Browsing by Author "Ylinen, Tommi"

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The Applicability of Theoretical Inventory Control Models on Retail and Wholesale Logistics Chain
(2009) Ylinen, Tommi
Helsinki University of Technology | Master's thesis
Improving the efficiency of fulfilment operations in omnichannel grocery retailing
(2021-10-20) Sutinen, Akseli
Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
The industry of grocery retailing has been changing and the COVID-19 pandemic has given online grocery retailing a significant boost. However, omnichannel grocers have struggled with the profitability of the online channel as workload heavy operations of picking and delivering the orders require massive efforts from the grocer. Still, price-sensitive customers are not willing to pay for the service even though they find the service convenient. Thus, the thesis focuses on the fulfilment challenges of OC grocery retailers and analyzes possible solutions to improve the efficiency of the supply chain. The study conducts an extensive literature review of different fulfilment and distribution methods used in online groceries and discusses the advantages and challenges of each. Furthermore, six online grocers were interviewed for the study to identify the advantages and challenges of each used fulfilment model. Also, the changes in the supply chain due to the pandemic and quickly increased demand are discussed. The researched models from the literature review were compared to the used fulfilment models and it was noticed that the scalability of the store-based fulfilment model has proven its advantage of scalability through the uncertain demand during the pandemic. Earlier, the focus on the literature has been on the last-mile transportation efficiency but now, the picking operations have gotten more attention from grocers. The physical limits have begun to restrict the picking capacity in stores and increased demand has led to more challenges in the stores. Thus, multiple grocers were focusing on setting up automated picking solutions to improve picking efficiency. However, based on the study, store-based picking is not considered to be replaced completely and thus advanced solutions for the model are needed. The study also finds out possible solutions on how OC operations could be improved for more efficient online retailing. These solutions were focused on OOS management, online store possibilities and more efficient picking. Picking in the stores has led to an increased number of OOSs when multiple channels consume the same inventories. Thus, stockouts were stated to be one of the main challenges in OC retailing. The study finds that OOS management should be improved by adjusting ARS for replenishing online orders and providing substitute items to the pickers automatically. Based on the study, the picking software was considered to be inadequate for efficient picking also. Optimized picking routes and up to date data should be provided to the pickers for decreasing the differences in the performance of different pickers. In addition, online groceries could enable more efficient replenishment by utilizing open online orders and batch balances in fresh items. However, the study did not analyze the specific benefits of the possible solutions and thus further separate research should be conducted for proving the results. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the demand has been hindering down the investments in online grocery retailing. Thus, further research should be done after the pandemic and the online demand has levelled and the solutions can be adjusted accordingly.
Suitable Level of Productization in Configurable Enterprise Software
(2016-08-24) Isomäki, Erkka
Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
The ability to serve business customers in large quantities while ensuring sustainable long term business continuity for the vendor requires explicit understanding of how the offering creates value for customers. Enterprise information systems have gone through a recent transformation towards being so called “standard software” with elements that are subject to customization. These productization efforts have been undertaken to specifically improve efficiency, scalability and quality while providing the means for meeting customer specific demands. However, through customizability vendors must make compromises between solution complexity and meeting customer requirements. This Thesis pursues to answer the research problem “How can vendors of configurable enterprise software achieve a suitable level of productization?” to help vendors maintain the original targets for productization. The research was carried out as action research for a Finnish software vendor and contained a qualitative data analysis based on Grounded Theory. Several productization related challenges were found during the analysis such as re-invention of solutions to customer problems and gaps of responsibility in internal operations. To steer the research, a target state of productization was defined for the product itself and for its supporting processes. A key productization target for the product is the formulation of solution configuration templates that are constructed to meet requirements of customer segments. The suggested actions of the thesis for vendors of configurable enterprise software discuss product management practices, customer segmentation and software modularization. Conclusive thoughts of the Thesis are threefold. First of all, productization of configurable enterprise software should be studied from the perspective of the organization as a whole and not just the product itself. Secondly productization requires significant effort and is a long term process which should yield benefits later. Lastly the Thesis highlights that a product manager role should exist in a software vendor and that role should be equipped with enough authority to make product related decisions.