Increasing supply chain sustainability through partnerships with 3PL suppliers A case study within the pulp and paper industry

Abstract

Stora Enso, is one of the major actors within the pulp and paper industry, an industry in which large volumes of goods are being shipped from production facilities to customers. Stora Enso’s transports contribute to a large part of both their costs and their emissions, which makes it a strategic area. Stora Enso have an ambition to be in the frontline in the industry regarding sustainability, and therefore transportation is one of the areas where the highest potential for improvements exists. The purpose of the report is consequently to evaluate how Stora Enso can achieve more sustainable transports by developing partnerships with 3PL suppliers, looking mainly at road and rail transports. The task was approached in two parts, where one part aimed to find what prerequisites are needed to successfully establish partnerships with 3PL suppliers, while the other part looked at how these partnerships could be formed to create a more sustainable supply chain for Stora Enso. The method used was to conduct external interviews with some of the most important 3PL suppliers to Stora Enso that were determined by analysis of internal supplier spend and volume data, along with internal interviews with people at Stora Enso. It was found that the prerequisites required for partnership are high levels of trust, communication and integration, mutual benefits and goals, common values, mutual dependencies and enabling of innovation. Although none of the suppliers fulfill all the prerequisites, most of the relationships provide a good foundation that can be developed into deeper partnerships, if Stora Enso and their suppliers work on establishing the prerequisites that are not yet fulfilled. The final recommendation for achieving higher sustainability is in the short term to establish partnerships with the rail suppliers, who although not offering much opportunity for innovation, can contribute to large sustainability improvements by moving more transport to conventional rail. Also, partnerships could be developed with road suppliers, where there are existing sustainability solutions that could be implemented, along with more use of intermodal transport, decreasing the transport emissions. Furthermore, there is the possibility to develop long-term strategic partnerships with some of the road suppliers that hold potential for creating competitive advantage through new sustainable innovations.