Toimitusketjun hallinnan kehittäminen tekstiiliteollisuudessa

Due to the outsourcing of manufacturing, Finlayson Oy now has a need to develop its supply chain management as its new ability. This requires development of efficient and flexible procedures and models in order to efficiently manage the company’s floating assets without affecting the reliability of delivery promised for the customer. In this thesis we discuss Finlayson’s supply chain management with a focus on the operations between Finlayson and its suppliers. The aim is to develop these operations and increase the reaction speed of the supply chain in order to response to the changes in demand. In order to do this we discuss different product analysis, material and inventory management and demand forecasting. In the research part of the thesis we design strategies for different products based on product classification analysis. Market behavior of different products will be modeled with demand forecasting methods and inventory control systems will be designed for different product groups based on the nature of their supplier. We will also optimize the costs and resource needs for different suppliers’ order-deliver processes.

Suunnittelun kehittäminen saatavuudenhallinnan näkökulmasta - Case Metsäteollisuusyritys

Metsäteollisuuden muuttunut toimintaympäristö on saanut kohdeyrityksen pyrkimään asiakaslähtöisempään ja markkinaintegroituneempaan toimintaan. Se, että asiakkaille voidaan luvata, mitä he haluavat ja että lupaukset kyetään pitämään, ovat markkinalähtöisen toiminnan keskeisimpiä tekijöitä. Diplomityön tavoitteena on kuvata metsäteollisuusyrityksen tuotteiden saatavuudenhallinnan nykytilaa tuotannonsuunnittelun, myynnin ja asiakkaiden näkökulmasta. Saatavuudenhallinnalla tarkoitetaan sitä, kuinka myyjä tietää, saako hän myydä asiakkaalle, mitä asiakas haluaa. Työssä käsitellään myös metsäteollisuusyrityksen suunnitteluprosesseja, koska ilman toimivaa myynninsuunnittelua ja operatiivista suunnittelua ei tehokas saatavuudenhallintakaan ole mahdollista. Työssä on esitetty vertailumalleja saatavuudenhallinnan ja suunnitteluprosessien toimivuudesta myös muilta toimialoilta kuten elintarvike- ja metalliteollisuudesta. Työn tuloksena on selkeä kuva saatavuudenhallinnan ja suunnitteluprosessien nykytilasta sekä mihin suuntaan niitä voisi kehittää. Suurimpana ongelmana myyntiprosessissa on pitkän tähtäimen suunnittelun puutteellisuus, minkä johtaa siihen, että asiakastilausten saatavuustarkastelut ovat monimutkaisia ja asiakkaille vastaaminen hidasta. Työssä on esitetty tulevaisuuden tavoitetilamalli, jossa tiedonkulku koko toimitusketjun halki on nopeampaa ja tehokkaampaa sekä toimintatavat yhtenäisiä ja selkeitä. Uusi toimintamalli mahdollistaa nopeammat ja luotettavammat myyntilupaukset sekä ilmoittamisen muutoksista asiakkaalle nykyistä aiemmin ja varmemmin.

Kuivatuotetoimitusketjun kehittäminen

Diplomityön tarkoituksena on selvittää kuivatuotetoimitusketjun haasteet ja kehittää toimintaan parannuskeinoja. Kuivatuotetoimitusketjun kehittämisessä pyritään varmistamaan tärkeimpien asiakkaiden tilauksien toimitusvarmuus sekä parantamaan asiakkailta saatavaa kysyntätietoa. Näistä kahdesta osa-alueesta muodostuu kokonaisuus, jonka avulla parannetaan toimitusketjun suorituskykyä. Työn tuloksena kysynnän ennustettavuutta kehitetään lähtötilanteesta toteutetulla kysyntäennustelomakkeella, jonka avulla kerätään tietoa tärkeimpien asiakkaiden tulevasta kysynnästä. Analyyseissä valmisvarastoille määritetään optimitasot, jolloin materiaalinohjausta voidaan hallita systemaattisemmin. Laskelmien yksityiskohtaisia tuloksia ei sisällytetä työhön. Työssä tarkastellaan myös varastotilan riittävyyttä sekä vaihtoehtoja kapasiteetin lisäämiseksi.

Economic Geographical Analysis of The Finnish Paper Industry

The purpose of this academic economic geographical dissertation is to study and describe how competitiveness in the Finnish paper industry has developed during 2001–2008. During these years, the Finnish paper industry has faced economically challenging times. This dissertation attempts to fill the existing gap between theoretical and empirical discussions concerning economic geographical issues in the paper industry. The main research questions are: How have the supply chain costs and margins developed during 2001–2008? How do sales prices, transportation, and fixed and variable costs correlate with gross margins in a spatial context? The research object for this case study is a typical large Finnish paper mill that exports over 90 % of its production. The economic longitudinal research data were obtained from the case mill’s controlled economic system and, correlation (R2) analysis was used as the main research method. The time series data cover monthly economic and manufacturing observations from the mill from 2001 to 2008. The study reveals the development of prices, costs and transportation in the case mill, and it shows how economic variables correlate with the paper mills’ gross margins in various markets in Europe. The research methods of economic geography offer perspectives that pay attention to the spatial (market) heterogeneity. This type of research has been quite scarce in the research tradition of Finnish economic geography and supply chain management. This case study gives new insight into the research tradition of Finnish economic geography and supply chain management and its applications. As a concrete empirical result, this dissertation states that the competitive advantages of the Finnish paper industry were significantly weakened during 2001–2008 by low paper prices, costly manufacturing and expensive transportation. Statistical analysis expose that, in several important markets, transport costs lower gross margins as much as decreasing paper prices, which was a new finding. Paper companies should continuously pay attention to lowering manufacturing and transporting costs to achieve more profitable economic performance. The location of a mill being far from markets clearly has an economic impact on paper manufacturing, as paper demand is decreasing and oversupply is pressuring paper prices down. Therefore, market and economic forecasting in the paper industry is advantageous at the country and product levels while simultaneously taking into account the economic geographically specific dimensions.

Kysynnän ennakointiprosessin kehittäminen leipomoyrityksessä

Tämän työn tarkoituksena on kehittää lyhyen tähtäimen kysynnän ennakointiprosessia VAASAN Oy:ssä, jossa osa tuotteista valmistetaan kysyntäennakoiden perusteella. Valmistettavien tuotteiden luonteesta johtuva varastointimahdollisuuden puuttuminen, korkea toimitusvarmuustavoite sekä tarvittavien ennakoiden suuri määrä asettavat suuret haasteet kysynnän ennakointiprosessille. Työn teoriaosuudessa käsitellään kysynnän ennustamisen tarvetta, ennusteiden käyttökohteita sekä kysynnän ennustamismenetelmiä. Pelkällä kysynnän ennustamisella ei kuitenkaan päästä toimitusketjun kannalta optimaaliseen lopputulokseen, vaan siihen tarvitaan kokonaisvaltaista kysynnän hallintaa. Se on prosessi, jonka tavoitteena on tasapainottaa toimitusketjun kyvykkyydet ja asiakkaiden vaatimukset keskenään mahdollisimman tehokkaasti. Työssä tutkittiin yrityksessä kolmen kuukauden aikana eksponentiaalisen tasoituksen menetelmällä laadittuja ennakoita sekä ennakoijien tekemiä muutoksia niihin. Tutkimuksen perusteella optimaalinen eksponentiaalisen tasoituksen alfa-kerroin on 0,6. Ennakoijien tilastollisiin ennakoihin tekemät muutokset paransivat ennakoiden tarkkuutta ja ne olivat erityisen tehokkaita toimituspuutteiden minimoimisessa. Lisäksi työn tuloksena ennakoijien käyttöön saatiin monia päivittäisiä rutiineja helpottavia ja automatisoivia työkaluja.

Information exchange and disruption risk in multimodal maritime supply chains

Supply chains are becoming increasingly dependent on information ex-change in today’s world, and any disruption can cause severe repercus-sions to the flow of materials in the chain. The speed, accuracy and amount of information are key factors. The aim in this thesis is to address a gap in the research by focusing on information exchange and the risks related to it in a multimodal wood supply chain operating between the Baltic States and Finland. The study involved interviewing people engaged in logistics management in the supply chain in question. The main risk the interviewees identified arose from the sea logistics system, which held a lot of different kinds of information. The threat of breakdown in the Internet connection was also found to hinder the operations significantly. A vulnerability analysis was carried out in order to identify the main actors and channels of infor-mation flow in the supply chain. The analysis revealed that the most important and therefore most vulnerable information-exchange channels were those linking the terminal superintendent, the operative managers and the mill managers. The study gives a holistic picture of the investigated supply chain. Information-exchange-related risks varied greatly. One of the most frequently mentioned was the risk of information inaccuracy, which was usually due to the fact that those in charge of the various functions did not fully understand the consequences for the entire chain.

Improving strategic decision-making with simulation based decision support systems

Combating climate change is one of the key tasks of humanity in the 21st century. One of the leading causes is carbon dioxide emissions due to usage of fossil fuels. Renewable energy sources should be used instead of relying on oil, gas, and coal. In Finland a significant amount of energy is produced using wood. The usage of wood chips is expected to increase in the future significantly, over 60 %. The aim of this research is to improve understanding over the costs of wood chip supply chains. This is conducted by utilizing simulation as the main research method. The simulation model utilizes both agent-based modelling and discrete event simulation to imitate the wood chip supply chain. This thesis concentrates on the usage of simulation based decision support systems in strategic decision-making. The simulation model is part of a decision support system, which connects the simulation model to databases but also provides a graphical user interface for the decisionmaker. The main analysis conducted with the decision support system concentrates on comparing a traditional supply chain to a supply chain utilizing specialized containers. According to the analysis, the container supply chain is able to have smaller costs than the traditional supply chain. Also, a container supply chain can be more easily scaled up due to faster emptying operations. Initially the container operations would only supply part of the fuel needs of a power plant and it would complement the current supply chain. The model can be expanded to include intermodal supply chains as due to increased demand in the future there is not enough wood chips located close to current and future power plants.

Information integration and its impacts on logistics performance - Using information technology and systems to facilitate information integration

Fast changing environment sets pressure on firms to share large amount of information with their customers and suppliers. The terms information integration and information sharing are essential for facilitating a smooth flow of information throughout the supply chain, and the terms are used interchangeably in research literature. By integrating and sharing information, firms want to improve their logistics performance. Firms share information with their suppliers and customers by using traditional communication methods (telephone, fax, Email, written and face-to-face contacts) and by using advanced or modern communication methods such as electronic data interchange (EDI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), web-based procurement systems, electronic trading systems and web portals. Adopting new ways of using IT is one important resource for staying competitive on the rapidly changing market (Saeed et al. 2005, 387), and an information system that provides people the information they need for performing their work, will support company performance (Boddy et al. 2005, 26). The purpose of this research has been to test and understand the relationship between information integration with key suppliers and/or customers and a firm’s logistics performance, especially when information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) are used for integrating information. Quantitative and qualitative research methods have been used to perform the research. Special attention has been paid to the scope, level and direction of information integration (Van Donk & van der Vaart 2005a). In addition, the four elements of integration (Jahre & Fabbe-Costes 2008) are closely tied to the frame of reference. The elements are integration of flows, integration of processes and activities, integration of information technologies and systems and integration of actors. The study found that information integration has a low positive relationship to operational performance and a medium positive relationship to strategic performance. The potential performance improvements found in this study vary from efficiency, delivery and quality improvements (operational) to profit, profitability or customer satisfaction improvements (strategic). The results indicate that although information integration has an impact on a firm’s logistics performance, all performance improvements have not been achieved. This study also found that the use of IT and IS have a mediocre positive relationship to information integration. Almost all case companies agreed on that the use of IT and IS could facilitate information integration and improve their logistics performance. The case companies felt that an implementation of a web portal or a data bank would benefit them - enhance their performance and increase information integration.

Käyttöpääoman sitoutuminen ja kiertoajat lääkejakeluketjussa

Työn tavoitteenaan oli selvittää suomalaisen lääkejakeluketjun rakenne sekä saada selkeä kuva ketjun toiminnan tehokkuudesta käyttöpääoman sitoutumisen ja kiertoaikojen osalta. Työn alussa käydään läpi teoriaa ja tutkimusta käyttöpääomasta ja sen erien kiertoajoista sekä erityisesti niiden huomioimisesta arvoketjussa. Lisäksi esitellään Suomen lääkemarkkinoiden toimintaa sekä sen toimijoita. Työn empiirinen osa suoritettiin kahdessa päävaiheessa. Ensin analysoitiin Voitto+ -ohjelmasta saatuja valittujen lääkejakeluketjun yritysten julkisia tilinpäätöstietoja ajalta 2005- 2011. Analysointi perustui käyttöpääoman sekä sen erien myyntisaamisten, ostovelkojen ja vaihto-omaisuuden kiertoaikojen laskemiseen. Ketjun yrityksiä vertailtiin toisiinsa ketjun osien keskimääräisten kiertoaikojen osalta ja saatiin selville niiden suhteellinen sijoittuminen toisiinsa nähden. Työn toisessa päävaiheessa haastateltiin esimerkkitoimijaa käsitellyn lääkejakeluketjun jokaisesta osasta: lääketehdas, tukkujakelija ja apteekki. Työssä huomattiin, että käyttöpääoman kiertoaikaan lääkejakeluketjussa vaikuttaa ensisijaisesti ketjun osan toiminnan luonne ja käyttöpääoman hallinnan tehokkuus lääkejakeluketjun toimijoiden välillä vaihtelee osaamisen ja resurssien mukaan. Ketjun eri osissa painottuvat eri käyttöpääoman erät ja ketjun toiminta on optimoitunut aikojen saatossa hyvin stabiiliin tilaan, jota ketjun jäsenillä ei näytä olevan halua muuttaa. Lääkejakeluketjun käyttöpääomaan hallintaa voitaisiin tehostaa varastonhallintaa parantamalla sekä informaation jakamisella saattamalla kysyntätiedot nopeammin koko ketjun tietoon.

Towards Inter-organizational Working Capital Management

Working capital is an investment which is tied up into the inventories and accounts receivable and which is released with accounts payable. Due to the current business landscape with tightened financial conditions and finance markets, organizations emphasize efficient working capital management. With efficient working capital management, a company can reduce the need of finance, free up cash, increase profitability, improve liquidity, increase the efficiency of operations, and decrease (financing) costs. From the perspective of an individual company, efficient working capital management means decreasing inventory levels by shortening the cycle time of inventories, decreasing accounts receivable by shortening the trade credit terms and effective collection procedures, and increasing the level of accounts payable by paying the suppliers later. From an inter-organizational perspective, however, working capital should not be sub-optimized by a single company but holistic view to working capital management through the supply chain should be adopted to create value and improve performance together. The purpose of this research is to take academic research as well as practical management towards inter-organizational working capital management. The thesis discusses the benefits as well as mechanisms of working capital management in the inter-organizational context and has two main objectives: (1) to examine the effect of inter-organizational working capital management on performance in the value chain context and (2) to develop models of working capital management for internal as well as inter-organizational value chains. The results of the archival research conducted in the value chain of the pulp and paper industry and the value chain of the automotive industry indicate that companies can increase relative profitability by managing working capital comprehensively by taking into account all three components, and holistically though the value chain. Companies in the value chain benefit from different strategies in working capital management depending on the position of the company in the value chain. This can be taken into account in inter-organizational working capital management. The effects of inter-organizational working capital management actions on the financing costs of working capital were studied via simulations. Simulations also show that the value chain and individual companies benefit from an inter-organizational view to working capital management. Inter-organizational working capital management actions include for example: shortening the cycle time of inventories, reducing product costs, shifting inventories, shortening payment terms, and considering the cost of capital. The thesis also provides solutions for the practical requirements for tools to control working capital. The design science part of the research introduces the adjusted cash conversion cycle (ACCC) model for internal value chains, as well as models for working capital management in the inter-organizational value chain context: the working capital management model (WCMM) and the financial cycle time model (FCTM) designed in corporation and product levels respectively. This research contributes to literature on working capital management and interorganizational accounting. The research gives a holistic, inter-organizational view to the management of working capital. It advances the knowledge in working capital management on operational level, increases knowledge in the recently risen theme of supply chainoriented, collaborative working capital management, combines management accounting research with supply chain management research, and contributes to the demand of practical inter-organizational accounting methods. In addition, the research has strong practical focus as new managerial methods are introduced.

Tiedonjaon ongelmat globaalissa jakeluketjussa

Työ on kirjallisuustutkimus ja sen tavoitteena on määrittää globaalin jakeluketjun tiedonjaon ongelmat sekä niiden ratkaisu- ja ehkäisymenetelmiä. Työ sisältää seitsemän eri ongelmatyyppiä, joihin löydettiin kolme ratkaisumenetelmää ja kolme ehkäisymenetelmää. Lisäksi työssä käsitellään ongelmia case-yrityksen näkökulmasta. Case-esimerkki toteutettiin haastatteluna. Tiedonjaon ongelmat johtuvat joko inhimillisistä tai teknisistä virheistä. Vakavimmat ongelmat johtuvat usein inhimillisistä syistä eikä tietojärjestelmän uusiminen välttämättä korjaa näitä ongelmia. Tietojärjestelmien oikeaoppinen käyttöönotto ja sisäistäminen antavat yritykselle huomattavia parannuksia tiedonjakoon jakeluketjussa. Tiedonjaon ongelmia ratkaistaessa täytyy usein hyödyntää useampia ratkaisumenetelmiä ja yrityksen liiketoimintamalli täytyy ottaa huomioon. Case-yrityksessä vakavimmat ongelmat liittyivät luottamukseen, kommunikointietiketin puutteeseen, tiedon hukkumiseen ja odottamattomiin tiedonkulun häiriöihin.

Agility in international fast fashion retailing

The birth of Internet technologies, the developments of fast fashion and multiple retailing channels have created a need for a new, more integrated way for doing retailing. Agility in fast fashion retailing could be seen as a significant way of responding to these changes and furthermore, as a way to respond to consumers’ altering demands. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which agile supply chains and integrated multichannel retailing influence the international fast fashion retailing. A framework for agility in retail was developed based on available theoretical considerations in distribution and communication channels. Qualitative research methods and qualitative content analysis were used. Four expert interviews were carried out to gain new perspectives to the objectives. The rest of the data was collected from an industry specific document, expert video and two expert lectures. Following the data collection, the research material was analyzed with qualitative content analysis. The empirical findings on agility in retail were presented based on a coding frame. It was found that agility in retail has multiple parts, which are overlapping and affecting one another. Furthermore, instead of viewing the agile supply chain and integrated multichannel retailing separately of each other as usual, it was found that they should be integrated, and the term “agility” was proposed to denote this approach. Also, it was found that the most common drivers and constrains of integrated multichannel retailing were the new Internet technologies and customer demand. Brick-and-mortar store, online store, mobile devices and social media were found to be the most common retailing channels. Furthermore, in-store technology, click-and-collect approach, NFC-buying, RFID-technology as well as 3D- digital simulations on fabrics and patterns will enhance agility even more in the future. In addition, environmental issues, customer experiences and communication will be important factors. This study has provided new practical insights for the future retailing. Furthermore, it has contributed to the academic research by discussing the traditional approaches of agility in fast fashion retail and bringing in new insights.

Toimitusketjun diagnostiikkatyökalu

Tässä työssä luodaan diagnostiikkatyökalu toimitusketjun nykytilan määritystä varten. Sen tavoitteena on muodostaa tieteellisen kirjallisuuden pohjalta selkeästi esitettävissä oleva prosessimuotoinen työkalu, jota voidaan käyttää mahdollisimman monessa erilaisessa toimitusketjussa. Lisäksi sen tulee olla sopiva yrityksen ulkopuolisen toimijan, esimerkiksi konsultin, käytettäväksi. Työssä käydään ensin läpi toimitusketjun diagnosoinnin ja sen suorituskyvyn mittauksen teoriaa. Sen jälkeen muodostetaan näiden avulla tavoitteita vastaava nelivaiheinen työkalu, joka ulottuu aina projektin suunnittelusta mittaukseen, kehitystoimenpiteiden tunnistamiseen ja niiden esittämiseen yrityksen johdolle.

Scenario-based traffic forecasts for the routes between the PENTA ports in 2020

Maritime transport is the foundation for trade in the Baltic Sea area. It represents over 15% of the world’s cargo traffic and it is predicted to increase by over 100% in the future. There are currently over 2,000 ships sailing on the Baltic Sea and both the number and the size of ships have been growing in recent years. Due to the importance of maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea Region, ports have to be ready to face future challenges and adapt to the changing operational environment. The companies within the transportation industry – in this context ports, shipowners and logistics companies – compete continuously and although the number of companies in the business is not particularly substantial because the products offered are very similar, other motives for managing the supply chain arise. The factors creating competitive advantage are often financial and related to cost efficiency, but geographical location, road infrastructure in the hinterland and vessel connections are among the most important factors. The PENTA project focuses on adding openness, transparency and sharing knowledge and information, so that the challenges of the future can be better addressed with regard to cooperation. This report presents three scenario-based traffic forecasts for routes between the PENTA ports in 2020. The chosen methodology is PESTE, in which the focus in on economic factors affecting future traffic flows. The report further analyses the findings and results of the first PENTA WP2 report “Drivers of demand in cargo and passenger traffic between PENTA ports” and utilises the same material, which was obtained through interviews and mail surveys.

Supply network risks and costs in Finnish project business

This report summarizes the results of the survey HAVERI – Supply network risks in business. The survey was conducted in Finland during the spring and summer of year 2013. The survey is part of a large two-year research project started in June 2012 in Finland (on-going 06/2012–07/2014). The project is launched and financed by TEKES, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and executed together with the researchers from Lappeenranta University of Technology and Tampere University of Technology. The overall goal of this on-going research project is to find out the decision-making practices in the project-oriented companies in their purchasing decisions especially in the mechanical engineering and construction industries in Finland. The objective of the survey was to gain cross-sectional data concerning the challenges, risks and cost factors in Finnish project business companies. The results show that Finnish companies rely on their experience and supplier references in their risk management. In general, the understanding of the total cost structure varies among the industries and companies. The main cost factor in risk management was costs before the actual purchase decision. Overall, it seems that the monetary value of the whole project and capability of purchasing personnel are the main influencing factors on risk management activity in project purchasing.