Product costing model for laser welded hollow core steel panels

The aim of the study was to create an easily upgradable product costing model for laser welded hollow core steel panels to help in pricing decisions. The theory section includes a literature review to identify traditional and modern cost accounting methodologies, which are used by manufacturing companies. The theory section also presents the basics of steel panel structures and their manufacturing methods and manufacturing costs based on previous research. Activity-Based costing turned out to be the most appropriate methodology for the costing model because of wide product variations. Activity analysis and the determination of cost drivers based on observations and interviews were the key steps in the creation of the model. The created model was used to test how panel parameters affect the costs caused by the main manufacturing stages and materials. By comparing cost structures, it was possible to find the panel types that are the most economic and uneconomic to manufacture. A sensitivity analysis proved that the model gives sufficiently reliable cost information to support pricing decisions. More reliable cost information could be achieved by determining the cost drivers more accurately. Alternative methods for manufacturing the cores were compared with the model. The comparison proved that roll forming can be more advantageous and flexible than press brake bending. However, more extensive research showed that roll forming is possible only when the cores are designed to be manufactured by roll forming. Due to that fact, when new panels are designed consideration should be given to the possibility of using roll forming.

Elemental analysis of wood materials by external millibeam thick target PIXE

PIXE (Particle Induce X-ray Emission spectrometry) was used for analysing stem bark and stem wood of Scots pine, Norway spruce and Silver birch. Thick samples were irradiated, in laboratory atmosphere, with 3 MeV protons and the beam current was measured indirectly using a photo multiplicator (PM) tube. Both point scans and bulk analyses were performed with the 1 mm diameter proton beam. In bulk analyses, whole bark and sectors of discs of the stem wood were dry ashed at 550 ˚C. The ashes were homogenised by shaking and prepared to target pellets for PIXE analyses. This procedure generated representative samples to be analysed, but the enrichment also enabled quantification of some additional trace elements. The ash contents obtained as a product of the sample preparation procedure also showed to be of great importance in the evaluation of results in environmental studies. Spot scans from the pith of pine wood outwards, showed clearly highest concentrations of manganese, calcium and zinc in the first spot irradiated, or 2-3 times higher than in the surrounding wood. For stem wood from the crown part of a pine this higher concentration level was found in the first four spots/mms, including the pith and the two following growth rings. Zinc showed increasing concentrations outwards in sapwood of the pine stem, with the over-all lowest concentrations in the inner half of the sapwood. This could indicate emigration of this element from sapwood being under transformation to heartwood. Point scans across sapwood of pine and spruce showed more distinct variations in concentrations relative to hearth wood. Higher concentrations of e.g. zinc, calcium and manganese were found in earlywood than in denser latewood. Very high concentrations of iron and copper were also seen for some earlywood increments. The ash content of stem bark is up to and order higher than for the stem wood. However, when the elemental concentration in ashes of bark and wood of the same disc were compared, these are very similar – this when trees are growing at spots with no anthropogenic contamination from the atmosphere. The largest difference was obtained for calcium which appeared at two times high concentrations in ashes of bark than in ashes of the wood (ratio of 2). Pine bark is often used in monitoring of atmospheric pollution, where concentrations in bark samples are compared. Here an alternative approach is suggested: Bark and the underlying stem wood of a pine trees are dry ashed and analysed. The elemental concentration in the bark ash is then compared to the concentration of the same element in the wood ash. Comparing bark to wood includes a normalisation for the varying availability of an element from the soil at different sites. When this comparison is done for the ashes of the materials, a normalisation is also obtained for the general and locally different enrichment of inorganic elements from wood to bark. Already a ratio >2 between the concentration in the bark ash and the concentration in the wood ash could indicate atmospheric pollution. For monitoring where bark is used, this way of “inwards” comparison is suggested - instead of comparing to results from analyses of bark from other trees (read reference areas), growing at sites with different soil and, locally, different climate conditions. This approach also enables evaluation of atmospheric pollution from sampling of only relative few individual trees –preferable during forest felling.

Enhancing performance of paper coatings by tailor-made plastic pigments

The paper industry is constantly looking for new ideas for improving paper products while competition and raw material prices are increasing. Many paper products are pigment coated. Coating layer is the top layer of paper, thus by modifying coating pigment also the paper itself can be altered and value added to the final product. In this thesis, synthesis of new plastic and hybrid pigments and their performance in paper and paperboard coating is reported. Two types of plastic pigments were studied: core-shell latexes and solid beads of maleimide copolymers. Core-shell latexes with partially crosslinked hydrophilic polymer core of poly(n-butyl acrylate-co-methacrylic acid) and a hard hydrophobic polystyrene shell were prepared to improve the optical properties of coated paper. In addition, the effect of different crosslinkers was analyzed and the best overall performance was achieved by the use of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Furthermore, the possibility to modify core-shell latex was investigated by introducing a new polymerizable optical brightening agent, 1-[(4-vinylphenoxy)methyl]-4-(2-henylethylenyl)benzene which gave promising results. The prepared core-shell latex pigments performed smoothly also in pilot coating and printing trials. The results demonstrated that by optimizing polymer composition, the optical and surface properties of coated paper can be significantly enhanced. The optimal reaction conditions were established for thermal imidization of poly(styrene-co-maleimide) (SMI) and poly(octadecene-co-maleimide) (OMI) from respective maleic anhydride copolymer precursors and ammonia in a solvent free process. The obtained aqueous dispersions of nanoparticle copolymers exhibited glass transition temperatures (Tg) between 140-170ºC and particle sizes from 50-230 nm. Furthermore, the maleimide copolymers were evaluated in paperboard coating as additional pigments. The maleimide copolymer nanoparticles were partly imbedded into the porous coating structure and therefore the full potential of optical property enhancement for paperboard was not achieved by this method. The possibility to modify maleimide copolymers was also studied. Modifications were carried out via N-substitution by replacing part of the ammonia in the imidization reaction with amines, such as triacetonediamine (TAD), aspartic acid (ASP) and fluorinated amines (2,2,2- trifluoroethylamine, TFEA and 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobuthylamine, HFBA). The obtained functional nanoparticles varied in size between 50-217 nm and their Tg from 150-180ºC. During the coating process the produced plastic pigments exhibited good runnability. No significant improvements were achieved in light stability with TAD modified copolymers whereas nanoparticles modified with aspartic acid and those containing fluorinated groups showed the desired changes in surface properties of the coated paperboard. Finally, reports on preliminary studies with organic-inorganic hybrids are presented. The hybrids prepared by an in situ polymerization reaction consisted of 30 wt% poly(styrene- co-maleimide) (SMI) and high levels of 70 wt% inorganic components of kaolin and/or alumina trihydrate. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images and characterization by Fourier Transform Infrared Spcetroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed that the hybrids had conventional composite structure and inorganic components were covered with precipitated SMI nanoparticles attached to the surface via hydrogen bonding. In paper coating, the hybrids had a beneficial effect on increasing gloss levels.

The Role of Tactical Marketing Decisions on New Product Performance: The Moderating Effect of Entry Timing

This study focuses on observing how Finnish companies execute their new product launch processes. The main objective was to find out how entry timing moderates the relationship between launch tactics (namely product innovativeness, price and emotional advertising) and new product performance (namely sales volume and customer profitability). The empirical analysis was based on data collected in Lappeenranta University of Technology. The sample consisted of Finnish companies representing different industries and innovation activities. Altogether 272 usable responses were received representing a response rate of 37.67%. The measures were first assessed by using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in PASW Statistics 18 and then further verified with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in LISREL 8.80. To test the hypotheses of the moderating effects of entry timing, hierarchical regression analysis was used in PASW Statistics 18. The results of the study revealed that the effect of product innovativeness on new product sales volume is dependent on entry timing. This implies that companies should carefully consider what would be the best time for entering the market when launching highly innovative new products. The results also depict a positive relationship between emotional advertising and new product sales volume. In addition, partial support was found for a positive relationship between pricing and new product customer profitability.

Network effects: Scale development and implications for new product performance

More and more innovations currently being commercialized exhibit network effects, in other words, the value of using the product increases as more and more people use the same or compatible products. Although this phenomenon has been the subject of much theoretical debate in economics, marketing researchers have been slow to respond to the growing importance of network effects in new product success. Despite an increase in interest in recent years, there is no comprehensive view on the phenomenon and, therefore, there is currently incomplete understanding of the dimensions it incorporates. Furthermore, there is wide dispersion in operationalization, in other words, the measurement of network effects, and currently available approaches have various shortcomings that limit their applicability, especially in marketing research. Consequently, little is known today about how these products fare on the marketplace and how they should be introduced in order to maximize their chances of success. Hence, the motivation for this study was driven by the need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the nature of network effects as a phenomenon, and of their role in the commercial success of new products. This thesis consists of two parts. The first part comprises a theoretical overview of the relevant literature, and presents the conclusions of the entire study. The second part comprises five complementary, empirical research publications. Quantitative research methods and two sets of quantitative data are utilized. The results of the study suggest that there is a need to update both the conceptualization and the operationalization of the phenomenon of network effects. Furthermore, there is a need for an augmented view on customers’ perceived value in the context of network effects, given that the nature of value composition has major implications for the viability of such products in the marketplace. The role of network effects in new product performance is not as straightforward as suggested in the existing theoretical literature. The overwhelming result of this study is that network effects do not directly influence product success, but rather enhance or suppress the influence of product introduction strategies. The major contribution of this study is in conceptualizing the phenomenon of network effects more comprehensively than has been attempted thus far. The study gives an augmented view of the nature of customer value in network markets, which helps in explaining why some products thrive on these markets whereas others never catch on. Second, the study discusses shortcomings in prior literature in the way it has operationalized network effects, suggesting that these limitations can be overcome in the research design. Third, the study provides some much-needed empirical evidence on how network effects, product introduction strategies, and new product performance are associated. In general terms, this thesis adds to our knowledge of how firms can successfully leverage network effects in product commercialization in order to improve market performance.

Effects of Country of Origin on Consumer Product Evaluations: Finnish clothing products in the minds of Russian tourists

Companies operating in today’s highly internationalized markets consider product differentiation the key priority in pursue to attain a constant competitive advantage in challenging global environment (Baker and Ballington 2002, 158). The main driver affecting companies’ differentiation actions was described as early as 1912 by one of the marketing pioneers A. W. Shaw (1912, 710) as meeting human wants more accurate than the competition, and thus increasing customers’ perceived value and satisfaction. Dickson and Ginter (1987, 2) point out in their study based on earlier research by Chamberlin (1965) and Porter (1976) that differentiation can be based on either tangible characteristics of a product such as design or intangible characteristics such as a brand name and country of origin (hereafter referred to as COO). The concept of COO and its impact on consumers’ evaluation of a product as an extrinsic product cue has been one of the most noteworthy topics in international marketing, having been voluminously examined by over 780 authors in more than 750 academic publications in the past 40 years (Papadopoulos and Heslop 2002, 294). Many of these studies accentuate the significant effect the COO has on consumers’ product attribute evaluations. People routinely associate country images with products and services in order to judge and categorize them based on perceived quality and risk levels; thereby COO can influence the likelihood of a purchase (Peterson and Jolibert 1995, 883-884; Verlegh and Steenkamp 1999, 523). Based on the vast research related to COO in the field of international business, it is widely recognized that the country associated with a product can act in a similar way as the name of a brand and even become a part of product’s total image. Thereby depending on customer’s values and perceptions, the product-country image can either increase or decrease perceived value.

A Case Study of Agile Software Engineering Methods and Practices in the MeeGo Harmattan Open Source and Product Context

The aim of this master’s thesis is to study how Agile method (Scrum) and open source software are utilized to produce software for a flagship product in a complex production environment. The empirical case and the used artefacts are taken from the Nokia MeeGo N9 product program, and from the related software program, called as the Harmattan. The single research case is analysed by using a qualitative method. The Grounded Theory principles are utilized, first, to find out all the related concepts from artefacts. Second, these concepts are analysed, and finally categorized to a core category and six supported categories. The result is formulated as the operation of software practices conceivable in circumstances, where the accountable software development teams and related context accepts a open source software nature as a part of business vision and the whole organization supports the Agile methods.

Improving product profitability control in continuous IT-services

The target of the thesis is to improve product profitability control in continuous IT-services. Accurate product cost accounting and correctly allocated revenues are a necessity for good product profitability control. The focus of the study is on costs and revenues that are not traced directly to services. The thesis is focused on revenue allocations as revenue allocation methods have not been used in the case company before. In order to achieve the target revenue allocation methods, which improve the product profitability accounting and control, are presented. The research methods used in the thesis are literature review and empirical case study. The research approach is constructive. The theoretical part is composed of literature and articles that create a base for the empirical part. Internal interviews describe the current situation in the company and based on it development actions are planned. The part of the empirical case study is seen mostly in the limitations as the research is limited to concern only one department in the company. Problems in the revenue tracing are caused by customer specific services and lack of service definitions because of which the revenues are not traced correctly. Methods to allocate revenues are presented in the thesis and stand-alone revenue allocation method is the most suitable one because it is fair and it can be modified. Approximate product profitability analysis is done in the thesis and the results of it indicate that some services are profitable and some unprofitable.

Overcoming the Complexity of Software Product Management

This thesis describes an approach to overcoming the complexity of software product management (SPM) and consists of several studies that investigate the activities and roles in product management, as well as issues related to the adoption of software product management. The thesis focuses on organizations that have started the adoption of SPM but faced difficulties due to its complexity and fuzziness and suggests the frameworks for overcoming these challenges using the principles of decomposition and iterative improvements. The research process consisted of three phases, each of which provided complementary results and empirical observation to the problem of overcoming the complexity of SPM. Overall, product management processes and practices in 13 companies were studied and analysed. Moreover, additional data was collected with a survey conducted worldwide. The collected data were analysed using the grounded theory (GT) to identify the possible ways to overcome the complexity of SPM. Complementary research methods, like elements of the Theory of Constraints were used for deeper data analysis. The results of the thesis indicate that the decomposition of SPM activities depending on the specific characteristics of companies and roles is a useful approach for simplifying the existing SPM frameworks. Companies would benefit from the results by adopting SPM activities more efficiently and effectively and spending fewer resources on its adoption by concentrating on the most important SPM activities.

Improving Product Information Management in Global Project Based Manufacturing

The transition of project based manufacturing business, even more into global networks, sets up challenges for companies to manage their business in this new operating environment. One way to tackle these challenges is the successful management of product information through an extended product’s lifecycle. Thus, one objective of this research is to find ways how product information management in global project based manufacturing can be improved. Another objective is to find a solution how the target company can improve its product information management in the offer-to-procurement business process. Due to the nature of the topic, the study follows constructive research methodology with qualitative methods. By combining literature related to this topic a framework is created to improve product information management in global project based manufacturing. The improvement process in this framework is based on a systematic approach from the current state towards target state. A general aim for improvements should be the integrated product and project lifecycle information management through Lean approach. This introduced framework is applied to the target company through two case projects. Data for building view of current state and analysis is collected mostly by theme interviews and also utilizing other material from the target company. Used tools help to analyzing was the BPMN and the Trace matrix for business chains. Results of the improvement process are collected in a solution proposal which contain the strategic target state as well as long and short term objectives. The strategic target state is defined as controlled customization. Also during the improvement process are created the Information requirements chart in the offer-to-procurement business process, and the Project related initial information questionnaire to customer.

Electrical Machine Product Development; Transmission to Lean Approach

The requirements set by the market for electrical machines become increasingly demanding requiring more sophisticated technological solutions. Companies producing electrical ma-chines are challenged to develop machines that provide competitive edge for the customer for example through increased efficiency, reliability or some customer specific special requirement. The objective of this thesis is to derive a proposal for the first steps to transform the electrical machine product development process of a manufacturing company towards lean product development. The current product development process in the company is presented together with the processes of four other companies interviewed for the thesis. On the basis of current processes of the electrical machine industry and the related literature, a generalized electrical machine product development process is derived. The management isms and –tools utilized by the companies are analyzed. Adoption of lean Pull-Event –reviews, Oobeya –management and Knowledge based product development are suggested as the initial steps of implementing lean product development paradigm in the manufacturing company. Proposals for refining the cur-rent product development process and increasing the stakeholder involvement in the development projects are made. Lean product development is finding its way to Finnish electrical machine industry, but the results will be available only after the methods have been implemented and adopted by the companies. There is some enthusiasm about the benefits of lean approach and if executed successfully it will provide competitive edge for the Finnish electrical machine industry.

“Valley co-creation” – exploring the emergence of a cultural product in an entrepreneur-driven value network: Case study: Black Weekend festival

The interconnected domains are attracting interest from industries and academia, although this phenomenon, called ‘convergence’ is not new. Organizational research has indeed focused on uncovering co-creation for manufacturing and the industrial organization, with limited implications to entrepreneurship. Although convergence has been characterized as a process connecting seemingly disparate disciplines, it is argued that these studies tend to leave the creative industries unnoticed. With the art market boom and new forms of collaboration riding past the institution-focused arts marketing literature, this thesis takes a leap to uncover the processes of entrepreneurship in the emergence of a cultural product. As a symbolic work of synergism itself, the thesis combines organizational theory with literature in natural sciences and arts. Assuming nonlinearity, a framework is created for analysing aesthetic experience in an empirical event where network actors are connected to multiple contexts. As the focal case in study, the empirical analysis performed for a music festival organized in a skiing resort in the French Alps in March. The researcher attends the festival and models its cocreation process by enquiring from an artist, festival organisers, and a festival visitor. The findings contribute to fields of entrepreneurship, aesthetics and marketing mainly. It is found that the network actors engage in intimate and creative interaction where activity patterns are interrupted and cultural elements combined. This process is considered to both create and destruct value, through identity building, legitimisation, learning, and access to larger audiences, and it is considered particularly useful for domains where resources are too restrained for conventional marketing practices. This thesis uncovered the role of artists and informants and posits that particularly through experience design, this type of skilled individual be regarded more often as a research informant. Future research is encouraged to engage in convergence by experimenting with different fields and research designs, and it is suggested that future studies could arrive at different descriptive results.

Product placement on personal blogs: a multiple case study from companies’ perspective

As traditional advertising is losing its value in corporations’ marketing, new and growing social media marketing channels are increasing their importance. The growing interest in the media and the lack of research on the subject create a clear need for this study. The objectives are to increase understanding about product placement in personal blogs and examine the benefits as well as the downsides created by this marketing channel and present the requirements for success. The study also takes a stand on what kind of things a successful product placement strategy in personal blogs includes and what points should be considered when creating a strategy. The study’s empirical part consists of seven thematic interviews with case companies’ representatives and one agent. The study’s personal blogs were delimited to consist only lifestyle and fashion blogs. The results show that product placement on personal lifestyle and fashion blogs is a strongly growing marketing channel and it is best suited to reach young women. It is also a very good channel to change and improve brand image. Via personal blogs it is possible to reach a large number of consumers with a very cost-efficient manner. Thus utilizing the channel is suitable for all companies regardless of the size of the marketing budget. Of course, companies have to consider the suitability of their product to the themes of blogs. Executing a successful campaign in this media requires good relationship management skills and understanding of this particular media as the final content is not in advertiser’s hands. As a marketing channel, personal blogs differ highly from traditional marketing channels because of their constantly changing nature and multidirectional quality where several parties are in interaction.

Industrial solution business – transition from product to solution offering

The business logic in the manufacturing industry has changed in the 21st century. In the current industrial market, manufacturers are driven to provide more comprehensive offerings that go beyond the traditional product-orientation by providing capacity and availability for their customers. From incidental merchandise, services have become the core of manufacturers’ offerings with long-lasting service agreements over the life-cycles of their products. This change is driven both by the need of providers to grow and gain competitive advantage and by increased customer demand caused by customers’ outsourcing trends. The three key drivers for manufacturers’ service strategies are outsourcing trends, saturation of the installed base, and commoditization in product markets. Thus, manufacturers focus on providing industrial solutions which are delivered through relational processes with customers by using solution-driven business models. In the management of marketing activities, this can be regarded as closer customer relationships, service-dominant business logic, and collaboration in solving customers’ problems. However, there are few studies on comprehensive conceptualizations of a solution offering that include different elements and their roles, especially in the context of capital goods industry. Also the transition process needs further studies in a real life context. This study explores the transition process of an industrial company from product to solution business and, as an aid to managing the solution business, explicates the structure and management of an industrial solution offering. There are two themes, the industrial transition process and industrial solution offering. Regarding the industrial transition process, the aim is to understand the supplier view on the process and its execution and to determine the challenges related to the transition process. The industrial solution offering is discussed by its elements and characteristics, as well as management. Furthermore, a special type of build-own-operate-transfer business model is presented and its suitability in the industrial context analyzed. The study includes findings achieved by qualitative methods and from four case companies. Based on the results, it is tentatively suggested that in the industrial solution business, the transition from product to solution business is not a linear project but an evolving process that varies according to customer needs, which suggests that companies need to possess an ability to develop new business models for different customer needs. The industrial solution offering is dynamic as it evolves in collaboration according to the prevailing and latent customer needs, which suggest restructuring of the organization from a product-centric to a customer-centric one. Furthermore, based on the findings, the concept of industrial solutions is defined as an ongoing relational process to satisfy a customer’s particular business or operational requirements, and the concept of industrial solution offering as an entity comprising the customized goods, services, collaboration, and finance needed to fulfill the industrial solution. Finally, the study offers several managerial implications for industrial managers involved in the transition and management of the solution business and its offering.

Greenhouse gas emissions from peat and biomass-derived fuels, electricity and heat — Estimation of various production chains by using LCA methodology

More discussion is required on how and which types of biomass should be used to achieve a significant reduction in the carbon load released into the atmosphere in the short term. The energy sector is one of the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters and thus its role in climate change mitigation is important. Replacing fossil fuels with biomass has been a simple way to reduce carbon emissions because the carbon bonded to biomass is considered as carbon neutral. With this in mind, this thesis has the following objectives: (1) to study the significance of the different GHG emission sources related to energy production from peat and biomass, (2) to explore opportunities to develop more climate friendly biomass energy options and (3) to discuss the importance of biogenic emissions of biomass systems. The discussion on biogenic carbon and other GHG emissions comprises four case studies of which two consider peat utilization, one forest biomass and one cultivated biomasses. Various different biomass types (peat, pine logs and forest residues, palm oil, rapeseed oil and jatropha oil) are used as examples to demonstrate the importance of biogenic carbon to life cycle GHG emissions. The biogenic carbon emissions of biomass are defined as the difference in the carbon stock between the utilization and the non-utilization scenarios of biomass. Forestry-drained peatlands were studied by using the high emission values of the peatland types in question to discuss the emission reduction potential of the peatlands. The results are presented in terms of global warming potential (GWP) values. Based on the results, the climate impact of the peat production can be reduced by selecting high-emission-level peatlands for peat production. The comparison of the two different types of forest biomass in integrated ethanol production in pulp mill shows that the type of forest biomass impacts the biogenic carbon emissions of biofuel production. The assessment of cultivated biomasses demonstrates that several selections made in the production chain significantly affect the GHG emissions of biofuels. The emissions caused by biofuel can exceed the emissions from fossil-based fuels in the short term if biomass is in part consumed in the process itself and does not end up in the final product. Including biogenic carbon and other land use carbon emissions into the carbon footprint calculations of biofuel reveals the importance of the time frame and of the efficiency of biomass carbon content utilization. As regards the climate impact of biomass energy use, the net impact on carbon stocks (in organic matter of soils and biomass), compared to the impact of the replaced energy source, is the key issue. Promoting renewable biomass regardless of biogenic GHG emissions can increase GHG emissions in the short term and also possibly in the long term.