Production, Operations and Supply Chain Management
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New product development is essential for a company to grow and sustain itself. Usability testing is a crucial part of the new product development process, and it helps reduce product uncertainty and market failure. There are many methods available and they vary depending on the product development phase. This thesis focuses on methods used in the deployment phase, which is the final stage before mass production. The methods used differ subjecting to different customers.
A number of studies have suggested that marketing and sales should vary when the nature of customer differs. However, only a few studies focus on how the nature of customer influences new product testing. This research compares the involvement of B2B and B2C customers during the product innovation testing phase.
The comparison has been subcategorised into four smaller hypotheses. First, the methodologies used, such as virtual prototype testing, field testing, lab usability testing, and more, are discussed whether companies use them differently according to customers' nature. Second, the process of identifying and recruiting testers is examined. Third, testers' qualification is analysed, whether participants are ordinary users or professionals or companies prefer a mixture of both. Last, the sample size, which is simply the amount of testers who participated in the usability test.
Innovative and successful food waste management solutions often happened to have either an economic, ecological, or social positive impact. There are different types of food waste that are wasted at different stages of the supply chain and sustainable management treat this issue in its entirety.
A resource-efficiency handling of food creates and saves value in the food industry, helps reduce climate change and brings food security. Quantitative evidence from financial and nonfinancial benefits from business cases of countries such as the United Kingdom, proved that avoiding food wasting build a win-win situation for companies and consumers. Processes will be exposed to accelerate the implementation of food waste reduction policies at every stage of the supply chain and at every organization level.
This paper is aimed to measure the global degree of food waste and loss with trustworthy instruments and to provide a range of the most efficient and adapted ways to prevent it.
Some focus will be made in certain parts of the world because of the data’s availability and reliability. It also interests us to know what percentage of waste occurs, at which stage of the supply chain, what are the current existing solutions to avoid food waste and
loss and how is sustainable management playing the most efficient role.
Food wasting will be distinguished into two categories: organizations of entities (as countries, governments, cities, and companies) and individuals. Providing guidelines to be able to manage a sustainable production up till consumption will be the core concern of this paper.
Currently, a digital transformation is taking place in logistics and manufacturing environments of the Robert Bosch GmbH. This digital transformation consists of several central initiatives, resulting in big impacts on the organizations of the business units. This paper aims to provide an overview of these organizational changes with regard to the role of change management. After identifying the organizational setting at Bosch, the ongoing digital transformation at the business unit Powertrain Solutions is analyzed by focusing on the future collaboration strategy between logistics and manufacturing as well as the organizational transformation along the Value Stream Integrated Processes and IT program. The complexity of the ongoing transformation is narrowed down to the changes in processes and IT-landscapes before elaborating the future interaction between the landscape documentation tools “scout.it” and “Lean IX”. The readiness of plants in preparation for the Bosch Manufacturing and Logistics Platform is determined by creating a dashboard using Microsoft Power BI.
Ahead of the analytical work, the paper considers theoretical insights about the current state of research in terms of the digital development and change management to ensure successful planning, implementation and preservation of future organizational changes at Bosch.
In einem ständig schneller werdenden Arbeitsumfeld, gewinnt heutzutage ein gutes Prozessmanagement immer mehr an Bedeutung um reibungslose, effiziente und schnelle Abläufe zu garantieren. Viele Unternehmen sind dazu angehalten, ihre Supply Chain und die dazugehörigen Prozesse zu optimieren um in den stark konkurrierenden Märkten eine gute Wettbewerbsposition zu besetzen (Becker, 2018).
Die Bacherlorthesis wurde bei der CeramTec GmbH, einem führenden Unternehmen in der Hochleistungskeramik, durchgeführt. Das Unternehmen konnte 2018 einen Umsatz von 600 Mio. Euro vorweisen und ist momentan stark interessiert daran, seine Prozesse an den unterschiedlichen Standorten zu standardisieren.
Im Zuge dessen wurde im Rahmen dieser Arbeit der Wareneingangs- und Versandprozess an vier Standorten zunächst analysiert und sowohl textuell, als auch graphisch in einem funktionsübergreifenden Flussdiagramm transparent dargestellt. Hierbei wurde bereits die unterschiedliche Handhabung sowie die nicht einheitliche Verantwortungsverteilung deutlich.
Nachfolgend wurden eine Schwachstellenanalyse und eine Gegenüberstellung der verschiedenen Standorte vollzogen. Dies dient der Übersicht und bietet die Grundlage für die Ableitung der Verbesserungspotenziale und der Erarbeitung von Handlungsempfehlungen.
Neben dem Prozesslebenszyklus bildet der PDCA-Zyklus, das Toyota Produktionssystem und das dazugehörige 3M – Modell die Basis der Prozessanalyse sowie der Prozessoptimierung.
Angesichts der Modellierung und der Gegenüberstellung konnten Ergebnisse generiert werden, die seitens des Unternehmens als Grundlage genutzt werden können, Maßnahmen in Richtung Standardisierung und Optimierung einzuleiten.
This bachelor thesis examines the topic of global collaboration. The work was done in cooperation with the Marquardt Group, to work on an internal analysis within their Factory Planning department. The goal is to define recommendations for the improvement of the governance structure within this department. This thesis answers the following two main questions: Why does the Factory Planning need improvement in their governance structure? How can they improve their collaboration on a global level? In order to answer these questions, the following work looks at different factors within the department. The work starts with a theoretical overview about the topics of collaboration, communication and corporate governance. After learning more about these topics, the next part explains the analysis of the current state within the department. For this, the usage of two different types of models happens. First, the usage of a Target Operating Model to gain an overview about the internal state within the headquarter. The second analysis is a survey, in the form of a questionnaire that addresses three different groups globally. Therefore, the generation of three different views happens. Based on these analyses, the thesis states the gaps in the global collaboration. Following is the definition of recommendations to try to improve the structure. With the help of this thesis the company can than work on the gaps, to move toward their desired state of collaboration.
In today's fast-paced business environment, customers expect more than just high-quality products or services. They also demand excellent customer support that is both efficient and personalized. With the growth of businesses and the increasing complexity of products and services, providing efficient customer support has become a critical component of any successful business strategy to fulfill customers and user’s expectations. The present study investigates the need for a technical support helpdesk solution within the business unit Industrial Hydraulics of Bosch Rexroth, a global leader in drive and control technology. The primary objective of this thesis is to assess the current state of the support processes, identify areas of weakness, and leverage these insights to optimize and enhance them. The focus will be on finding a way to enhance transparency of customer data.
Based on the theory to process optimization, a current state analysis was conducted, and expert interviews were carried out to identify weaknesses and potential solutions for improving customer support. The research question "How can the Industrial Hydraulics Services of Bosch Rexroth deliver more effective and efficient customer support?" is addressed through the findings that a central platform is necessary to handle customer inquiries more efficiently, given the diverse communication channels and varying modes of operation within the business unit. The use of the existing SAP CRM ticketing system Robin is suggested as an efficient solution path, which should be optimized for future use based on the identified optimization approaches. The results underscore the importance of a unified approach to working, which is vital for the success of the business unit, resulting in increased efficiency, quality, collaboration, scalability, and customer orientation.
In this work we will study this field with a very concrete example, which is the large American multinational Amazon. We will talk more particularly about customer centric supply chain, which is still different from supply chain management. While analyzing this special form of supply chain management, we will also look at its potential impact on today's society with the international distribution market. First, we will define the main aspects of the work such as supply chain management, Amazon, e-commerce and customer experience. Then we will analyze the company's customer centric supply chain. Finally, we will study the possible consequences of the company on the international distribution market.
The automotive after-sales business’ emphasis is on customer retention which it accomplishes by providing services such as maintenance, reparation and spare parts supply. However, not only the rapid supply of spare parts impacts customer satisfaction, but also the service of providing customers with an accurate delivery date. In this context, the Critical Parts Management department at the Mercedes-Benz Customer Assistance Center plays a crucial role because their scope of responsibility is the management of parts bottlenecks in the Mercedes-Benz after-sales logistics chain for wholesalers and retailers located worldwide. This thesis aims on establishing a rating of improvement recommendations whose implementation can positively influence the delivery date accuracy. Hence, the scope of the analysis comprises an initial assessment of the current situation and the main driving factors that impact the delivery date accuracy. This study relies on qualitative and quantitative data collection via primary research. The examination of the collected data reveals that deliveries usually occur within the scheduled week but most often not on the scheduled day. The noncompliance of involved departments to target specifications and department internal factors were identified as sources of inaccurate delivery dates. Consequently, the analysis concludes with both, external and internal improvement recommendations which are ranked according to their feasibility and possible impact considering a customer and a business centric perspective. A conceptual design of improvements identifies the composition of a reporting team to be very beneficial for both, Critical Parts Management and its customers. This term paper creates value to the department by offering a foundation to a process optimization approach. If further recommendations are implemented and continuously tracked, an increased customer satisfaction and a reduction of waste of time and money is expected to be accomplished.
Artificial Intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of everyday life and is considered a matter of course by many people. Since it can be assumed that artificial intelligence will play an increasingly central role in business in the future, this paper aims to investigate the intersection between AI and Digital Sales Technologies through a systematic literature review. This thesis identified 32 relevant articles through an extensive literature search in the databases Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink. Through the detailed analysis of these 32 articles, the following four topic clusters could be identified: “Application Layer, Social Layer, Challenges, and Futuristic Layer”. Based on these layers, the developed research questions were answered successfully, and the following conclusions were drawn: AI is already being used in Digital Sales Technologies in numerous ways, for instance through voice assistants like Alexa. In addition, various changes for consumers and salespeople were identified, that accompany the adoption of AI in Digital Sales Technologies. Furthermore, this thesis provides an answer to which challenges this integration brings and how AI will influence Digital Sales Technologies in the future. Finally, research gaps for future research are identified based on the collected findings from the literature review.
Due to the recent political and economic events of the so called U.S.-China Trade War, the media broadcasted extensively about both parties placing tariffs on each other. This situation impacts heavily on global value chains and brings an increasing focus on GVCs in terms of an economic upgrading in China. A re-examination of the bilateral trade relationships of China and its value added on export products becomes an interesting topic which deserves to be analyzed. In order to understand how GVCs function in international trade and their impact on public and private sectors, an overview of GVCs is presented. Using one of the successful examples of GVCs, this paper focuses on China’s high-tech industry and aims to evaluate its role in GVCs. By reviewing the transformation and development of high-tech industry in China, this paper provides insights into the change of industrial structure and current challenges during the transitional phase. By analyzing statistical data from Input-Output Table for China’s most advanced sectors – computer, electronic and optical products – this paper found out that China’s role of GVCs has changed overtime. More precisely, there is a trend of moving towards knowledge- and service-intensive sectors.