This diploma thesis is focused on marketing mix of a concrete company, which is operating in international environment. The thesis is divided into three main parts. The theoretical part describes basic concepts related to the topic. The analalytical part of the thesis focuses on the business environment of company Dieffenbacher CZ, assuming its future expansion to Russian market, while the results obtained are further summarized in SWOT analysis. The practical part offers proposals and recommendations from the perstective of marketing mix for successful entry of a selected engineering company to Russian market based on the findings from the complied analyses and theoretical concepts.

Die Konzeption und Durchführung komplexer und auf Innovation ausgerichteter Produktentwicklungsprojekte ist ein fester und wesentlicher Bestandteil des Curriculums im Studiengang M.A. Produktgestaltung an der Fakultät Gestaltung der HTW-Dresden. Praxisnah und in möglichst authentischen Entwicklungsumgebungen wird in Form eines Kooperationsprojekts eine konkrete Aufgabe für ein Unternehmen bearbeitet. Für die Unternehmen sind solche Projekte Teil ihrer mehr oder weniger bereits etablierten kollaborativen Wertschöpfungsnetzwerke. Im gegenteiligen Fall werden solche Modelle von unserer Seite her an die Unternehmen herangetragen und diskutiert. In der Regel entstehen an die Semesterzeiten gebundene und ergebnisoffene Machbarkeitsstudien. Die Studierenden erhalten im Gegenzug die Möglichkeit, ihr theoretisches Wissen ganz eng an der Wirklichkeit zu üben, entsprechende Erfahrungen zu sammeln und sich über solche Projekte für die spätere Berufspraxis zu empfehlen. Die Fakultät Gestaltung hat in diesem Sinne bereits mit einer Vielzahl von Kooperationspartnern zusammengearbeitet und sehr viel positive Erfahrung sammeln können Das Projekt mit dem Arbeitstitel \"Abkantmaschine für die Industrie 4.0\" wurde für die Bystronic AG in Gotha/Thüringen erarbeitet. Die Bystronic AG ist Tochter eines schweizer Unternehmens und stellt Laserstrahlschneid-, Wasserstrahlschneid- und Abkantmaschinen her. / The design and implementation of complex and geared to innovation product development projects is an integral and essential part of the curriculum in the course MA Product design at the Design Faculty of HTW Dresden. Practical and in authentic development environments a specific task is processed for a company in the form of a cooperation project. For companies, such projects are part of their more or less established collaborative value networks. In the opposite case, such models are brought and discussed by our side to companies. Usually caused bound to the semester dates and open-ended feasibility studies. The students receive in return the opportunity to practice their theoretical knowledge very closely to reality, to gain experience and to advise on such projects in their later professional applications and practice. The Faculty of Design has worked in this sense, with a number of partners and gained a lot of positive experience. The project with the working title \"pressbrake for industry 4.0\" has been developed for Bystronic AG in Gotha/Thuringia. The Bystronic AG is a subsidiary of a Swiss company and produces laser cutting and waterjet systems as well as pressbrakes.

This thesis project was conducted at Sandvik and builds on a previous project, also conducted at Sandvik by the same authors, during the autumn of 2019. The work is part of a newly established ambidextrous development team that is split into an innovation branch and an execution branch, with the goal to become a digital factory. A part of this thesis project is to conduct Research-to-Development (RTD) work for a future product possibility. However, the product being developed is dependent on underlying technology and infrastructure that the execution branch is simultaneously developing and establishing. Furthermore, the aim of the team is to improve Sandvik’s digital offering within the mining and construction industry which remains quite non-digitalised. The recent push for digital transformation within this industry is challenging large international companies to discover new ways of communicating advanced product ideas while working with product innovation, but also to identify and overcome organisational implementation obstacles and build lasting co-creation relationships with Business-to-Business (B2B) customers. Therefore, the purposes of this thesis were to: (1) find an optimal way of conducting RTD projects to develop product concepts that are validated with both customers and the organisation; (2) find ways of initiating and establishing a lasting co-creation relationship with B2B customers and to efficiently communicate product ideas and concepts that are dependent on underlying technology and infrastructure that have not been developed, implemented, or established yet; and (3) find a suitable way of collaborating within ambidextrous organisations when conducting RTD projects, and to clearly define the contents of a product handover. The results are based on literature, qualitative interviews with innovation experts and stakeholders, four separate user tests, and questionnaires. The findings were evaluated and improved by performing qualitative analysis and incorporating received stakeholder feedback, which led to the development of a framework for co-creation with B2B customers called the Temporary Innovation Space that can be applied to develop and validate product concepts with both customers and the internal organisation. It also addresses how to build a lasting co-creation relationship with B2B customers. Additionally, a part of the results clearly defines the contents of a product handover in an ambidextrous setup. Finally, interesting reflections and observations regarding collaboration, communication, cross-functional integration, co-creative relationships, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more are discussed, and a few suggestions for further research are presented. / Det här arbetet utfördes på Sandvik och baseras på ett tidigare projekt som också utfördes på Sandvik av examensarbetets författare under hösten 2019. Arbetet är en del av ett nyligen etablerat och ambidextriöst utvecklingsteam som är uppdelat i en innovationsdel och en exekveringsdel med målet att bli en digital fabrik. En del av detta arbete inkluderar att utföra forskningsarbete till utvecklingen av en framtida produktmöjlighet (Research-To-Development, RTD). Samtidigt så är produkten som utvecklas beroende av underliggande teknologi och infrastruktur som inte ännu har utvecklats eller etablerats av exekveringsbenet. Fortsättningsvis så är teamets mål att förbättra Sandviks digitala produkturval inom gruvindustrin vars digitalisering fortfarande är i ett relativt tidigt stadium. De kliv som gruvindustrin nyligen har tagit mot digital transformation utmanar dessa stora företag att upptäcka nya sätt att kommunicera avancerade produktidéer, men även att identifiera och överkomma organisatoriska implementeringshinder och bygga upp varaktiga samarbeten med Business-to-Business-kunder (B2B). Arbetets syften var att; (1) hitta ett optimalt sätt att utföra forskningsarbeten för utveckling av produktkoncept som är validerade hos både kunder och organisationen; (2) hitta sätt att initiera och etablera varaktiga samarbeten med B2B-kunder och metoder för att effektivt kommunicera produktidéer som är beroende av underliggande teknologi och infrastruktur som ännu inte har utvecklats, implementerats eller etablerats; och (3) hitta ett lämpligt sätt att kollaborera inom en ambidextriös organisation medans RTD-projekt utförs och att tydligt definiera innehållet i en produktöverlämning. Resultaten är baserade på litteraturstudier, kvalitativa intervjuer med innovationsexperter och andra intressenter, fyra tester med slutanvändare, och frågeformulär. Resultaten utvärderades och förbättrades genom att utföra kvalitativ analys och genom att inkludera återkoppling från intressenter. Utifrån detta utvecklades ett ramverk för samskapande, kallat Temporary Innovation Space, som kan appliceras för utveckling och validering av produktkoncept med både kunder och den interna organisationen. Ramverket kan även användas för att etablera varaktiga förhållanden med B2Bkunder. Dessutom föreslår resultaten från detta projekt vad en produktöverlämning bör innehålla i ett ambidextriöst team. Slutligen diskuteras även intressanta observationer angående kollaboration, kommunikation, tvärfunktionell integration, samskapande samarbeten, effekterna av COVID-19 pandemin, med mera. Avslutningsvis ges flera förslag för framtida forskning.

Design Thinking (designtänkande) är ett kundfokuserat förhållningssätt som används för att stödja innovation. Sedan starten har designtänkandet utvecklats från ett rättframt sätt att lösa tekniska designproblem till en komplex paraplykonstruktion för innovation och förhållningssättet har genom åren blivit ett allmänt accepterat och målinriktat tillvägagångssätt för effektiv produktutveckling. Flera av de praktiska användningsfallen som finns tillgängliga om designtänkande i forskning hänvisar till ett enskilt fall för att lösa specifika problem eller dess tillämpning i business-tocustomer företag. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att kritiskt undersöka hur designtänkande kunde implementeras i ett business-to-business (B2B)-företag med välutvecklade produktutvecklingsprocesser för att balansera kundfokus med produkt strategi. För att förstå effekterna av designtänkande i sådana företag undersöktes hinder som förhindrar designtänkandets implementering och möjligheterna med att införa det med hjälp av en fallstudie på Mycronic AB-kontoret i Täby, Sverige. Materialet i studien samlades in genom interna och externa kvalitativa intervjuer. Resultaten från intervjuerna användes för att föreslå ett ramverk och ett pilotprogram för att stödja Mycronic att införa principer för designtänkande i sin befintliga PDP. Målet med ramverket är att skapa förutsättningar för ett B2B-företag att anpassa sin produktutvecklingsprocess till designprinciper för att bättre förstå slutkundernas explicita och outtalade behov och behoven hos interna intressenter samt för att öka förmågan att identifiera rätt initiativ i ett tidigt skede av ett projekt. / Design Thinking (DT) is a customer centric approach for managing innovation. Since its inception, design thinking has evolved from a straight forward approach to solve engineering design problems into a complex umbrella construct for innovation and has over the years been widely accepted as a goal-oriented approach for effective product development. Several of the practical use cases available in the existing design thinking discourse refer to oneoff case for solving specific problems or its application in a business-to-customer set-up. Thepurpose of this master thesis was to critically examine how design thinking could be implementedin a business to business (B2B) company with well-developed product development processes(PDP) to balance customer centricity with product strategy. To understand the impact of design thinking in such companies, barriers preventing design thinking's implementation and the opportunities enabling its implementation were explored using a single case study approach at Mycronic AB office at Täby, Sweden. The material for the case study was gathered through internal and external qualitative interviews. The results from these interviews were used to propose a framework and pilot programs that would facilitate Mycronic to introduce design thinking principles to its existing product development process. The goal of the framework is to empowera business-to-business company with well-developed product development processes to adapt design thinking principles so as to increase their understanding of end customers' spoken and unspoken needs, recognize the needs of internal stakeholders, and improve their ability to secure the right initiatives in the early phase of a project.

A vast range of controls/countermeasures exists for implementing security on information systems connected to the Internet. For the practitioner attempting to implement an integrated solution between trading partners operating across the Internet, this has serious implications in respect of interoperability between the security systems of the trading partners. The problem is exacerbated by the range of specification options within each control. This research is an attempt to find a set of relevant controls and specifications towards a framework for ensuring optimal interoperability between trading partners in this context. Since a policy-based, layered approach is advocated, which allows each trading partner to address localized risks independently, no exhaustive risk analysis is attempted. The focus is on infrastructure that is simultaneously optimally secure and provides optimal interoperability. It should also be scalable, allowing for additional security controls to be added whenever deemed necessary. / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Arivia.kom was formed out of a merger of the information technology (IT) departments of Eskom, Transnet and Denel. The aim was to address skilled staff losses and to achieve economies of scale. Agreements were drafted ensuring arivia.kom business patronage for a period of five years. Arivia.kom's commencement was accompanied by problems, affecting its customers to the extent that they indicated dissatisfaction with performance. This study established the extent of those problems, and the reasons for their occurrence. A market analysis was conducted with specific focus on customer and competitor analysis. An investigation was conducted into the quality of service, overall customer impression of the organisation since its inception, as well as performance against competitors. The major findings indicated that performance problems were not isolated incidents but consistent across the organisation. These problems stemmed from poor organisational design, poorly evolved organisational culture, unclear positioning and poor competitor and customer intelligence capability. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att genom en flerfallsstudie analysera och söka förståelse för sambanden mellan prissättningsstrategier och prissättningsmetoder som tillämpas hos företag som riktar sin verksamhet främst mot andra företag, B2B. Analysen av empirin sker med hjälp av redan existerande teorier om prisstrategier och prissättningsmetoder. Trots studiens fokus på ett visst företag inom en viss bransch är ändå förhoppningen att studiens slutsatser ska kunna vara av intresse för B2B-företag med samma kostnadsstrukturer. Metod: Ramen för studien utgörs av en deduktiv ansats med kvalitativ undersökningsdesign. Företagen i studien har studerats genom en flerfallsstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod för att insamla data. Teoretisk referensram: Uppsatsens teoretiska del innefattar teorier från företagsekonomisk forskning som förklarar vanliga prisstrategier, prissättningsmetoder och dess funktioner. Begreppen Price Waterfall och Strategic Fit har behandlats för att i analysen kunna se hur väl företagens övriga aktiviteter integrerar med prissättningsprocessen. Slutsats: Målet med denna studie är att besvara frågeställningen: Vilka samband finns det mellan prissättningsstrategier och prissättningsmetoder inom B2B-fötetag? Resultatet visar att det finns tydliga samband på flera områden. Det finns flera slutsatser att dra av denna studie, men den viktigaste slutsatsen är: För att vinstmaximera sina prisstrategier måste man hitta samband med flera olika prissättningsmetoder och arbeta med dessa på ett aktivt sätt i hela organisationen / Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and seek knowledge about the connection between pricing strategy and pricing methods in B2B companies. The analysis was conducted with help from already exciting theory about pricing strategy and pricing methods. Even though the study is conducted on a small amount of companies in a special branch, the ambition is that this thesis could be of interest for B2B-companies with the same structures of cost. Method: The thesis uses a deductive and qualitative approach. The data is collected from a case study conducted through semi-structured interviews. Theoretical framework: The base of the theoretical approach is a number of theories from business and specialist literature that have explained common pricing strategy and pricing methods. The concept of Price Waterfall and Strategic Fit is used to analyze how the companies’ activities integrate with the pricing process. Conclusion: The purpose of this study is to answer the question: What is the relationship between pricing strategies and pricing practices in B2B companies? The result shows that there are clear links in several areas. There are several conclusions to draw from this study, but the main conclusion is that to maximize profits the pricing strategies must be associated with several different pricing methods and work with them in an active way in the whole organization

台灣加入WTO後，各產業面臨全球化之激烈競爭，而國內流通業者如何在連鎖化、大型化、多樣化、差異化的趨勢中，善用高科技，創新經營模式，提升競爭力，已是刻不容緩的課題。台灣流通業者，規模小，數量多，e化人才不足，因此政府在這方面之協助，更顯重要性。 商業司自民國90年起推動「商業e化輔導推動計畫」至民國93年止已輔導了127個體系，共由127家受輔導廠商及其帶動上線企業26,641家接受政府補助進行各項B2B需求鏈的e化應用，如電子採購(e-Procurement)、電子帳務處理(e-Payment)、企業資源規劃(Enterprise Resource Planning)、協同規劃/預測/補貨系統(Collaborative Planning， Forecasting & Replenishment)等。 為了暸解其效益，本研究就民國93年年度接受政府輔導的11個行業別，42個體系，42家受輔導廠商及5,697家帶動上線企業進行問卷普查，及個案訪談加上專家意見，進行方式與步驟如下： 1. 針對帶動上線企業之問卷調查與分析，暸解其持續上線狀況，e化效益，e化交易金額比重，e化困難點，e化滿意度並給予企業提出相關建議等。 2. 依據帶動上線企業各項問卷普查及意見彙整後，再提供受輔導廠商予以回覆，並了解關鍵性績效指標之改善或提升程度。 3. 針對回卷率特別偏低或高，或無持續上線率偏高，或持續上線率高，之受輔導廠商進行深度個案訪談。 4. 佐以商業司主辦的各項會議之專家意見 本研究綜合上述各項調查、個案訪談、意見彙總，除瞭解政府商業e化推動措施對流通業及物流業之效益外，亦針對政府、流通業及資服業提出建議，希望能在產官學研的共同努力下，利用e化提升我國流通業之競爭力。 / Industries in Taiwan have been facing severe competition in the global marketplace since Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). E-Commerce is touted as the necessary technology and management innovation for the retailing industry in Taiwan to improve its productivity and competitiveness. Since most retailers in Taiwan are small and medium firms, they frequently lack sufficient resource to implement E-Commerce. Consequently, government must provide the retailers with necessary support and guidance to upgrade their E-Commerce practices. The Department of Commerce (DOC) in Taiwan has been actively assisting the retailers with their e-commerce implementation. Between 2001 and 2004, DOC embarked on the “E-Commerce Promotion and Assistance Plan” and successfully established 127 E-Commerce systems, sponsored 127 firms who subsequently involved 26,641 affiliated firms downstream to implement various B2B programs, including e-Procurement, e-Payment, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment (CPFR). The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of DOC’s current E-Commerce policy for supporting the retailers in Taiwan. To collect necessary information, this study surveyed 42 systems, 42 sponsored firms and 5,697 affiliated firms, visited several individual retailers, and interviewed a few industry experts. The following is the research procedure followed by this study. 1. Based on the completed questionnaires from the affiliated firms, this study analyzed and studied the progress, effectiveness, sales contribution, difficulties, and satisfaction of their E-Commerce implementation. Accordingly, several suggestions for improvement were proposed. 2. The feedback from the affiliated firms was provided to those sponsored firms for adjusting their future E-Commerce strategies. 3. Identified several sponsored firms who had either low or high usage of the established E-Commerce programs and conducted in-depth interviews to understand the success and failure of the implementation. 4. Solicited expert opinions from a few DOC-sponsored meetings. With valuable information collected from the above sources, this study intends to shed light in the effectiveness of the government’s current E-Commerce policy. Additionally, this study hopes to provide suggestions to the government, the retailing industry, and the IT industry for improving the practice of E-Commerce and ultimately the global competitiveness of the retailing industry in Taiwan.

由於全球化的浪潮，將市場競爭帶向新的局面，企業不再只尋求短期 的利潤，更傾向與他們的外部競爭者以及內部人員維持長期的合作關係， 以替企業帶來更大利益，這種共生共存的關係，亦即夥伴關係。已有許多 研究發現，發展夥伴關係能為企業帶來益處，學者也找出建立夥伴關係和 夥伴關係演化過程中的關鍵成功因素，或者針對形成夥伴關係的結合力進 行研究，然而，很少有學者提及如何管理夥伴關係，本研究以此觀點出發， 目的在找出供應商夥伴關係管理的重要因素並提出實踐的執行項目，以供 企業評估並改進其供應商夥伴關係管理的流程，另外提出夥伴關係度量 (Partner Relationship Metrics)之概念，讓企業據此分數來選擇供應商夥伴。 本研究首先由17 篇關於夥伴關係的文獻中找出18 個夥伴關係的關鍵 成功因素(Critical Success Factor, CSF)，並在每一關鍵成功因素下，定義若 干個關鍵執行項目(Key Practice Items, KPI)。這些關鍵執行項目都代表著供 應商合作關係中執行的行動，以關鍵成功因素及文獻中學者所提的關鍵結 合力(Bond)形成訪談內容，採取企業訪談法挑選台灣資訊電子製造業供應 鏈中分別屬於零組件供應商、加工製造者以及系統組裝商的六家企業進行 訪談。研究結果顯示，六家企業都認為順應性(Adapatibility)、信任(Trust)、 參與度(Participation)是重要的因素，另外也發現，訪談對象依其企業規模、 屬於買方或賣方市場等因素乃訪談結果有差異的原因之一。 關鍵字：B2B、供應商夥伴關係、關鍵成功因素、夥伴關係度量 / Over the past few years, companies have faced increasing challenges in their relationships with external competitors as well as internal employees. Recent years, managers tend to build a long term, ongoing relationships which are called partnerships. Researches have found that developing partnerships can contribute to the profit of a company and reduce the risk. Some researchers focused on the factors of the successful partnership; others on the bonds between partners. However, studies is lacking on how to manage a partnership. The purpose of this project is to find factors that make a successful supplier partnership and propose some key practice items (KPI) as well. Furthermore, we define partner relationship metrics (PRM) by combing bonds and success factors of partnership to help managers evaluate their supplier partners. This project is based on partnership literatures and business interviews. First, we chose 18 critical success factors (CSF) of the partnership from 17 literatures. Then, we surveyed 6 businesses of Taiwan Information & Electronic Industry and divided them into 3 categories to get the empirical data. We found all companies agree that Adaptability, Trust and Participation are the top 3 important factors in managing their supplier partner relationships. In addition, we discovered that the size of the companies and the one who holds the power in the supplier-buyer relationship influence the research results. Key words: B2B, supplier partner relationship, critical success factor (CSF), partner relationship metrics (PRM)

In recent years, the train's punctuality, Sweden's ranking in the European Railway Performance Index and the train industry's customer satisfaction have decreased. The largest and most influential players in the train industry are Trafikverket and SJ AB, which are two state-owned organizations. The low customer satisfaction in the train industry is based on SJ AB’s failure to deliver the latest traffic information in case of delay. Since Trafikverket manages the majority of the railway network and SJ AB is Sweden's largest train operator, there is a high degree of mutual dependence between them in order for each organization to be able to conduct its business. At present, there is a clear division of responsibility between these actors regarding how and where the traffic information is distributed. Where the Trafikverket is responsible for conveying all information on its website and on the signs while SJ AB is responsible for conveying information on its website and in its application, as well as via textmessage and mail communication. The processes for communication between the actors regarding delays, track changes and other changes in the journey are done manually with digital tools as support. Today, several uncertainties are experienced in these processes, based on the fact that traffic control at SJ AB currently does not receive any confirmation from Trafikverket if any changes have been made. Due to these factors, this study will investigate the flow of information between SJ traffic control and the Trafikverket’s train services. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to identify existing communications, more specifically information flows of traffic data, between the organizations and their passengers, along with identifying possible improvements in the information flows through digitization. The thesis also explores the change opportunities for a department with many manual processes. The study was conducted with a multi-method structure consisting of a literature study, observation study, questionnaire study, interview study and benchmarking. During the observation, questionnaire and interview study, the focus was on employees at SJ traffic control and other relevant departments at SJ AB and the benchmarking was conducted through external interviews. This led to the identification of the main reasons of mismanagement of traffic information and best practices. This was later analyzed with the help of collected theory, which then led to discussion, conclusion and recommendations to SJ AB. It’s obvious that traffic information has low status within SJ AB as well as the interorganizational alliance. This has hampered the development of internal processes related to managing traffic information and therefore the processes lack standardized procedures and structured routines. The main reasons of mismanagement of traffic information depend on the human factor and specific individuals. This is based on the fact that it was clear that both traffic controls perceived the received traffic information difficult to interpret and unstructured, this depending on who sent the information. This due to the fact that the individuals use varying expressions and internal technical language. To be able to improve and in the future automate the information flows between the actors a standardized working procedure with associated technical language is required in the industry. To establish a technical language, the status of the traffic information must be increased within the organizations and a dictionary for which expressions should be used, where all used expressions are listed and defined. Additionally, a clearer goal of the alliance is required.