During the last couple of years many sectors and markets have had an increase in the competitive situation, this has meant that being cost effective have become more essential if organizations want to stay in business and be competitive. Thus, one crucial issue has become how to utilize the resources already available within the organization. Organizations can thoroughly plan and control personnel resources in order to become more efficient. But to become more cost effective also means taking into consideration several key figures, productivity being one of the more important figures.Onninen, a wholesaler which has one of its two central warehouses in Örebro has experienced this issue, i.e. an increase in competitive situation in their market.

During the last few decades a new kind of business operation have developed and this hasforced organisations to adapt themselves to a new competitive environment characterized byincreased customer demands as well as a larger amount of competitors. Therefore companieshave had a shift in their strategies from focusing on sales numbers to focusing on thecustomer. To build lasting customer relationships, in order to create customer loyalty, havebecome an important part of the organisational strategy and the collection of consumer datais essential in achieving this loyalty. Customer relationship management systems assistorganisations in managing information about individual customers as well as managing allaspects of customer contact, with the purpose of increasing customer loyalty towards thecompany. The collection of consumer data also enables for companies to design personalizedoffers to individual customers in the form of direct marketing.

This study has been assigned by Bengt Hellman who works at the logistic department at IKEA Torsvik just outside of Jönköping. The task has been to develop a new picking strategy for the Oversize area in the CDC-Warehouse. The reason why IKEA wants a new strategy is because they want to minimize the route length for the forklifts when collecting the orders.By evaluating the current strategies on other areas in the CDC-storehouse, study literature within this subject and look at restrictions for the storing of goods, we have analyzed how the Oversize area works today. We compared the gathered information, to how it should be done according to the literature to be able to work out a new functional strategy.Today, IKEA does not have a working strategy for the oversize area because of lack of time and because all the power has been put on other areas were sales rates are currently higher. This have led to lack of organisation at the Oversize area and items are just put were there is space without first analysing were it should be placed.The strategy that we have worked out and introduced to IKEA builds on easiness of understanding the layout, the employees shall know why an item is placed where it is.

Cycle time has a direct influence on number of returnable crates needed and therefore a crucial parameter for cost structure and pricing of the user fec in the pool system.For providing the growing market, number of crates has to increase as well as the utilization of existing crates. To accomplish this aim, cycle time for the whole supply chain has to be fully unravelled and understand.The purpose is to map cycle time and stock movements, to see how, where and when crates are being used in the supply chain. The goal is to make a method of cycle time calculation, together with suggestions of improving the pool system and decrease cycle time.The study has been a combination of qualitative and quantitative research and comprises the three biggest wholesalers in Sweden; ICA, Coop and Axfood. Furthermore have 65 grocery shops, connected to the wholesalers, been investigated and mapped.The study has come to a conclusion that cycle time for an average returnable crate is 19 days. The full-size and half-size crates have a bit longer cycle time, 21-22 days, while Dual Height-crates and shallow haif-size crates have 17-18 days.

This study examines retail atmospherics from a reality perspective. The topic "special exposure" has received research interest in the past but it has not been recognized as a critical consideration in the daily retail business. Too many retailers leave assortment decisions to thumb rules or trial and error. The highest aim of this study is in addressing that gap between theory and practice. To catch the attention of the customer is important in supermarkets because most grocery purchase decisions are made at the point of purchase.

Abstract (in English)During the last fifty years, the waste in an average Swedish household has increased by about five hundred percent. In order to manage (eller take care of) all of this new waste, Swedes need a method of facilitating the handling process. In this report, both the habits and needs among private households across Sweden are investigated, followed by a pertinent solution to the waste problem. This solution is a container with two compartments, using the standarddimensions of a grocery store paper bag..

AbstractThe topic ?The effects of music in the supermarket on consumer behavior,sales, and customer state of mind? was assessed to try and analyse the emotionaldifferences that may occur as well as the sales variations that may arise fromplaying music in a supermarket. The reason for this study is that grocery storesare very common and abundant in most neighborhoods, as is man?s necessaryconsumption of food. In almost every city grocery stores must compete hardagainst each other in order to succeed in offering the most appealing options toconsumers.

AbstractThe topic ?The effects of music in the supermarket on consumer behavior,sales, and customer state of mind? was assessed to try and analyse the emotionaldifferences that may occur as well as the sales variations that may arise fromplaying music in a supermarket. The reason for this study is that grocery storesare very common and abundant in most neighborhoods, as is man?s necessaryconsumption of food. In almost every city grocery stores must compete hardagainst each other in order to succeed in offering the most appealing options toconsumers.

Företag: Midelfart Sonesson ABSyfte: Studien skulle ge en bild av vilka kriterier som är betydelsefulla för företag vid rationalisering av lagerställen. Den skulle dessutom ge en bild av vilka tänkbara ekonomiska konsekvenser som kan följa efter en rationalisering. Genom en fallstudie av ett typföretag och genom kompletterande intervjuer med kunniga inom logistik och företagsekonomi skulle författarna undersöka vilka kriterier som företagen lägger mest vikt på när de ska starta ett så stort projekt som lagerställesrationalisering, samt förstå vad kostnadsbesparingen kan bli.Metod: En studie av företaget Midelfart Sonesson AB har utförts. Primär- och sekundärdata har samlats in genom personliga intervjuer, litteratur, rapporter, och elektroniska källor.Teori: Teorin består av nio olika avsnitt som kan tillämpas på ämnet i uppsatsen. Teorin används för att förstå företagets uppbyggnad, organisation och dess handlande.

Companies become more and more aware of the added values of the packaging. A well chosen and developed packaging can reduce the costs for the companies through reduced costs for transports, reduced quantity of waste and discards and increased goodwill for example. The companies? costs for salaries can also be reduced due to the increased packaging handling efficiency and the reduced costs for sick leave, reduced work capacity and rehabilitation etc. that can arise when handling poorly developed products and packaging.

Under hösten år 2005 implementerade Grundfos Electronics ett nytt ERP- system, vilket innebar en uppgradering från SAP/R2 till SAP/R3. I och med denna uppgradering fick Grundfos Electronics även tillgång till Grundfos Business Warehouse, vilket är en kombination av databaser som innehåller kvantitativ data från produktions- och försäljningsbolag i Grundfos- koncernen. Genom övergången till SAP/R3 och tillgången till Grundfos Business Warehouse öppnades det nya möjligheter till att ta fram information om Grundfos Electronics försörjningskedjor. Syftet med examensarbetet har varit att undersöka vilken information som finns tillgänglig i Grundfos Business Warehouse som kan användas för att skapa förståelse över hur Grundfos Electronics försörjningskedjor fungerar. En analys av informationen utfördes med syfte att förbättra kapacitetsplaneringen vid Grundfos Electronics.

When patrolling grocery stores, customers engage in a purchase situation where they face great amounts of information, whereof price is one. This paper intends to shed light on the price information search behavior that customer's exhibit before choosing their products in grocery stores. In order to do so two studies have been conducted, one quantitative and one qualitative, to assemble the data needed to provide statistically significant results. The objective of the quantitative study is to gather data on customer's external price information search, and it is based on the most recent eye-tracking technology. The second qualitative study is complementary and based on interviews with randomly chosen customers that have responded to several questions regarding their price information search, shopping knowledge and experiences.

Today endless choices exist for a customer in the grocery store in terms of information, products, brands and prices. Consequently, it is important for retailers and brand owners to gain insights in how they can manage to break through the clutter to reach the customer. Displays that include some kind of motion element are assumed to possess an attention grabbing ability, which is a necessary first step in influencing the customer?s decision making. Therefore we have explored whether so called dynamic displays are efficient in grabbing attention and influencing customer behaviour.

iPhone belongs to the group smartphones. It is a type of mobile phones that has a richer interface and allows more advanced preformences, i.e surfing the Internet and handling e-mails. This report outlines the work to develop an iPhoneapplication from idea to released product. The project is a thesis which was commissioned by ICA AB (a major Swedish grocery chain). The report includes how the work has been carried out in practice and theory.

Husqvarna AB operates two warehouses located in the area of Jönköping. The most important task is to manage the large volume fluctuations during the peak season. DHL Exel Supply Chain (DESC) run the warehouses and the domestic transportations is outsourced to DHL Express. A number of forwarder agents are responsible for distributing the export gods. In the present situation a bottleneck occurs at the warehouse loading section, and the consequence is fulfill the time of delivery for all customer orders.