Tesis sobre el tema "Supply logistic"

Unibrands is a small company that has implemented a postponement strategy without knowing it. However, they have not implemented completely because they do not know the theories behind it. This report is an attempt to understand and analyze the problems of the implementation of postponement in the supply chain of Unibrands, in terms of examining the theoretical succeeds factors of postponement implementation in the case of Unibrands.The purpose is to determine what type of postponement strategy the supply chain use and what factors can hinder the use of postponement strategy in a SME fashion supply chain by applying an qualitative research approach. The collection of empirical data was through the interview guide approach in which we used meetings and telephone interviews with people representing Unibrands and their contact trading company. The results of this research can be concluded in few perspectives. Unibrands is imple-menting postponement in an improper format, with the results of several gaps in the supply chain related to the success factor in postponement. The request for the fully customization in colors and materials, the bottleneck of relationship developing which is caused by factory manager,  complicated procedures for sample testing, and lack of knowledge of different relationships in the supply chain. Postponement is never perfect, but for Unibrands some problems could very well hinder the efficiency in the supply chain. Solutions are proposed to solve the problems in chain. The proposals suggest re-lationship improvement and information sharing. In addition, culture adaptation by in-volving the right people in the right process.

Purpose - To analyze the relationship between supply chain management maturity, supply chain performance and financial performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME:s).

Design/methodology/approach - The data comprises 15 SME:s that participated in a local logistic study in Gävleborgs län. The levels of supply chain mature within these firms were based upon an interview study and the financial performance of the firms was then examined using financial reports-based data.

Findings -The results of this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between SCM maturity and SC performance in SMEs, some relationships between SCM maturity and financial performance, as well as some relationships between SC performance and financial performance. This means that if firms use maturity indicators in the SCOR areas to improve their processes, they will most likely achieve a positive effect on supply chain performance and probably also on financial performance. The result implies that the supply chain maturities in these firms are higher than expected with no one at the adHoc level.

While this study is based on a rather small number of participating firms, it would be valuable to further test the significance of the indicated correlations between SCM maturity and performance in a large-scale survey.

Research limitations/Implications - The research is an attempt to understand supply chain maturity and it´s implication on financial performance. Developing supply chain maturity is an opportunity for a company to gain superior performance. The use of this approach has been validated in several previous research studies. The research limitation of this study is the small number of participating firms.

Practical implication - Maturity models could be valuable frameworks for corporate management. This study provides statistical evidence that a SME firm that has achieved a higher maturity level in their supply chain management also can achieve higher SC performance and financial performance as well. The study further confirms the maturity model from Lockamy and McCormack (2004) as a very reliable tool for this purpose, even in extremely small firms.

Originality/Value - This study is one of very few to focus on supply chain maturity of SME:s and analyze the linkage between financial performance and supply chain maturity in SME:s. This is particularly significant since earlier research implicate that SME:s has a very low maturity and in addition to that a high potential of improvements in this area. Maybe the findings of this study can be a starting point for these SME:s to take their maturity to a higher level and improve their financial performance. These findings might be valuable for further research in the linkage between maturity and superior performance in SME:s.

Key words - Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Performance, Supply Chain Maturity, Financial Performance, Logistic Performance.

Paper type - Thesis/research paper

This master’s thesis is performed at Department of Management and Engineering Linköping University, for Scania Omni at Scania Production Slupsk (S.P.S). Omni is responsible for development, manufacturing and marketing of city, suburban and intercity buses. After acquisition of the production unit in Slupsk in 2002 lower production cost per bus is possible. But without control over the organisation costs are rising due to late delivery fees and high stock levels. At the outset, the thesis included three clearly defined objectives:

- Map the present situation at Scania Production Slupsk regarding material flow from supplier to assembly line including a part and storage analysis.

- Benchmark the current routines at Scania Production Slupsk with other successful companies. Furthermore, conduct literature research in order to find theories and philosophies that support problem analysis and thesis solution.

- Develop standard routines for material control methods (MCM) and material supply methods (MSM).

A complimentary objective is to work as a catalyst during the time of the thesis.

The mapping of the present situation showed that MCM and MSM are very tight connected to each other. It was questioned whether this structure was the best way to manage the material flow. After a parts and storage analysis, material was divided into different segments depending of price, consumption and movement.

The benchmarking studies showed different ways to manage the material flow. Implementation of unit load, kanban and clear defined interface between departments showed potential to improve the material handling and increase effectiveness.

New routines and part segment definitions described in a logistics manual (Appendix I) were made align with a comparison between previous and recommended definitions.

The result showed that some parts needs to be controlled differently. Primary recommendations are that logistics manual shall be used when new parts are introduced into the Scala system. Responsible personnel are suppose to give suggestion concerning decision making of MCM and MSM and with help of the logistics manual the work can be more efficient, resulting in a material flow that is flexible and have potential for improvements.

Secondary, to avoid material handling to some extent implementation of two-bin system is recommended. Additional recommendations regarding two-bin system is to handle material according to unit load, which enable FIFO, traceability and higher turn over rate

The future has always caught the attention of the human being. The thirst of exploring the future and to know the unknown has driven the human being toward innovativeness.

Companies are expanding their operations worldwide since the past few decades. Profit growth coupled with an effective strategy has become the primary need of global companies. Research in this area has given rise to optimization of the supply chain for higher profitability. Considering the overall strategy the company needs to plan production well in advance. The operational planning comes in picture at this moment. In order to reduce excessive inventory at each stage of the production; one should know the demand of the next stage and preferably the end customer demand. The process of sales forecasting is undertaken to predict demand at different stages. It is a complex managerial function and hence needed to be undertaken by a scientific way. The sales forecasting the function includes process of forecasting, administration, hardware, software, users and developers of forecast.

Historically sales forecasting has been considered as a side activity by most of the companies. Sales forecasting has not been considered as an important function of marketing and finance. Very few companies have seen sales forecasting by a scientific management point of view. Less research has been reported in sales forecasting in comparison to other managerial functions. Planning based on sales forecasting; may be part of a selected strategy for growth and profitability. These facts have attracted us to study sales forecasting as a managerial function.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the sales forecasting process, sales forecasting system, sales forecasting methods and techniques. Further proposing possibilities of improvements in existing forecasting process is also purpose of this study.

We have selected three manufacturing companies for this study based on purposive sampling. Considering research interest in phenomenon study; we have selected a qualitative research strategy for this study. We have selected a case study method for our research as it is the most appropriate tool to study the relation between theory and phenomenon. For this research, we have collected the data by semistructured interviews based on a pre formed questionnaire. The questionnaire has been prepared with respect to our research purpose and open ended questions were used to gather extensive data. The data gathered during interviews, have been analyzed by the use of ‘Flow model’ suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994).

Results from this study shows that there is a need to see ‘sales forecasting’ as a management function rather than a computer activity. To achieve the best information integration throughout the supply chain, increased information visibility is needed. To achieve accuracy in both forecasting and planning; collaborative forecasting may be used. Forecasting software needs to have a suite of methods towards product specific forecasting. The need of customized softwares has also been indicated by this study. The need to measure performance of forecasting by means of accuracy, cost and customer relationship has been concluded.

Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Uppsatsnivå: C

Problem discussion:

Information Logistics has with the rising of the new technologies developed into a key is-sue for companies seeking competitive advantage. The birth and expansion of Internet has brought down the boundaries that kept business partners from sharing extensive informa-tion between each other (McClelland, 2003). The increase of information has yielded a bet-ter understanding of your business partners and one could perhaps think that it is only positive outcomes derived from the increased information sharing. However, research show upon an extensive need for structuring the information flows which relates to an or-ganization. Gartner group (2003) presented an investigation present ting that managers spend over 49 minutes every day in their mailbox for reading and sending e-mails and Del-phi Group (2002) presented figures saying that executives spend over two hours a day searching for the right information (cited in Sandkuhl, 2005). Expected outcomes for im-proving the information logistics are however not only related to time savings activities, business partners could also expect enhanced improvement regarding business processes and operational efficiency. The need for structuring the information flow is therefore an in-teresting subject to investigate and will also be the focus of this thesis. For specifying and narrowing the theoretical framework the authors have chosen to focus upon information sharing based on a web-based system. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how a company can utilize a web-based system to share information with their first tier suppliers.

Methodology: In order to fulfil the purpose a case study approach has been chosen whereas semi-structured telephone interviews have been complimented with face-to-face interviews for gathering material. The rationale for the chosen approach was because the information needed to fulfil the purpose was of the character to be found in a qualitative study by going in-depth into the field.

Conclusion:

The importance in utilizing a web-based system is for the buyer to facilitate user handiness and provide trustworthy information to suppliers. The shared information has to be cor-rect, easy accessible, and customized for suppliers. Information requested by the suppliers are, updated inventory levels, lead-time from Husqvarna to end customer, back orders, or-der fulfillment, on-time deliveries, complete orders, forecasts, and sell-through information.