Totalkostnadsmodell för distributionsnätverk med internationella containertransporter
Purpose ? The purpose of this thesis is to develop a total cost model for container transports and create a tool that calculates a suitable transport quantity from an economic view, which fulfills the demands on delivery service. To achieve this purpose the following questions will be answered:Which costs are affected by the decision between the two transport alternatives LCL and FCL? How does the decision of sending product LCL or FCL influence the delivery service? How can a tool be constructed to simplify the decision-making process regarding the choice of sending products LCL or FCL? Method ? A total cost model was developed. This model is supported from existing literature. This model has then been transformed into a tool through an implementation of the theoretical total cost model on the company observed in the case study. During the literature review the authors sought for theoretical results for the question about the transported quantity´s effect on delivery service, this was later compared to the results from the case study.Findings ? The developed total cost model contains six cost components. During the implementation the cost components were evaluated concerning their impact of the situation. Only costs that had a high influence on the situation were implemented in the total cost tool. These costs were: Transportation- and inventory carrying costs. The literature review and the case study showed that LCL has a negative effect on delivery service, compared to FCL.Research limitations/implications ? The findings in this thesis are based on an implementation of the theoretical results on only one company. The tool can still be generalized to companies with similar distribution setup. Further research could strive to include the other cost components in the tool. Practical implications ? The tool assists in the decision-making situation regarding LCL or FCL. By balancing transportation cost with inventory carrying costs a suitable transport quantity is presented trough an economic point of view. This quantity takes the requested delivery service in consideration. Originality/value ? The total cost model that is presented in this thesis is, as far as the authors know, the first in its kind. No other total cost model has an outspoken goal to describe the impact of LCL or FCL in a total cost perspective.