| 1. |
- Flankegård, Filip
(author)
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Supplier Involvement in Product Development: A Supplier Perspective
- 2022
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis explores the supplier perspective of supplier involvement in product development. Supplier involvement in product development is crucial for many companies to increase resource flexibility, access competence, reduce costs and time to market, among others. The existing literature focuses primarily on the customer perspective of supplier involvement, e.g., challenges and critical factors customers should consider. A few studies have focused on the supplier perspective. This research gap is addressed in this thesis by studying the conditions influencing the suppliers’ involvement in customers’ product development.This thesis explores two research questions: “What are the challenges suppliers experience when being involved in customers’ product development?”, and “What mitigating mechanisms and critical factors influence suppliers’ involvement in customers’ product development?”. The identified challenges originated [FF1] both from the customer and the supplier, indicating that both types of challenges must be focused on. The study also identified interdependencies between the challenges, implying that one challenge may lead to the occurrence of other challenges. The study suggests mitigating mechanisms to deal with the identified challenges. The identified critical factors influenced both the efficiency and effectiveness of supplier involvement in product development, e.g., lead-time, development cost, product quality, and cost. The study indicates that adopting a dual perspective and considering the challenges and critical factors for both the customer and the supplier, can support the involved supplier. The results build on findings from a case study including four SMEs.
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| 2. |
- Alayón, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Barriers and Enablers for the Adoption of Sustainable Manufacturing by Manufacturing SMEs
- 2022
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In: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 14:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have inherent characteristics, which require specific solutions for improving the sustainability performance of their operations. The purpose of this paper is to increase the knowledge on barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing SMEs and to provide insights into what enablers can be used to overcome existing barriers. Taking, as a starting point, a systematic literature review, this paper presents a categorization of barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing by manufacturing SMEs. In total, seven categories for classifying the barriers and enablers for the adoption of sustainable manufacturing within SMEs were identified: organizational, managerial and attitudinal; informational; governmental; financial; training and skills development; market and business context; and technological. Additionally, this study elaborates on what barriers could be mitigated through the enablers. This study found specific enablers with the potential to mitigate a significantly higher number of barriers and referred to them as ‘critical enablers’. SMEs aiming to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices or improve their sustainability performance are encouraged to focus on the enablers in these categories. This paper synthesizes and facilitates interpretation of the existing body of evidence on barriers and enablers for adopting sustainable manufacturing in SMEs.
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| 3. |
- Alayon, Claudia, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable production adoption by Surface Treatment SMES : challenges and enablers
- 2015
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In: Global Cleaner Production & Sustainable Consumption Conference 2015 GCPC2015.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The adoption to sustainable production is a continuous but necessary strive for manufacturing operations, including small and medium enterprises, SMEs. Meeting the future needs of the economic, social and environmental dimensions provides challenges for SMEs. In order to meet these challenges, understanding of internal and external enablers is required. Studies focusing on the enablers for sustainability among SMEs are rare; hence these companies are important players in the supply chain to focal companies. In order to enhance the understanding of the adoption of sustainable production for the sector surface treatment SMEs, an exploratory study has been conducted. In this study, the focus has been placed in the identification and analysis of the challenges and enablers for adoption of sustainable production. Two stages of empirical data collection were undertaken: a focus group session and an online questionnaire. The findings present challenges based on the limitations of the surface treatment process but also where enablers for the social, economic and environmental for meeting those challenges are interrelated. The results showed that these SMEs face challenges in their way towards sustainable production, mainly due to: low economic profitability, need for improvement in old working procedures, lack of fully understanding regarding environmental legislation, difficulty in ensuring workforce, lack of technology development and resistance towards change. These challenges could be faced through internal and external enablers, where the support of large-size customers and other stakeholders is critical for this sector.
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| 4. |
- Chirumalla, Koteshwar, Associate Professor, et al.
(author)
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Circular Business Models for the Electric Vehicle Battery Second Life : Navigating Battery Ecosystem Actors Towards Circularity
- 2024
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The electrification of vehicles has become a critical means to achieve climate-neutral transportation. As more electric vehicles (EV) are adopted, an increasing number of lithiumion batteries will be utilized, inevitably experiencing capacity degradation over time. Retaining the value of these retired batteries through remanufacturing, reusing, and repurposing to create a second life holds significant environmental and economic benefits. However, many companies within the battery ecosystem struggle to capitalize on this opportunity due to a lack of business insight and suitable business models tailored to their operational contexts.The ReCreate (Second Life Management of Electric Vehicle Batteries) research project was initiated to address these industrial needs through close collaboration with selected companies in the battery ecosystem. The project aims to define appropriate circular business models, methods, and processes to guide battery ecosystem actors in developing and implementing electric vehicle battery second life solutions, thereby advancing circularity around batteries and climate-neutral objectives. This handbook represents the culmination of three years of research within the ReCreate project. Its purpose is to present a simplified and practical overview of project outcomes across a series of key chapters. Comprising six chapters, the handbook will begin by discussing barriers and enablers, followed by circular business models and battery ecosystem management. It will then delve into design principles and performance monitoring guidelines, concluding with an integrated framework for second life and circular solutions for EV batteries. Each chapter briefly presents the main findings of the theme and concludes with discussion questions. The discussion questions include suggestions for relevant templates for workshops, and all templates are conveniently provided in the appendix for practical application. These templates serve as boundary objects, offering a starting point for internal and external cross-functional and cross-organizational dialogues within the electric vehicle battery ecosystem. They facilitate discussions and collaborations among various stakeholders, fostering alignment and synergy in developing circular business models for the second life of EV batteries. By facilitating reflection on current business strategies, needs, and pain points, the handbook aims to aid in the definition of future second life business strategies. We anticipate that this handbook will serve as a valuable resource for actors within the EV battery ecosystem, supporting their journey towards climate-neutral transportation.
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| 5. |
- Dahlquist, Erik, 1951-, et al.
(author)
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Balancing Power in Sweden Using Different Renewable Resources, Varying Prices, and Storages Like Batteries in a Resilient Energy System
- 2023
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In: Energies. - 1996-1073. ; 16:12, s. 4734-4734
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, balancing electricity production using renewable energy such as wind power, PV cells, hydropower, and CHP (combined heat and power) with biomass is carried out in relation to electricity consumption in primarily one major region in Sweden, SE-3, which contains 75% of the country's population. The time perspective is hours and days. Statistics with respect to power production and consumption are analyzed and used as input for power-balance calculations. How long periods are with low or high production, as well as the energy for charge and discharge that is needed to maintain a generally constant power production, is analyzed. One conclusion is that if the difference in production were to be completely covered with battery capacity it would be expensive, but if a large part of the difference were met by a shifting load it would be possible to cover the rest with battery storage in an economical way. To enhance the economy with battery storage, second-life batteries are proposed to reduce the capital cost in particular. Batteries are compared to hydrogen as an energy carrier. The efficiency of a battery system is higher than that of hydrogen plus fuel cells, but in general much fewer precious materials are needed with an H-2/fuel-cell system than with batteries. The paper discusses how to make the energy system more robust and resilient.
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| 6. |
- Flankegård, Filip, et al.
(author)
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Challenges with supplier involvement in product development : A supplier's perspective
- 2019
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In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design, ICED. - : Cambridge University Press. ; 1:1, s. 2179-2188
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studies of supplier involvement in product development have revealed potential benefits including faster time to market, reduced cost and increased quality. However, existing literature has mainly focused on the customer's perspective on advantages, disadvantages and factors to be considered when involving suppliers in product development. This paper addresses the supplier's perspective by answering following research question: How do challenges that originate from involvement in customer's product development affect a supplier? The question is answered through a single case study at a supplier that develops and manufacture products primary used in capital goods. Thirteen challenges are identified, classified as being internal or external, and categorised into five areas: (A) Customer requirements, (B) Information exchange between customer and supplier, (C) Product variety management, (D) Design-manufacturing integration and (E) Processes and work instructions. The findings suggest that internal challenges need as much attention as external ones that originate from the customer. Also, an indication of when the challenges affect the supplier during product development is presented.
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| 7. |
- Flankegård, Filip, et al.
(author)
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Supplier involvement in product development : Challenges and mitigating mechanisms from a supplier perspective
- 2021
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In: Journal of engineering and technology management. - : Elsevier. - 0923-4748 .- 1879-1719. ; 60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article explores challenges that suppliers experience when being involved in customers’ product development projects, and how these challenges can be mitigated. It presents a framework of supplier involvement in product development involving four dimensions: People-Process-Tools/Technology-Interaction. The framework consists of 24 challenges and associated mitigating mechanisms. The article concludes that suppliers must be aware of the challenges to ensure that proper internal capabilities are in place within their organizations. It also argues that customers should be aware of the challenges to provide best possible prerequisites for suppliers to ensure successful project outcomes.
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| 8. |
- Gustafsson, Christopher, et al.
(author)
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Application of lean methods and tools in servitization : A literature review
- 2018
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In: ISPIM Conference Proceedings 2018.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Researchers has been studied and applied lean thinking in different industries and contexts, such as product development, production systems, and sustainability. However, there is a limited knowledge on the application of lean thinking to the servitization context. In particular, there is a lack of theoretical and practical understanding on how to apply lean methods and tools for the benefit of servitization of manufacturing. Based on a systematic literature review, the paper reports specific lean methods and tools that are applied in servitization of manufacturing. Further, the paper discusses enablers and barriers, and opportunities and challenges with the application of lean methods and tools in servitization. Finally, based on the literature analysis, the paper pin points five future research directions to achieve a systematic lean servitization in manufacturing companies.
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| 9. |
- Javadi, Siavash, 1984-, et al.
(author)
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Information quality in the product introduction process : Examination of the influences of low-volume manufacturing characteristics
- 2016
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In: Journal of manufacturing research. - 1741-038X. ; 27:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Efficiently transitioning from product design to production is crucial in ensuring thesuccessful introduction of new products. This paper delves into the often-understudiedrealm of information content quality within the interface between product design andproduction, particularly in the context of low-volume manufacturing industries. It seeksto bridge the knowledge gap by exploring how the distinctive characteristics of lowvolumemanufacturing affect the quality of shared information, encompassing criteriasuch as completeness, accuracy, clarity, and correctness. Drawing from a comprehensivecase study conducted at a low-volume manufacturing firm specializing in earthmovingand construction equipment, this research sheds light on the intricate relationship betweeninformation content quality and the specific attributes of low-volume manufacturing. Ithighlights the profound impact of these characteristics on information content quality andelucidates how subpar information content quality can disrupt the product introductionprocess, potentially leading to cost overruns, production delays, and quality issues. Thisstudy contributes to the existing body of knowledge on information quality within theproduct design and production interface and extends its focus to the often-neglected lowvolumemanufacturing sector. By emphasizing completeness, accuracy, clarity, andcorrectness as pivotal information content quality criteria and their implications for theproduct introduction process, this paper advances the understanding of informationquality management in low-volume manufacturing companies.
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| 10. |
- Johansson, Glenn, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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An analysis of product properties affecting performance of end-of-life systems for electrical and electronics equipment
- 2008
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In: Management of environmental quality. - : Emerald. - 1477-7835 .- 1758-6119. ; 19:6, s. 705-717
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose - On the basis of empirical studies this paper aims at identifying and analysing product properties that affect performance of end-of-life systems for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Design/Methodology/Approach – The research was carried out as case studies of end-of-life management of EEE. Case A focused on disassembly of computer screens and TV-sets, whereas Case B addressed logistics systems for recycling of various types of EEE. Data collection methods include interviews, on-site visits and observations, video recording, and studies of documents. Findings – Nine product properties that affect performance of end-of-life systems for EEE are identified. The properties relate to three different product levels: the product assortment level, the product structure level, and the component level. A model is presented which indicates that choices made and decisions taken in the product development process affect the end-of-life system performance. Application of modular product architectures and component standardisation are suggested as relevant design strategies during product development. Practical implications - The implications for managers are that the findings presented in this paper provide strengthened arguments that modular product architectures and component standardisation are favourable approaches to apply in product development. Complementary to the benefits for manufacturing and logistics also end-of-life system performance will improve when these approaches are applied. Originality/Value - Previous research has indicated some product properties that are supposed to influence performance of end-of-life systems. These properties originate primarily from conceptual discussions rather than empirical studies. This paper add to current understanding by presenting empirically based insights regarding which specific product properties affect performance.
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