Internationally, an annual number of more than a million fatalities are caused by road traffic crashes, with particularly signalized intersections being crash prone locations within the highway system. An accumulation of conflicts between drivers is caused by the  different  movements  (through  and  turning)  from  different  directions  at  the  intersection;  hence,  studying  the  trajectories  of  turning vehicles is an important step towards improving traffic safety performance of these facilities. In view of that, the current paper aims at providing further insight into the behaviour of left-turning vehicles (right-hand traffic rule) at signalized intersections in the State of Qatar. At first, a total of 44 trajectories of free-flowing vehicles were manually extracted from a recorded video for a  single  approach  of  Lekhwair  signalized  intersection  in  Doha  City,  State  of  Qatar.  After  that,  the  extracted  trajectories  were statistically analysed in an attempt to explore the factors affecting the path of left-turning vehicles at signalized intersections. The results suggest that the characteristics of the extracted paths are significantly related to the vehicle’s entry speed, minimum speed throughout its turning manoeuvre, and the lateral distance between the exit point and the curb (i.e., targeted exit lane). Provided that the speed parameters can be fairly an indication to the driving behaviour, it can be concluded that the driver’s attitude plays an important role in drawing the manoeuvre of a turning vehicle as does the pre-selection of the exit lane. Finally, the effort presented in this paper can be regarded as a way forward towards understanding the behaviour of turning vehicles at signalised intersection in the State of Qatar.

This paper aims at developing a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based tool that can automatically detect the left-turning vehicles (right-hand traffic rule) at signalized intersections and extract their trajectories from a recorded video. The proposed tool uses a region-based CNN trained over a limited number of video frames to detect moving vehicles. Kalman filters are then used to track the detected vehicles and extract their trajectories. The proposed tool achieved an acceptable accuracy level when verified against the manually extracted trajectories, with an average error of 16.5 cm. Furthermore, the trajectories extracted using the proposed vehicle tracking method were used to demonstrate the applicability of the minimum-jerk principle to reproduce variations in the vehicles’ paths. The effort presented in this paper can be regarded as a way forward toward maximizing the potential use of deep learning in traffic safety applications.

Background: Russia's warfare against Ukraine has caused disruption for companies trading with either country. The intertwined economies created by globalization have brought complexity to logistics management, especially for global companies. Successfully managing logistics risks is crucial for global companies to enable themselves to maintain a strong position. 

Purpose: The aim of the study is to describe the key aspects of how global manufacturing companies approach logistics risk management in the context of Russia's warfare against Ukraine. The aim is that the results of the study will also be useful for similar companies, and therefore be helpful to them in future similar events. 

Method: The study applies an abductive methodological approach. The authors have used semi structured interviews to collect empirical data. With the help of a developed theoretical framework, the empirical data is analyzed to answer the research question. 

Conclusion: Xylem has successfully managed the situation of Russia's warfare against Ukraine. The two outstanding aspects that enabled the successful management were the relationship with shippers and the ability to adapt and work flexibly. The situation created by Covid meant implementing strategies that laid the foundations for a resilient supply chain that could withstand disruptions. 

Underwater radiated noise (URN) from commercial ships is a significant source of elevated noise levels in the oceans and can have a negative impact on marine wildlife. Noise from commercial shipping places additional stress on the oceans, but is one of the least studied environmental pollutants, and there is an urgent need to reduce the aggregate stress levels. 

Until recently, reduction of underwater noise has not been prioritised by ship designers, shipowners, or crews. Even within the field of marine management, noise has received limited interest. However, the International Maritime organization (IMO) has adopted global guidelines on URN reduction, which are currently being updated. Within the EU, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD 2008/56/EC) Descriptor 11 criteria 11.2, now provides a framework for marine administrators to manage noise by establishing threshold values. 

Marine management focuses on the total noise load on the marine environment. Management entails several considerations before recommendations can be made. As a first step, interdisciplinary teams need to assess the aggregated noise levels and determine acceptable thresholds based on the local ecosystem, then assess which existing mandates and management tools can be used, and finally assess how effective these mandates have been in improving the environment. These activities must also be managed in a way that is acceptable to various relevant stakeholders, who would need to follow the decisions. The URN from a ship can be affected by the vessel’s design, either during its construction or during upgrades, and balances a trade-off against fuel efficiency. However, the URN can also depend on how the ship is operated. Regulating ship speed is one potential management tool, and its effectiveness needs to be assessed. Other management measures include how shipping lanes are drawn, areas to avoid, financial support, information, etc. 

This report focuses on possible policy measures that the Swedish authorities could adopt to lower URN by regulating the speed of ships. The report presents an interdisciplinary analysis, using a case study of an area in the southern Kattegat that covered several maritime zones, different national jurisdictions, intensive traffic, and high natural values. An important part of the work was to assess whether existing source models for ship noise could be used for the type of ships that are common in waters around Sweden. In this study, the JOMOPANS-ECHO (J-E) model was used.

The J-E model was validated by comparing measurement data from a hydrophone station at Vinga on the Swedish coast that collected data from ships (254 passages) that used the port of Gothenburg. The analysis showed some deviation between the J-E model and measurement data, which could be due to differences in the length and speed of ships in waters around Sweden compared to the ships used in the development of the J-E model. However, this was likely to have negligible impact on the outcome of the case study.

Analyses of ship traffic in 2021 showed that 4,511 unique vessels visited the study area at least once. Most ships followed the main routes, but no part of the study area was completely free from ship traffic. About 68% of the ships visited the study area for 1-4 days, while about 32% visited the area more regularly. The most common ship types were General Cargo Ships, Dry Bulk Ships, and Tankers. The ships that on average travelled at highest speeds were RoPax Ships, RoRo Ships, Vehicle Carriers, and Container Ships. The ships were registered in 64 countries. About two percent of the ships were registered in Sweden and about four percent in Denmark.

Legal analysis showed that Sweden has the right and the responsibility to take measures to reduce underwater noise from ships to the extent that the noise can be deemed to pollute the marine environment. However, this mainly applies to Sweden’s territorial seas, which cover roughly half the area being studied for this report. In the portion that constitutes Danish territorial sea, Denmark has comparable opportunities for managing URN. In areas that are Swedish or Danish exclusive economic zones (EEZs), the ability to introduce mandatory speed limits is significantly limited. There, the most realistic option would be to request the IMO to establish speed limits, or alternatively to issue a recommendation to navigate at lower speeds, although such guidance could not be enforced on ships that do not voluntarily reduce their speed.

It was estimated that lowering the ships' speeds to a hypothetical limit of 11 kn would reduce the average URN levels by 4.4 ± 2 dB, as registered by local receivers in the study area. This speed limit would affect approximately 44% of the ships in the area. A maximum speed of 13 kn would instead reduce the level by 1.9 ± 0.5 dB and would affect 11% of the ships on average. The reduction in noise levels may temporarily be much higher in the immediate vicinity of individual fast ships, and there might be a high degree of variation between different ships.

The study and report make it clear that it is a complex task to assess the feasibility and benefit of introducing a specific marine management tool, in this case an enforceable local speed limit. But it is also clear that there are reliable methods to make the preliminary assessments, and that it requires interdisciplinary analyses and competence.

This work presents a study of the Incoterms® 2010 seaterm, FAS. The main questions are; why is it not used as often as the other terms for sea transportation, and, what are the main decisions when choosing Incoterms®. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach and data were collected through a literature study and two qualitative interviews; one with a company representative, and one who is an expert in logistics law. A theoretical review of Incoterms® and previous research, constructs the theoretical framework used. The result show several aspects for FAS not being used as often as the other terms. Most common aspects are; passing of risk, break point, payment and lack of knowledge.

This work presents a study of the Incoterms® 2010 seaterm, FAS. The main questions are; why is it not used as often as the other terms for sea transportation, and, what are the main decisions when choosing Incoterms®. The study was carried out with a qualitative approach and data were collected through a literature study and two qualitative interviews; one with a company representative, and one who is an expert in logistics law. A theoretical review of Incoterms® and previous research, constructs the theoretical framework used. The result show several aspects for FAS not being used as often as the other terms. Most common aspects are; passing of risk, break point, payment and lack of knowledge.

principle for characterizing failure in humanitarian/relief supply chains’ response to natural disasters,and describes a Bayesian methodology of the failure odds with regard to external factors that mayaffect the disaster-relief outcome, and distinctive supply chain proneness to failure.Design/methodology/approach – The suggested 3Rs combine simplicity and completeness,enclosing all aspects of the 7R principle popular within business logistics. A fixed effects logisticregression model is designed, with a Bayesian approach, to relate the supply chains’ odds for success indisaster-relief to potential environmental predictors, while accounting for distinctive supply chains’proneness to failure.Findings – Analysis of simulated data demonstrate the model’s ability to distinguish relief supplychains with regards to their disaster-relief failure odds, taking into account pertinent external factorsand supply chain idiosyncrasies.Research limitations/implications – Due to the complex nature of natural disasters and the scarcityof subsequent data, the paper employs computer-simulated data to illustrate the implementation ofthe proposed methodology.Originality/value – The 3R principle offers a simple and familiar basis for evaluating failure in reliefsupply chains’ response to natural disasters. Also, it brings the issues of customer orientation withinhumanitarian relief and supply operations to the fore, which had only been implicit within thehumanitarian and relief supply chain literature.

 Europe has a great history of successful and attractive shipping on the inland waterways as a part of the transport infrastructure, where a great amount of cargo has been transferred from the roads to the inland waterways. Shipping as a type of transportation is a very environmentally friendly alternative besides advantages for the society. As shipping decreases the heavy traffic on the public roads, the risk for traffic accidents and the risks in transporting dangerous cargo will be lower.In Sweden the shipping on the inland waterways has not been as successful compared to the european neighbours with inland waterways, and despite this there is a great need for transferring cargo from the roads to the sea and an official goal from the government for doing this.

By comparing the swedish regulation regarding the shipping on inland waterways with the european regulations, the aim is to find out why  shipping on the inland waterways are not successful in Sweden. Besides the comparative of the regulations this report will also analyse the different costs and other factors making it less attractive.

What the authors can conclude in this study is that the swedish adaptation and additions to the european rules is not the only factor why there is no  economically functioning traffic of the swedish inland waterways, it is just another brick in the wall.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to increase our understanding of the different types of waste that affects the internal material- and production flow in a manufacturing company. The study was conducted in order to provide recommendations to improve the efficiency of the process. The study was performed at the company Växjöfabriken Produktions AB, which is located in Växjö and performs cutting processing on casted details. After studying existing theories we created our theoretical base with a selection of theories that we considered important for the study. From these, we generated an analytical model that formed the basis for the continued work in this study. The analytical model provided a structured approach for collecting empirical data from the company, which we then used to make an analytical comparison with our theoretical base. The first step in the process was to conduct a process mapping at the company where we documented all of the data associated with the process. The mapping was then visualized with respect to the flowpaths that the material travels on each machine that were included in our study. The survey also includes the inventory handling and an inspection of the current factory layout.With the process mapping as a basis, we performed an analysis of the current situation in which we analyzed the material and inventory handling, as well as the production layout. With the analysis, we could then identify the different types of waste that belong to the handling of materials that Växjöfabriken currently undertake. The wastes that were found was, in large part, related to a lack of strategy for how the layout is planned. It was also related to a system that places new equipment where there is free space instead of basing its position on a long-term plan for further expansion. With these findings as a starting point, we began to develop new layout options with the aim of reducing the wastes that we found have impact on the process. The first layout is generated without regard to the restrictions that exist at the factory in the form of robotic workstations that are difficult to move. This layout is designed to demonstrate how an optimal material flow with wastes, reduced to a maximum, would look like if there had been a long-term strategy from the start. The development of the next layout, where we had taken the restrictions into account, we sought a design that would get us as close to the previously mentioned one as possible. In the last chapters we discuss the results of newly developed layouts in order to reach conclusions and recommendations for improvements that we believe is feasible and beneficial for Växjöfabriken Produktions AB.

In this study, we analyse the consequences of the conditions of the labour-market contracts for working on board merchant ships. More specifically, we examine how seafarers hired on different contracts work together. Seafarers' conditions of work differ considerably: some, mainly workers in the West, have permanent contracts with a shipping company, are paid a relatively high monthly wage and can go ashore every second month, whereas others performing the same tasks may have to stay at sea for more than six months at a time, and work for less money on temporary contracts. Drawing on the economic sociology of markets and institutional theory, in this article we present the institutional conditions of globalized labour markets for seafarers and analyse unique data derived from observations and interviews on board merchant ships. We argue that the notion of market is a key explanatory factor for how the work is conducted on board. Theoretically, our elaboration on markets allows us to conceptualize and address global and transnational markets.

While transdisciplinary (TD) research is desired in order to solve real world sustainability issues, this may be challenging for both academic and non-academic participants. Supporting learning through evaluation, we analyzed a project aiming at sustainable transport infrastructures. After developing a TD research framework as a benchmark, two external independent evaluators interviewed all project researchers, representatives for end-users, and donors. The evaluators compared results with the framework, and evaluators and participants critically reflected on the results together. There were three inconsistencies relative to the framework: (1) limited understanding of TD research among project management, end-users, and most of the researchers; (2) no structured learning process among end-users; instead, they expressed very diverse opinions about what they expected from the project; (3) project leaders had limited understanding of the special challenges of TD research, did not fully understand the status of the project's social system, and thus did not act as facilitators of the required collaborative learning process. Non-academic participants saw themselves as customers and not as partners in the knowledge production process. We conclude that TD problem-solving research requires much time and needs facilitation and training. A preparatory phase with a lower level of funding would be helpful in preparing for TD processes.

Context: Globalization and a growing logistic structure is forcing organizations to maintain their market share through logistics control. Additionally, this can be accomplished by making one of the most essential processes, order picking more efficient and effective. The development of the logistics structure has resulted in automated systems attracting a large amount of attention. The writers inquire into the benefits of an increasing use of automated order picking methods. Along with highlighting the challenges and driving forces of manual and automated order picking processes. 

Purpose: This study's main purpose is to analyze possibilities of increasing efficiency through a change from manual order picking to automated order picking for non-self-manufactured products, in the organization Arla Foods AB. 

Method: The method that is applied to generate a result in this study is a qualitative method with quantitative data. This has been accomplished through observations and a semi-structured interview. In addition to this the empirical material has been analyzed through pattern comparison. 

Results & Conclusion: The empirical material illustrated that manual order picking included waste to a greater degree in contrast to automated order picking due to the variable of human labor. Unlike the Multipick system that is automated, human labor includes more challenges and is affected by external disturbances to a larger extent. Following the study has established that Arla Foods Multipick system has a higher delivery- security and reliability which has a relation to creating higher quality services. 

Why has collaboration become increasingly central to technological progress? We document the role of lowered travel costs by combining patent data with the rollout of the Swedish railroad network in the 19th and early-20th century. Inventors that gain access to the network are more likely to produce collaborative patents, which is partly driven by long-distance collaborations with other inventors residing along the emerging railroad network. These results suggest that the declining costs of interacting with others is fundamental to account for the long-term increase in inventive collaboration.

Companies constantly strive for the perfect order which enables them to satisfy and retain their customers. This is a difficult process that can be facilitated by using different picking technologies. In this study, a research of the picking technologies Pick-to-Light and Pick-to-Voice have been made to investigate when each technology is suited.In order to collect relevant information and data to be able to answer the question formulation, a qualitative study with interviews have been made. The purpose of this essay was to investigate Pick-to-Light and Pick-to-Voice to see when each technology is best suited and to see what the differences between the technologies are. With our essay we wanted to help manufacturing companies to make the right decisions when implementing a picking technology.The results showed that those picking technologies give companies a higher picking quality and an increased work efficiency since the order picking is faster to perform, and that picking errors are reduced. Through the interviews conducted, the result showed that Pick-to-Light and Pick-to-Voice are best suited at different types of areas. Pick-to-Light is optimal in small areas with high picking frequency while Pick-to-Voice is optimal in large areas with low picking frequency. Companies that are thinking of expanding in the future and use a picking technology on a much larger area, was recommended to implement Pick-to-Voice since this technology is more cost effective. Both of these technologies have multiple positive effects that are similar. Examples on these positive effects are that the operator has an overview of the items to be picked, the technologies are easy to learn and ergonomics are enhanced significantly when all paper handling is eliminated.Obviously, there are also differences between the techniques and also some disadvantages of each technique. The main differences are that the operator with Pick-to-Light can see which articles to be picked with the help of the luminous lights while the operator with Pick-to-Voice is voice guided to the items to be picked. Another major difference is that Pick-to-Voice is a wireless technology unlike Pick-to-Light and the ability to pick multiple orders at the same time is only possible with Pick-to-Voice. When it comes to maintenance costs, Pick-to-Light is more costly, both in time and money, since lights and cable must be replaced periodically. Likewise, an expanding with Pick-to-Light is more comprehensive since more cables and lamps must be purchased and installed. With Pick-to-Voice the only needed adjustment to make is in the system.Depending on the available conditions on the companies, the technologies are best suitable in different ways. Companies can use the technologies to secure the quality of the picking, reducing picking errors, and streamline the picking process. These technologies create the opportunity for companies to achieve the perfect order.

We consider the problem of choosing the holding cost in inventory models. Traditionally, the cost of holding inventory is assumed to increase linearly with a rate that is equal to a percentage of the product value. This since the capital cost is believed to make up the main part of the cost. However, recent research indicates that this is not necessarily the case.

In the present work, we present a more general model of the cost of holding inventory based on a microeconomic framework. A method for determining a suitable holding cost per unit and time unit, h, which can be used in existing heuristics/formulas is derived. The method is based on the ideas behind activity-based costing (ABC).

The suggested method works well in the considered numerical examples (maximum and average cost increase is 1.78% resp. 0.08%). There exist situations where the traditional approach, i.e., setting h as a percentage of the product value, gives rise to a significant cost increase (>15%).

This paper investigates the delay experienced by retailers in a distribution system due to shortages at the central warehouse. Simple formulae are developed to estimate the mean and variance of this delay. The formulae are based on replacing the stochastic lead-time demand with a stochastic demand rate, and they differ in how this demand rate is estimated. An extensive numerical study shows improved accuracy compared to existing methods with similar computational complexity. The numerical study also shows that the batch quantities and the service level have a large influence on the delay. Both the mean and variance of a retailer’s delay decrease with the service level and increase with the batch quantities used at the warehouse and at the retailer. No other variables seem to have a significant impact on the delay.

I den här artikeln presenterar vi en lösning på problemet att skatta ledtiden förväntade värde och variation i ett distributionssystem. Det är ett väsentligt problem att lösa då en snabb och korrekt skattning av ledtiden är ett måste för att kunna dimensionera säkerhetslager rätt. Nyare forskning indikerar dessutom att man skall ha en förhållandevis låg servicenivå uppe på en centrallagernivå vilket accentuerar problemet då ledtiden då blir längre och mer osäker på lägre nivåer i försörjningskedjan. Detta då centrallagret oftare får brist vilket leder till mer frekventa och långvariga förseningar av utleveranserna.

Vi angriper problemet med hjälp av matematiskt modellering varvid vi tar fram slutna uttryck för att beräkna väntevärdet så väl som variansen av förseningen ut från centrallagret. Denna metod utvärderas med hjälp av simuleringsstudier vilka indikerar på en god överenstämmelse med verkligheten.

The effect of financial risks on (R, Q) inventory policies is analyzed in a real options framework. Simple adjustments of the usual formulas for R and Q are suggested and tested. Stochastic demand and purchase costs are considered, both with known systematic (business-cycle-related) risk.

The systematic risk of stochastic demand has typically a negligible effect on the optimal values of R and Q, although an improvement may be achieved by a simple adjustment of R.

The systematic risk of the purchase price, c, has a significant effect on R and Q. The capital holding cost should be estimated as r · c, where r is the sum of the risk-free interest rate, the expected price decrease, and the risk premium associated with the systematic risk of c.

For goods quoted on commodity exchanges, r may be estimated directly from the prices on forward contracts. Its size (and sign) varies considerably for different commodities.

This paper presents an approximation model for coordinated control of one-warehouse multiple-retailer inventory systems, where all locations use continuous review (R, nQ) policies. The motivation stems from close collaboration with a supply chain management software company, Syncron International, and one of their customers. A core objective has been to develop an accurate method for determining near-optimal reorder points that can be directly applied to real-life systems. The approach is based on decomposing the complex multi-echelon problem into N + 1 single-echelon problems, using a near-optimal-induced backorder cost at the central warehouse. Important extensions made compared to earlier work include the addition of procedures to adjust for lead-time variability, and for undershooting the reorder point when customers’ order sizes vary. The result is a flexible model that is computationally and conceptually simple enough to be implemented in practice. A numerical study, including real data from the case company, illustrates that the new model outperforms existing methods in the literature. Compared to the current methods used by the case company, it offers significant improvements in both service-level fulfilment and system-wide inventory holding costs. Implementations of the model into the Syncron software are in progress.

In this article, we present a multistage model to optimize inventory control decisions under stochastic demand and continuous review. We first formulate the general problem for continuous stages and use a decomposition solution approach: since it is never optimal to let orders cross, the general problem can be broken into a set of single-unit subproblems that can be solved in a sequential fashion. These subproblems are optimal control problems for which a differential equation must be solved. This can be done easily by recursively identifying coefficients and performing a line search. The methodology is then extended to a discrete number of stages and allows us to compute the optimal solution in an efficient manner, with a competitive complexity. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 63: 32-46, 2016

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming pervasive in most engineering domains, and railway transport is no exception. However, due to the plethora of different new terms and meanings associated with them, there is a risk that railway practitioners, as several other categories, will get lost in those ambiguities and fuzzy boundaries, and hence fail to catch the real opportunities and potential of machine learning, artificial vision, and big data analytics, just to name a few of the most promising approaches connected to AI. The scope of this paper is to introduce the basic concepts and possible applications of AI to railway academics and practitioners. To that aim, this paper presents a structured taxonomy to guide researchers and practitioners to understand AI techniques, research fields, disciplines, and applications, both in general terms and in close connection with railway applications such as autonomous driving, maintenance, and traffic management. The important aspects of ethics and explainability of AI in railways are also introduced. The connection between AI concepts and railway subdomains has been supported by relevant research addressing existing and planned applications in order to provide some pointers to promising directions.

The study aims to compare public procurement practices in four municipalities in Kronobergs County and analyze procurement requirements and monitoring from an environmental sustainability perspective, which is of high importance in today's society. The study reveals a significant shortage of resources for both requirement setting and monitoring, directly linked to the available municipal resources. The municipalities need to undertake various activities, such as market analysis and monitoring, but there are concerns about whether they have sufficient resources in terms of knowledge, expertise, time, and personnel to carry out these tasks effectively.

The allocation of responsibilities within the procurement process is unclear, and the municipalities tend to delegate responsibilities to different entities. This is likely due toinadequate management responsibility and insufficient political decisions. Procurement officers also play a crucial role, but if the responsibility allocation is unclear and the involved individuals perceive it as challenging, it leads to a lack of accountability throughout the process. Overall, regardless of their size, municipalities do not adhere to the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle for continuous improvement.

It was also observed that many municipalities discussed similar issues in requirementsetting and monitoring, indicating an overlap between these areas.

Icebreakers are special-purpose ships designed to operate in different ice-covered waters, either independently or duringassistance of weaker ships. In the Baltic Sea, as well as elsewhere, they are essential for maintaining continuous sea transportservices during wintertime. Icebreaker operations are complex, and every situation in which a vessel requires assistanceis unique, due to, e.g. changing ice and weather conditions, geographical location or language proficiency of the crew onboard the icebreaker or assisted vessel. The icebreaker crew has considerable freedom to adapt to each situation, yet, forsafe operations, there are constraints to which the crew has to conform. The study presented in this paper aims at identifyingthe constraints on nautical officers on board icebreakers during operations, as well as special situations that increasecognitive load. A work domain analysis based on a group interview with nautical icebreaker officers shows the multitudeof tasks performed on board icebreakers. Furthermore, it identifies constraints specific to icebreaker operations such as iceassessment and direct icebreaking, but also generic constraints such as language and communication skills. At times, safetyand efficiency come into conflict, resulting in a trade-off between the two. When that happens, safety gets priority, and theoperation stops until the situation has been evaluated. In addition, several situations that increase cognitive load are identified,with the common denominator that they add elements of uncertainty, e.g. severe weather and technical malfunctions.Finally, further research within the area of icebreaker operations is recommended, with a continued focus on the systemconstraints, and their potential for system improvement.

Sea transportation is vital for the global economy, and the amount of seaborne trade is expected to increase in the future. In some areas, icebreakers are necessary for maintaining open shipping lanes all-year round and ensuring safe navigation. Vessels operating in ice are exposed to harsh environmental factors such as severe weather and heavy ice, and when external forces become too strong vessels will depend on icebreaker assistance. However, successful icebreaker operations require the icebreaker to operate in close vicinity to the assisted vessel to break the ice, which in turn increases the risk of collision.

There are many factors which make icebreaker operations complex. The aim of this thesis is to use work organization, operational safety, and interpersonal communication as three lenses to describe and analyse the complexity of icebreaker operations, and its implications for practice. To thoroughly investigate this complexity, data are drawn from numerous sources; semi-structured interviews, a questionnaire, and a substantial amount of recorded authentic communication all provide complementary insights.

The results show that the icebreaker performs a multitude of tasks directly concerned with icebreaking, e.g. directing and physically assisting other vessels, but that these tasks indirectly rely on interpersonal interaction and communication. A number of conflicting constraints add to the complexity. For example, harsh winter conditions impede vessels’ independent navigation in ice, while offering icebreaker crews opportunities to practice and maintain important skills. Furthermore, it was shown that language skills and communication play an important role in upholding the operational safety. However, closed-loop communication is not always used as intended, a deviation from intended communication protocol with potential to increase the risk of misunderstandings.

This thesis suggests that safety and efficiency of winter navigation can be enhanced by making better use of existing technology and data; by examining the past track of other vessels, e.g. via AIS, finding suitable ice tracks will be made easier. Another implication concerning communication is that training institutes should emphasize the logic behind standardized communication protocols rather than focusing on standard phrases, i.e. facilitating means for advanced English speakers to adapt their communication style. That way, novice and advanced speakers could find common ground.

It is estimated that as much as 13 per cent of the world's undiscovered conventional oil resources are located in The Arctic (the region located north of the Arctic Circle) [1]. As a result, future prospecting and drilling operations in this area will be of uttermost importance for guaranteeing a continuous supply of crude oil. To meet the demand of nautical officers with icebreaking competence, the Transatlantic Ice Academy (TIA) was established in 2008. The Ice Academy is a co-operation between Kalmar Maritime Academy, AB Transatlantic, the simulator manufacturer Kongsberg A/S and the Swedish Maritime Administration, and aims to educate and prepare nautical officers for the extreme conditions ice exerts on a crew. This paper describes two of the courses that TIA offers, the way that TIA has set up effective simulator exercises and how they will prepare the officer for upcoming challenges.

Icebreaker operations, when an icebreaker assists other vessels through ice-packed fairways, are hazardous due to harsh environmental conditions and complexity of procedures. The severity of operations is further aggravated by the necessity for maintaining a small distance between the vessels, which consequently increases the risk of collision. Even though miscommunication is widely identified as a contributing factor to shipping accidents, previous research within winter navigation has focused largely on technical aspects of icebreaker operations to increase the operational safety. This study aimed to investigate to what extent closed-loop communication is used during icebreaker operations, and whether this practice deviates from stipulated communication protocols. A quantitative analysis was performed, coding 40 days of verbal radio communication. Subsequently, the data was compared to the stipulated communication protocol outlined in the Standard Marine Communication Phrases. The results show that closed-loop communication is not utilized to its full extent. Some message types are completely repeated at a higher rate, mainly instruction and question, while other message types, such as information and intention often receive a yes-no answer. A full closed-loop, i.e. a completely repeated message followed by a confirmation, was only observed in 16.4% of the messages initiated by an icebreaker and 14.0% for the assisted vessels. Thus, this study clearly shows that there is a gap between actual language use and stipulated communication protocol. Finally, since misunderstandings during icebreaker operations can have serious consequences, more research is needed into the underlying reasons for miscommunication in situations with little room for error.

Communication is an essential part of most joint activities, and effective means to identify and rectify misunderstandings are necessary to reach mutual understandings. In the maritime domain, faulty communication is often a contributing cause to ship accidents, potentially putting human lives, vessels, and the environment at risk. This study explores the use of other-initiated repair in maritime ship-to-ship communication. The purpose is to classify and analyse other-initiated repair and describe the specific practices used to initiate repair and rectify mistakes. Based on an analysis of authentic communication between vessels involved in icebreaker operations, findings indicate that other-initiated repair occurs less frequently in this corpus compared to other corpora of naturally occurring conversations. A possible reason is that radio communication, which is highly structured, has other means to identify communicative errors. More than half of the repair initiations use open requests to identify a trouble turn, and the most common repair solution is a full or partial repeat. Furthermore, maritime radio communication has an inherent slowness due to technical limitations that do not permit simultaneous talk. It is argued this refrains speakers from using long or complex messages, as the listener has no way to indicate trouble until next turn.

E-grocery is gradually becoming viable or a necessity for many families. Yet, most e-supermarkets are seen as providers of low value “staple” and bulky goods mainly. While each store has a large number of SKU available, these products are mainly necessity goods with low marginal value for hedonistic consumption. A need to acquire diverse products (e.g., organic), premium priced products (e.g., wine) for special occasions (e.g., anniversary, birthday), or products just for health related reasons (e.g., allergies, diabetes) are yet to be served via one-stop e-tailers. In this paper, we design a mathematical model that takes into account consumers’ geo-demographics and multi-product sourcing capacity for creating critical mass and profit. Our mathematical model is a variant of Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (CVRPTW), which we extend by adding intermediate locations for trucks to meet and exchange goods. We illustrate our model for the city of Istanbul using GIS maps, and discuss its various extensions as well as managerial implications.

Bakgrund: Under förra århundradet har den globala ekonomiska tillväxten gett upphov till en enorm konsumtion av varor samtidigt som globaliseringen har lett till stora varuflöden över hela världen. Tillväxten av transporter och dess tillhörande logistiktjänster har varit ett betydande område som har förenklat leveranser. Vidare medför det flera nackdelar, såsom ökade luftföroreningar, naturskador och klimatförändringar. Många företag väljer att kontraktera en 3PL-leverantör. 

Syfte: Studiens syfte är att identifiera och skapa förståelse för hållbara transporter. Avsikten är att titta på vilka faktorer som påverkar kundernas val av 3PL-företag vid köp av hållbara transporter. Dessutom hur ett 3PL-företag kan skapa konkurrensfördelar genom att arbeta med hållbara transporter. 

Metod: Studien som genomförts är en kvalitativ studie med inslag av kvantitativa data som till exempel utförda enkätundersökningar och hållbarhetsredovisningar. Den kritiska realismens synsätt och deduktion används som angreppssätt.

Slutsats: Resultaten av studien är att kunder till 3PL-företag i nuläget är mest intresserade av de traditionella prestationsfaktorerna vid transportinköp och att miljöfaktorer ofta ses som sekundära, men att mycket tyder på att dessa faktorer kommer få en allt viktigare roll i framtiden. Det upptäcktes många likheter i de tre studerade 3PL-företagens arbete och syn på hållbara transporter samt deras mål och strategi för att bidra till en hållbar utveckling. Det går att se hållbara transporter som en konkurrensfördel för dessa stora globala 3PL-företag, men det är svårt att dra en generell slutsats för alla marknader i nuvarande situation. 

Laddning av eldrivna fordon ombord på fartyg innebär betydande säkerhetsutmaningar. Detta examensarbete utforskar riskerna förknippade med denna process och undersöker hur dessa kan förhindras. Metoden är en litteraturundersökning av befintlig forskning. Vi identifierar och utvärderar riskerna med att ladda litiumjonbatterier ombord på fartyg och granskar även relevanta regelverk och standarder för skyddsåtgärder. Resultaten visar att batterihälsa och batterityp påverkar fordonets säkerhet samt att termisk rusning är en risk. Termisk rusning kan upptså vid mekaniska, elektriska, eller termiska skador. För att hantera dessa risker finns det flertal skyddsåtgärder såsom Battery management system som övervakar batteriets kondition och förhindrar överladdning. Andra åtgärder inkluderar säkringar, brytare, bimetallsiska termostater samt postiva termiska koefficienter. Lastbalansering är även viktig för att minska riskerna. Disskussione betonar vikten av säkerhetsåtgärder samt regelverk för att säkerställa en trygg laddningsprocess ombord på fartyg. Genom att implementera de identifierade skyddsåtgärder kan sjöfarten ta betydande steg mot en hållbar och säker framtid. 

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the barriers for and their impact cooperation and coopetition for sustainable distribution of Municipality goods in three selected cities.

Design/Methodology/Approach: This thesis is based on a qualitative approach using a multiple case study as data collection strategy. The population building up three cases consists of ten Swedish mid-sized cities with an urban consolidation center. Of these are the three cities Växjö, Kalmar and Borlänge sampled and both the municipality and two locally active freight forwarders (one RFP-winner and one non-RFP-winner) per city are interviewed. These interviews aimed at identifying barriers to cooperation between municipalities and freight forwarders and barriers to coopetition between private freight forwarders for a sustainable distribution of municipality goods. The secondary data is based upon three literature streams: Sustainability, Distribution in Urban Environments and, Cooperation and Coopetition.

Findings: The results indicate that the main barriers to cooperation from a freight forwarder perspective are incorrect or missing data in the RFP, price for municipality goods distribution and prohibition of goods consolidation. The main barrier to cooperation, fossil fuel free trucks, is a potential future barrier. The main barriers to coopetition are higher costs, lack of trust and price. These barriers have mainly an impact on the economical sustainability but can, and in some cases, will have effects on the other TBL-aspects.

Research Limitations/Implications: The findings of this thesis provide the municipality with knowledge about barriers from the perspective of the freight forwarders which can aid construction of future RFPs. It also provides both municipality and freight forwarders with knowledge of the potential future barriers which could affect ongoing cooperation. Lastly it provides involved actors with knowledge of barriers hindering a coopetition approach in distribution, enabling the next step of solving the barriers. The value of this thesis is the knowledge of the implications as well as the combination of the three chosen literature streams which have not been researched in this context previously

This study explores the potential benefits, limitations and drawbacks of usingLoRa with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)together for warehouse management. Three research concerns are looked at in order toprovide a full analysis of the topic. First, the benefits, limitations and drawbacks of utilizingLoRa with UAVs and AMRs are discussed along with suggestions for how to get over thechallenges within warehouse management. Second, potential security risks with the usage ofLoRa in conjunction with UAVs and AMRs for warehouse management are recognized, andmitigation strategies are recommended. The study's last portion considers how warehousemanagement company Proton Finishing AB may utilize LoRa in combination with UAVs andAMRs to promote environmental sustainability. 

As underlined in the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy published by the European Commission in December 2020, the success of the European Green Deal depends on Europe’s ability to make the transport system sustainable. Many different policy initiatives have been launched in recent years to accelerate the green transition of the transport sector, but more are needed to reach the EU objective of delivering a 90% reduction in the transport sector’s emissions by 2050. In this context, and in parallel to a separate workstream addressing issues related to climate change adaptation, the European Commission (DG MOVE) invited two informal groups of external experts to explore the decarbonization potential of the construction sector with a special focus on transport infrastructure. Consultations of both the industry and the academic community were launched in the summer of 2023 aiming to draw up an inventory of existing best practices and emerging innovations for the climate transition of transport infrastructure construction and to make EU policy recommendations, regulatory and/or financial, to stimulate its decarbonization. The two working groups comprised diverse participants in terms of geography, experience, gender, and function. On the industry side, there were European sectoral associations, large construction companies, construction material producers, and infrastructure companies, all active in transport infrastructure projects and the sector’s decarbonization. The scientific and academic dimensions brought together an active transport decarbonization research community covering a wide range of competencies and expertise in sustainability issues. These included the reduction of the carbon footprint of construction materials, circularity in the construction sector, and decarbonization of construction techniques and practices. The two Working Groups met in person on three occasions in Brussels, in October and December 2023, and in February 2024. This report is a product of their collective input and wisdom and is based on their discussions and subsequent written exchanges. They also heard different services of the European Commission and acknowledged the existence of numerous existing EU policy initiatives relevant to this work. The report shows that a large range of decarbonization measures already are available covering all phases of the infrastructure life cycle from the pre-construction stage and extraction and manufacturing of materials to recycling and reuse at the end-of-life. It underlines the importance of an integrated approach to maximize decarbonization potential and identifies specific tools and measures to achieve this. The report highlights specific bottlenecks for the rapid and full deployment of those measures and provides a catalogue of 24 EU policy recommendations to address them.

In the last years, there has been a growing interest in the emerging concept of digital twins (DTs) among software engineers and researchers. DTs not only represent a promising paradigm to improve product quality and optimize production processes, but they also may help enhance the predictability and resilience of cyber-physical systems operating in critical contexts. In this work, we investigate the adoption of DTs in the railway sector, focusing in particular on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies as key enablers for building added-value services and applications related to smart decision-making. In this paper, in particular, we address predictive maintenance which represents one of the most promising services benefiting from the combination of DT and AI. To cope with the lack of mature DT development methodologies and standardized frameworks, we detail a workflow for DT design and development specifically tailored to a predictive maintenance scenario and propose a high-level architecture for AI-enabled DTs supporting such workflow.

Level Crossings are among the most critical railway assets, concerning both the risk of accidents and their maintainability, due to intersections with promiscuous traffic and difficulties in remotely monitoring their health status. Failures can be originated from several factors, including malfunctions in the bar mechanisms and warning devices, such as light signals and bells. This paper focuses on the intelligent detection of anomalies in warning bells through non-intrusive acoustic monitoring by: (1) introducing a new concept for autonomous monitoring of level crossings; (2) generating and sharing a specific dataset collecting relevant audio signals from publicly available audio recordings; (3) implementing and evaluating a solution combining deep learning and transfer learning for warning bell detection. The results show a high accuracy in detecting anomalies and suggest viability of the approach in real-world applications, especially where network cameras with on-board microphones are installed for multi-purpose level crossing surveillance.

Technology development in the field of the Internet of Things (IoT) and more specifically in Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWANs) has enabled a whole set of new applications in several fields of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Among all, smart-railways represents one of the most challenging scenarios, due to its wide geographical distribution and strict energy-awareness. This paper aims to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in LPWAN, with a focus on intelligent transportation. This study is part of the RAILS (Roadmaps for Artificial Intelligence integration in the raiL Sector) research project, funded by the European Union under the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking. As a first step to meet its objectives, RAILS surveys the current state of development of technology enablers for smart-railways considering possible technology transfer from other sectors. To that aim, IoT and LPWAN technologies appear as very promising for cost-effective remote surveillance, monitoring and control over large geographical areas, by collecting data for several sensing applications (e.g., predictive condition-based maintenance, security early warning and situation awareness, etc.) even in situations where power supply is limited (e.g., where solar panels are employed) or absent (e.g., installation on-board freight cars). © 2020 IEEE.

När företag har en snabb tillväxt genom konsolidering kan det ske att visa aspekter i organisationen blir eftersläpandes. I det här fallet upplever företaget en förlorad kontroll över sina transporter till följd av en allt mer komplex transportlogistik. Målet med den här undersökning var därför att kartlägga företagets transporter.För att effektivt transportera gods krävs det planering, det är viktigt att fordonens hela lastkapacitet utnyttjats, alltså fyllnadsgrad. Det är viktigt att planera efter kortaste sträckan, det är också viktigt att undvika onödig miljöpåverkan. Onödig miljöpåverkan kan ske genom ineffektiv planering som i sin tur resulterar i mindre nödvändiga godstransporter.Kartläggningen i denna undersökningen resulterade i en täckning av de interna transporterna samt transporter till de största avlägg på 85% av vad företaget uppskattar transporterats under ett 2018. Transporter för trärelaterade produkter 2016 uppgick till 4 miljoner tonkilometer, detta var cirka 9,8% av de totala transporterna med lastbil inom Sveriges gränser. En effektiv kedja av logistiska aktiviteter för trävaror garanterar en nedskärning av kostnaderna för transport. Eftersom hänsynen för miljöpåverkan också är stor i Sverige så är en effektiv logistik också nyckeln för att minska sina klimatavtryck.

Background: Svenskt Näringsliv conducts an annual survey called "Lokalt näringsliv", where business owners evaluate their own Municipalities regarding the local business environment. In the latest survey, it appears that transport companies are generally the least satisfied sector in the Municipality of Växjö.

A good business environment is the key to creating a successful business. A good business environment is a mutual goal that both entrepreneurs and Municipalities endeavor. Business owners will get a higher employment which will lead to higher tax revenues for the Municipality. Transport companies role in the value chain have recently become increasingly important as it has proved to be able to create competitive advantages. Transport companies are expected to have an even greater role in the future given the ongoing development of e-commerce. To find the reasons behind the transport company’s dissatisfaction regarding the business environment is therefore essential in order to remain an interesting logistics location.

Purpose: The purpose is to describe and explain the perceived current situation regarding the business environment in the Municipality of Växjö and the gap between the transport companies expectations and experience that causes the potential dissatisfaction. The purpose is also to make suggestions on actions to improve the transport company’s business environment.

Method: This paper consists of an interview study on transport companies in the Municipality of Växjö. Empirical data were collected through semi-structed interviews with both transport companies in the Municipality of Växjö but also with an employee from Växjö Municipality traffic department. Theoretical data were collected through literature review and official publications.

Conclusion: In the current situation, none of the respondents are totally satisfied with the variables that affects business environment according to Svenskt Näringsliv, however no one is satisfied with any variable either. Based on the four variables, entrepreneur’s scope in the public sector as well as politicians attitudes towards entrepreneurship is seen as the most problematic. The causes of the dissatisfaction were found partly by the variables from Svenskt Näringsliv and partly by five variables from SERVQUAL. The six variables that respondents were least satisfied with resulted in the reasons behind the dissatisfaction. The six variables were politicians and official’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship, understanding of the customer, availability, competence, efficiency, and urban logistics.

Urban logistics as well as network building were chosen as areas for improvement. Urban logistics as this was mentioned by all respondents who deliver goods to the urban city. Network building as this is seen as the key to a goods business environment. Closer cooperation between companies and between the Municipality of Växjö and companies will create a better understanding of each other and how the partners various businesses operate.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if employers see any difference in competence between a recently graduated deck-officer who has passed the three-year program which requires earlier able bodied seaman certificate or the four-year program where no previous experience is required. The difference between this programs is that the deck-officers from the three-year program has worked at sea before they began their studies, while most of the deck-officers from the four-year program is going to sea for the first time on their onboard training. To find out this, a qualitative interview study was conducted by using five Swedish and two Norwegian shipping companies. The Norwegian shipping companies were included in the study because many Swedish officers are employed within the Norwegian offshore industry. It was shown by the employers there were no differences in competencies between the deck-officers. The employers look more at social competence.

In today's global environment competition is no longer limited to companies, but has evolved to supply chains seeking to coordinate ordering and production when faced with challenges such as random yield, lead time uncertainty and stochastic demand. This paper presents an algorithm that combines the base stock model and the option mechanism to address that key problem on how to coordinate ordering and production bilaterally in a dyadic supply chain in a multi-period setting. A numerical study that uses fictive data based on real quantitative data from a multinational manufacturer and its preferred supplier are included to illustrate the effects of the algorithm and show how two decentralised companies can each maximise profits (compared to a wholesale contract) while reaching the optimal centralised system level. The manuscript contributes by extending existing literature on supply chain management and finance to coordinate ordering and production bilaterally in a multi-period. Furthermore, the algorithm provides researchers the possibility to study Fishers portfolio framework from a dyadic supply chain position. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Purpose: In this study, areas of use of blockchain technology in transportation management will be discussed. The purpose is to contribute with theoretical research of advantages and disadvantages of blockchain technology in transportation management before an implementation at Rhenus Logistics.  

Methodology: Through interviews and literature, ways of using blockchain in transportation management is researched. A case study is set up, to further analyze the research topic from the view of an individual third-party logistic company. 

Findings: Results showed that for a third-party logistic provider to successfully use blockchain technology within transportation management, it is important to have the entire network onboard in the process. If so, functionalities such as track and trace, digital handling of paperwork and smart contracts could be used. The advantages of using blockchain technology for transportation management at Rhenus Logistics were found to be trust, transparency, traceability, efficiency, cost-saving opportunities and the use of smart contacts. Identified disadvantages for Rhenus Logistics was that blockchain is costly, stakeholders are hesitant to get involved, smart contracts are not considerate of blurry lines in real life practice and there is a challenge in finding an accurate blockchain design for their business model.

The world trade is increasing rapidly and so is the amount of transportation. With help of the internet it is now easier than ever to order a product which will be sent from the other side of the world. This study aims to investigate to which extent consumers consider what effects their behaviour will have on the environment and how interested they are in protecting the environment when ordering products by paying a higher price for a more environmentally friendly transport. This is done by conducting four interviews with customers of different age and asking questions about their attitudes towards a more expensive and environment friendly transport. More specifically, questions were asked about how much more they would be willing to pay for that kind of transport. Furthermore, questions were asked about what they know about the work that is being done and has been done to reduce the effects on the environment caused by shipping. The result shows that they are willing to pay a higher price for a more environmentally friendly transport. For this to be possible the price needs to be affordable and they need to have a trust in the company offering this kind of transport. There are differences among the interviewed persons in how much they are willing to pay depending on what product they are buying and what the cost is for the original transport cost. This study also shows that the respondents have a very limited knowledge about the work that is being done and has been done to benefit the environment within the shipping business.

Denna studie syftar till att utforska och utvärdera framtida befäls upplevelser av automooring inom sjöfarten med fokus på säkerhetsaspekter och effektiviteten. Genom strukturerade intervjuer har användarupplevelsen analyserats för att få en förståelse för hur automooring påverkar säkerheten och effektiviteten ombord på fartygen.

Resultaten av intervjuerna visar att majoriteten av respondenterna ser automooring som ett säkrare och mer effektivt alternativ till traditionell förtöjning. De noterar fördelar såsom minskad manuell hantering av trossar och ökad effektivitet vid förtöjning. Trots detta finns det även vissa bekymmer kring tillförlitligheten hos automooring, särskilt under olika väderförhållanden och för olika fartygstyper.

Respondenterna uttrycker övervägande positiv inställning till införandet av automooring, även om vissa uttrycker oro och tveksamhet. Förslag på framtida förbättringar inkluderar ökad tillförlitlighet hos automooring, anpassning till olika fartygstyper och väderförhållanden samt etablering av standarder och riktlinjer för användning i hamnar.

Slutsatserna visar att automooring har potential att vara ett säkrare och mer effektivt alternativ till traditionell förtöjning, men ytterligare utveckling och förbättringar krävs för att möta de identifierade problemen och utmaningarna.

 In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the adoption of emerging sensing technologies for instrumentation within a variety of structural systems. Structural health monitoring systems are widely adopted to monitor the behavior of structures during forced vibration testing or natural excitation (e.g. earthquakes, winds, live loading). They can be found in a number of civil structures, including bridges and viaducts, and also in applications of vehicle health monitoring. Moreover, since infrastructures can be damaged by human originated threats, the adoption of security measures is also essential. This paper presents a proposal of an early warning system based on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for railway infrastructure monitoring. It exploits already available research results and tools for WSN management, integration and data fusion. The aim is to hedge detection capabilities in a complete framework for structural failures as well as security threats, including both natural hazards and intentional attacks.

The current travel demand in railways requires the adoption of novel approaches and technologies in order to increase network capacity. Virtual Coupling is considered one of the most innovative solutions to increase railway capacity by drastically reducing train headway. The aim of this paper is to provide an approach to investigate the potential of Virtual Coupling in railways by composing stochastic activity networks model templates. The paper starts describing the Virtual Coupling paradigm with a focus on standard European railway traffic controllers. Based on stochastic activity network model templates, we provide an approach to perform quantitative evaluation of capacity increase in reference Virtual Coupling scenarios. The approach can be used to estimate system capacity over a modelled track portion, accounting for the scheduled service as well as possible failures. Due to its modularity, the approach can be extended towards the inclusion of safety model components. The contribution of this paper is a preliminary result of the PERFORMINGRAIL (PERformance-based Formal modelling and Optimal tRaffic Management for movING-block RAILway signalling) project funded by the European Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking.

Logistik är allt viktigare för handelsföretags konkurrenskraft. Ett sätt att säkerställa logistikutveckling i handelns försörjningskedjor är att fokusera på hur man mäter och förbättrar sina gemensamma logistikprestationer, såsom ledtid och servicegrad. Metoden har varit fallstudier av fem fall i olika branscher. Studien har haft tre frågeställningar.

Hur arbetar man med logistikmätningar i handelns försörjningskedjor i Sverige? Detaljerade beskrivningar av detta ges från t ex dagligvaru-, hemtextil- och sportbranscherna. Stora skillnader mellan de undersökta företagen har konstaterats i studien. Det finns också stora skillnader i vilken grad företagen samverkar med varandra. Förslag till utveckling av varje studerat fall ges.

Vilka goda lösningar för samverkan kring logistikmätningar har man hittat? Exempel är härledd mätlogik i hela försörjningskedjan, branschstandard för mätning, gemensamma mål och gemensamt arbetssätt. Detta kan andra handelsföretag inspireras av.

Vilka hinder och utmaningar har man stött på? Ett stort antal hinder har påträffats, exempelvis brist på tillit, brist på kunskap, svårigheter att samverka med category-management-funktionen samt bristande IT-stöd för datafångst och rapportering. Kunskap om och förståelse för hinder bör vara en viktig del av att arbeta med prestationsmätningar som ska leda till logistikutveckling.

Det är angeläget att dessa resultat sprids till branschen för att bidra till kunskapsutvecklingen i handelsnäringen. Åtta olika förslag till fortsatta studier presenteras avslutningsvis.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale for measuring information quality in the order fulfilment process.

Design/methodology/approach – Measurement scales are developed out of the practical information needs and a theory review. A state‐of‐the‐art description and further scale development are based on a survey of the most important suppliers of 136 Swedish companies.

Findings – The paper finds that information quality can be measured with variables as in time, accurate, convenient to access and reliable. The scales were found to possess unidimensionality, validity and reliability.

Research limitations/implications – The implications of this paper are mainly theoretical, providing a foundation for further empirical research.

Practical implications – Even though established customer‐supplier relations were studied, information quality deficiencies were found on all variables. This is an indication of improvement possibilities.

Originality/value – There is a lack of research on measuring the information quality construct, which might be the reason for little empirical research on the impact of information quality on logistics performance.