Petri Niemi

An approach to link customer characteristics to inventory decision making

Abstract Differentiation of logistics services through distinct inventory policies is analyzed. A framework is presented in which product-based information is supplemented by customer-specific characteristics when deciding on the inventory policy for a specific product. Product-based information includes sales volume and variation by product. Customer information consists of purchase volume and its growth potential, and evaluation of the effects that service level has on purchases. Delivery time is used as service measure and inventory policy consists of selecting the production mode from make-to-order, make-to-stock, or one of their variations. As a result, distinct inventory policies are formed.

An approach to improving logistical performance with cross‐unit benchmarking

Purpose – The paper aims to help identify the best logistical practices and to implement them with minimal organizational resistance in an environment with relatively similar business units utilizing an internal benchmarking approach.Design/methodology/approach – A stepwise benchmarking process, where the use of basic inventory control practices is complemented with benchmarking analysis among business units that are of the same kind, but not entirely similar. The viewpoint is that of a supply chain specialist, and the main objective of the paper is to present how the analysis should be carried out.Findings – Four principles were found useful when carrying out the analysis for internal benchmarking: refining stepwise the precision of the analysis, accepting the practical limitations of the data, disaggregating the task to be benchmarked to manageable sub‐areas, and engaging the management and key implementers in the analysis work.Originality/value – The approach is a complementary approach to the traditio...

Supply chain development as a knowledge development task

The study utilises two research streams of knowledge management – knowledge maturity models and strategies of accelerating the knowledge creation in an organisation – to understand and support the adoption of complex practices of Supply Chain Management (SCM). Generic development strategies called bottom-up, top-down and middle-up-down are derived from the theories and evaluated in two case companies representing different industries but the same development area, inventory management. The case study is organised into two parts. First, the development to date is presented in both case companies and the cases are used to identify the basic prerequisites, advantages and disadvantages of the bottom-up and top-down strategies. Second, potential development strategies for the future are analysed. The findings of the case studies suggest that the selection between different strategies is related to the cultural and organisational environments, the complexity caused by the issue itself and by climbing the knowledge maturity stages, and the relative importance of the issue to be developed. As a result the study gives guidelines to development strategy selection, especially focusing to two crucial questions: where do you expect the knowledge to be accumulated and in what form do you expect the knowledge to be stored and communicated.

Building understanding of the development of performance management for collaborative networks with a knowledge maturity model

The objective of the study is to analyse how the stage of the performance management of a network can be evaluated with a knowledge maturity model. The purpose is to examine how the knowledge maturity model OSSIC works in the context of network-level performance management. In addition, the study generates contents for management attributes from the network perspective. The study concerns a single case consisting of a collaborative network. The empirical data has been gathered with interviews and an action research process. According to the results of the study, the OSSIC maturity model is a suitable approach for the adoption of a network-level performance measurement system, for several reasons. The use of the OSSIC model helps to observe the development issues concerning performance management in a wider scope. The results of the study indicate that the most essential attributes for the successful adoption of a network-level performance measurement system are the network culture and the skills and knowledge of the participants.

Estimating the business potential for operators in a local food supply chain

Purpose Estimating the business potential for local food intermediary businesses, like wholesales and retailing, can be extremely difficult. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach at finding out the possibilities of estimating the business potential of a business idea in advance. Design/methodology/approach In the approach, a model is built based on two data sources. Statistical data on the food expenditure of households and average division of the revenues and margins of the local food supply chain are divided to production, intermediate level (wholesales/distribution) and retailing stages. To estimate the regional local food business potential as a whole, the market share estimations have been made by local food experts. Findings The approach was tested and utilized in evaluating the feasibility of a local food wholesale business in South-East Finland. It produced a credible overview of the business potential and pinpointed the challenges of the local food wholesales. The study indicated also that expressing the feasibility in terms of the required market share for employee count is an easy-to-understand way to depict the feasibility of a business. Research limitations/implications The model gives indicative, industry average-based results: the results of the model should be refined with analyses on the particular business model, especially its cost efficiency and other competitive parameters compared to more traditional way of doing business. Practical implications The model helps local food entrepreneurs and firms as well as their financiers to get a realistic picture of the business potential and the economic feasibility of the targeted business. Originality/value The study introduces a novel approach combining quantitative data and expert evaluation for evaluating the market potential and economic prerequisites of a regional food supply chain operator.