Logistics Flow Improvement at Volvo Cars Body Shop

Abstract

In the automotive industry, material supply systems often involve interdependent production units with different priorities, creating challenges in balancing transport efficiency and material accessibility. This thesis studies the material supply interface between Volvo Cars Body Components (VCBC) and the Body Shop at Torslanda (TA), where packaging configurations and replenishment methods have created op- erational challenges related to handling effort and material accessibility. The purpose of this study is to analyze the material supply interface between VCBC and the Body Shop TA and identify opportunities for improving material flow per- formance. A qualitative single case study was conducted based on interviews, ob- servations and internal company data. The empirical findings were analyzed us- ing theories related to supply chain coordination, internal logistics and the Actor- Resource-Activity (ARA) model. The findings show that the material supply challenges reflect misalignment between operational priorities, resource configurations and logistics activities across the mate- rial supply interface. While VCBC prioritizes batch production, transport efficiency and standardized logistics processes, TA operates under limited line-side space and continuous material accessibility requirements. The study further identifies coordination challenges related to fragmented decision- making across functions with different priorities and responsibilities. The findings suggest that stronger system-wide coordination and joint evaluation of logistics de- cisions may improve overall material flow performance. The study concludes that future improvements should focus on selective adapta- tion of packaging and replenishment solutions rather than broad standardization. More structured coordination mechanisms, stronger cross-functional evaluation and selective testing of packaging configurations may improve material accessibility and logistics performance while balancing trade-offs between transport efficiency, han- dling effort and production stability across the material supply interface.