A Study of Logistics Solutions between Sweden and Australia - with focus on operational efficiency and CO2 emissions

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> In the office furniture industry, providing high customer service is one of the most
important qualities of the supplier. To provide high customer service, efficient logistics
solutions are required to reduce lead time, increase accuracy of orders and give
accurate estimates of arrival time. When it comes to Swedish export to Australia, the
vast distance between the factory and the customer makes the task increasingly
complex with many involved parties, a long lead time and a high cost of logistics. To
remain competitive on the Australian market, there is a need to investigate the
efficiency of the logistics solutions in order to provide sufficient customer service for
the client in Australia while capping the total cost of logistics operations.<br>
Another important aspect of export from Sweden to Australia is the emissions
generated from transportation. A company with an environmentally friendly profile
has an evident reason to have and provide information of the amount of emissions
related to the activities of their business. Transportation is often associated to the
Greenhouse effect and out of the Greenhouse gases emitted from transportation CO2
stands for the majority.<br>
<br>
<b>Purpose:</b> To identify and evaluate logistics solutions between Sweden and Australia to
determine which solutions are the most beneficial for Swedish companies in the office
furniture industry.
And also
to gain knowledge about CO2 emissions from exporting to Australia, by quantifying
the CO2 emissions from transportation.<br>
<br>
<b>Research Design:</b> The Systems Approach, by Arbnor and Bjerke, was applied to the project as the
research strategy to incorporate both qualitative and quantitative information. The
project was initiated by defining the System - the export process of Kinnarps products
to Australia. The System was thoroughly investigated by interviewing persons with key
positions both within Kinnarps and other involved parties such as forwarders and
carriers. Alternative solutions were generated and checked for feasibility. A framework
for evaluation of operational efficiency of the different logistics solutions was
constructed as the result of extensive literature studies. The current and alternative
solutions were all evaluated using the framework.<br>
CO2 emissions were calculated for both the current and the alternative solutions. The
calculations were all carried out using a distance based method and default emissions
data. Most of the emissions data was provided by The Network for Transport and
Environment, but also from other relevant sources.<br>
<br>
<b>Conclusions:</b> The logistics solutions were represented by various transportation modes for the
European Link of the System, however using a logistics solution mainly based on feeder
service was identified as the most beneficial solution for the European Link.<br>
For the sea transport from Europe to Australia, the Ocean Link, the direct shipping
services were identified as more beneficial solutions over the transhipped services.<br>
For the inland transport in Australia the study led to the conclusions that only road
transportation was a practical solution for shorter transports. Various outsourcing
strategies were identified but more research and decisions about the general strategy of
the company was needed before strategic logistics decisions could be recommended.
The capability and the strategic alignment were nevertheless identified as the most
important qualifications of the Logistics Service Provider.<br>
It was also concluded that the amount of CO2 emissions from transportation between
Sweden and Australia depend largely on a number of factors, mainly the relative
amount of road transport, the size of the container ship and the allocation of emissions
from sea transport (per TEU or per tonne). For the currently practices logistics
solution, emissions from sea transport stand for the majority of the emissions and the
total CO2 emissions from transporting a 20’ container from Sweden to Australia are
within the interval of 2 300 – 4 750 kg CO2

• author: Ramert, Louisa
• supervisor: Johan Lundin
• organization: Engineering Logistics
• course: MTT820
• year: 2010
• type: M1 - University Diploma
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• report number: ISRN LUTMDN/TMTP--5701--SE
• language: English
• additional info: ISRN LUTMDN/TMTP--5701--SE
• id: 1620101
• date added to LUP: 2010-06-18 15:30:09
• date last changed: 2010-06-18 15:30:09