marine terminals. While each discipline of risk, be it safety or security, has received significant attention both in theory and practice, less attention was given to the management of interfaces and shared impacts among LNG Ports safety and security risks which led to the existence of gaps in the risk management (RM) systems of LNG ports and may represent a major source of risk and disruption to LNG ports. This research addresses such gaps which are poorly addressed in the current literature and proposes a holistic and integrated approach to the issues of LNG ports safety and security risks assessment and management. It also aims to model safety and security RM from a SC perspective and examines the relationships and shared impacts among LNG ports safety and security risks in the present context of increased LNG demand worldwide in the post 9/11 terrorism era. A unique combination of multiple methods within port and maritime SCs, including a Delphi survey, quantitative survey, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and a focus group expert consultation, is applied to reformulate the prevailing RM approach marked by dichotomy and a disciplinary silo and to propose a more enhanced and holistic approach to safety and security RM. The results of the study confirm that an integrated and holistic approach to the issue of RM in LNG ports and marine terminals is necessary to cost-effectively address safety and security risks and ensure reliable and resilient LNG SCs. Furthermore, a practical framework, in the form of a conceptual model, for LNG ports risks and emergencies management is proposed which integrates all facets of safety and security risks and emergencies management, including risk prevention, mitigation, emergency planning and response and port business continuity. The proposed conceptual model shows how the proposed RM approach can be practically applied in the context of LNG ports in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as in any LNG port worldwide which lacks an integrated approach to risks and emergencies management.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been classified as one of the phenomena that belongs to the current top threats to human health. AMR is the process where bacteria become resistant to the antimicrobial drug and renders the antibiotic ineffective. This phenomenon is increasing exponentially due to misuse and overuse of antibiotics and is responsible for 700,000 annual deaths globally. If the contributing factors to AMR remain persistent, the estimated amount of annual deaths will increase to the exorbitant figure of 10 million by 2050. The inappropriate waste discharge from antibiotic manufacturing plants is the third major cause contributing to AMR. For this reason, environmental sustainability within the pharmaceutical industry is tightly linked to human health, and therefore, the importance of environmental risk management becomes crucial. Pharmaceutical supply chains are extremely complex, fragmented, and rigid due to the highly regulated environment and global distribution of the chains. Constant availability is sometimes compromised, and this leads to national shortages of antibiotics, which increase AMR. Therefore, supply chain sustainability risks (SCSRs) need to be thoroughly assessed and managed. The thesis aims to identify the sustainability risks that threaten the constant supply of antibiotics and further provide a comprehensive and sufficient framework on how to assess and manage SCSRs within the pharmaceutical industry. This research is based on the review of existing literature, followed by an empirical study that included a case study of two specific antibiotics relevant to the Swedish market. The analysis of publicly available databases, together with the qualitative interviews, revealed that the most susceptible node of the supply chain resides in the primary manufacturing stage. The most relevant SCSRs have been identified, and an adapted framework is suggested. The role of regulatory agencies has been demonstrated to be fundamental to achieve change concerning environmental progress. Further research needs to be implemented for the validation of the suggested framework within a practical context.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-03-17T17:19:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 00000FCF.pdf: 4976393 bytes, checksum: d11d477d62a9def9abce471a78a08dc8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-17T17:19:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 00000FCF.pdf: 4976393 bytes, checksum: d11d477d62a9def9abce471a78a08dc8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-21 / Nenhuma / O gerenciamento dos resíduos industriais tornou-se um tema estratégico nas empresas. O aumento da consciência ambiental por parte dos consumidores e das exigências legais tem levado as empresas a rever sua postura no que tange ao descarte dos seus resíduos industriais. A análise da competitividade das cadeias de suprimentos não pode se restringir apenas ao tradicional fluxo unidirecional de produtos. O canal reverso de resíduos também deve ser avaliado, visando fechar ciclos de reutilização de materiais ou destinar resíduos do processo produtivo para outras aplicações. Neste contexto, a indústria siderúrgica destaca-se pela sua capacidade de utilizar sucatas metálicas como matéria-prima e de gerar resíduos capazes de serem utilizados como matéria-prima em outros ramos industriais. O objetivo deste estudo é analisar o potencial de formação de cadeias ambientalmente sustentáveis por meio do reaproveitamento de resíduos industriais advindos da cadeia siderúrgica. Para tanto foram realizados dois estudos de caso. No primeiro foi avaliado como as relações entre sete empresas pertencentes a uma mesma cadeia de suprimentos podem contribuir para romper barreiras ou estimular o reuso de resíduos. No segundo estudo de caso foram avaliados quatro principais resíduos gerados por uma usina siderúrgica e as possibilidades e limitantes para sua utilização como matéria-prima em outras atividades econômicas. Os resultados demonstraram que a maioria dos relacionamentos visando a reutilização de resíduos tem natureza estritamente comercial, sendo o reuso acentuado quando o nível de dependência das empresas com relação ao resíduo é maior. Mesmo havendo um elevado grau de dependência, fatores externos podem inviabilizar a utilização de resíduos. O custo inviabiliza a instalação de novas operações industriais visando apenas a utilização de resíduos industriais como matéria-prima. Extrapolar a relação comercial das empresas para um caráter colaborativo pode auxiliar a atenuar estes fatores externos, quebrar barreiras e estimular o aumento na reutilização dos resíduos. Salienta-se, porém, a existência de oportunidades para a instalação de empresas ou cooperativas capazes de retrabalhar o resíduo siderúrgico visando sua utilização em outras aplicações. / The industrial waste management becomes a strategic issue in business. The increase of environmental awareness by consumers and the legal requirements has led companies to review their position regarding face the disposal of their industrial waste. A competitive analysis of supply chains can not be restricted to the traditional one-way flow of products. The reverse channel of wastes should also be evaluated, aiming to close the cycle for the reuse of materials or the use of industrial waste in other applications. In this context, the steel industry distinguished by its ability to use scrap metal as raw materials and generate industrial wastes capable of being used as raw material in other industrial sector. The objective of this study is to analyze the potential to establish an environmentally sustainable supply-chain through the reuse of industrial waste arising in the steel industry. To accomplish this, two case studies were conducted. In the first study was reported the relations between seven companies belonging to the same supply chain and discussed how these relations can help to break down barriers and encourage the reuse of waste. In the second case study were assessed four main waste generated by a steel mill, evaluating the possibilities and limits for the reuse of the waste as raw material in other economic activities. The results showed that most relationships order to reuse the waste is strictly commercial. The reuse increases when the companies levels’ of dependency for the waste is higher. Even with a high degree of dependence, external factors may prevent the use of waste. Extrapolate the business relation of the companies for a collaborative relationship can help to mitigate these external factors, break down the barriers and increase the reuse of waste. Cost prevents the installation of new industrial operations to only the use of industrial waste as raw material. However there are opportunities for the installation of companies or cooperatives able to rework the steel waste for use in other applications.

La chaîne logistique humanitaire (CLH) est essentielle pour assurer une réponse performante aux crises humanitaires. Les Organisations Humanitaires (OH) ont fait des efforts pendant les dernières décennies afin d'améliorer la réponse à la crise en termes d'efficience et d’efficacité. Tout de même, la performance est mise à l’épreuve dû au manque de fonds, et à l'augmentation des besoins humanitaires, le delta ne cessant pas de s’accroître. Les principaux donateurs exigent de plus en plus de transparence et de justification des dépenses. De plus, la pression de l’opinion publique et de la communauté internationale amène les OH à prendre en compte les enjeux du développement durable dans un futur proche. C'est dans ce contexte, et avec des études au terrain, qu'on a pu constater les difficultés pour intégrer le développent durable dans la prise de décision de la CLH. Le manque d'outils d'aide à la décision ainsi qu’une culture du développement durable spécifique à la CLH sont identifiés comme des freins pour améliorer la planification durable des opérations humanitaires. Le travail de recherche cherche à introduire la notion de développement durable dans la gestion des réseaux logistiques humanitaires. L'approche retenue est le développement d'un système d'aide à la décision basé sur la performance pour planifier les opérations de la CLH. Dans ce sens, trois directions de recherche ont été explorées : (a) Comment recueillir une connaissance exhaustive de la CLH pour la recherche terrain ainsi que pour développer des Systèmes d'Aide à la Décision adéquats ? La contribution proposée est une méthodologie pour la recherche terrain qui s’appuie sur un Meta-Modèle de la CLH. (b) Qu'est-ce que la durabilité signifie dans le contexte de CLH ? En base à une revue littéraire ainsi qu’aux recherches terrain, on a établi un cadre pour définir la performance durable d'une CLH. (c) Comment prendre des décisions durables au cours de la réponse humanitaire ? Cette contribution est basée sur un algorithme de Recherche Opérationnelle qui permet d'intégrer la performance durable dans la prise de décision avec une approche interactive. La thèse illustre les trois contributions avec des études de cas basées sur la CLH de la IFRC. / The Humanitarian supply Chain is a key element to enhance a performing response to humanitarian crisis. Because of the internal and external pressure, Humanitarian Organizations (HO) has done efforts during last decades to improve the crisis response in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. However, the performance is challenged by the increasing gap between funding and needs. The main donors ask for more transparency and accountability. Moreover, the pressure from the international community is pushing HO to integrate Sustainability challenges on a near future. Is in this context, and field research results, that the difficulties to consider sustainability on HSC decision-making. The lack of Decision Support Systems and a sustainability culture specific to the HSC have been identified as break to improve the planning of sustainable humanitarian operations. This research work seeks to introduce the sustainability notion to the management of the HSC. The approach followed is the development of a decision support system based on performance, to plan the HSC operations. Three research directions have been explored: (a) How to gather an exhaustive knowledge of a HSC, for both field research and development of DSS? The proposed contribution is a Meta-Model of the HSC, for field research porpoise and for developing adequate Decision Support Systems. (b) What sustainability means in HSC context? Based on a literature review and field research, a framework is established to define the HSC sustainable performance. (c) How to make sustainable decisions during humanitarian response? This contribution is based on an Operational Research Algorithm, which permits to integrate the sustainable performance on decision making with an interactive approach. The thesis illustrates the three contributions with use cases based on the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC).

Interferences to supply chains, regardless of whether they are regular, unplanned or intentional, are progressively distorting supply chain execution. Given that such disruptions are probably not going to diminish, for the time being, supply chain risk mitigating solutions will assume an undeniably critical part of the management of supply chains. This research acknowledges the existence of an extensive variety of approaches to mitigate risks across supply chains, yet argues that most methodologies may not be reasonable if the culture of an organisation does not support them. Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) has rapidly become of significance to the world economy. Though the supply of electrical energy in Southern Africa affects the economies of nations around the globe, it has received too little consideration from the literary community. The focus of this thesis is to expand the field of SCRM by analysing how different risk assessment and management concepts and practices are comprehended, construed and employed through the region. The majority of developed supply chain management and risk management models are currently entrenched in the US and Europe. Consequently, this research is of high significance since its essential aim was to investigate these concepts and models, in particular, one focused on Africa. This approach enabled the thesis to examine and test components related to SCRM, such as risk categories, risk assessment and risk strategies, in the electrical energy sector in South Africa. The study in this manner offers knowledge that was not otherwise accessible in earlier research. In pursuit of meeting the requirements of the research questions, the supply chain department in the electrical energy supplier was researched. This study adopted the non-probability sampling approach utilising the purposive sampling technique to choose the sampling components from the target population. Data was collected by way of conducting semi-structured interviews and researcher observation, as well as additional documentation in various forms was collected. Interviews were transcribed and evaluated in conjunction with additional data collected during meetings and triangulated using researcher observation. Data interpretation and codification thereof was done using ATLAS.ti 8 by which, twenty-five themes emerged from this study. Supply chain risks comprise value streams; information and affiliations; supply chain activities; and external situations. Among these, information and relationships risks were found to produce selfupgrading risk loops, thereby generating consequent risk impacts after disturbances. To mitigate these risks, the case firm must engage in local and international supply chain implemented strategies, such as building a stable supply chain network, leveraging supply chain information, leveraging outsourcing contracts and developing supply-chain risk collaboration partnerships, although the level of implementation depends on the business context. Among the ten identified themes, building a stable supply chain and developing supply chain collaboration strategies can be useful in strengthening both robustness and resilience in supply chain risk management. Customer orientation had positive impacts on all themes, but disruption orientation and quality orientation influenced only certain types of strategies. The study makes ten recommendations, which can be implemented by the case firm; the results of the interviews are evidence that all the tools are available. The thesis concludes with a summary of overall findings and areas for further research are also highlighted.

The research aim was to gain a more detailed understanding of the operation of different key segments for fresh produce supply chains originating in the Highlands Provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The research investigates a number of supply chain dimensions of effectiveness which include, value creation and integration of processes, logistics, quality, information, relationship/vertical integration and overall effectiveness. These were linked together in SC framework. Two potato chains were investigated, one formal, the other informal. The informal potato chain involves small holder farmers, input suppliers and local markets including kai bars and the urban market. The chain originates and ends within the Western Highlands Province. The formal potato chain has farmers, input suppliers, wholesaler/marker, transport companies (trucking and coastal shipping agents), supermarkets, hotels and kai bars. This chain originates in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province and ends in Port Moresby, National Capital District. The effectiveness of both the formal and informal chains was identified, and comparisons were made to see how each chain differed. The informal chain was found to have different problems to the formal chains. However, participants to both chains demonstrate a high entrepreneurial behavior. A key finding of the study was that the chains spread their risk by operating in multiple market segments and this can help to solve issues with variable quality. The marketers in each chain position themselves in these different market segments. It was clear from this work that focusing on functions and not the whole chain can lead to a distorted view of chain performance. For example, for the informal chain, a focus on logistics issues, particularly poor roads and problems with availability of seeds, can misrepresent the effectiveness of this chain. Therefore, it was concluded that it is important to look at the overall performance of each chain rather than looking specifically at particular chain functions in isolation.