Productivity improvement as a facilitator of reshoring and growth at small companies A case study in the Swedish electronics manufacturing industry

Abstract

The Swedish electronics manufacturing industry has faced significant competition from countries with lower labour costs, resulting in production being relocated. However, at some companies, there is a growing interest to bring back production to the country of the company. To remain competitive, companies need to constantly improve productivity. At the luminaire manufacturer in this case study, having more production in Sweden would make it easier to fulfil customer demands, but the cost of producing locally is currently too high to make it feasible. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate the potentials for improving the productivity at the company. The first part of the thesis was investigating if insights could be gained from the data in the surface mounting technology (SMT) production. Then, the second part was understanding the current situation in the luminaire assembly and suggest improvement. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to achieve this. Interviews and observations, including participation, were used to gain an understanding of the products, material flows and work processes. Then, machine data, ERP data and time studies allowed the theoretical and actual production times to be analysed, allowing productivity improvement potentials to be found. In the SMT production, data was found for theoretical and actual cycle times. By comparing these, key performance indicators (KPI) like availability and performance could be determined. This indicates that a better system for handling the data could be very valuable. In the assembly, many potentials for improvement were found. The proposal still includes preproduction in China, but all units of the product in the case are to be finished in Sweden. Then, the material flows could be changed with, among other things, a kanban system. Finally, by moving tools and materials closer to the operator at the assembly station, as well as providing them with support and standardization, the time for assembling the product could decrease by 30-50%.