Background: Due to an increasing globalization the competition has increased and this has lead to overcapacity and falling prices on markets today. The subject field logistics has during the last decades been given increasingly significance and has become a way to handle the competition. Theories clearly point outthe importance that a concordance exists between logistics and superior strategy but few, if any, authors give further details about how this adjustment should be made. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is with a case study approach survey if the subject field, which describe the importance that logistical solutions correspond with the superior strategy, is known and implemented in a company. We aim to develop the subject field through our empirical findings.

Executive SummaryThis final thesis has examined the effects of an increased centralization and better coord­in­ation of the distribution logistics at ABB in Västerås. The company is today strongly decent­ralized and there is a minimum of collaboration between the 20 business units. This is why the questions were raised; how could the business units coordinate outbound logistic activities and what effects would that provide. The obj­ect­ive of this final thesis is to provide basic data for a future decision-making which desc­r­ibe these effects.The report has mapped out the factors that are important to ABB in an evaluation of their logistic activities and how the outbound logistics work today. The four factors are cost efficiency, delivery service, environmental impact and logistics capability.

The advantage and the possibility of keeping track of a number of vehicles to make work practice more effective and smooth is today a favorable choice for Visual Units Logistics customers. We?ve been evaluating the software and trying to take it one step further and letting not only the individual user, but maybe, the company as a whole benefit from its advantages. This has been done by using methods like letting ourselves get to know the software, user case studies, workplace studies, interviews and future workshops. This resulted in a prototype introducing a new function designed with all collected data in mind trying to make the software, Visual Units Logistics, even more effective for the every day work practice of the user.

Executive SummaryThis final thesis has examined the effects of an increased centralization and better coord­in­ation of the distribution logistics at ABB in Västerås. The company is today strongly decent­ralized and there is a minimum of collaboration between the 20 business units. This is why the questions were raised; how could the business units coordinate outbound logistic activities and what effects would that provide. The obj­ect­ive of this final thesis is to provide basic data for a future decision-making which desc­r­ibe these effects.The report has mapped out the factors that are important to ABB in an evaluation of their logistic activities and how the outbound logistics work today. The four factors are cost efficiency, delivery service, environmental impact and logistics capability.

Msc in Logistics and Transport Management.

The advantage and the possibility of keeping track of a number of vehicles to make work practice more effective and smooth is today a favorable choice for Visual Units Logistics customers. We?ve been evaluating the software and trying to take it one step further and letting not only the individual user, but maybe, the company as a whole benefit from its advantages. This has been done by using methods like letting ourselves get to know the software, user case studies, workplace studies, interviews and future workshops. This resulted in a prototype introducing a new function designed with all collected data in mind trying to make the software, Visual Units Logistics, even more effective for the every day work practice of the user. A new function to keep track of vehicles outside the main working area at the same time as you still can keep track of the other vehicles in the field..

The project has been done in cooperation with Schenker Åkeri AB in Sweden, Halmstad. Theproject is based on an inspection made by Arbetsmiljöverket, where they found minorshortcomings with distribution of goods for the employees. The project is an investigation ofthe drivers? working environment.Schenker Logistics is one of the world's leading providers of integrated logistics services.Schenker Åkeri AB is a subsidiary to Schenker Logistics and transports 2.4 million tons ofgoods yearly.The project started with a background study to evaluate drivers working environment. Wehave studied goods receptions, the working environment, strain injury and injury mechanisms.Methods used was observations, tests, questionnaire surveys and ergonomic andbiomechanical calculations.One result of the study is a working model, which gives recommendations for the maximumweight a driver should push and pull.

The last decade has created an increasing pressure on companies to decrease their impact on the environment and to increase their effectiveness of recycling the company?s resources, especially for the steel industry. Companies have also started to realize the economic aspects of an effective internal reverse logistics. In the past the value of an effective internal reverse logistic was something that companies tend to underestimate and there are few academic studies done in this area. The purpose of this essay has been to identify key factors to create an effective in plant storage, transport, sorting and handling of returned steel. From these factors a generalized model for creating an effective return steel flow will be developed.

Handling product returns has become a critical activity for organizations as the volume of gods flowing back through the supply chain rapidly increases. Few research studies have published specific empirical data concerning the reverse logistics practices of companies. Information technology and information support has long been recognized as a competitive weapon ? capable of enhancing company performance and achieving efficient reverse logistics. Reverse logistics is very unlike the forward, as it is more reactive and also has less visibility.

Abstract. Title: Supply Chain Optimization ? for Sourced Production. Authors: Patricia Möller and Andreas Paulsson. Tutors: Jan Eskil Hollen ? Business Developer, Lilleborg as, Orkla, Everth Larsson ? Department of Industrial Management and Logistics, Division of Engineering Logistics, Lund University, Carl-Henric Nilsson ? Department of Economics and Business Administration, School of economics and management, Lund University.

It has become fairly common for a company to outsource one or several of its logistic activities to a party separate from the business of the company itself. Since the original agreement usually involves two parties, the seller and the buyer, the logistics company is called the third party. The relationship between the outsourcing company and the third party varies in form and in depth but can sometimes be very close, almost to be considered a joint venture. When the co-operation between the two parties includes more than just one separate logistic service and the third party adapts its business to a certain extent to his principals needs, it constitutes third party logistics. If the logistics company, or a party employed by it, becomes insolvent when having the entrusted goods in his possession questions may arise concerning the right to the property.

Purpose: Corporations today see a greater responsibility towards society regarding the environmental impact of their actions, using available transportation options that are more eco-friendly can reduce this impact significantly. Martinsen and Björklund (2012) identifies a set of gaps between supply and demand of green logistics services. This paper aims to address what it is that affects the demand for these alternative solutions and what could be done to increase the usage of them, thereby decreasing this gap.Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative study with six Logistics Service Providers (LSP) and 24 companies that purchase transportation services, all operating in Sweden. Data is collected through semi-structured telephone interviews with people responsible for the purchasing of transports as well as key account managers within the service providing companies.Findings: Just as the LSP?s interviewed in this paper thought, the main focus of the transport buying companies are the costs.

The economic development and competitiveness in Europe is heavily dependent on an efficient transport system. Movement of goods and people is essential for a competitive industry and successful trade. As a result of an intensified transport business, consumption of fossil fuels has increased dramatically. As a consequence, there are increased emissions of dangerous greenhouse gases. Transports are often mentioned as an area with high impact on the environment.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the customer?s attitudes toward the contracting for availability, i.e., which factors are from the customer?s perspective necessary for the fulfilment of a supplier-customer agreement? Furthermore, the objective is to describe and analyse a supplier-customer relation in the Defence Industrial sphere.The present study has been carried out as a case study using an abductive approach. The thesis is based on a practical problem, i.e. which factors will be important to the customer when a contractor in the Defence Industry wants to increase its commitment of service, and how will their relationship change? The thesis is above all focused on generating knowledge that can lead to rapid and concrete measures and that can be used in the analysis of an increased industrial commitment but also as a case study of a problem of a more general nature in the Defence Industry.

This thesis aims to find a more cost effective model for purchasing and logistics at asmall company. The studied company is a BMX (bicycle motocross) and MTB(mountain bike) retailer. The questions to be answered are: How large parties shouldbe ordered and what mode of transportation is to be used? A literature orientation ofthe field was followed by visits to the company, obtaining information from twodifferent logistics companies and interviews of four other companies in the sameindustry. The study shows that it´s difficult to develop an optimum order quantity fora small company since there often are other factors affecting how large amountshould be ordered.