In his doctoral thesis in Logistics, Pekka Koskinen examines the distinctive characteristics of the supply chains for finished products in the paper industry. The research shows that management of the supply chains can be significantly developed by following the general principles of supply chain management. The doctoral thesis 'Supply chain challenges and strategies of a global paper manufacturing company' will be examined at the Turku School of Economics on Tuesday 30 June 2009.
The thesis sheds light on the distinctive characteristics of the supply chains for finished products in the Finnish paper industry. The supply chains studied connected Finland with the United Kingdom and the United States.
The producers of paper industry supply chains are railway companies, trucking companies, port operators and shipping companies. Present supply chains have been operating in the same way for almost 20 years, and they have many possibilities to improve.
Room for improvement in forecasting
The efficiency of supply chains could be improved by such means as the real-time transmission of logistical information. Of the consignments examined by Koskinen, less than one-third reached their destinations as planned.
- Modern communication is based on electronic EDI messages, but nonetheless forecasting is not yet sufficiently accurate. Things that have already happened are reported well, but forecasting does not work well, says Pekka Koskinen.
Attention to the total time of the supply chain lead time
In the research, a new way to measure time used in the supply chain lead time was developed. The total time used in the supply chain had previously not been precisely monitored. It was thought that the length of delivery times depended on the size of the delivery batch, but research shows that the number of delivery batches has a significant effect on the length of delivery times. The longest waiting time in paper industry supply chains consists of waiting at the port of unloading before delivery to the customer.
- The time used in the supply chain directly affects the profitability of the industry. A long delivery time ties up a great deal of the capital of either the factory or the customer, explains Koskinen.
Effective container shipments
When examining different modes of transport, Koskinen observed that container shipments are the most disciplined of all.
- In traditional consignments, the longest waiting times occurred at those points in the supply chain when the product ordered had to be transferred from one mode of transport to another. Container consignments usually observe stricter supply chain discipline, so their waiting times are kept to a minimum, says Pekka Koskinen.
International recognition
One of the articles included in the thesis was obtained in May from the internationally renowned British publishing house, Emerald. The article ' Supply Chain Challenges of North-European Paper Industry', jointly written by Pekka Koskinen and supervisor of the doctoral thesis, Professor Olli-Pekka Hilmola, was chosen as the best article published in 2008 in the magazine 'Industrial Management and Data Systems'.
More information:
Pekka Koskinen
+358 400 444 618, pekka.koskinen(a)talentpartners.fi
thesis (only partially online)