The accumulation of financial and social capital as a means to achieve a sustained competitive advantage for consumer co-operatives

By so far, scholars have discussed how the characteristics of consumer co-operatives (cooperative principles, values and the dual role of members as the users and owners) can potentially give them a competitive advantage over investor-owned firms (IOFs). In addition, concern for the community (as partly derived from locality and regionality) has been seen as a potential source of success for consumer co-operatives. On the other hand, the geographicbound purpose of consumer co-operation causes that consumer co-operative can be regarded as a challenging company form to manage. This is because, according to the purpose of consumer co-operation, co-operatives are obligated to 1) provide the owners with services and goods that are needed and do so at more affordable prices than their competitors do and/or 2) to operate in areas in which competitors do not want to operate (for example, because of the low profitability in certain area of business or region). Thus, consumer co-operatives have to operate very efficiently in order to execute this geographic-bound corporate purpose (e.g. they cannot withdraw from the competition during the declining stages of business). However, this efficiency cannot be achieved by any means; as the acceptance from the important regional stakeholders is the basic operational precondition and lifeline in the long run. Thereby, the central question for the survival and success of consumer co-operatives is; how should the consumer co-operatives execute its corporate purpose so it can be the best alternative to its members in the long run? This question has remained unanswered and lack empirical evidence in the previous studies on the strategic management of consumer cooperation. In more detail, scholars have not yet empirically investigated the question: How can consumer co-operatives use financial and social capital to achieve a sustained competitive advantage? It is this research gap that this doctoral dissertation aims to fulfil. This doctoral dissertation aims to answer the above questions by combining and utilizing interview data from S Group co-operatives and the central organizations in S Group´s network (overall, 33 interviews were gathered), archival material and 56 published media articles/reports. The study is based on a qualitative case study approach that is aimed at theory development, not theory verification (as the theory is considered as nascent in this field of study). Firstly, the findings of this study indicate that consumer co-operatives accumulate financial capital; 1) by making profit (to invest and grow) and 2) by utilizing a network-based organizational structure (local supply chain economies). As a result of financial capital accumulation, consumer co-operatives are able to achieve efficiency gains but also remain local. In addition, a strong financial capital base increases consumer co-operatives´ independence, competitiveness and their ability to participate in regional development (which is in accordance with their geographically bound corporate purpose). Secondly, consumer cooperatives accumulate social capital through informal networking (with important regional stakeholders), corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviour and CSR reporting, pursuing common good, and interacting and identity sharing. As a result of social capital accumulation, consumer co-operatives are able to obtain the resources for managing; 1) institutional dependencies and 2) customer relations. By accumulating both social and financial capital through the above presented actions, consumer co-operatives are able to achieve sustained competitive advantage. Finally, this thesis provides useful ideas and new knowledge for cooperative managers concerning why and how consumer co-operatives should accumulate financial and social capital (to achieve sustained competitive advantage), while aligning with their corporate purpose.

Risk Assessment of a Supplier in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The topic of this Master’s Thesis is risk assessment in the supply chain, and the work was done for a company operating in the pharmaceutical industry. The unique features of the industry bring additional challenges to risk management, due to high regulatory, docu-mentation and traceability requirements. The objective of the thesis was to generate a template for assessing the risks in the supply chain of current and potential suppliers of the case company. Risks pertaining to the case setting were sought mainly from in-house expertise of this specific product and supply chain as well as academic research papers and theory on risk management. A questionnaire was set up to assess the found risks on impact, occurrence and possibility of detection. Through this classification of the severity of the risks, the supplier assessment template was formed. A questionnaire template, comprised of the top 10 risks affecting the flow of information and materials in this setting, was formulated to serve as a generic tool for assessing risks in the supply chain of a pharmaceutical company. The template was tested on another supplier for usability and accuracy of found risks, and it demonstrated functioning in a differing supply chain and product setting.

Engineer-to-order -toimitusketjun kilpailutekijät ja niiden suorituskyvyn mittaaminen

Kandidaatintyön tavoitteena on tutkia engineer-to-order -toimitusketjun tyypillisiä tärkeimpiä kilpailutekijöitä sekä esittää esimerkkiratkaisu siitä, millaisella suorituskyvyn mittaristolla engineer-to-order toimitusketjua voidaan ohjata kohti tärkeimpien kilpailutekijöiden vahvistamista. Työssä luodaan katsaus ETO -ympäristön erityispiirteisiin ja esitetään tekijöitä, joita suorituskyvyn mittaamisessa tulisi huomioida tässä ympäristössä.

Supplier Delivery Quality Evaluation in Maintenance Supporting Spare Part Business

The focus of this thesis is the issues related to the operational purchasing level supply chain process. Due to this limitation, the physical product quality issues do not belong to the primary concerns of this thesis, whereas the bilateral processes between the supplier and the purchasing organizations are of interest. Also, the issues related to the delivery timing are excluded from the study. Because the perspective is on the issues involved in the supply chain operations, the bilateral communication issues between supplier representative and purchaser are also considered.

Palveluratkaisuliiketoiminnan erityispiirteet

Tämän kandidaatintyön tarkoituksena on tarkastella ajankohtaista ja mielenkiintoista aihetta siitä kuinka tuotteita valmistavat yritykset ovat lisänneet yhä enemmän palveluita tuoteportfolioihinsa tuotteiden lisäksi. (Bustinza et al. 2013, s.618) Työn tarkoituksena on selvittää palveluratkaisuliiketoimintaa harjoittavan yrityksen erityispiirteitä. Miten toimitusketju eroaa, kun myydään palveluratkaisua verrattuna siihen, kun myydään tavallista standardi tuotetta. Lisäksi työn tarkoituksena on selvittää mitä tulee huomioida palveluprosessien läpiviennissä. Palveluratkaisua myyvän yrityksen toimitusketjun täytyy ottaa kysynnän epävarmuus huomioon. Toimitusketjun täytyy olla joustava ja asiakastilauksen kytkentäpisteen täytyy olla toimitusketjun varhaisessa vaiheessa. Tuotannonohjaus muodoksi palveluratkaisulle sopii esimerkiksi Make-to-Order, sillä siinä valmistus aloitetaan tilauksen jälkeen. Yrityksen kaikissa prosesseissa täytyy huomioida asiakas ja hankinnat eivät ole enää pelkästään fyysisten tuotteiden hankintaa, vaan verkoston luomista, jolla hoidetaan tarvittava tuotteiden ja palveluiden tarjoama.

Julkiset luomu- ja lähiruokahankkeet toimitusketjunäkökulmasta tarkasteltuna

Luomu- ja lähiruokaliiketoiminta on vielä varsin marginaalista Suomessa, mutta alalla on selkeästi kasvupotentiaalia. Sektoria on pyritty kehittämään julkisten, muun muassa EU-rahoitettujen, hankkeiden avulla. Tässä työssä on tutkittu vuosina 2007 – 2013 toteutettuja luomu- ja lähiruokahankkeita toimitusketjunäkökulmasta käsin. Tutkimuksen kohteena ovat olleet hankkeisiin liittyvät toimitusketjun osaamisalueet sekä hankkeiden tavoitteet, kohderyhmät ja tulokset. Bechmarking-mielessä on luotu silmäys Ranskan, Italian ja Itävallan luomu- ja lähiruokaliiketoimintaan. Työn otoksen muodostavat 105 julkista luomu- ja lähiruokahanketta. Työssä muodostettiin teorialähtöisesti kuusi toimitusketjun osaamisaluetta, joiden avulla hankkeita kategorisoitiin ja analysoitiin. Osaamisalueet ovat yhteistyö-/verkosto-osaaminen, logistiikka-/jakeluosaaminen, markkinointi-/myyntiosaaminen, talous-/yrittäjyysosaaminen, tuote-/tuotekehitysosaaminen sekä tuotanto-osaaminen. Tutkittujen hankkeiden yleisin tavoite liittyy yhteistyö- ja verkosto-osaamisen kehittämiseen. Hankkeista voitiin osoittaa neljä erilaista yhteistyön muotoa. Yleisin kohderyhmä on luomu- ja lähiruoan tuottaja. Eurooppalaisissa esimerkeissä korostuvat kuluttajalähtöisyys, järjestäytyneet yhteistyömuodot sekä vähittäiskaupan merkittävä rooli luomu- ja lähiruoan jakelijana.

Networks and partnerships in third party logistics service production

Third party logistics, and third party logistics providers and the services they offer have grown substantially in the last twenty years. Even though there has been extensive research on third party logistics providers, and regular industry reviews within the logistics industry, a closer research in the area of partner selection and network models in the third party logistics industry is missing. The perspective taken in this study was of expanding the network research into logistics service providers as the focal firm in the network. The purpose of the study is to analyze partnerships and networks in the third party logistics industry in order to define how networks are utilized in third party logistics markets, what have been the reasons for the partnerships, and whether there are benefits for the third party logistics provider that can be achieved through building networks and partnerships. The theoretical framework of this study was formed based on common theories in studying networks and partnerships in accordance with models of horizontal and vertical partnerships. The theories applied to the framework and context of this study included the strategic network view and the resource-based view. Applying these two network theories to the position and networks of third party logistics providers in an industrial supply chain, a theoretical model for analyzing the horizontal and vertical partnerships where the TPL provider is in focus was structured. The empirical analysis of TPL partnerships consisted of a qualitative document analysis of 33 partnership examples involving companies present in the Finnish TPL markets. For the research, existing documents providing secondary data on types of partnerships, reasons for the partnerships, and outcomes of the partnerships were searched from available online sources. Findings of the study revealed that third party logistics providers are evident in horizontal and vertical interactions varying in geographical coverage and the depth and nature of the relationship. Partnership decisions were found to be made on resource based reasons, as well as from strategic aspects. The discovered results of the partnerships in this study included cost reduction and effectiveness in the partnerships for improving existing services. In addition in partnerships created for innovative service extension, differentiation, and creation of additional value were discovered to have emerged as results of the cooperation. It can be concluded that benefits and competitive advantage can be created through building partnerships in order to expand service offering and seeking synergies.

Developing of Supportive Context for Eco-Industrial Networks in Finland

The aim of the present thesis was to explore possible promotional actions to support the emergence of eco-industrial business networks in Finland. The main objectives were to investigate what kind of factors affect in the development of eco-industrial networks and further make suggestions in what kinds of actions this could be supported. In addition, since the active facilitation was discovered as one potential promoting activity, further investigation about facilitation process in Finnish context was conducted and also main characteristics of nationwide facilitation programme were identified. This thesis contains literature review of network orchestration and eco-industrial networks. The latter consists of green supply chain management and industrial symbiosis, although the main focus of the study leans on the concept of industrial symbiosis. The empirical data of the study was obtained from semi-structured expert interviews. These interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study identified four main promotional activities for eco-industrial networks: 1) building awareness, 2) incentives, 3) dismantling of legislative barriers and 4) active facilitation. In addition, a framework for facilitation activities in Finnish context was built and main characteristics of nationwide facilitation programme were identified.

Tuotetietoprosessin kehittäminen päivittäistavarakaupan toimitusketjussa

Diplomityö toteutettiin Yritys X:n toimeksiantona. Työ sai alkunsa Yritys X:n tarpeesta kehittää yrityksen ja sen asiakasomistajien yhteistä tuotetietoprosessia. Tavoitteena oli saada kuvaus tuotetietoprosessin nykytilasta sekä sen pohjalta luoda kehitysehdotukset, joilla prosessia voitaisiin tehostaa. Työssä käytettiin kvalitatiivista eli laadullista tutkimusmenetelmää. Tietoa tuotetietoprosessin nykytilasta etsittiin pääsääntöisesti lukuisten Yritys X:n ja sen asiakasomistajien henkilöstön haastattelujen avulla. Lisäksi työtä tehdessä tutustuttiin laajasti toimitusketjuyhteistyöstä, tiedon läpinäkyvyyden merkityksestä, tiedonhallinnasta ja tuotetietoprosessista kertovaan kirjallisuuteen. Työn tuloksena saatiin kuvaus siitä, miten Yritys X ja sen asiakasomistajat käsittelevät tuotetietoja sekä mitkä ovat tuotetietoprosessin suurimmat haasteet. Tämän pohjalta luotiin kehitysehdotukset, joilla prosessia voitaisiin tehostaa. Tuotetietoprosessin suurimpana haasteena nähtiin olevan se, että koko ryhmittymän yhteistä etua ei ole huomioitu prosessia luodessa sekä se, että prosessissa tehdään päällekkäistä ja manuaalista työtä, joka olisi mahdollista välttää tiedon jakamisen ja sähköisen tiedonsiirron avulla. Tärkeimmiksi kehitysehdotuksiksi muodostui tuotetietoprosessin tarkastelu ja kehittäminen jatkossa kokonaisuutena, yhteistyön ja tiedon jakamisen lisääminen, Yritys X:ltä saatavien tuotetietojen laajempi hyödyntäminen asiakasomistajilla, sähköisen tiedonsiirron merkittävä lisääminen sekä yhtenäisen tuotetietojen laadunhallintajärjestelmän luominen ja sitä myötä tuotetietoprosessin ja sen tehokkuuden mittaaminen.

Toimitusketjun hallinnan erityispiirteet elintarvikepakkausalalla: lainsäädännön ja keskeisten standardien rooli

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kuvata elintarvikepakkausalan keskeisen lainsäädännön ja laadunhallintastandardien vaikutusta elintarvikepakkausalan toimitusketjujen hallinnassa. Tutkielmassa sovelletaan kvalitatiivista analyysitapaa ja tutkimus aineistona on kirjallinen materiaali sekä teemahaastattelu.Tutkielman teoreettinen viitekehys rakentuu toimitusketjun hallinnan ympärille. Tutkielmassa kartoitetaan elintarvikepakkausvalmistajiin sovellettavan kontaktimateriaalilainsäädännön ja ISO 9001 laadunhallintastandardin keskeiset vaatimukset, ja tarkastellaan niiden roolia elintarvikepakkausalan toimitusketjun hallinnan välineenä. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että vaikka sekä kontaktimateriaalilainsäädäntö että vapaaehtoiset laadunhallintastandardit tukevat elintarvikepakkausalan toimitusketjujen hallintaa, on niiden vaikuttavuus ja toimitusketjun koordinaation ja integraation kehittäminen pitkälti riippuvainen siitä, kuinka sitoutuneita toimitusketjuun kuuluvat yritykset ovat kehittämään toimi-tusketjun liiketoimintaprosesseja ja johtamiskäytäntöjä.

Tiedon jakaminen tilaus-toimitus-ketjussa - tapaus- tutkimus

Tämän Pro gradu- tutkielman tarkoituksena on kartoittaa kohdeyrityksen tilaus-toimitus-ketjua ja siinä esiintyviä tiedon jakamisen ongelmia. Yrityksen tilaus-toimitus-ketjun tiedon jakamisessa ilmeneviä tekijöitä verrataan kirjallisuuden perusteella tunnistettuihin tiedon jakamisen menestystekijöihin. Tutkimuksessa sovelletaan kvalitatiivista analyysitapaa ja tutkimusstrategiana on tapaustutkimus. Työn empiirisen osuuden tiedon keruu tapahtuu haastattelujen ja havainnoinnin avulla. Teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu tilaus-toimitusketjussa tapahtuvan tiedon jakamisen menestystekijöistä ja tiedon jakamisen vaikutuksista tilaus-toimitus-ketjun toimintoihin ja toimintaan. Tutkielmassa kartoitetaan yrityksen tilaus-toimitus-ketjua ja kartoitetaan siinä esiintyviä tiedon jakamisen ongelmakohtia. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, edellisistä tutkimuksista poiketen, että tiedon jakamiseen vaikuttavat tekijät ja tiedon jakamisen välineet ovat erilaiset riippuen aikajänteestä jolla toimitaan.

Distribution network design and optimization

The objective of this thesis is to examine distribution network designs and modeling practices and create a framework to identify best possible distribution network structure for the case company. The main research question therefore is: How to optimize case company’s distribution network in terms of customer needs and costs? Theory chapters introduce the basic building blocks of the distribution network design and needed calculation methods and models. Framework for the distribution network projects was created based on the theory and the case study was carried out by following the defined framework. Distribution network calculations were based on the company’s sales plan for the years 2014 - 2020. Main conclusions and recommendations were that the new Asian business strategy requires high investments in logistics and the first step is to open new satellite DC in China as soon as possible to support sales and second possible step is to open regional DC in Asia within 2 - 4 years.

Value of Information Logistics Integration in Digital Business Ecosystem

Digital business ecosystems (DBE) are becoming an increasingly popular concept for modelling and building distributed systems in heterogeneous, decentralized and open environments. Information- and communication technology (ICT) enabled business solutions have created an opportunity for automated business relations and transactions. The deployment of ICT in business-to-business (B2B) integration seeks to improve competitiveness by establishing real-time information and offering better information visibility to business ecosystem actors. The products, components and raw material flows in supply chains are traditionally studied in logistics research. In this study, we expand the research to cover the processes parallel to the service and information flows as information logistics integration. In this thesis, we show how better integration and automation of information flows enhance the speed of processes and, thus, provide cost savings and other benefits for organizations. Investments in DBE are intended to add value through business automation and are key decisions in building up information logistics integration. Business solutions that build on automation are important sources of value in networks that promote and support business relations and transactions. Value is created through improved productivity and effectiveness when new, more efficient collaboration methods are discovered and integrated into DBE. Organizations, business networks and collaborations, even with competitors, form DBE in which information logistics integration has a significant role as a value driver. However, traditional economic and computing theories do not focus on digital business ecosystems as a separate form of organization, and they do not provide conceptual frameworks that can be used to explore digital business ecosystems as value drivers—combined internal management and external coordination mechanisms for information logistics integration are not the current practice of a company’s strategic process. In this thesis, we have developed and tested a framework to explore the digital business ecosystems developed and a coordination model for digital business ecosystem integration; moreover, we have analysed the value of information logistics integration. The research is based on a case study and on mixed methods, in which we use the Delphi method and Internetbased tools for idea generation and development. We conducted many interviews with key experts, which we recoded, transcribed and coded to find success factors. Qualitative analyses were based on a Monte Carlo simulation, which sought cost savings, and Real Option Valuation, which sought an optimal investment program for the ecosystem level. This study provides valuable knowledge regarding information logistics integration by utilizing a suitable business process information model for collaboration. An information model is based on the business process scenarios and on detailed transactions for the mapping and automation of product, service and information flows. The research results illustrate the current cap of understanding information logistics integration in a digital business ecosystem. Based on success factors, we were able to illustrate how specific coordination mechanisms related to network management and orchestration could be designed. We also pointed out the potential of information logistics integration in value creation. With the help of global standardization experts, we utilized the design of the core information model for B2B integration. We built this quantitative analysis by using the Monte Carlo-based simulation model and the Real Option Value model. This research covers relevant new research disciplines, such as information logistics integration and digital business ecosystems, in which the current literature needs to be improved. This research was executed by high-level experts and managers responsible for global business network B2B integration. However, the research was dominated by one industry domain, and therefore a more comprehensive exploration should be undertaken to cover a larger population of business sectors. Based on this research, the new quantitative survey could provide new possibilities to examine information logistics integration in digital business ecosystems. The value activities indicate that further studies should continue, especially with regard to the collaboration issues on integration, focusing on a user-centric approach. We should better understand how real-time information supports customer value creation by imbedding the information into the lifetime value of products and services. The aim of this research was to build competitive advantage through B2B integration to support a real-time economy. For practitioners, this research created several tools and concepts to improve value activities, information logistics integration design and management and orchestration models. Based on the results, the companies were able to better understand the formulation of the digital business ecosystem and the importance of joint efforts in collaboration. However, the challenge of incorporating this new knowledge into strategic processes in a multi-stakeholder environment remains. This challenge has been noted, and new projects have been established in pursuit of a real-time economy.

Suorituskykymittariston rakentaminen ja kehittämisen haasteet öljyliiketoiminta-alan logistisessa organisaatiossa

Yrityksen oman toiminnan ja tehokkuuden analysointi mittaamalla sen suoritus-kykyä on yritysjohdolle oiva keino saada parempi tietoisuus resurssikäytöstä ja strategian toteutumisesta. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että perinteinen taloudellisen tiedon seuranta ei itsessään riitä liiketoiminnan kattavassa seuran-nassa. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli rakentaa suorituskykymittaristo öljyliiketoiminta-alan logistiseen organisaatioon siten, että mittaristo täyttää organisaation mittaamisen päämäärät mahdollisimman tehokkaasti. Suorituskykymittariston osa-alueet ra-kennettiin kohdeorganisaation kriittisten menestystekijöiden perusteella luotujen näkökulmien avulla. Kohdeorganisaation erityspiirteenä oli toiminta osana toimi-tusketjua, johon kuuluivat öljytuotteiden varastointi ja hallittu logistinen operointi perustuen alan standardeihin. Rakennettu suorituskykymittaristo keskittyi turvalli-suus-, kustannustehokkuus- ja tuotehallintatekijöihin tähtäimenä organisaation strategiset tavoitteet. Tutkimus jakaantui teoria- ja empiriaosuuteen. Teoriaosassa tarkasteltiin suoritus-kyvyn mittaamisen merkitystä, suorituskykymittariston rakentamista ja suoritus-kyvyn mittaamisen keskeisiä haasteita. Empiriaosuudessa kerrottiin kohdeorgani-saation erityispiirteet ja kuvattiin suorituskykymittariston kehittäminen kohdeor-ganisaatiossa. Käytetyn tapaustutkimusmenetelmän avulla nostettiin esiin suori-tuskyvyn mittaamisen haasteita ratkaisuineen. Kohdeorganisaation suorituskyvyn mittaamisesta kerätty tieto päädyttiin koosta-maan kerran kuukaudessa päivitettävälle tuloskortille organisaation controllerin toimesta. Tuloskortin rakentamis- ja kehitystyö toteutettiin kahden vuoden aikana. Sen tärkeimmät mittarit pohjautuivat turvallisuuden, kustannustehokkuuden ja käyttöomaisuuden kriittisiin menestystekijöihin, jotka heijastuivat organisaation strategiasta. Tuloskortista saatiin toimiva työkalu johdon käyttöön. Tutkimuksen jatkokehityskohteiksi jäivät tuloskortin kevyempi kuukausipäivitys ja ennustemit-tareiden kehittäminen strategian seurannan tueksi.

Green supplier selection via Multiple Criteria Data Envelopment Analysis

An appropriate supplier selection and its profound effects on increasing the competitive advantage of companies has been widely discussed in supply chain management (SCM) literature. By raising environmental awareness among companies and industries they attach more importance to sustainable and green activities in selection procedures of raw material providers. The current thesis benefits from data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique to evaluate the relative efficiency of suppliers in the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission for green supplier selection. We incorporate the pollution of suppliers as an undesirable output into DEA. However, to do so, two conventional DEA model problems arise: the lack of the discrimination power among decision making units (DMUs) and flexibility of the inputs and outputs weights. To overcome these limitations, we use multiple criteria DEA (MCDEA) as one alternative. By applying MCDEA the number of suppliers which are identified as efficient will be decreased and will lead to a better ranking and selection of the suppliers. Besides, in order to compare the performance of the suppliers with an ideal supplier, a “virtual” best practice supplier is introduced. The presence of the ideal virtual supplier will also increase the discrimination power of the model for a better ranking of the suppliers. Therefore, a new MCDEA model is proposed to simultaneously handle undesirable outputs and virtual DMU. The developed model is applied for green supplier selection problem. A numerical example illustrates the applicability of the proposed model.