INCREASE CONTROL IN PACKAGING HANDLING PROCESSES : ADDING VISIBILITY AND CONTROL THROUGH CLEARER RESPONSIBILITIES AND CATEGORIZATION OF PACKAGING

Abstract: The increased use of returnable packaging have given rise to the trend of packaging logistics.The operation of returnable packaging is challenging for global companies due to thecomplexity in the process and information flows. Companies invest in returnable packagingsystems in order to ensure quality throughout the supply chain. Despite the large investments inan returnable packaging fleet, it is often poorly controlled, leading to vast tied-up capital andshrinkage.This thesis proposes how the visibility and control of the system is affected by thecategorization of packaging and the allocation of responsibilities throughout the packaginghandling process. Theoretical and empirical studies were carried out, the theoretical part helpeddefine the problem. A case study were performed at Scania CV AB in Södertälje, Sweden.Results of this study shows that categorization of packaging is not sufficient to attain a suitablelevel of control in an packaging handling process. Although it could be used as a supporting orgoverning documents for standardization in the process. Findings showed that theresponsibilities in the process should be centralized in as large extent as possible. Although ifthe current process is lacking visibility and control, the benefits of centralized control may belost.