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- Simm, Niklas, 1994-
(författare)
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Sharing Resources for Greener Logistics
- 2024
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Freight transportation, a significant contributor to the environmental impact of logistics, is projected to grow, thereby increasing its environmental footprint. With many actors contributing to the greening of logistics, their roles, and responsibilities for the greening of logistics differs. One mean for progressing the greening of logistics, is to share resources between actors needed for implementing different green logistics practices. Resource sharing among these actors will be a key strategy for advancing the greening of logistics.The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding how resources can be shared between actors to facilitate the implementation of green logistics practices. It focuses on the different green logistics practices that can be implemented to green logistics through a resource perspective, where resources and actors that controls resources and implements green logistics practices are the subject of analysis. Through the application of resource dependency theory, this thesis sets out to understand why actors need to share resources with other actors, and how they can manage their dependency onto resources controlled by other actors.The findings of suggest that there are different resources needed for green logistics: knowledge, technical resources, financial resources, time, employees, and IT-systems. The actors that control these resources or that implements green logistics practices are: logistics service providers, shippers, customers, technology providers, and governmental authorities. Through the lens of resource dependence, it is suggested how the dependencies can be managed through resources sharing between different actors. These ways of sharing resources are characterized by three parameters: duration (short-term vs long-term), directness (direct vs indirect), and scope (resource sharing with one or multiple actors). Through a combination of these parameters, different ways of sharing resources between actors are proposed.The contributions of this thesis are primarily aimed at enriching the green logistics literature and enlightening logistics practitioners. Theoretically, it extends our understanding of interaction for greener logistics by focusing on resource sharing between different actors. By applying resource dependency theory, a deeper understanding of why and how actors can share resources to enable the greening of logistics is given. Additionally, this thesis proposes a categorizations of green logistics practices, actors, and resource. This can be used to further understand green logistics, whilst simultaneously be a tool for practitioners to understand their role in the greening of logistics.
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| 2. |
- Guan, Wei
(författare)
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Developments in Distribution Channels : A Case Study of a Timber Product Distribution Channel
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis describes and analyses the trends and developments of actors along distribution channel. In particular, the study focuses on resellers and manufacturer based on the empirical material from one particular case study. The study has three main goals: (1) to investigate the challenges arising from channel actor developments, the effects of these developments on the structure of the retailer supply chain and their implications for manufacturers and suppliers, (2) to identify explanations for manufacturer’s vertical integration of distribution and the resulting impacts and, (3) to conduct a preliminary customer value analysis relating to the distribution channel of solid wood products.The study has taken an exploratory and qualitative research approach with an abductive reasoning process. A case study strategy was adopted, which studied a distribution channel consisting of a Sweden-based timber manufacturer that vertically integrated a distributor in the UK. Semi-structured interviews comprised the primary data collection technique in this study. A two-step data collection process was conducted between May 2009 and April 2010, including 29 interviews with 24 interviewees from eight organizations, representing the manufacturer, distributor and reseller in the distribution channel. Non-participating observations were carried out by attending sales meeting and joining account managers on store visits. All interviews were documented and transcribed and the information was collated into case units, along with any supporting secondary data, such as company magazines, web resources, annual reports, sales reports, meeting presentations, etc.This thesis has produced several findings. Reseller developments have promoted the formation of reseller demands, such as integrated solutions with respects to logistics, marketing, merchandising, innovation, etc. Retailer developments have driven the change of a retailer supply chain structure, and have opened up a number of new questions to be posed on manufacturer and its positioning in the supply chain. The most important factors driving the manufacturer’s vertical integration of distribution are customer demands, the manufacturer’s repositioning strategy with regard to its business focus and its positioning in the supply chain. The vertical integration of distribution transforms the manufacturer into a direct supplier to large timber product resellers. It also offers the supplier a great opportunity to enhance offerings and establish strategic relationship with customers. The output of suppliers has expanded from solely manufacturing goods to also include services and knowledge associated with goods. In practice, it can be complicated for a supplier to create and communicate value. A full understanding of what timber product customers seek in terms of value elements has not yet been achieved. This study has assisted in terms of understanding the differing value that channel actors place on a range of product, physical distribution, service and supplier value elements by developing a value analysis framework. Suppliers can use this framework when designing, customizing and marketing offerings for customers.
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| 3. |
- Brabie, Dan, 1975-
(författare)
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On Derailment-Worthiness in Rail Vehicle Design : Analysis of vehicle features influencing derailment processes and consequences
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis aims at systematically studying the possibilities of minimizing devastating consequences of high-speed rail vehicle derailments by appropriate measures and features in the train design including the running gear. Firstly, an empirical database is established containing as much relevant information as possible of past incidents and accidents that have occurred at substantial running speeds due to mechanical failure close to the interface between the running gear and the track. Other causes that ultimately brought the train in a derailed condition are also covered. Although various accidental circumstances make each derailment a unique event, certain patterns appear to emerge which lead to several critical vehicle parameters capable of influencing the outcome of a derailment or preventing a derailment to occur. Secondly, the possibility of preventing wheel climbing derailments after an axle journal failure is studied by implementing mechanical restrictions between wheelsets and bogie frame. In this respect, a multi body system (MBS) computer model is developed to account for such an axle failure condition, which is successfully validated on the basis of two authentic passenger car events. In order to study the overall post-derailment vehicle behaviour, in particular the wheelsets’ vertical motion and lateral deviation on sleepers, a comprehensive MBS post-derailment module is developed and implemented in the commercially available software GENSYS. The model detects wheel-sleeper impact conditions and applies valid force resultants calculated through linear interpolation based on a pre-defined look-up table. The table was constructed through exhaustive finite element (FE) wheel to concrete sleeper impact simulations utilising the commercially available software LS-DYNA. The MBS post-derailment module has been validated successfully in several stages, including a correct prediction of the derailing wheelset’s trajectory over ten consecutive sleepers in comparison with an authentic passenger vehicle derailment event. An extensive simulation analysis on the feasibility of utilizing alternative substitute guidance mechanisms attached to the running gear on rail vehicles is presented, as means of minimizing the lateral deviation. Three low-reaching guidance mechanisms attached onto the running gear (bogie frame, brake disc and axle journal box) are analysed in terms of geometrical parameters for a successful engagement with the rail in order to prevent large lateral deviations after twelve different derailment scenarios. Three conventional coupled passenger trailing cars are investigated in terms of lateral deviation and vehicle overturning tendency after derailments on tangent and curved track. This is performed as a function of various vehicle design features and parameters such as: maximum centre coupler yaw angle, carbody height of centre of gravity, coupler height and additional running gear features. In a similar manner, the articulated train concept is investigated in terms of the post-derailment vehicle behaviour as a function of different inter-carbody damper characteristics and running gear features.
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| 4. |
- Nordigården, Daniel, 1978-
(författare)
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Outsourcing in the Wood Product Manufacturing Sector A Combined Customer and Supplier Perspective
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Outsourcing can be defined as transferring an activity from internal to external control. This thesis studies outsourcing in the wood product manufacturing (WPM) sector from both a customer and supplier perspective. The research design is a multiple case study approach, and it is based on six Scandinavian companies in the door, floor and window industries and one larger supplier of raw material. This study provides an understanding of driving forces for outsourcing in a different context than previously studied and has identified cost reduction in combination with reallocating resources from non-core activities as main driving forces. Compared to several other industrial sectors, outsourcing strategies for the WPM firms have little to do with accessing external sources’ capabilities.In the literature, there is often a main focus on the strategic level of outsourcing, however, such heavy resource-based focus in terms of a core competence approach in the formulation of outsourcing strategies at the customer side risks forgetting that components can still be vulnerable to supplier failure. Here, more focus needs to be put on the operational level when considering outsourcing. This thesis illustrates customers considering outsourcing where there are not any given outsourcing supplier partners developed. At the same time, for the supplier side, forward integration and specialising by taking over outsourcing is complicated by an initial divergent production flow of sawn timber. When not all contexts have developed supplier markets for directly managing outsourcing, it should not be assumed that general outsourcing models are directly applicable. In general, the question of whether or not to outsource seems too complex to simply be considered as either “in or out”. A company needs safeguards when conducting outsourcing and in a situation where there is a non-developed supplier market, parallel in-house production becomes an alternative.
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