Benefits and challenges of supply chain finance business process automation : A case study in ING Bank

Supply chain finance, a financial product provided by the bank, has gained increasing attention and popularity over the last few years. Supply chain finance helps the corporate clients to optimize their financial flows along the supply chain. One characteristic of supply chain finance is that it aims to provide automated solutions. Therefore, the business process automation of supply chain finance is a very interesting and important topic for study. In this study, the business process automation of supply chain finance within the case organization, ING, is analysed. The purpose is to: (1) Identify the benefits to understand the importance to automate supply chain finance business process; (2) Find out the existing automation degree in the supply chain finance business process within the case bank to see what’s the situation now and how to improve in the future; (3) Discover the challenges in the further automation of supply chain finance business process. Firstly, the study finds out that supply chain finance business process automation can bring many benefits to the bank. Automation can improve productivity by using less time and human labour in the business process, and by providing scalable solutions. Automation can also improve quality of the service by reducing the human errors. Last but not least, automation can improve internal governance by providing enhanced visibility of the business process. Because of these potential benefits, many banks are actively seeking solutions to automate their supply chain finance business process. Then, the current automation situation with the case bank is analysed with the help of business process modelling. The supply chain finance business process within the case bank can be further divided into several sub processes: daily transaction, buyer sales and setup, supplier onboarding, contract management, customer services and supports, and contract termination. The study finds out that the daily transaction process is already a highly automated, which is carried out through the web-based trading platform. However, for other business the automation degree is relatively low. Among these business processes, supplier onboarding is most needed for further automation. Then, some solutions are also suggested to automate the supplier onboarding business process. In the end, the study also foresees some challenges during the further automation of supply chain finance business process in the case bank. Some suggestions are also given to deal with these challenges.

Configuration management process improvement : a case study of a Pan-Nordic insurance company

Configuration management is often seen as an enabler for the main IT Service Management (ITSM) processes such as Incident and Problem management. A decent level of quality of IT configuration data is required in order to carry out routines of these processes. This case study examines the state of configuration management in a multinational organization and aims at identification of methods for its improvement. The author has stayed five months with this company in order to collect different sources of evidence and to make observations. The main source of data for this study is interviews with some of the key employees of the assigned organization who are involved into the ITSM processes. This study concludes the maturity level of the existing configuration management process to be repeatable but intuitive, and outlines the principal requirements for its improvement. A match between the requirements identified in the organization and the requirements stated in the ISO/IEC 20000 standard indicates the possibility of adopting ITIL guidelines as a method for configuration management process improvement. The outcome of the study presents a set of recommendations for improvement that considers the process, the information model and the information system for configuration management in the case organization.

Key success factors and process for IT project portfolio management

The importance of Information Technology (IT) in the business environment is continuously growing. This stimulates the increase of size, complexity and number of IT projects and raises the need for IT Project Portfolio Management (IT PPM). While being actively discussed for the last few decades, IT PPM has a short history of practical implementation. This creates inconsistency in the views of different authors and provides an opportunity for additional research. As a first step, this research explores the existing studies and brings together the views of different authors on IT PPM. As a result, a high-level IT PPM Process Cycle and a set of Key Success Factors for IT PPM are proposed. IT PPM Process Cycle gives an overview of the main elements of IT PPM process, while the set of Key Success Factors provides a number of factors that should be considered during the implementation. As a second step, both theoretical deliverables are empirically tested by a case study and a survey conducted in a big multinational company. The case study is used to analyze process framework of the studied company towards the developed IT PPM Process Cycle. Subsequently, a survey was conducted among subject matter experts of the same company to evaluate the importance and relevance of the proposed Key Success Factors. Finally, this thesis concludes with findings made during the case study and provides an empirically tested selection of factors to be taken into account. These two deliverables can be used by both academics and practitioners to close the gaps in existing literature and assist in IT PPM implementation.

Mädätys- ja kompostointilaitoshankkeen teknis-taloudellinen vertailu Lakeuden Ympäristöhuollossa

Työssä selvitettiin teknis-taloudellisen vaihtoehto Lakeuden Ympäristöhuollon keräämän biojätteen ja Seinäjoen lähialueella syntyvän hevosenlannan käsittelyyn. Nykyisin Lakeuden Ympäristöhuolto Oy:n keräämä biojäte kuljetetaan paikallisen jätehuoltoyhti-ön biokaasulaitokseen ja hevosenlantaa ei alueelta vielä kerätä olleenkaan. Työn lähtö-kohtana oli vertailla mahdollisesti rakennettavan oman biokaasulaitoksen ja rumpu-kompostointilaitoksen kannattavuutta toisiinsa. Kannattavuuden laskennassa käytettiin annuiteettimenetelmää. Työn kirjallisuusosiossa kerrotaan eloperäisten jätteiden ominaisuuksista mädätyksen ja kompostoinnin kannalta, mädätys- ja kompostointiprosessista, mädätys- ja kompostoin-titekniikoista sekä menetelmien eduista sekä haitoista. Työssä perehdyttiin myös mädä-tyksen ja kompostoinnin lopputuotteiden hyödyntämiseen. Vaihtoehtojen vaertailussa kumpikaan hankkeista ei ollut taloudellisesti kannattava. Vaikka prosesseihin saataisiin nykyään kerättävän biojätteen määrän lisäksi 2000 tonnia hevosenlantaa, se ei tee hankkeista kannattavia. Edes herkkyystarkastelussa laskettu korkeampi hevosenlannan porttimaksun määrä ei vaikuttanut kannattavuuteen. Lakeuden Ympäristöhuollon näin ollen on viisainta olla investoimatta kumpaakaan hankkeeseen.

Improving the inventory management and valuation process, Case: The Switch Drive Systems

The goal of this study is to create a new inventory valuation process for The Switch Drive Systems and to improve its inventory management practices. In the matter of inventories the main problems in the case company are that it doesn’t have consistent valuation methods throughout the company and that information received in ERP system isn’t trustful. The research is qualitative case study. The empirical data is gathered through observing and unstructured interviews. The research shows that material flow process and the inventory valuation must be divided and handled separately but they should interact with each other. The result is a new inventory valuation process which takes many factors of material process under the consideration in order to receive reliable value for inventories.

Designing a Demand Forecasting Process in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Context

The purpose of this thesis was to study the design of demand forecasting processes. A literature review in the field of forecasting was conducted, including general forecasting process design, forecasting methods and techniques, the role of human judgment in forecasting and forecasting performance measurement. The purpose of the literature review was to identify the important design choices that an organization aiming to design or re-design their demand forecasting process would have to make. In the empirical part of the study, these choices and the existing knowledge behind them was assessed in a case study where a demand forecasting process was re-designed for a company in the fast moving consumer goods business. The new target process is described, as well as the reasoning behind the design choices made during the re-design process. As a result, the most important design choices are highlighted, as well as their immediate effect on other processes directly tied to the demand forecasting process. Additionally, some new insights on the organizational aspects of demand forecasting processes are explored. The preliminary results indicate that in this case the new process did improve forecasting accuracy, although organizational issues related to the process proved to be more challenging than anticipated.

The Impact of National Innovation System on Entrepreneurial Venture Creation Process

The important role of entrepreneurship in countries’ economic development and overall society well-being is widely recognized by researchers, experts as well as policy makers. Every phase of the process of starting a new business is related to the interaction with at least one player of country innovation system and therefore the efficiency of this interaction may have an influence on the success of whole entrepreneurial process and consequently on the willingness of potential entrepreneurs to engage into this process. The study proposes a System Dynamics model for studying the impact of National Innovation System (NIS) on the entrepreneurial venture creation process. The developed model also takes country population aspect into account and provides results for estimation the effect various demographic tendencies on the process performance. The special impact is made on possible ways to facilitate the development of entrepreneurial framework conditions. Business incubators are seen as one of the effective tool for accomplishing such task. The study also provides the result for estimation of possible impact arising from properly functioned Business Incubators.

Laser-TIG hybrid welding process

Joining processes and techniques need to meet the trend of new applications and the development of new materials. The application in connection with thick and thin plates in industrial fields is wide and the joining technology is in very urgent need. The laser-TIG hybrid welding technology can play the respective advantages of both of them. One major advantage of the hybrid laser-TIG welding technology is its efficient use of laser energy. Additionally, it can develop into a high and new advanced welding technology and become a hot spot in both the application and research area. This thesis investigated laser –TIG hybrid welding with the aim of enlightening the reader on its advantages, disadvantages and future areas of improvement. The main objective is to investigate laser-TIG hybrid on the welding of various metals (steels, magnesium, aluminium etc.). In addition, it elaborates on various possible combinations on hybrid laser-TIG welding technology and their benefits. The possibility of using laser-TIG hybrid in welding of thick materials was investigated. The method applied in carrying out this research is by using literature review. The results showed that hybrid laser-TIG is applicable to almost all weldable metals. Also it proves to be effective in welding refractive metals. The possibility of welding with or without filler materials is of economic advantage especially in welding of materials with no filler material. Thick plate’s hybrid laser-TIG welding is showing great prospects although it normally finds its used in welding thin materials in the range of 0.4 to 0.8 mm. The findings show that laser-TIG hybrid welding can be a versatile welding process and therefore will be increasingly used industrially due to its numerous advantages and the development of new TIG arc that enhances its capabilities.

Improving customer service by identifying critical success factors and utilizing business process outsourcing

Consumers increasingly demand convenience when dealing with companies and therefore it is important to provide professional, diverse and speedy service via customer’s preferred communication channel. These interactions between the customer service and customer have a critical role in customer’s future purchasing decisions. Those customers who don't receive satisfactory customer service are willing to do business with another company that charges more but offers better customer service. This study identifies the critical success factors for the customer service in order to improve the customer service according to the company’s mission and meet customer expectations. Case study is used as a research method and data is collected via observation, archival records and interviews during a time span of fourteen months. The analysis suggests three critical success factors: voice support, scalable and flexible customer service and customer service champions. The study further analyzes the improvement measures according to the critical success factors concluding the Business Process Outsourcing to be the most proper to proceed with. As a conclusion of the study, critical success factors enable achieving the goals of the customer service and align operations according to the company’s mission. Business Process Outsourcing plays important role in improving the customer service by allowing fast expansion of new service offering and obtaining specialized workforce.

One process to rule them all? The role of a repository platform in the management of digitized cultural heritage at the National Library of Finland

Presentation at Open Repositories 2013, DSpace User Group, on 12.7.2013 in Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

Automated Purchase to Pay Process Value Modeling and Comparative Process Speeds

The importance of efficient supply chain management has increased due to globalization and the blurring of organizational boundaries. Various supply chain management technologies have been identified to drive organizational profitability and financial performance. Organizations have historically been concentrating heavily on the flow of goods and services, while less attention has been dedicated to the flow of money. While supply chains are becoming more transparent and automated, new opportunities for financial supply chain management have emerged through information technology solutions and comprehensive financial supply chain management strategies. This research concentrates on the end part of the purchasing process which is the handling of invoices. Efficient invoice processing can have an impact on organizations working capital management and thus provide companies with better readiness to face the challenges related to cash management. Leveraging a process mining solution the aim of this research was to examine the automated invoice handling process of four different organizations. The invoice data was collected from each organizations invoice processing system. The sample included all the invoices organizations had processed during the year 2012. The main objective was to find out whether e-invoices are faster to process in an automated invoice processing solution than scanned invoices (post entry into invoice processing solution). Other objectives included looking into the longest lead times between process steps and the impact of manual process steps on cycle time. Processing of invoices from maverick purchases was also examined. Based on the results of the research and previous literature on the subject, suggestions for improving the process were proposed. The results of the research indicate that scanned invoices were processed faster than e-invoices. This is mostly due to the more complex processing of e-invoices. It should be noted however that the manual tasks related to turning a paper invoice into electronic format through scanning are ignored in this research. The transitions with the longest lead times in the invoice handling process included both pre-automated steps as well as manual steps performed by humans. When the most common manual steps were examined in more detail, it was clear that these steps had a prolonging impact on the process. Regarding invoices from maverick purchases the evidence shows that these invoices were slower to process than invoices from purchases conducted through e-procurement systems and from preferred suppliers. Suggestions on how to improve the process included: increasing invoice matching, reducing of manual steps and leveraging of different value added services such as invoice validation service, mobile solutions and supply chain financing services. For companies that have already reaped all the process efficiencies the next step is to engage in collaborative financial supply chain management strategies that can benefit the whole supply chain.

The key practices of customer portfolio management (CPM) process in the medical and healthcare B2B industry

The goal of this study is to deepen the understanding of the customer portfolio management process. There are many models for the process, and they are not necessarily exclusive of each other. Consequently, the inclusion of many models might even prove out to be beneficial. Other theoretical framework include the current economical situation and its propose on customer portfolio management. With an understanding of the theoretical models as a background, the empirical part of this study compares Finnish multinational medical and healthcare technology companies’ customer portfolio management practices. The empirical research was carried out with theme interviews held with 11 sales and marketing managers or directors from four different companies. The goal was to discover the most essential practices of the process steps in the companies. The result of this study is that there is a lack of systematic customer portfolio management, but most companies are aiming to improve this in the near future. The most essential practices are analysis of sales, communication level, learning, and commitment to strategy of the focal company. Special characteristics of this industry include large business networks that include customers, professional end-users, institutions, universities, researchers, and key opinion leaders. The management and analysis of this comprehensive network has been seen to be extremely important for this industry.