The dynamic business environment has prompted the companies to improve their competitiveness in terms of manufacturing efficiencies by exploring faster, better and cheaper modes of product development. In this concern, different approaches are configured such as lean manufacturing, just in time and lead time reduction. The study focuses on a critical investigation into the reduction of Lead Time within discrete manufacturing in Kurdistan region of Iraq and the reasons behind this research, that area has evolved gradually as well as the government has an action plan for national recovery and development of reconstruction, where lead-time has become a major issue in manufacturing industry. Specifically, current research study aims at contributing to the strand by focusing on a critical investigation into the reduction of lead time within discrete manufacturing in Kurdistan region of Iraq, where lead-time has become a major issue in manufacturing industry. Mainly, the study has the goals of developing reliable techniques for reducing the lead time through application of assessment survey, capacity planning and key performance indicators in order to implement and control the manufacturing processes. The rationale behind the present study is consisted of economic development within the region, which has attracted a large number of foreign direct investments, but the expanded lead time is causing hurdles with the lack of a strategic plan for resolving the issue which has not keenly addressed in literature so current study would be beneficial for both the stakeholders such as researchers relying on literature and for practitioners as well. In order to conduct the analysis, current research applies the mixture of quantitative and qualitative research. Specifically, for quantitative analysis, a survey is conducted using questionnaires as data collection tool and SPSS analysis for exploring the cause and effect relationship. Mainly, the data are collected from eight Kurdistan based manufacturers. On the contrary, the qualitative analysis is conducted through the case studies. The development of a comprehensive conceptual framework has been applied for focusing on quick response manufacturing both at batch and mass production level. The framework is a contribution to academic knowledge. Through the outcomes of the study, specific factors which are explored to be the main causes of extension in lead time include ineffective forecasting for material requirements, capacity planning, inaccurate demand analysis, decreased resource efficiency and shipment delays. As the most effective solution to these issues, the findings explained that the lot for lot technique is much better than the fixed period requirements which are mostly used in the Iraq region. Moreover, just in time manufacturing strategy and closed loop capacity is also proven to be fruitful along with the splitting order tactic. It is concluded from the findings of this study that the basic issue lies with management in different areas like in human resource, quality, information acquiring, technological developments and operational efficiency. So, it is recommended to the practitioners to higher efficient management squad at the most basic level to eradicate the root cause of the lead time issue. This research will provide new simple strategies for reducing manufacturing lead-time because this is particularly important, as it can be used to provide guidance to industry practitioners on how to reduce manufacturing lead time.

In today’s competitive business world, companies require small lead times, low costs andhigh customer service levels to survive. Because of this, companies have become morecustomer focused . The result is that companies have been putting in significant effort toreduce their lead times.The purpose of this master thesis was to reduce lead time at BEAB etikett & system AB(BEAB) by focusing both on ordering and production times. In order to achieve this allprocesses from receiving an order to shipment of the order are mapped in a current statemap. Some changes based on the Toyota Production System (TPS) were implemented.The results were then mapped in a future state map.BEAB has more than 30 years experience of producing labels in different sizes andshapes. The products’ range varies from hanger labels on clothing to self adhesive labelsfor pallets. Due to globalization and stiff competition, the 8 days lead time at BEAB hasto be reduced so that they could maintain their customers, and even increase theircustomer base.It was found that the most appropriate mapping method for lead time reduction wasValue Stream Mapping (VSM). From the results achieved by VSM it was obvious thatthe press machines were bottlenecks. In order to increase their capacity, their change overtime should be reduced. Another observation derived from the VSM, was that a neworder passing through the ordering department is an unnecessary step. Some otherrecommended changes based on applying TPS are:• Reduction of work in process inventory (WIP)• Reduction of waiting time between press and converter• Stop the process to build in quality (this sounds awkward)• Collect more information• Implementation of the 5S methodologyBy implementing these changes, the future state map was created and the total lead timewas reduced from 8 days to 6 days. The production lead time reduced from 4.35 days to 4days. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate potential for and cost related impact of internal lead time reduction through coordination between materials supply and a production activity of customer-order-unique products. In order to achieve the purpose two questions are answered; 1. How can with respect to sourcing strategy, coordination between materials supply and production activity of customer-order-unique products be achieved? 2. How does a coordination affect cost items in related areas of the business? Method – Based on literature in the area of materials supply a theoretical framework for the study was established. The company JELD-WEN, an industrial manufacturer with customer-order-unique-production of fire- and safety-doors was used for a case study. Data collection was performed through interviews, observations and document studies. A comparison between the theoretical framework and empirical data generated the final results. Findings – Using a hybrid sourcing strategy, changes in materials supply through an internal call-off together with the materials feeding method kitting proves potential to reduce the internal lead time in the manufacturing process. An economic impact of such coordination with a production activity has been found for three cost items; handling cost (increase), administrative order cost (increase/decrease) and inventory carrying cost (increase/decrease). Implications – The study does not contribute to new theory in the field. Instead existing theory and relations defined in the theoretical framework have been verified by the case study. Internal lead time reduction identified in the study may be used in other ways than by the means of an improved customer offer. This can be done through sharing time to other time-exposed activities in the manufacturing process or as an additional safety time for finished products to secure company's delivery accuracy. Therefore, in a decision situation for change affected cost items should be assessed in contrast to the more indirect value of a lead time reduction. Limitations – Modifications of materials supply occurs in a context where conditions outside the unit of analysis plays a crucial role and thereby limits the possible usage of the potential lead time reduction. The study handles impact of cost items in a general direction (increase or decrease). Absolute terms contribute to more precise consequences and are probably necessary to support a company's final financial decision of using an alternative approach in materials supply.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3196.pdf: 1584882 bytes, checksum: e87305ed1643450b13fc00d6bac58c63 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-20 / The approach Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) has been proposed in the late ninety, and since then, has been successfully deployed in many companies, achieving promising results in reduction of lead time in environments with high product variety. This approach, although already established abroad, mainly in the United States, is poorly known in Brazil as not to have official records of its practice, thus providing a vast new area of research. From this context that this dissertation aims to explore and understand the general ways to reduce lead time based on QRM and propose a practical application of this approach. For this objective to be achieved, we sought, first, the comprehensive review of the literature concerning the reduction of lead time, describing the tools and principles to reduce lead time in the QRM approach and then propose to implement some of the principles and tools of QRM in the production area in a business of writing. This proposed implementation of QRM is analyzed and validated by simulations that visualize the interactions of variables from the factory floor and the effects of these variables in the percentage of use of sectors in the intermediate level of inventory (WIP) and lead time. It is hoped that the practical implementation of the proposals to reach a 55% reduction from the current level of WIP company and up to 77% in the average lead time of its products. Thus, this research contributes to the theory and practice in management of manufacturing systems, showing the importance of reducing lead time and the effects and benefits of implementing QRM in a Brazilian company. / A abordagem Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) foi proposta no final da década de noventa e, desde então, vem sendo implementada com sucesso em inúmeras empresas, atingindo promissores resultados na redução de lead time em ambientes com alta variedade de produtos. Essa abordagem, embora já estabelecida no exterior, principalmente nos Estados Unidos, ainda é pouco conhecida no Brasil a ponto de não possuir registros oficiais de sua aplicação prática, proporcionando, assim, uma nova e vasta área de pesquisa. A partir desse contexto que surge essa dissertação que tem como objetivo geral explorar e entender as formas para a redução de lead time com base no QRM e propor a aplicação prática dessa abordagem. Para que este objetivo fosse alcançado, buscou-se, primeiramente, a revisão integral da literatura a respeito de redução do lead time, descrevendo as ferramentas e os princípios para a redução de lead time na abordagem QRM; em seguida, propô-se a implementação de alguns dos princípios e ferramentas do QRM na área de produção em uma empresa de materiais de escrita. Essa proposta de implementação do QRM é analisada e validada por simulações que permitem visualizar as interações das variáveis do chão-de-fábrica e os efeitos dessas variáveis no percentual de utilização dos setores, no nível de estoque intermediário (WIP) e no lead time. Espera-se que a implementação na prática das propostas apresentadas atinja uma redução de 55% do nível atual de WIP da empresa e de até 77% no lead time médio de seus produtos. Dessa forma, essa pesquisa pretende contribuir com a teoria e a prática em gestão de sistemas de manufatura, mostrando a importância da redução do lead time e os efeitos e benefícios da implementação do QRM em uma empresa brasileira.

Denna rapport utreder möjligheterna till att reducera ledtiden, med en uppskattning av minst 10%, för plockprocessen på den utlevererande avdelningen som kallas den ”avgående avdelningen” hos EJOT Sverige AB i Örebro. Företaget vill i dagsläget skapa sig en tydlig helhetsbild av processen samt få underlag, för eventuell framtida implementering, i form av förbättringsförslag för en ledtidsreducering. Under arbetets gång beskrivs nuläget utifrån datainsamling, intervjuer och observationer, i kombination med ett spagettidiagram som presenteras. De möjliga rotorsakerna till problemen kartläggs genom att skapa ett fiskbensdiagram som sedan analyseras. Analyserna visar på att processen är komplex och därmed även problemen. Orsaker som valts för vidare analys är: layout, körslinga och placering av låga gods.  Tre förbättringsförslag har tagits fram utifrån analyserna och dessa handlar om att skapa en ny optimerad layout, en ny optimerad körslinga samt att eliminera placeringen av låga gods.  Det fortsatta arbetet bör vara att optimera en ny lagerlayout samt se över och standardisera en ny körslinga. Företaget bör också se över möjligheterna att eliminera placeringen av gods på markplan. / This report investigates the possibilities of reducing the lead time, with an estimate of at least 10%, for the picking process at the delivery unit called the “outgoing department” at EJOT Sverige AB in Örebro. The company currently wants to create an overall picture of the process and get a basis, for possible future implementation, in the form of improvement proposals for a lead time reduction. During the work, the current situation is described based on data collection, interviews and observations, in combination with a spaghetti diagram that is presented. The possible root causes of the problems are mapped by creating an Ishikawa diagram which is then analyzed. The analyses show that the process is complex and thus also the problems. Reasons chosen for further analysis are: layout, driving loop and placement of low goods. Three improvement proposals have been developed based on the analyses and these are about creating a new optimized layout, a new optimized driving loop and eliminating the placement of low goods. The continued work should be to optimize a new warehouse layout and review and standardize a new driving loop. The company should also review the possibilities of eliminating the placement of goods on the ground floor.

I den tillverkande industrin ställer idag kunder krav på korta leveranstider samtidigt som de tillverkande företagen ser tid som en begränsad resurs. Detta innebär att företag tvingas fokusera på att reducera ledtiden och däribland produktionsledtiden. Vid tillverkning av kundanpassade produkter finns inte möjligheten att hålla lager för att snabbt kunna besvara kunders efterfrågan och därför måste dessa företag sträva efter att effektivisera sina processer för att reducera ledtiden. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur ledtiden kan reduceras i ett produktionssystem för kundanpassade produkter. Två frågeställningar har upprättats för att uppfylla syftet: 1. Vilka möjliga orsaker finns till långa ledtider i ett produktionssystem som tillverkar kundanpassade produkter? 2. Hur kan långa ledtider reduceras i ett produktionssystem som tillverkar kundanpassade produkter? För att kunna besvara dessa två frågeställningar har författarna genomfört en fallstudie samt litteraturstudier. I fallstudien har observationer, intervjuer, dokumentstudier samt en följesedel använts för att samla in empiri. Empirin har strukturerats, bl.a. i en värdeflödeskarta, och sedan analyserats mot teori som tagits fram i de litteraturstudier som genomförts. I den analys författarna genomfört har hög nivå av PIA identifierats som huvudorsak till lång ledtid. Vidare har en djupare analys bidragit till att författarna kunnat utröna underliggande orsaker till uppbyggnaden av PIA, fem i fallstudien och fyra i litteraturstudierna. De underliggande orsakerna författarna identifierade både i fallstudien och i litteraturstudierna var varierande materialflöden, pushbaserad materialstyrning, flaskhals och partiformning. Den femte identifierade orsaken i fallstudien var prioriteringsregler. Författarna har sedan tagit fram lösningsalternativ för respektive orsak och därefter diskuterat vilka lösningsalternativ som bäst kunde tillämpas i det studerade produktionssystemet. De lösningsalternativ som valts för att eliminera respektive orsak är omläggning av materialflöden för att minska variationerna, implementering av CONWIP för huvudflödet genom produktionssystemet, eliminering av flaskhals genom att tillämpa ett extra skift för denna maskin, användning av FIFO som prioriteringsregel samt tillämpning av överlappning för batcher av höga kvantiteter. Genom att tillämpa dessa förändringar anser författarna att ledtiden i det studerade produktionssystemet kan reduceras. / In the manufacturing industry today, customers require short lead times at the same time that manufacturing companies consider time as a scarce resource. This means that companies are forced to focus on reducing lead time, including production lead time. When manufacturing customized products there is not possible to keep stock to quickly answer customer demand and therefore, these companies strive to streamline their processes to reduce lead time. The purpose of this study is to examine how the lead time can be reduced in a manufacturing system for customized products. Two issues have been established to answer the purpose of this study: 1. What are the possible reasons for long lead time in a manufacturing system that produces customized products? 2. How can long lead times in a manufacturing system that produces customized products be reduced? In order to answer these two questions, the authors conducted a case study and literature reviews. In the case study observations, interviews, document studies, and a delivery note have been used to collect empirical data. The empirical data have been structured, for example in a value stream map, and then analyzed on theory developed in the conducted literature studies. In the conducted analysis the authors identified a high level of WIP as the main cause of the long lead time. Furthermore, a deeper analysis contributed by the authors have been able to determine the underlying causes for the development of WIP, in the case study five causes were identified and in the literary studies four causes. The underlying causes identified by the authors in the case study as well as in the literature studies were material flow variation, push-based material handling, bottleneck and lot sizing. The fifth identified cause in the case study was priority rules. The authors then developed optional solutions for each cause and then discussed the different solutions that could be applied in the manufacturing system the authors studied. The chosen solution for eliminating each cause is reduce diversion of material flows to reduce variability, implementation of CONWIP for the main flow through the manufacturing system, eliminating the bottleneck by applying an extra shift for this machine, using the FIFO priority rule and the application of overlapping batches of high quantities. By applying these changes, the authors consider that the lead time in the studied manufacturing system can be reduced.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4714.pdf: 3301604 bytes, checksum: 9af8a72e777bb07cc110b09f14be0d8b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-29 / Project management is an ancient concept that has been studied since the 1950´s, in the cold war era, when major military projects were developed. Currently this area still has great relevance. This happens because companies can achieve their objectives of short, medium and long term through the implementation of projects. This may occur through exchange of equipment, technological change, expansion or modernization of facilities and development of new products to take advantage of opportunities identified in the market. Thus, it is vital that these projects are well managed, what can be achieved by using as main reference the PMBOK, since this guide is widely known both in the academic and professional environments. Then the time spent on project implementation can be a competitive advantage for the organization, so it is important to reduce the time needed to complete the project. So for this, the concepts and principles of QRM, which is a pragmatic approach aimed at reducing the lead time can be used. This approach is used not only on the shop-floor, but also in the administrative environment. The QRM promotes joint action with the other partners in the supply chain to reduce lead times once it become evident the holistic earned gains. From this context emerges the present work that aims to reduce the lead time in the life cycle of a project, through a proposal to integrate the QRM approach and modern project management given by the PMBOK guide. This proposal will be utilized in an illustrative case study on a project of the oil sector that is sensitive to the term. / Gerenciamento de projetos é um conceito antigo e que vem sendo estudado desde a década de 1950 no período da guerra fria, onde grandes projetos militares foram desenvolvidos. Atualmente, os projetos são vitais para as organizações, visto que, através destes, essas podem alcançar seus objetivos trocando equipamentos, alterando tecnologia, expandindo ou modernizando suas instalações e também para que sejam aproveitadas oportunidades identificadas no mercado. Dessa forma, é vital que esses projetos sejam bem gerenciados, o que pode ser auferido ao se utilizar como principal referência o PMBOK, uma vez que este é um guia amplamente conhecido tanto no ambiente acadêmico como profissional. Além disso, o prazo de implementação do projeto pode ser uma vantagem competitiva para a organização, sendo importante a redução do prazo necessário para conclusão do projeto. Para isso, utilizou-se a abordagem do QRM que visa a redução de lead time não somente no chão de fábrica, mas também no ambiente administrativo. Essa abordagem, o QRM, promove o engajamento dos outros parceiros da cadeia de abastecimento na redução de lead times, uma vez que fica evidente os ganhos holísticos auferidos por todos. A partir deste contexto, surge a presente dissertação que tem como objetivo o a redução de lead time no ciclo de vida de um projeto, através de uma proposta de integração da abordagem QRM e a moderna gestão de projetos dado pelo guia PMBOK. Esta proposta será utilizada em um estudo de caso ilustrativo em um projeto do setor de petróleo que é sensível ao prazo.

Att mäta hur effektivt aktiviteter och processer utförs för att lokalisera förbättringspunkter är både svårt och komplext på en utvecklingsavdelning. Förbättringsmöjligheterna står i relation till hur väl de anställda är benägna att förmedla upplevelser av processerna, vad som kunde gjorts annorlunda för att korta ned delprocesserna inom avdelningen men likväl tvärfunktionellt. Utförandet av examensarbetet har varit förankrat på Scania Tekniskt Centrums avdelning för transmissionsutveckling. Fokus har legat på att, genom kartläggning av provprocessen och dess aktiviteter utföra en fallstudie mellan tidigare utförd dokumentation och pågående ärende för att se om liknande problematik upprepas och på så vis pekar på att inga förbättringsåtgärder implementerats sedan föregående version växellådor. Genom att analysera orsaker som ligger till grund för att provobjekt inte utnyttjas effektivt, utvärderades om ett gemensamt arbetssätt saknades och om implementering avstandardiserade arbetssätt skulle kunna medföra minskade ledtider samt säkra att informationsflöden inte faller bort. En nulägeskartläggning utfördes genom intervjuer och observationer för att under bearbetning sedan analyseras och belysa hur tillvägagångssätt ilika aktiviteter mellan grupper skiljer sig. Resultatet av fallstudien blev grunden till att ett ramverk för hur definitioner i förhållande till provobjektets värdeskapande-, icke värdeskapande men nödvändiga- och icke värdeskapande aktiviteter skapades. Detta för att möjliggöra framtida mätbarhet av provobjektens effektiva utnyttjande då definitionen tidigare inte varit klar. Definitionerna står i relation till teorin om slöseri men är anpassad till provobjekten i samråd med Scaniaanställda. Av studien kunde författarna med hjälp av hängiven personal peka påbrister i och emellan provprocessens aktiviteter. / Measuring how efficiently activities and processes are performed to identify improvement pointsis both difficult and complex for a research and development department. The possibilities of improvement are related to how well the employees are inclined to convey experiences of the processes, what could have been done differently to shorten the sub-processes within the department but also cross-functional. The execution of the thesis project has been based at Scania Technical Center’s department for transmission development. The focus has been on, by mapping the test process and its activities, carrying out a case study between previously performed documentation and an ongoing case to see if similar problems are repeated and thus pointing out that no improvement have been implemented since the previous version of gearboxes. By analyzing causes that determine test objects not being used effectively, the authors evaluated whether a common work method was lacking and whether implementing standardized working methods could lead to reduced lead times and ensure that information would not disappear in the process. A current situation survey was carried out through interviews and observations in order to analyze and clarify during the processing how approaches in equal activities between groups differ. The result of the case study formed a framework to define the relations to the test objects value added-, non-value-added but necessary- and non-value-added activities. This is to enable future measurability of the test objects effective utilization when the definition has not previously been completed. The definitions are in relation to the theory of waste but are adapted to the test objects in consultation with Scania employees. From the study, the authors could, with the help of dedicated staff, point out deficiencies in and between the test process activities.

På grund av rådande livsmedelstrender har efterfrågan på premiumvaror, som ekologiska och kolhydratfattiga livsmedel, ökat. Trenderna sätter tryck på livsmedelsföretag att erbjuda ett brett utbud av produkter. Detta får till följd att behovet av effektiva försörjningskedjor ökar samtidigt som det bundna kapitalet behöver minskas för att få ökad lönsamhet. För att identifiera var slöserier som driver upp ledtiden finns i ett produktionsflöde, kan värdeflödesanalys användas. Genom användning av värdeflödesanalys kan värdeskapande tid ställas mot icke värdeskapande tid för att upptäcka moment som inte tillför värde för kunden utan endast driver upp kostnader. Analys av dessa moment kan leda till identifiering av möjligheter för reduktion av kapitalbindning i form av minskade nivåer av produkter i arbete och lager. Kapitalbindning kan även reduceras genom ABC-klassificering av artiklar. Syftet med detta kandidatexamensarbete är att undersöka reduktion av ledtider i Lantmännen Cerealias pastafabrik med hjälp av värdeflödesanalys. Utöver detta undersöks hur kapitalbindningen kan reduceras samtidigt som ledtidsreduktionen genomförs. Slutligen ABCklassificeras produkterna. Dels för att minska kapitalbindningen, dels för att underlätta vid fluktuationer i efterfrågan hos fabriken. Slutsatsen svarar på om det är möjligt att reducera ledtiden i fabriken samtidigt som en reduktion av kapitalbindning görs. Värdeflödesanalys visade sig vara ett bra verktyg för att identifiera eventuella slöserier och förbättringsmöjligheter i produktionen. Svårigheten med analysen i detta fall låg i att finna korrekta siffror till analysen eftersom data för detta mottogs i sin helhet och ej mättes upp i fabriken. ABC-klassificeringens valda parametrar visades lämpliga då uppdelningen blev tydlig. Denna tog hänsyn till problem både rörande efterfrågefluktuationer och kapitalbindning. Slutsatsen drogs att om lagerhållningen styrs enligt denna uppdelning kan kapitalbindningen minskas samtidigt som företaget enklare kan möta fluktuationer i efterfrågan. Den reducerade ledtiden som värdeflödesanalysen resulterade i, gav effekten att medel-PIAnivån i produktionen kunde minskas. Detta skulle kunna ske genom att minska mellanlagringstiden i silos. Möjlighet saknas att på kort sikt reducera medel-PIA-nivån till den kritiska volymen av PIA, dock leder den möjliga minskningen till en reduktion av kapitalbindning. Den viktigaste slutsatsen som dras är att reduktion av ledtid ofta har en positiv inverkan även på kapitalbindningen. I detta fall visade sig lagerhållning ha stor betydelse för reduktion av både ledtid och kapitalbindning. Att reducera lagringstiden i färdigvarulagret ger större effekt på kapitalbindningen än en reduktion av mellanlagringstiden i silos då produktens värde är större i detta skede / Due to the prevailing food trends, customers demand premium goods such as organic and low carb products in addition to simpler alternatives. The trends puts pressure on food businesses to offer a wide selection of products, which leads to an increasing need for efficient supply chains as well as decreases in capitalization. Value stream mapping is a tool used to identify wastes. These wastes increases lead times in a production flow. The results gathered from the analysis can be used to compare value adding time with non-value adding time, in order to discover processes that drives up expenses without adding value for customers. Detailed analysis of these processes can identify possible reductions in capitalization, through reduced levels of work in process and stock. Capitalization can also be reduced by ABC classification of products. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how value stream mapping can help reduce lead times at Lantmännen Cerealias pasta production plant in Järna. Reduction of capitalization through reducing the amount of work in progress and stock is also studied. Furthermore, the effects of ABC classification are examined in order to ease fluctuations in demand and reduce capitalization at the plant. The conclusion answers whether or not it is possible to reduce the lead time in the production and simultaneously reduce capitalization. Value stream mapping proved to be an efficient tool to identify possible sources of waste and improvements in the production. In this case, the absence of accurate numbers made the analysis challenging and led to inaccurate results. The parameters used for the ABC classification led to a proper partition of products since it took both fluctuations in demand and problems regarding capitalization into account. This partition of products is assumed to reduce both capitalization and ease the effects of fluctuations in demand. Reducing the storage time of WIP using value stream mapping can result in reduced levels of WIP. Reducing WIP to the lowest possible level proved to be impossible in the short term. However, the possible reduction of WIP levels would result in reduced capitalization. The most important conclusion drawn from the analysis, is that a reduced lead time often has a positive impact on capitalization. Transformation of stockkeeping proved to be of great importance when reducing both lead times and capitalization. Since the value of finished goods are higher than the value of WIP, reducing storage time for inventory of finished goods proved to have a greater impact on capitalization.

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate how a delivery lead-time reduction impacts returnon-investment (ROI), and through the study create a decision support that quantitatively demonstrates the impact of the delivery lead-time reduction on manufacturing companies' ROI. To fulfill the purpose of the study two research questions were created: How is ROI affected by a delivery lead-time reduction? How can the impact of the delivery lead-time reduction on ROI be quantified? Method: A literature review was conducted to explain how a delivery lead-time reduction affects the ROI components. The literature review formed the theoretical framework, from which a proposition was created. With the proposition as a basis, a case study of one-case-design was carried out. The data for the first research question was collected through interviews with respondents from the focal company's market and production departments. The collected data was then pattern matched against the proposition, to develop the proposition. The answer from the first research question was then used as a basis for the quantification of the impact of the delivery lead-time reduction on ROI. During the empirical collection, there were limitations in data availability, therefore fictitious data was estimated to carry out the quantification and fulfill the second research question. Results: The study shows that there are many ways in which ROI can be affected by a delivery lead-time reduction, depending on the context, the starting point, and the approach in which the reduction is implemented. Therefore, an 8-scenario typology was created for how a delivery lead reduction can be implemented based on the six strategic lead times (SLT). Research question 1 shows, based on the data and the proposition, how delivery lead-time reduction impacts ROI in the typology’s scenario 7. Scenario 7 means a reduction in delivery lead-time, along with a reduction of the supply lead-time by reducing the external lead-time. The quantification of fictitious data, which answered the second research question, showed that it is possible to quantify the effect of the delivery lead-time reduction on ROI. Based on the approach of quantification, a decision support for investment in delivery lead-time reduction was created. Implications: The study contributes to the opportunity for practitioners to evaluate investment in delivery lead-time reduction, against other investment candidates, to strengthen the company's competitiveness. Theoretically, the study contributes with the typology for how a delivery lead-time reduction can be implemented. Also, a contribution through the proposition which shows how a delivery lead-time reduction generally affects ROI, versus the developed proposition that shows the influence based on scenario 7. Limitations: The quantification was based on fictitious data, which gave a limited result. Although it’s not the result of itself that is of interest, it is the logic of quantification, since the purpose is to develop a decision support. Also, the study is of one-case-design, whereupon the developed proposition cannot be applied on other companies without scrutiny and compared with their specific contexts. / Syfte: Studien syftade till att undersöka hur det finansiella prestandamåttet return on investment (ROI) påverkas vid en leveransledtidreduktion och genom studien skapa ett beslutsstöd som kvantitativt påvisar leveransledtidsreduktionens påverkan på tillverkandeföretags ROI. För att uppnå studiens syfte upprättades två forskningsfrågor: Hur påverkas ROI av en leveransledtidsreduktion? Hur kan leveransledtidsreduktionens påverkan på ROI kvantifieras? Metod: En litteraturgenomgång genomfördes för att förklara hur ROI komponenter påverkas av en leveransledtidsreduktion. Litteraturen sammanställdes sedan i en teoretisk referensram, utifrån vilken en proposition skapades. Med propositionen som grund utfördes en fallstudie av enfallsdesign. Empiri till den första forskningsfrågan samlades in genom intervjuer med respondenter från marknads- och produktionsavdelningen på fallföretaget. Empirin mönsterpassades mot den framtagna propositionen, som genom mönsterpassningen utvecklades. Svaret från första forskningsfrågan användes sedan som grund för kvantifieringen av leveransledtidsreduktionens påverkan på ROI. Under empiriinsamlingen visade det sig finnas begränsningar i tillgängliga data, varpå fiktiva data uppskattades för att kunna genomföra kvantifieringen och besvara andra forskningsfrågan. Resultat: Studien visade att det finns många olika sätt som ROI kan påverkas vid en leveransledtidsreduktion beroende på kontexten, utgångsläget och tillvägagångssättet som reduktionen genomförs i. Därför skapades en typologi med 8 scenarios för hur en leveransledtidsreduktion kan genomföras utifrån de sex strategiska ledtiderna (SLT). Forskningsfråga 1 visar utifrån empirin och propositionen påverkan på ROI vid scenario 7 i typologin. Scenario 7 innebär en reduktion av leveransledtiden och försörjningsledtiden genom att reducera den externa ledtiden. Kvantifieringen med fiktiva data påvisade att det är möjligt att kvantifiera leveransledtidsreduktionens påverkan på ROI. Utifrån tillvägagångssättet av kvantifieringen skapades ett beslutsstöd för investering i leveransledtidsreduktion. Implikationer: Studien bidrar till praktikers möjlighet att utvärdera en investering i leveransledtidsreduktion mot andra investeringskandidater för att stärka företags konkurrenskraft. Teoretiskt bidrar studien med typologin över hur en leveransledtidsreduktion kan genomföras. Även genom propositionen som visar hur en leveransledtidsreduktion påverkar ROI generellt, kontra den utvecklade propositionen som visar påverkan utifrån scenario 7. Begränsningar: Kvantifieringen baserades på fiktiva data vilket gav ett begränsat resultat. Det var istället logiken i kvantifieringen som var intressant, eftersom syftet var att utveckla ett beslutsstöd. Studien är en enfallsstudie, varpå den utvecklade propositionen inte kan appliceras för andra företag utan granskning och jämförelse med deras specifika kontexter.