Analysis of working practices in the forthcoming BonD era : - How will the new IT system affect the field of delivery coordination?

Abstract: This master thesis has been carried out at Billerud AB in Skärblacka and Gruvön and at the Department of Science and Technology, University of Linköping. The purpose of this thesis work is to evaluate the new standardised IT system in comparison to the old systems in reference to create routines, models and working practices and to see how the daily work will be affected for the delivery coordinators. Billerud is a packaging paper company with four production sites located in Gruvön, Karlsborg, Skärblacka and Beetham (United Kingdom). The company’s sales organisation is made up of sales offices around the world. The thesis is based on the problem with differences in calculated and actual freight costs that have arisen over the years. Part of the study has therefore been aimed at reaching an understanding of why these differences occur. Freight cost data has been gathered from Billerud Skärblacka and Billerud Gruvön for the years 2005 and 2006. From this data the author has seen for himself that a problem exists but also that there might be a way to change the trend. The study then focused more on the current working practices and the forthcoming ones that will come with the implementation of the new IT system BonD. This system is meant to replace the IT systems of Billeruds four mills in 2007. The new IT system will shift focus to be more market oriented and hope is that working practices at the mills will be more unified. The study of the new system has shown that alterations need to be made, and they need be made rather quickly. There are aspects that initially are lost from the old system that could prove troublesome in the future. One of these aspects that the author fears will lead to a worse situation is the decrease in importance of roll numbers; traceability can become an issue if nothing is done to ensure that the current traceability is maintained and improved. A number of proposed measures for improving the working practices are stated in the recommendations. The main conclusion is that even though BonD will be an easier system to work with, largely depending on the user interface, there are factors and working practices that need to be changed in order facilitate the work of the delivery coordinators. With the difference in freight charges in mind, Billerud also needs to evaluate, review and revise the current freight charges allocated to their customers.