A Fan of Green Transport Consolidation Route Optimization for Inbound Logistics at FläktGroup Sweden AB

Abstract

Consolidation of freight transport is an effective way of reducing environmental impact and optimizing logistics flows. This master’s thesis aimed to locate and analyze poten- tial consolidation solutions for external road freight of goods within inbound logistics at the manufacturer FläktGroup Sweden AB. The goal was to find optimized freight trans- port routes that reduce the company’s environmental impact of road transport, while still maintaining the effectiveness and economics of the manufacturing. To enable this, a mapping of the current inbound logistics external freight flow was necessary. This was supported by a sufficient theoretical exploration of parameters influencing inbound logistics and its surrounding operations. The thesis used a hybrid data collection approach, combining quantitative and qual- itative methods to gather primary and secondary data. Several analytical tools such as the Kraljic matrix, Fisher’s model, EOQ calculations, and the SWOT analysis, were used to identify improvement potentials in the current freight flow and suggest shipment consolidating routes. The environmental impact of the proposed routes was evaluated using the NTMCalc Basic 4.0 calculator. The master’s thesis resulted in a map of the current collection points of incoming goods and a segmentation of vendors that had the potential to be included in initial shipment consolidation solutions. It suggested an efficient supply chain design to enable trans- port optimization tactics within inbound logistics and proposed several routes for future implementation, which combined a majority of the segmented vendors in routes with close characteristics to a milk-run delivery system. A following recommendation was made for FläktGroup to in the future consider an order consolidation policy internally within inbound logistics. In conclusion, the thesis successfully located and analyzed potential consolidation so- lutions for external road freight of goods within inbound logistics at FläktGroup Sweden AB. The findings provide a framework for optimizing freight transport routes while re- ducing environmental impact, which could potentially be applied to other manufacturing firms with similar supply chains.