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The effect of asset visibility on managing returnable transport items

Johansson, Ola LU and Hellström, Daniel LU (2007) 19th Annual NOFOMA Conference, 2007
Abstract
Returnable transport items (RTI) have increasingly been introduced for environmental reasons and to achieve logistics benefits such as better protection of products, improving working environments, and enabling more efficient handling and cube utilisation. Even though RTI are often of high value, vulnerable to theft, and critical for production and distribution, they are often managed with limited visibility. As a consequence, RTI systems are typically managed with large asset fleets and high operating costs. In this paper, we propose a framework which identifies cost aspects of implementing and operating RTI systems which may be influenced by asset visibility. The framework is utilised in a combined case study and simulation where the... (More)
Returnable transport items (RTI) have increasingly been introduced for environmental reasons and to achieve logistics benefits such as better protection of products, improving working environments, and enabling more efficient handling and cube utilisation. Even though RTI are often of high value, vulnerable to theft, and critical for production and distribution, they are often managed with limited visibility. As a consequence, RTI systems are typically managed with large asset fleets and high operating costs. In this paper, we propose a framework which identifies cost aspects of implementing and operating RTI systems which may be influenced by asset visibility. The framework is utilised in a combined case study and simulation where the introduction of new roll container and tracking system is studied. The study examines the potential effect of visibility from an asset owner point of view by quantifying and comparing investments and operating costs for systems with varying degrees of asset visibility. Prior RTI literature has to a great extent neglected the issue of shrinkage and its impact on the operating cost of a RTI system, while the results from this study highlight its importance. The practical results from the study imply that significant cost savings can be achieved. However, it must be emphasised that asset visibility alone is not enough; proper management actions are needed in order to attain the full benefits. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
tracking, simulation, visibility., shrinkage, packaging, dairy industry, Case study, logistics, packaging logistics
host publication
The 19th annual NOFOMA conference proceedings
conference name
19th Annual NOFOMA Conference, 2007
conference location
Reykjavik, Iceland
conference dates
2007-06-07 - 2007-06-08
external identifiers
  • scopus:37548999362
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The final version of this paper is published in the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management. Link to the paper in LUP: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=12683&postid=1022043
id
6c978c3a-3e79-40d5-9fb2-cb04ceba53e1 (old id 538884)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 13:16:54
date last changed
2022-03-23 19:41:13
@inproceedings{6c978c3a-3e79-40d5-9fb2-cb04ceba53e1,
  abstract     = {{Returnable transport items (RTI) have increasingly been introduced for environmental reasons and to achieve logistics benefits such as better protection of products, improving working environments, and enabling more efficient handling and cube utilisation. Even though RTI are often of high value, vulnerable to theft, and critical for production and distribution, they are often managed with limited visibility. As a consequence, RTI systems are typically managed with large asset fleets and high operating costs. In this paper, we propose a framework which identifies cost aspects of implementing and operating RTI systems which may be influenced by asset visibility. The framework is utilised in a combined case study and simulation where the introduction of new roll container and tracking system is studied. The study examines the potential effect of visibility from an asset owner point of view by quantifying and comparing investments and operating costs for systems with varying degrees of asset visibility. Prior RTI literature has to a great extent neglected the issue of shrinkage and its impact on the operating cost of a RTI system, while the results from this study highlight its importance. The practical results from the study imply that significant cost savings can be achieved. However, it must be emphasised that asset visibility alone is not enough; proper management actions are needed in order to attain the full benefits.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Ola and Hellström, Daniel}},
  booktitle    = {{The 19th annual NOFOMA conference proceedings}},
  keywords     = {{tracking; simulation; visibility.; shrinkage; packaging; dairy industry; Case study; logistics; packaging logistics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{The effect of asset visibility on managing returnable transport items}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}