A comparative study of the material feeding principles 

kitting and sequencing at Saab Automobile, Trollhättan: 

creation of guiding principles of which articles to be 

supplied with kitting. 
 

Master of Science Thesis 

 

ERIK KARLSSON 

TOBIAS THORESSON 

 

Department of Technology Management and Economics 

Division of Logistics and Transportation 

CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 

Gothenburg, Sweden, 2011 

Diploma work no E2011:060  



 

A comparative study of the material feeding principles kitting and sequencing at Saab Automobile, Trollhättan: 

creation of guiding principles of which articles to be supplied with kitting. 

ERIK KARLSSON 

TOBIAS THORESSON 

© ERIK KARLSSON, TOBIAS THORESSON, 2011. 

Diploma work no E2011:060 

Department of Transportation and Logistics 

Chalmers University of Technology 

SE-412 96 Gothenburg 

Sweden 

Telephone + 46 (0)31-772 1000 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cover: Saab 9-5 on main assembly line at Saab Automobile, Trollhättan. 

Chalmers Repro Service 

Gothenburg, Sweden 2011 



 

A comparative study of the material feeding principles kitting and sequencing at Saab Automobile, Trollhättan: 
creation of guiding principles of which articles to be supplied with kitting. 
ERIK KARLSSON 
TOBIAS THORESSON 
Department of Transportation and Logistics 
Chalmers University of Technology 
 

Abstract 

This master thesis was initiated by Saab with the purpose to create guiding principles considering the 

transformation of sequenced material flows into kitted material flows. The background is that in the 

automotive industry today, large numbers of car models and variants are offered to the end 

customer. The large number of models and variants create space limitations at the assembly station 

i.e. it makes it very difficult to display all of the part numbers within the assembly station. This 

limitation at the assembly line has, by Saab Automobile, traditionally been handled with sequenced 

deliveries of selected part numbers to the assembly stations, but at the moment Saab is expanding 

its use of kitting. When introducing kitting some questions arose whether how old sequenced 

deliveries should be handled. 

This thesis started with a review of the literature considering kitting and sequencing as well as a 

background to third-party logistics (3PL) since 3PL companies are involved in both the kitted and 

sequenced flow. The current state of the feeding principles kitting and sequencing were investigated 

in order to get a better understanding of the problem at hand. Then the study continued with case 

studies where the flow of articles supplied with kitting and sequencing were mapped. A simulation 

was also performed where sequencing articles suitable for kitting were simulated in a kitted material 

flow. Analyzes later showed the differences of the material feeding principles considering handling, 

administration, transport and storage. It was shown that kitting is most beneficial considering the 

number of handling operations and cost associated to the material flows. The analysis also showed 

the negative aspect of kitting; the articles supplied with kitting require being stored at several stock 

locations within the Saab assembly plant. Analysis further showed that depending on load carrier, 

used to transport the kits to the assembly stations, several constraints exist of which articles can be 

supplied with kitting. 

A template aimed at facilitating the evaluation of sequenced and kitted articles was created taking 

previously presented results from the analysis into consideration. The conclusion from this master 

thesis is that kitting is a more beneficial material feeding principle compared to sequencing via a 3PL. 

It is recommended that as many articles previously supplied with sequencing should be transformed 

into a kit flow as long as the article qualify to meet the different limitations which involves kitting 

considering actual load carrier for kitting, article characteristics and space requirements.  

 

Keywords: Material feeding principle, kitting, sequencing, material flow, article characteristics 

  



 

Abbreviations 

ESH – Electrical switch for headlights 

FIFO – First in, first out 

HATS analysis – Handling-, Administration-, Transport-, and Storage analysis 

MFM – Material flow mapping 

MPS – Master production schedule 

OEM – Original equipment manufacturer 

SPS – Set part system 

3PL – Third-part logistic provider 

  



 

Contents 
1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 

1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................ 1 

1.2 Problem definition at Saab Automobile AB ............................................................................... 2 

1.3 Purpose ...................................................................................................................................... 3 

1.4 Scope .......................................................................................................................................... 3 

2 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................................... 4 

2.1 Material feeding principles ........................................................................................................ 4 

2.1.1 Kitting .................................................................................................................................. 4 

2.1.2 Sequencing .......................................................................................................................... 6 

2.2 Comparison of kitting and sequencing ...................................................................................... 7 

2.3 Third party logistics (3PL) ........................................................................................................... 8 

2.3.1 Consolidation center ........................................................................................................... 9 

3 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 10 

3.1 Research strategy .................................................................................................................... 10 

3.1.1 Qualitative versus quantitative strategy........................................................................... 10 

3.1.2 Inductive versus deductive approach ............................................................................... 10 

3.1.3 Case study ......................................................................................................................... 10 

3.1.4 Data collection .................................................................................................................. 11 

3.2 Work procedure ....................................................................................................................... 11 

3.3 Validity and reliability .............................................................................................................. 13 

4 Current state at Saab ...................................................................................................................... 14 

4.1 Layout of the assembly plant ................................................................................................... 14 

4.2 Current material flows at SAAB ............................................................................................... 14 

4.2.1 Actors ................................................................................................................................ 15 

4.2.2 Material feeding principles ............................................................................................... 16 

4.3 Studied material flows ............................................................................................................. 20 

4.3.1 Description of flow for Instrument cluster ....................................................................... 20 

4.3.2 Description of flow for Antenna ....................................................................................... 22 

4.3.3 Description of flow for Dashboard panel .......................................................................... 24 

4.3.4 Description of flow for ESH ............................................................................................... 25 

5 Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 27 

5.1 Hats analysis ............................................................................................................................ 27 

5.1.1 Analysis of material handling to line side storage racks ................................................... 27 



 

5.1.2 Analysis of material handling at the assembly station ..................................................... 28 

5.1.3 Administration .................................................................................................................. 29 

5.1.4 Transport .......................................................................................................................... 30 

5.1.5 Storage .............................................................................................................................. 31 

5.2 Cost analysis ............................................................................................................................. 33 

5.3 Article characteristics............................................................................................................... 34 

5.3.1 Size .................................................................................................................................... 34 

5.3.2 Weight ............................................................................................................................... 34 

5.3.3 Special handlings............................................................................................................... 35 

5.3.4 Sensitiveness ..................................................................................................................... 35 

5.3.5 Article characteristics of the studied articles ................................................................... 35 

5.4 Simulated kitting flows of Antenna and Instrument cluster .................................................... 36 

6 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 39 

7 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 40 

8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 42 

9 References ...................................................................................................................................... 43 

10 Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 45 

Appendix 1: Template of which articles to be supplied with kitting ................................................. 45 

Appendix 2: Layout of Saab´s final assembly plant ........................................................................... 46 

Appendix 3: MFM Instrument cluster ............................................................................................... 47 

Appendix 4: MFM Antenna ............................................................................................................... 50 

Appendix 6: MFM ESH ....................................................................................................................... 55 

Appendix 7: Niosh lifting equation .................................................................................................... 57 

Appendix 9: Cost for spaces within a simulated flow ....................................................................... 59 

 

 

  

  



 

List of Figures 

Figure 1: Categorization of material supply systems  ............................................................................. 4 

Figure 2: Sequencing principle  ............................................................................................................... 6 

Figure 3: Consolidation center  ............................................................................................................... 9 

Figure 4: Schematic picture of the work procedure .............................................................................. 13 

Figure 5: Material flows ......................................................................................................................... 15 

Figure 6: Truck lane between Dashboard panel assembly line and kit preparation area ..................... 17 

Figure 7: Kit container for Dashboard panel assembly line .................................................................. 18 

Figure 8: Picture of rack and box for Antenna ...................................................................................... 20 

Figure 9: Studied material flows till Saab .............................................................................................. 20 

Figure 10: Instrument cluster ................................................................................................................ 21 

Figure 11: Antenna ................................................................................................................................ 23 

Figure 12: Line side storage rack for Antenna ....................................................................................... 24 

Figure 13: Dashboard panel .................................................................................................................. 24 

Figure 14: ESH ........................................................................................................................................ 25 

Figure 15: Distance for assembly operator to transport articles to assembly object. .......................... 29 

Figure 16: Number of stock locations ................................................................................................... 31 

Figure 17: Handling operations per hour .............................................................................................. 36 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 



 

List of Tables 

Table 1: Chosen articles to be studied in the material flow maps. ....................................................... 12 

Table 2: Number of required handlings and handlings per hour .......................................................... 28 

Table 3: Number of administration activities ........................................................................................ 30 

Table 4: Number of transports per hour ............................................................................................... 31 

Table 5: Dimensions of load carriers ..................................................................................................... 32 

Table 6: Simulated square meter cost per assembled car. ................................................................... 38 



 

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1 Introduction 
In this chapter an introduction to the master thesis is made. First a background to the material 

feeding principles kitting and sequencing is presented. Secondly, a problem discussion concerning the 

material feeding principles at the studied company Saab Automobile AB is presented. This funnels the 

field down to the purpose and the objectives for the thesis. And finally, the scope of the thesis is 

presented. 

1.1 Background 

In the automotive industry today, large numbers of car models and variants are offered to the end 

customer. Automotive manufacturers are mass customizing (Alford et.al., 2000) in order to meet 

customer needs and to stimulate the market. Customization can occur at different stages such as the 

design-, manufacturing-, and distribution phase but also in the hands of the customer in the form of 

“self-customization” (Alford et.al., 2000). Although there are other examples, customization most 

commonly occurs in the manufacturing phase i.e. the car is built-to-order (Fredriksson and Gadde, 

2005). Assembly of a product according to build-to-order principles allows largely varied components 

to be assembled in a standardized way (Fredriksson and Gadde, 2005). In order to be responsive and 

to produce the products ordered by the customer many companies use mixed-model assembly lines 

(Liker, 2004). But the large number of models and variants makes it very difficult to display all of the 

part numbers at the assembly station, hence increasing the focus of the material supply system 

(Johansson and Medbo, 2004). 

Traditionally, continuous supply has been the dominating material feeding principle. This is still true 

but other material supply philosophies are challenging the old thinking. Kitting is gaining increasing 

attention from the automotive industry and is becoming an alternative to continuous supply 

(Hanson, 2009). When using kitting, inventories at the assembly stations are minimized and the parts 

are instead delivered to the assembly stations sorted by assembly object when needed.  Parts that 

are required for the specific assembly object is grouped together, “kitted”, and placed into a kit 

container (Bozer and McGinnis, 1992). Another material feeding principle used to reduce the 

inventories at the assembly station is sequenced delivery of single part numbers. Sequenced delivery 

(sequencing) is similar to kitting when considering the sequence to which parts are delivered to the 

assembly station. The main difference is that with kitting several parts are picked to an assembly 

object and with sequencing only single part numbers are sent to assembly object. (Hanson, 2009)       

Most often, both sequencing and kitting in comparison to continuous supply require an extra 

repackaging operation for each handled part number, if not possible from the supplier. This result in 

a labor-intensive material supply but benefits can be reached when considering the fetching of parts 

at the assembly area. When kitting is used, the part numbers required for the specific assembly 

object can be displayed at the assembly station in such a way that walking distance for the assembler 

can be minimized. Sequencing on the other hand is due to the presentation of single part numbers is 

restrained to be located in or next to the line side material racks. Other benefits such as flexibility 

and control are also increased compared to continuous supply since only kitting container is handled 

and routed through the assembly system apposed to handling the individual component containers 

(Bozer and McGinnis, 1992). 



 

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1.2 Problem definition at Saab Automobile AB 

Saab Automobile is an automobile company located in Trollhättan, Sweden. The company is currently 

producing seven car models: Saab 9-3 SportCombi, Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, Saab 9-3X, Saab 9-3 

Convertible, the all new Saab 9-4X, Saab 9-5 Sedan, and the all new Saab 9-5 SportCombi. The model 

9-4X is however not produced in the Trollhättan plant but instead in GM’s plant in Ramos Arizpe, 

Mexico. The final assembly plant at Saab consists of one paced assembly line with several 

complementary sub-assembly lines. The current takt time is 28 produced cars every hour i.e. a takt of 

2.14 min per car. Saab is hopeful that this takt will in near future be increased to 30 produced cars 

every hour i.e. a takt of 2.0 min per car.  The final assembly plant consists of several lines were cars 

are being transported between the lines either on the ground level or by conveyors that lifts the car 

in the roof level of the plant. This layout is a result of expanding production, introducing more car 

models into the program, hence “outgrowing” the current facilities.  

The variations of the end products create large inventories of different part numbers, hence 

occupying a lot of space at the assembly line. The main part of the material has and is still supplied by 

continuous supply but the problem of space limitations at the assembly line has traditionally been 

handled with sequenced deliveries of selected part numbers to the assembly stations. The 

sequencing (picking and placement in sequence) have in these cases been done in different parts of 

the flow, based on different conditions: 

 At the supplier 

 Internally within Saab or 

 At a third party logistics firm (3PL) 

At the moment, Saab Automobile is expanding its use of kitting – on the expense of both continuous 

supply and sequenced deliveries. Preparation of kits to assembly (i.e. kitting) is intended to be 

handled at picking spaces internally within Saab’s factory. When introducing kitting some questions 

arise whether how old sequenced deliveries should be handled. Could sequenced deliveries be 

combined with the kitting to gain synergy effects in the picking and re-packing of articles? How will 

sequenced deliveries be delivered, in sequence to kitting area to be re-packed, directly to the 

assembly area or should they be delivered solely via kitting? To answer these questions further 

investigation must be made considering available space in Saab’s factory, the amount of work 

performed in the material flows, and the costs depending on different kinds of material supply 

methods. 

  



 

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1.3 Purpose 

It is this master thesis intent to create a template which can be used in the evaluation process 

considering the transformation of sequenced material flows into kitted material flows in accordance 

with Saab’s current strategy. In order to validate this purpose the first question that has to be 

answered is: 

1. Which material feeding principle is preferable, sequencing or kitting. 

Secondly, it is intended to create criteria to characterize articles and/or production flows to create a 

strategy for: 

2.  Which products should be included in Saabs internal kit assembly (material handling). 

3. How material flows for these products should be arranged from supplier to the kit area at Saab. 

1.4 Scope 

In this master thesis only the automotive industry has been studied. The recommendations are 

therefore first and foremost appropriate for manufacturing companies working under the same 

circumstances.  

Only material flows connected to either kitting or sequencing will be studied. The studied sequencing 

flows are limited to the flow via DHL, hence discarding the internal sequenced- and first tier supplier 

sequenced material flows. The material flows are analyzed from receiving dock at either TTAB or DHL 

and to the mounting of the article onto the assembly object. 

Important to also mention here is that it is not the master thesis intention to improve the current 

state but rather to evaluate the different alternative material flows kitting and sequencing present at 

Saab today.  



 

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2 Theoretical Framework 
The theoretical framework used in this thesis is presented in this chapter. It starts by describing the 

theory concerning material feeding principles presented with special attention put on kitting (chapter 

2.1.1) and sequencing (chapter 2.1.2) which relates to the first research question of “which material 

feeding principle is preferable, sequencing or kitting”. A comparison between the two material 

feeding principles is also presented (chapter 2.3) aiming to create an understanding for the second 

research question “which products should be included in Saabs internal kit assembly (material 

handling)”. Finally, theory concerning third-party logistics and consolidation center is presented which 

relates to the third research question: “How material flows for these products should be arranged 

from supplier to the kit area at Saab?” 

2.1 Material feeding principles 

Several material feeding principles for small parts to manual assembly exists. In his model (Figure 1), 

Johansson (1991) distinguishes between material supply systems in regards to the selection of part 

numbers exposed at the assembly stations and the way the parts are sorted at the assembly stations. 

The model depicts three principle material supply systems: (1) continuous supply, (2) batch supply 

and (3) kitting. Continuous supply presents all part numbers at the assembly line. The material is 

sorted by part number and distributed to the assembly line in units suitable for handling. Batch 

supply only presents a selection of part numbers at the assembly station connected to a number of 

specific assembly objects. Similar to continuous supply, batch supply is sorted by part number. Kitting 

presents material at the assembly station sorted by assembly object meaning that one kit contains a 

set of part numbers for one assembly object. The kits are in other words delivered to the assembly 

station in the sequence in which they will be assembled (Hanson, 2009). One or several kits can be 

supplied to the assembly station at the same time. (Johansson, 1991) 

Hanson (2009) further elaborates on sequenced deliveries and mentions sequencing of single 

components in addition to previously mentioned kitting. Sequencing of single components does 

similarly to kitting only present a selection of part numbers at the assembly line sorted by assembly 

object. This material feeding principle is however not mentioned in Johansson’s model (Johansson, 

1991).    

 

Figure 1: Categorization of material supply systems (Johansson, 1991) 

2.1.1 Kitting 

Bozer and McGinnis (1992) defines a kit as “a specific collection of components and/or subassemblies 

that together (i.e., in the same container) support one or more assembly operations for a given 

product or shop order.” Similarly, Johansson (1991) state that “one kit consists of a set of parts for 

one assembly object.” From these definitions it is understood that kitting requires extra handling 

compared to continuous supply. It should be mentioned that downsizing i.e. breaking down of 



 

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supplier pallets into smaller containers occurs in continuous supply. In these cases the numbers of 

handlings are the same for kitting as for continuous supply. The part numbers have to be kitted 

somewhere in the material feeding process. Several kits can be supplied to the assembly station at 

the same time but the parts needed for each specific assembly object are held (“kitted”) together 

(Bozer and McGinnis, 1992; Johansson, 1991). Also true from the definitions are that no material 

included in the kit have to be presented separately (presented in line-side storage racks) at the 

assembly station meaning that kitting is more flexible to changes of the assembly line. Presenting 

only the required parts for each assembly also reduces the manufacturing floor space as well as 

increasing the control of work-in-progress through parts visibility and parts accountability on the 

production floor. (Bozer and McGinnis, 1992) 

Kitting is particularly advantageous at the assembly station when the total numbers of components, 

including number of variants, are many. The reverse is also true, i.e. that kitting is less advantageous 

in serial lines where each assembly station has few components to be assembled.  (Johansson and 

Johansson, 2006) Kitting is many times not the only material feeding principle to the assembly 

station. Bozer and McGinnis (1992) mention product complexity and product size as motives for 

using other material feeding principles than kitting. Components such as fasteners, washers are most 

commonly also not included in a kit (Bozer and McGinnis, 1992; Baudin, 2004).  

In the studied literature a large variety of different solutions considering kitting was examined 

making it very difficult to describe one pure kitting system. Bozer and McGinnis (1992) observed two 

types of kits: stationary kits and travelling kits. The stationary kit is delivered to one assembly station 

where it remains until it is fully consumed. The travelling kit on the other hand travels along side the 

assembly object and can support several assembly stations before it is consumed. Brynzér and 

Johansson (1995) further examine the different design options of kitting systems in their report. The 

kitting can either be performed by an assembler or by a picker (i.e. special category of operators) and 

the kitting activity can be performed in a central picking store or in decentralized areas close to the 

assembly stations. Several articles discusses higher picking accuracy when the assembler himself is 

responsible for the whole job since he has a better understanding for the part numbers included in 

the assembly operations (Brynzér and Johansson, 1995; Johansson, 1991). The articles also recognize 

reduced administrative work when the picker and the assembler was the same person.  

Other differences discovered by Brynzér and Johansson (1995) in their study of kitting in the 

manufacturing industry where:  

1. Batching policy – instead of picking each kit separately, several kits are picked together in 

order to reduce walking distance and picking times 

2. Zone picking - a picking order is divided into picking zones and hence can be picked 

simultaneously in different zones 

3. Picking information – picking list is the most common picking information for the picker but 

this system has a high risk for inaccuracy through the picker picking the wrong parts. A 

display at the storage locations indicating what should be picked is another alternative, 

which reduces the risk for inaccuracies. Another is to assign each finished product a number, 

letter or color and displaying this symbol at each storage location. 

4. Design of picking package – the design of the picking package has to both be functional in the 

picking process as well as in the assembly process. The parts can either be displayed lying 



 

6 
 

freely in the package or fixed with a dedicated placing. A dedicated place for each part 

reduced the flexibility of the package but increases at the same time the safety of the part 

and the control/speed of the assembly. 

2.1.2 Sequencing 

The materials feeding principle sequencing is used by several automotive companies under a variety 

of names; sequential supply, just-in-time sequencing, in-line vehicle sequencing, just-in-sequence, 

sequence parts delivery, synchronized delivery and body-on-sequence. The companies in the 

automotive industry is dominated by just-in-time principles and by using sequencing, part numbers 

are not delivered only just in time but also in a predetermined sequence (Svensson, 2006).  

The material feeding principle of sequencing, Figure 2, communicates the final assembly line 

sequence to the suppliers and makes them deliver parts in the same sequence, to the exact location, 

and at the time they are needed (Baudin, 2004).  Johansson and Johansson (2006) define sequencing 

as “part numbers needed for a specific number of assembly objects are displayed at the assembly 

stations, sorted by object.” Sequenced deliveries can be favorable where few components are 

assembled on a serial line instead of kitting, which is less favorable under these circumstances. The 

sequencing process can be located within or outside the assembly plant (Johansson and Mathisson-

Öjmertz, 2000), i.e. the material feeding principle can differ between the assembly station and the 

supply chain. The increased information exchange needed when sequenced deliveries and the need 

for frequent deliveries demands greater coupling between supplier and customer in comparison to 

continuous supply (Baudin, 2004).  

 

Figure 2: Sequencing principle (Aronsson et. al., 2004) 

If materials are fed traditionally with continuous supply to the assembly station, many packages have 

to be displayed at the station. But if sequencing is used instead, only one package containing 

different specific part numbers belonging to the same component group has to be displayed at the 

assembly station (Johansson and Medbo, 2004). The packages which part numbers are transported in 

are often specially designed for the specific component groups. Sequencing has thus made it possible 

to produce customized cars with variety of parts such as seats, wheels, mirrors, safety equipment 

and electronic devices etc. while still maintaining economy of scale (Svensson, 2006).  

Information of produced parts can be sent to suppliers several days in advance but if part numbers 

are picked from a 3PL or produced in sequence by local suppliers this information is not send until 

the car reaches the final assembly plant (Baudin, 2004). The procedure is specific for the automotive 

industry where the preceding operation is painting and after this operation the sequence of the cars 



 

7 
 

can be determined (Baudin, 2004). When suppliers get the sequence information they initially 

respond by picking parts from stocks of finished goods. The idea is not to push inventory back to the 

suppliers, but this is what happens in many cases (Abraham et.al., 1990). One way to solve the 

inventory problem is instead to let suppliers increase the frequency of deliveries by sending smaller 

quantities. This has a significant impact on freight cost, meaning that transportation cost can increase 

more than the reduction of inventory costs (Abraham et.al., 1990). Another way for suppliers not to 

pick parts in finished goods stock is to develop the capability to build the parts in sequence. This is 

what usually happens within a few years (Baudin, 2004), the supplier’s assembly process is then 

triggered by the sequence information. The process of arranging the parts in a sequenced order can 

either be performed by the first tier supplier, Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a 3PL 

company (Johansson and Medbo, 2004). A specialized 3PL can in many cases achieve this work at a 

lower cost (Aronsson et.al., 2004). 

2.2 Comparison of kitting and sequencing 

Johansson (1991) in his model (explained in chapter 2.1) differentiates between material feeding 

principles by two factors: Are all of the part numbers presented at the assembly station or only a 

selection and if the part numbers are sorted by part number or assembly object. Kitting was 

distinguished as only presenting a selection of part numbers at the assembly station and being sorted 

by assembly object. The same was found to be true for sequenced deliveries. Sequenced deliveries 

are also distinguished as only presenting a selection of part numbers at the assembly station and 

being sorted by assembly object. (Hanson, 2009) Although the two material feeding principles share 

these common traits there are many differences between the two.  

Comparing the material feeding principles of kitting and sequencing with the traditional material 

feeding principle continuous supply where all of the articles are presented at the assembly station 

sorted by part number it is quite clear that benefits can be achieved with the first two mentioned 

material feeding principles in connection to the assembly stations and control of the material flow. 

These benefits compared to continuous supply will be listed below and a discussion evaluating the 

better material feeding principle kitting/sequencing will also be presented. 

Reduced space requirements at the assembly station and increased visual control are achieved when 

the article variants are removed from the line side storage connected to continuous supply and 

changed to either kitting or sequencing. Kitting presents several different articles in one kit container 

while the sequenced delivery, often displayed in racks, only carry one article which contain variants 

of the article sorted by assembly object. This means that if 13 articles are kitted, the space required 

at the assembly station with kitting is only the dimensions of the kit container/storage for the kit 

containers/line side storage rack. The sequenced material feeding principle on the other hand still is 

in need of 13 racks connected to each individual article, i.e. the space required for variants of 

components has been deleted but not the space required for the individual articles. From this simple 

example it is obvious that kitting will require less space at the assembly station when many articles 

needs to be presented at the assembly station. 

Another benefit with kitting as a material feeding principle is that the kit container can be placed 

next to the assembly object and hence move along with the assembly object. This reduces the 

walking required by the assembler since the material is displayed within reaching distance and hence 

increases the efficiency of the assembly work. Sequenced deliveries, even though line side storage 



 

8 
 

rack space has been reduced, still require the assembler to walk in order to fetch material for 

assembly. 

Increased quality in assembly work is facilitated by both kitting and sequencing compared to 

continuous supply since the choice of which article to pick has been removed from the assembler 

and hence letting the assembler focus on his/her core activity, namely to assemble.  Both kitting and 

sequencing display the articles to be picked in such a way that no one material feeding system can be 

preferred to the other concerning this matter. 

Increased control over the material flow is achieved with both kitting and sequencing compared to 

continuous supply. Since, continuous supply displays all of the part numbers sorted by part number 

at the assembly station a huge inventory is created. The material feeding principles kitting and 

sequencing reduces the inventory levels since only selected articles sorted by assembly object is 

displayed hence increasing the control and limiting the articles exposed to theft, damage etc. 

2.3 Third party logistics (3PL) 

Companies are more and more focusing on their core competences and outsourcing all other 

activities to companies that can perform the specific activities better. (Skjott-Larsen et.al., 2007) The 

transport and logistics activities of companies are no exception. Today companies outsource their 

logistic activities to a 3PL to an ever-increasing extent (Aronsson et.al., 2004). Murphy and Poist 

(2000) define 3PL as “a relationship between a shipper and third party which, compared with basic 

services, has more customized offerings, encompasses a broader number of service functions and is 

characterized by a longer-term, more mutually beneficial relationship. However, the degree of 

customization can vary greatly depending on each individual relationship between shipper and 

service provider. Relationships can span from simple market exchanges with a low degree of 

integration and small competence exchange to in-house logistics solutions with high degree of 

integration and competence exchange. (Skjott-Larsen et.al., 2007) 

The services that the 3PL provides can according to Skjott-Larsen et.al. (2007) also vary greatly. He 

divides the 3PL providers into: asset-based logistics providers, network logistics providers, and skill-

based logistics providers. Asset-based logistics providers own assets such as trucks, airplanes, 

warehouses, and terminals and offer 3PL as an extension of their core business. Network logistics 

providers have a strong global transportation and communication network and can hence expedite 

express shipments faster and more reliably. Finally, skill-based logistics providers do not own physical 

logistics assets but rather offer consultancy, financial services, information technology and 

managerial skills to their clients. 

The driving forces for outsourcing activities are as mentioned earlier that companies more and more 

focus on their core competences. Outsourcing converts fixed costs i.e. buildings and trucks into 

variable costs, 3PL companies have transportation and logistics as their core competence and can 

therefore more easily reach economy of scale and scope in their operations. The shipper is able to 

streamline operations and to create a leaner and more flexible organization. (Skjott-Larsen et.al., 

2007) Baudin (2004) mentions economic reasons such as the higher wages in the automotive 

industry as motives for outsourcing activities to 3PL, it is cheaper to let a material handler at the 3PL 

handle the product than the employees in the automotive industry. Lacking space in the factory is 

also a motive for using a 3PL. 



 

9 
 

2.3.1 Consolidation center 

A consolidation center (see Figure 3) is a facility that is located close to the manufacturer, which 

receives components and parts from many suppliers to later be consolidated and delivered to 

the manufacturing plant (Baudin, 2004). The consolidation center is preferable if components 

are delivered from a great distance where frequent milk runs may not be practical (Wu, 2003). 

Usually a separate company operates the consolidation center.  

 

Figure 3: Consolidation center (Baudin 2004) 

There are some different motives for having a consolidation center. It can work as a domestic center, 

working as it made its own parts on day-to-day basis, which shields the manufacturer from dealing 

with overseas suppliers with monthly lead times. Another motive is when working with suppliers who 

will not work with kanban or returnable containers. These suppliers should be weeded out but this 

process will take time and in the meanwhile their products will be delivered through the 

consolidation center (Baudin, 2004). The last motive according to Baudin is the ability to reduce labor 

cost. Compared to the assembly plant where operators are paid with high salary a separate facility 

can recruit low-wage personnel.  

Every item does not need to be delivered through a consolidation center. Apart from overseas 

suppliers with long lead times and domestic suppliers who do not deliver in the right quantities that 

the plant wants, the rest of the components should be delivered directly to the manufacturing plant 

(Baudin, 2004). The following types of articles should not be delivered through a consolidation 

center; sequenced delivered parts and standard components such as bolts, nuts and washers. There 

are also some functions a consolidation center should not perform; activities like kitting, quality 

control should be performed within the assembly plant where product knowledge is greater (Baudin, 

2004).  

 

  



 

10 
 

3 Methodology 
In this chapter theory of how to perform research and also what to consider when performing the 

research is presented. It is also presented which are applied for this study. Finally the work procedure 

for this master thesis is explained.   

3.1 Research strategy 

Below are the different approaches and strategies presented and also which of them are used in this 

master thesis. 

3.1.1 Qualitative versus quantitative strategy 

The research strategy is most often divided into two methods depending on assault approach, 

quantitative and qualitative. The difference between the two methods is whether soft data (e.g. 

interviews and observations) or cold figures (i.e. measured or evaluated numerically) are used. 

Qualitative methods are based on a deeper understanding of the studied problem complex as well as 

a description of the context surrounding the problem (Holme and Solvang, 2001). The goal of the 

qualitative methods is to gain insight rather than to use statistical analysis (Bell, 1995). Quantitative 

methods on the other hand are more formalized and structured. These methods are characterized by 

their selectiveness and distance in relation to the information source (Holme and Solvang, 2001). The 

process of measurement is central and gathering of facts and studying of relations between 

constellations of these facts through scientific techniques is focused upon (Bell, 1995). 

In this report qualitative methods are mainly used where interviews and observations are the 

fundamental source of information. 

3.1.2 Inductive versus deductive approach 

The relations between the theoretical world and the empirical world also influence the method in a 

study, two different approaches are most often named in academic literature: inductive and 

deductive. Abnor (2009) say that the inductive approach constructs theories using factive knowledge 

i.e. facts from the empirical world are used to construct theories in the theoretical world. The same 

authors say that deduction on the other hand is the logical analysis of what the theoretical world 

says about a specific event tomorrow. A third method, apart from the inductive- and deductive 

methods, is the abduction method. The method is a combination of both inductive- and deductive 

method where a single case is placed in a general hypothetical pattern, which is proven to be true 

explains the case. The explanation should afterwards be confirmed with new observations (new 

cases)(Abnor, 2009).  

3.1.3 Case study 

There are several different ways of doing a scientific research; experiment, survey, history, case 

study etc. (Yin, 2009). In this master thesis it was decided that case study was the most appropriate 

scientific research. The strength of a case study is that the researcher can focus on one special 

occasion, a case study, to find the factors which all affect the case. This case will then symbolize a 

larger system, which the case is a part of. Conclusions drawn from the case study can then be applied 

to the whole system (Bell, 1995). According to Wallen (1996), the main benefit of a case study is that 

phenomenon’s are studies in real situations. Other benefits are that deeper knowledge is attained 

from the study, and that a case study can validate that the phenomenon exists (Wallen, 1996).  



 

11 
 

3.1.4 Data collection 

There are mainly two types of data: primary data and secondary data. Primary data are those, which 

are not gathered before (Dahmström, 2005). Then the researcher has to collect it for the specific 

research purpose. This can either be done by surveys, interviews or direct observations (Dahmström, 

2005). Secondary data is information collected and analyzed by other researcher for another 

purpose. This information can be found in different publications, register or official statistics. This 

data can either be used directly or sometimes further analysis is required (Dahmström, 2005). In this 

thesis both primary and secondary data will be used. 

3.2 Work procedure 

Saab initiated the master thesis with the purpose to establish guiding principles of which articles 

previously supplied with sequencing should be supplied with kitting. In appendix 1, a template, which 

includes important decisions regarding implementation of sequencing articles to be supplied with 

kitting is presented. 

Before evaluation whether an alternative solution would contribute to a better result or not, 

knowledge of the present processes is required (Aronsson et. al., 2004). The empirical description 

aims to get an understanding of the current materials feeding principles, described in current state 

(chapter 4), interviews with involved engineers were held. It was also decided to map the current 

material flows of kitting and sequencing. For this purpose, Finnsgård et.al., (2011) proposes a 

methodology, Material Flow Mapping (MFM), where flows are compiled into materials flow maps. 

The first important step in this methodology is to decide which study objects to follow and the scope 

of the study. In this master thesis it was decided to start the mapping at a 3PL where the materials 

first arrive from the first tier suppliers, either at the consolidation center TTAB or at DHL where 

sequencing is made. The studied flow ends where the assembler at the final assembly station fetches 

the materials to be mounted on the assembly object. 

In consultation with SAAB four articles where chosen to be studied and to be representative for the 

material feeding principles kitting and sequencing. This selection was done since it was neither 

possible nor wanted to study all of the existing articles in these flows. It was decided that the article 

Dashboard panel was a suitable study object concerning sequencing. Dashboard panel is a very big 

article with many variants and requires two operators for the assembly operations. In contrast to 

Dashboard panel, Antenna is a small article with many variants also supplied with sequencing, thus 

Antenna was decided as study object. This was done in order to study the effects of the material 

feeding principles due to articles with different characteristics. Currently, Saab supplies one article 

Instrument cluster in sequence to Saab to be picked in a kit preparation area. In order to investigate 

potential benefits or drawbacks from this solution, Instrument cluster was chosen as a study object. 

Instrument cluster has many variants and is considered a medium sized article (smaller than 

Dashboard panel and bigger than Antenna). The article ESH was chosen to represent a typical kitting 

article since it is relatively small in size with many variants. An article variant, of each chosen article, 

was chosen to map. The selection was made thus annual volume should coincide i.e. inventory levels 

should be comparable for best comparison of the material feeding principles kitting and sequencing. 

Summarized, four flows were chosen to be followed, two flows supplied with sequencing, one flow 

supplied with kitting and one flow supplied with sequencing to be kitted. The studied articles are 

presented in Table 1. 



 

12 
 

Sequencing articles: Kitting articles: 

Dashboard panel ESH 
Instrument cluster Instrument cluster 
Antenna  

Table 1: Chosen articles to be studied in the material flow maps. 

Finnsgård et.al., (2011) emphasize the importance of video recording. To record the entire flow with 

included activities will provide timestamps for all the activities. In this master thesis it was decided to 

video record the chosen flows. However, the internal flows within Saab´s factory were not permitted 

to record thus these flows were instead studied by live observations. Then the flows were compiled 

into material flow maps, which were then later validated by involved actors. Parallel to the empirical 

description, a review of the literature was initiated. As well as from empirical description, different 

characteristic affecting kitting were also search for from literature.   

According to Aronsson et.al., (2004), storage, handling, transport and administration are the 

foundation to calculate cost in logistics thus these factors are the most relevant to study. Also 

Finnsgård et.al., (2011) suggests the analysis of the flow to consist of summarized number of 

handling, administration, transports and storage, a HATS analysis. Therefore in this master thesis the 

empirical analysis consists of an analysis of these factors, a HATS analysis. From this analysis the 

number of handling operations, administration, transport and storage required for each studied flow 

is investigated. Storage analysis is complemented with investigation of the required space necessary 

for each flow.  

Furthermore, variable cost associated to handlings is calculated to compare kitting with sequencing 

from an economical perspective. From Saab it was given the times for handlings within the flows at 

Saab. From these times costs could be calculated. Costs for handlings at TTAB and DHL were also 

gathered from personnel at Saab. Then, further analysis of characteristics considering the load 

carriers used in kitting has been made to be able to decide which articles would be suitable for 

kitting. Finally a simulation was made where articles suitable for kitting were simulated into a kitting 

flow. The analysis is then the foundation for the guiding principles, which intends to make the 

selection of which articles to supply with kitting clear. 



 

13 
 

 

Figure 4: Schematic picture of the work procedure 

3.3 Validity and reliability 

In concern to the validity of this master thesis, the aim was to get as much data as possible validated. 

The interviews with involved engineers concerning kitting and sequencing were recorded. This made 

it possible to go back and listen to the interviews again if any issues concerning the data arose. The 

material flow maps were also recorded as extensively as possible and involved personnel validated 

the finished material flow maps.  

Concerning reliability, in calculations of both cost and space requirements some assumptions had to 

be made. In the cost calculations for the current studied flows these assumptions had a negligible 

impact on the total cost hence not affected the outcome of the cost analysis. Regarding cost and 

space requirements for the simulated flows, it was assumed that both Antenna´s and Instrument 

cluster´s all variants should be fed exact according to the studied article variant ESH. This is probably 

not how it would be done in reality, articles with approximately same annual volume as the studied 

articles would be fed according to the simulation and some articles in another way. However the 

outcome from the simulation still shows that kitting is more advantageous then sequencing.   

  



 

14 
 

4 Current state at Saab 
In this chapter the current state at Saab is described. The layout of the assembly plant is described in 

order to facilitate for the reader to follow the continuation of the report. The current material flows at 

Saab is described where the actors are first introduced and then a general description of the material 

feeding principles kitting and sequencing is made. 

4.1 Layout of the assembly plant 

To get an understanding of Saabs assembly plant, the layout of the plant is presented in Appendix 2. 

The interesting areas for this thesis are marked with a number from 1 to 7 in the layout. The 

presented areas are:  

1. Northern gate, arriving goods from DHL 

2. Southern gate, arriving goods from DHL 

3. Kanban gate, arriving goods from TTAB 

4. Kanban storage 

5. Dashboard panel kit preparation area 

6. Dashboard panel assembly line 

7. Final assembly line 

Which gate that is used for deliveries from supplier is connected to the destination point within the 

Saab factory. The northern gate is e.g. used for deliveries to the Dashboard panel assembly line, 

while the kanban gate is used for deliveries to the kanban storage, and the southern gate is used for 

among other things the article Antenna, which is assembled in the south part of the main assembly 

line. The philosophy of delivered goods is in other words to minimize the transportation within the 

factory. Worth mentioning is that the Dashboard panel assembly line is a sub assembly line to the 

final assembly line.  

4.2 Current material flows at SAAB 

In this chapter a brief presentation of all the different material flows to Saab will be described. As can 

be viewed in Figure 5 below, Saab currently has many different material flows supplying the factory 

with materials. Among these flows are articles supplied via the material feeding principle continuous 

supply i.e. are delivered to the line assembly station on supplier pallet. Another flow is the 

sequenced deliveries directly from supplier. These articles are big, bulky articles delivered from 

suppliers located close to Saab e.g. car seats and the roof panel. Sequence is also performed 

internally within the Saab factory; these material flows are most often combined with some form of 

pre-assembly activity. The remainder of this chapter will however focus on the chosen material 

feeding principles kitting and sequencing. 



 

15 
 

 

Figure 5: Material flows at Saab 

4.2.1 Actors 

The actors included in the supply chain and the scope of this master thesis is the 3PL companies DHL 

and TTAB. Below a short description of the actors are made. 

DHL 

The decision to sequence material externally was made in the beginning of 1990s when the second 

generation of Saab model 900 was introduced. Sequencing from a 3PL company was first introduced 

in 1997 when the first generation of the Saab model 9-5 was introduced. The reason for this decision 

was the limited floor space for continuous supply and pallets inventory within the Saab factory. At 

the time, Saab’s material organization was not able, and did not have the system support, to supply 

the assembly stations with internally sequenced material flows (Friedenthal, 2011). Instead the 3PL 

company, CD (Sequenced Deliveries), owned by former Saab employees was chosen to provide this 

service. As more material was delivered via sequence another 3PL partner Exel was introduced since 

CD had reached their capacity limit. After a couple of years with two 3PL providers Exel got the full 

responsibility for the sequenced deliveries. Exel later changed name to DHL and is still to this day the 

3PL partner to Saab. 

When the existing Saab 9-3 model was introduced in 2002, Saab found that the space for material 

presentation next to the assembly station would increase. The space requirements together with the 

directive from the former owners, GM, that Saab should focus on building cars (core business) and 

not surrounding activities initiated the building of DHL’s warehouse. The DHL warehouse employs 57 

people and is dedicated to Saab as a customer. Some of the employees at DHL are recruited via a 

contingency firm meaning that DHL easily can adjust the staffing of the warehouse according to 

Saab’s needs.  

The DHL warehouse includes 17 000 m2 in total where approximately 14 000 m2 is storage. 1 500 m2 

is goods receiving area and another 1000 m2 (approximately) is offices. 36 picking stations sequence 

the material to Saab. Some pre assembly operations e.g. the 9-3 dashboard panel where decorative-

strip is mounted postpone the differentiating of article variants hence reducing required inventories. 

The warehouse is located (2.8 km) to Saab, hence facilitating fast deliveries to the plant. When the 

assembly object at Saab reaches the first station after painting of body, DHL gets the order, which 

contain all articles delivered in sequence by DHL. The articles are then packed and goods are 

transported by four trucks to Saab. The materials are supplied with kanban and the trucks contain 

several different racks of 12, 16 or 24 positions depending on location of assembly station.  



 

16 
 

TTAB 

The Katoen Natie Group is a privately owned company with over 9300 employees in 28 countries. It 

has been the sole owner of Trollhättan Terminal AB (TTAB) since 2000. TTAB is a multi-customer 

warehouse, located 4.8 km from the Saab factory, which offers Saab storage space, just-in-time 

deliveries and preforms repackaging activities such as sorting, planned and unplanned repackaging as 

well as parts assembly. Saab was first introduced as a customer in 1998. In the same year, TTAB 

opened a 7380m2 regional distribution center for Saab. Today these facilities has grown to a 14000m2 

covered warehouse + 3000m2 external. TTAB is currently employing 32 – 42 employees, working in 3 

– shift. 

4.2.2 Material feeding principles 

In this master thesis focus is put on the material feeding principles kitting and sequencing. Below, a 

short description of these material flows and the including parameters of these flows are explained. 

Kitting 

At Saab, kitting is referred to as set part system (SPS). SPS uses a kit container that travels alongside 

the assembled car i.e. a travelling kit. The kit container for the Dashboard panel assembly line is 

prepared in a Kit preparation area, by specialized pickers, located next to the Dashboard panel 

assembly line. This is more thoroughly explained later in this chapter when the studied material flows 

are described. In the remainder of this master thesis the terms kitting and kit preparation area will be 

used since these terms are more commonly used in academic literature.   

The reason for implementing kitting as material supply method at Saab was due to the lack of space 

at the assembly stations. The limited space at the assembly stations made it impossible to store all of 

the articles needed at the assembly station in the line side storage racks due to the large amount of 

variants of articles available. Major factors in the implementation of kitting was also to reduce the 

number of steps that the assembler had to walk for fetching material, remove packaging handling 

and subassembly (if possible) from assembly line as well as the reduction of the number of choices 

the assembler had to make during assembly, hence increasing the efficiency of the assembly station.  

It is the intent of the management at Saab to introduce kitting to as many assembly stations as 

possible, with the goal to have as many articles as possible kitted to the assembly line. Benefits 

achieved in the pilot areas are: reduction of line side storage racks, which increase available space in 

the assembly stations, and reduced walking distance for fetching material compared to other 

material feeding principles. Kitting as well as other material feeding principles e.g. sequencing was 

shown to facilitate the elimination of fixed material facades hence facilitating the re-balances of the 

assembly line. Benefits were also shown where the assembly operator can focus on the assembly 

task and do not need to focus on which materials to fetch to the given assembly object. This benefit 

is also shared with sequencing. Hence reducing the risk for errors done by the assembler when 

fetching articles.  

Three different variants of kitting are currently being used or tested at Saab: kit container, kit-to-car, 

and kit-to-fixture. Kit-to-car is currently being tested at the assembly line. Articles to be assembled 

are placed directly in the car, upstream of the point of assembly. Benefits of kit-in-car are: that the 

inner dimensions of the car facilitate the kitting of large articles, since no kit has to be carried, 

heavier articles considering ergonomics can be handled. Difficulties are: that articles placed in the car 

can interfere, hinder, with assembly performed upstream of the point of assembly, the articles are 



 

17 
 

placed without fixture in the car increasing the risk for damages to the articles, the articles are still 

stored by the assembly line although internally sequenced. Kit-to-fixture is currently being used at 

the motor assembly line. The motors attached to fixtures, which are placed on a driven assembly 

line. The kitted articles are placed directly on to the fixture. Benefits of kit-to-fixture are: that heavier 

articles can be kitted since no kit container is manually handled. Drawbacks are that: the number of 

articles and size of the articles included in the kit is limited to the dimensions of the fixture, the 

articles are not fixed hence increasing the risk for damages to the articles. In this master thesis only 

the kit variant kit container will be analyzed.    

Kit preparation area 

With kitting as supply method space is reduced at the assembly station but still kitting requires an 

area for the assembling of the kits, the kit preparation area. Depending of the number of articles in 

the kitting container and the number of kitting containers at the assembly stations, the size of the kit 

preparation area varies. At Saab there does not exist any stated recommendations for the location of 

the kit preparation area, it varies depending on which assembly station that will be fed. The factors 

that decide the locations are; how much material will be picked, what is the cost for transports and if 

there exist any available space next to the assembly line. The placement of the kit preparation area 

next to the assembly line is preferred due to minimized transports of kits. The short distance is also 

beneficial considering fast deliveries if material errors occur and have to be quickly changed. The 

current locations of kit preparation areas vary for the assembly stations. The kit preparation areas for 

Dashboard panel and engine are located next to the assembly line with minimized transports for the 

kits. Figure 6 below shows the kit preparation area for Dashboard panel to the right and the 

Dashboard panel assembly line to the left. The kit preparation area for door assembly on the other 

hand is located apart from the door assembly line due to limited space close to the assembly line.  

 

Figure 6: Truck lane between Dashboard panel assembly line and kit preparation area 



 

18 
 

The presentation of articles in the material racks at the kit preparation area is optimized for picking. 

At the kit preparation area for Dashboard panel, pick-to-light has been introduced to facilitate 

picking and avoiding errors made by the picker. The articles have been moved here from the line side 

storage racks hence containing the same amount of articles, but the surface required in the material 

racks have effectively been reduced in the new designed kit preparation area. At the kit preparation 

area supplying the Dashboard panel assembly line, the pickers belong to the assembly organization. 

However, these pickers are not assembling anything at the line. The reason that the pickers belong to 

the assembly organization is the product knowledge and commitment increases the quality of the 

picked kits since the pickers has experience with the articles kitted.  

Kitted articles 

Currently, no documents concerning the selection of kitting articles exist. The selection of which 

articles that could be fed with kitting is made from some factors of which articles are most suitable 

for picking; is the material sensitive, could it be fitted in a kitting box, can the article be mounted 

directly or does the material need a tool that synchronously must be collected at the assembly 

station, how many steps can be reduced at the assembly station and how many variants of the article 

exist. Currently, 65 article families are kitted for the Dashboard panel assembly line amounting to 

200 article numbers. Of these 200 article numbers, 150 are picked with the help of pick-to-light 

indicators.  

Kitting package 

For economic reasons, existing containers at Saab are used with foam fixtures so that each article 

included in the kit has a dedicated place. The foam fixture secures the article in order to avoid 

scratches but does also facilitates standardized picking procedure since the picker can pick the article 

from the same place every time. According to Saab, the plastic box is the most suitable alternative 

for present kits.  

 

Figure 7: Kit container for Dashboard panel assembly line 



 

19 
 

The containers should hold as many articles as possible to minimize the amount of kits necessary to 

feed the assembly stations. The container should not be too heavy and easy to handle, the articles 

should be displayed in such a way that picking is enabled. The weight of the current kit container at 

the dashboard assembly line is 7.2 kg. Limits to the kit container are; the container must fit in a rack 

for storage next to the assembly line, the container must be stored next to the assembly objects 

without disturbing the assembler. The dimensions of the current kit container connected to the 

Dashboard panel assembly line are 800x400x200 mm. The available container at Saab should not be 

a constraint to which articles that should be kitted. If there does not exist a suitable container it has 

to be purchased.  

Sequence 

Today, Saab has three alternatives for sequencing of part numbers: internal sequence, sequence 

from first tier supplier and sequence from 3PL. Examples of internally sequenced articles are rear and 

front bumpers. The internal sequence is however often associated with some form of pre assembly 

task e.g. fog lights and engine warmer contact is mounted onto front bumper. Although the material 

organization has gained the possibility for internal sequence deliveries to assembly stations the main 

issue still remains, space limitations, hence warranting external sequencing. Sequenced articles from 

first tier suppliers are big, bulky articles with many variants e.g. seats, door panels, and exhaust 

pipes. These first tier suppliers are located in a fairly close distance to the factory enabling this 

solution. Obvious benefits of this sequenced flow are the reduced number of handlings since the 

material is displayed accurately from the start. In this master thesis only sequence from 3PL is 

analyzed. 

Sequence from 3PL is as explained earlier handled via DHL. DHL is responsible for the storing and 

sequencing of a large amount of Saab’s articles as well as simpler administrative activities. Saab has 

the owner ship of the articles in the DHL warehouse and is in charge of all planning such as inventory 

levels and replenishment except for three articles (wing-mirror, 9-3 convertible handle and net). For 

these articles the ownership is transferred when the delivery reached Saab. 

Sequence preparation area 

At DHL, the sequenced racks can either be prepared in the high storage location or in a specifically 

designed preparation area. Benefits from preparing the kit directly in the high storage location is the 

elimination of extra handling activities when the articles are moved to the specific preparation area. 

The picking of the articles that are sequenced from DHL are validated with the help of scanned 

barcodes. A barcode of the article to be picked is scanned (e.g. from a picking list) and is validated 

first when the barcode, on the article or storage place is no barcode on article exists, is scanned and 

matched. This is done to avoid human errors in the picking of articles. The picker can operate several 

sequencing stations at the same time depending on how demanding the picked article is. 

Sequenced articles 

Sequenced articles as described earlier have been chosen due to space requirements in the assembly 

stations at Saab. Large articles, articles with many variants have been chosen for sequencing. 

Examples of these articles are Dashboard panel, pedals, loom, Instrument cluster, Radio, glove 

compartment, and Antenna. 



 

20 
 

Presentation of sequenced material 

In Figure 8 different handling equipment for sequenced deliveries are displayed. Figure 8 shows a 

rack for looms, where each container includes one loom for one assembly object. Also included in 

this rack is the sequence box for Antennas (bottom right). The sequencing stations for Antennas and 

looms are located next to each other at the 3PL and are therefore combined in transport to reduce 

wastes.  The rack for looms is attached to the line side storage racks and containers are automatically 

transferred, taking away the activity of transferring containers between transport fixture and line 

side storage racks. Size of the article is of course a major factor considering which transport packages 

to use, Antenna can because of their small size easily be sequenced in a container (Figure 8).  

 

Figure 8: Picture of rack and box for Antenna 

4.3 Studied material flows 

Three material flows to Saab where studied with the tool material flow mapping: kit to assembly, 

sequence to assembly, and sequence to kit to assembly. The articles chosen to represent these flows 

are Instrument cluster (sequence to kit to assembly), Antenna (sequence to assembly), Dashboard 

panel (sequence to assembly), and ESH (kit to assembly). The studied material flows are highlighted 

in Figure 9. As explained earlier, the material flows of Antenna and Dashboard panel are both similar 

in their handling i.e. sequenced flows directly to assembly line. The characteristics of the studied 

articles are however so varying that a study of the two flows are of interest to the thesis. The 

complete material flows can be viewed in the appendix 3-6.   

 

Figure 9: Studied material flows 

4.3.1 Description of flow for Instrument cluster 

Currently Saab has one article, which is first supplied to the kit preparation area with sequenced 

deliveries and then delivered in kits to the assembly station, Instrument cluster (Figure 10, MFM 



 

21 
 

presented in Appendix 3). The Instrument cluster is mounted on the dashboard of the car giving vital 

information to the driver regarding speed, rpm, fuel level etc. One Instrument cluster is required for 

each car assembly. The article has 26 variants, is 7875 cm3 big and weighs 800 gram. 

 

Figure 10: Instrument cluster 

The article is by Saab considered suitable for kitting but the article was supplied in sequenced 

deliveries before kitting was implemented at Saab. Changing the flow of an article is difficult, 

especially when another actor (DHL) is involved. For this reason the article is currently being supplied 

in sequence to the kit preparation area.  

Flow at DHL 

When the article is delivered to DHL from suppliers, the truck is unloaded and pallets are transported 

to the receiving dock area by forklifts. The forklift operator makes a visual control of the goods and 

also checks the consignment note before handing it over for labeling and reporting into MPS system. 

The goods are reported into both Saab´s and DHL´s MPS system, an activity that has to be performed 

twice due to the incompatible system interfaces. After the pallets are labeled, they are transported 

to a high storage. The high storage for Instrument cluster is located on top of the picking station i.e. 

the article is picked from the ground level of the high storage, when a pallet is empty a new full pallet 

is retrieved from the upper levels of the high storage. The signal for replenishment to the picking 

station is when the forklift operator visually identifies an empty pallet in the picking area (visual 

control). The operator manually checks his list of available pallets and replenishes the picking station 

with a new full pallet.  

The sequence in which order the picker at DHL picks Instrument cluster is determined from the 

printed picking list, which the picker retrieves from DHL´s MPS system. The information regarding 

which sequence the cars are built on the assembly line at Saab is sent to DHL when the car reaches 

the final assembly line. The picker labels the specially designed rack, i.e. giving it an identity and 

information regarding included articles, with which articles are transported to Saab. The picker 

checks the picking list, picks article, and then put the article in the rack. The pick list, which consists 

of labels, is then matched with the part number on the article and the article is labeled. The article 

has now two barcodes that the picker scans to eliminate picking errors. When the rack is ready the 

picker marks the rack “ready”.  



 

22 
 

A tow tractor driver visually controls that the rack is ready for pick up and transports the rack to the 

loading dock. Here the goods are waiting for a new truck to enter the dock. The trucks between Saab 

and DHL are constantly in motion. The system has the function of a kanban system. When a truck 

arrives at DHL, empty racks to be replenished are unloaded and waiting finished racks are loaded and 

transported to Saab. The deliveries do not need any system support, if no racks have arrived, no 

picking have to be made. The tow truck driver is the operator who also loads the racks onto the 

truck.  

Flow at Saab 

The sequenced goods are either transported to the northern gate or the southern gate depending on 

the location of the articles final consumption on the assembly line. Instrument cluster is transported 

to the northern gate since this is located closest to the Dashboard panel assembly line. When the 

truck arrives at Saab, the goods are checked for damages. When the truck is unloaded the 

responsibility of the goods is turned over to Saab, it is therefore important to identify damages 

before the goods are unloaded. The worker manually unloads the racks and transports them to the 

receiving area.  

The signal that triggers the tow tractor driver to pick the rack from the receiving area is “material 

andon”. When the rack is empty at the assembly station or kit preparation area, the assembler or 

picker at kit preparation area presses a button that tells the tow tractor driver to pick up the empty 

rack and replenish the station with a full rack.  

The picker picks a picking list that contains the information of which articles should be included in the 

kit. Since the articles are sequenced from DHL they are presented in the right sequence and the 

picker therefore does not need to choose which variant to pick. The article is placed in the kit and 

when the kit, which also includes several other articles, is ready it is placed on a cart containing 

several full kits (eight kits).  

The assembly station at the assembly line contains two carts of kits (Two-bin-system). When a cart is 

empty the tow tractor driver, which also is responsible for replenishment of kits, return the empty 

boxes and fills the cart with full boxes. The assembler at the assembly line picks one kit and places 

the kit in a fixture next to the assembly object. This facilitates the assembly and reduces the amount 

of steps the assembler has to walk in order to retrieve articles.  

4.3.2 Description of flow for Antenna 

The Antenna receives signals e.g. for radio, GPS and television depending on the equipment chosen 

for the car. One Antenna is required for each car assembly, except for the cab model, which has 

another solution due to the canvas roof. The article, Figure 11, has 43 variants, is 560 cm3 big and 

weighs 82 gram. 



 

23 
 

 

Figure 11: Antenna 

Flow at DHL 

Since the material flow for Antenna, presented in Appendix 4, similarly to Instrument cluster passes 

through DHL, detailed description of goods reception and included activities for Antenna are referred 

to previous section (Instrument cluster). The pallets containing Antennas are retrieved from the 

receiving dock and placed in a high storage located close to the sequence preparation area. High 

volume part numbers have dedicated pallets from the supplier but part numbers with low volumes 

are combined onto mixed pallet. At the picking station the Antenna is no longer presented on pallets 

so the pallet is “broken” in the high storage and transported in supplier packages (number of articles 

per package varies from 9 – 42) to the sequence preparation station. 

The picker retrieves a picking list from the MPS system. The kitting box is labeled and each individual 

place for Antennas in the fixture is labeled with a barcode. The picking begins with the picker 

scanning the individual Antenna barcode from the fixture, the picker then walks to the storage place 

for the Antenna and scans the barcode connected to the storage place. This is done in order to avoid 

picking of the wrong article. The article is then placed in the kitting box and when all of the articles 

are picked the box is labeled “ready”. The picker brings the kitting box to the loom picking station 

and placed it on the rack for loom. These stations are located close to each other both at DHL and 

Saab. Combining the articles in transport reduces the number of handlings required for the two 

articles. When the rack is fully packed, a tow tractor makes a visual control, collects the rack and 

delivers it to the delivery bay. Note that this rack is consumed in the other end of the Saab factory 

compared to the Instrument cluster and Dashboard panel and is therefore delivered with another 

truck that goes to the south port at Saab.   

Flow at Saab  

The goods are as mentioned earlier delivered to the southern gate at the Saab factory. The rack with 

looms and the Antenna container is picked up by a tow truck and transported to the assembly 

stations by the assembly line. The kit container for Antennas is first delivered and the kit container is 

simply replaced in the rack with an empty kit container. The second stop is the assembly station 

where the looms are consumed. The rack is connected to the fixture by the station and becomes part 



 

24 
 

of the line side storage rack (Figure 12). Empty racks are returned to the delivery bay for transport 

back to DHL. 

 

Figure 12: Line side storage rack for Antenna 

4.3.3 Description of flow for Dashboard panel 

The Dashboard panel is placed in the front in the interior of the car facilitating among other things 

the display of vital instruments to the driver e.g. previously mentioned Instrument cluster. One 

Dashboard panel is required for each car assembly. The article, presented in Fig. 13, has 24 variants, 

is 358400 cm3 big and weighs 9960 gram. 

 

Figure 13: Dashboard panel 

Flow at DHL   

The material flow for Dashboard panel (Appendix 5) is as the two previous studied flows, Instrument 

cluster and Antenna, also handled through DHL. For a description of the goods receiving at DHL, 

previous text is referred to (Instrument cluster). The Dashboard panel is a very big and bulky article 

and therefore only four articles are fitted onto the pallet from the supplier. The pallet is bigger than 

the normal EU-pallet and has a box fitted onto it to protect the articles. The pallet is transported 



 

25 
 

from the receiving dock and placed into a high storage located close to the sequence preparation 

area. As explained earlier, the design of the transport pallet is very customized for the transportation 

of Dashboard panel, the pickers working in the sequence station have to open a lid and remove a 

wall of the pallet in order to pick Dashboard panel. The operator of the forklift that replenishes the 

picking station with material uses visual control to trigger replenishment. Since the operator of the 

forklift cannot see how many Dashboard panel is present in a pallet due to the walls of the pallet a 

closed pallet box gives the operator the signal to replenish.   

The Dashboard panel is very large and bulky and requires two operators to pick and place into the 

transport rack. The pickers get information about what to pick from a printed picking list. The picking 

list consists of labels with barcodes, when a new picking is initiated the picker scans the barcode and 

then picks the Dashboard panel from its storage place. Two operators pick the Dashboard panel and 

place it onto the transportation rack. When the rack is filled it is placed in a pickup zone for the 

material tow truck. The material tow truck visually identifies that material is ready for pick up and 

transports the rack to the shipping bay. Since the assembly line for instrument panel is located closer 

to the northern port (same as for Instrument cluster) the Dashboard panel is delivered to the delivery 

truck destined for this port. 

Flow at Saab  

Deliveries to Saab are checked and unloaded in the receiving bay. A tow tractor collects the racks at 

the receiving bay when signal of replenishment is sent from the assembly line (material Andon) and 

transports it to the assembly line. Dashboard panel requires a pre-assembly operation before the 

article is transported to the assembly object. This means that two operators picks the article from its 

rack and transport it to the fixture where pre-assembly is made. Then both operators transport the 

article to the assembly object. 

4.3.4 Description of flow for ESH 

The electrical switch for headlights (ESH) is a switch used to control parking light/driving light and fog 

lights (MFM presented in Appendix 6). One ESH is required for each car assembly. The article, Figure 

14, has 22 variants, is 576 cm3 big and weighs 113,4 gram. 

 

Figure 14: ESH 



 

26 
 

Flow at TTAB 

The goods delivered to TTAB is unloaded into the unloading bay and checked for defects/damages 

and the number of pallets in the consignment note. This information is entered into Saab’s MPS 

system directly and labels are printed with information regarding storage place at Saab is printed and 

put on the individual pallet. The material flow of ESH at TTAB is special since it does not go in to the 

TTAB storage, the pallets from the supplier is simply unloaded from the truck, “flagged” and put on 

another truck destined for Saab. The trucks from TTAB goes regularly every hour so the goods are 

almost always unloaded and loaded onto another truck without any considerable waiting time. 

Flow at Saab 

The receiving dock for TTAB goods is located next to the kanban storage at Saab. When the truck 

arrives, the forklift driver empties the truck and places the pallet, containing 16 boxes with 30 ESH in 

each box, on the receiving dock. Another forklift driver, which is responsible for replenishment of 

picking locations within the kanban storage, also is responsible for transport of TTAB goods from 

receiving dock to high kanban storage. This storage location is designed to hold the average mean 

value of stock. If the number exceeds this mean value articles first have to be placed at an overflow 

storage location. Then when space at the high kanban storage is available, the operator makes a 

visual control and move pallets from the overflow storage to this stock location. Many articles have 

overflow stocks adding one storage place in the article flow, which also is true for ESH. 

When the picking location gets empty, the forklift driver makes a visual control and replenishes the 

location with the principle of FIFO (fist-in, first-out) from high kanban storage. The materials from 

kanban storage to Kit preparation area are supplied with kanban principle. When the picker starts to 

pick from a new box, which contains a kanban card, the operator place the card in a box. The card is 

then collected with other cards to be sorted and handed on to the tow tractor driver, which uses the 

cards as a picking list. Two boxes containing 30 ESH/each is then picked and transported to the Kit 

preparation area. The picker picks a picking list, which is printed with information of which articles 

should be included in the kit. To minimize picking errors, picking indicators in form of lights above 

picking location show the picker to pick the right variant at right location. The picker verifies the pick 

by putting the hand under the light to switch off the picking indicator. The article is then placed in 

the kit and by same procedure as Instrument cluster transported to the assembly station.  



 

27 
 

5 Analysis 
The analysis of this thesis is presented in this chapter. It starts by analyzing the studied material flows 

from the parameters: Handling, Administration, Transport, and Storage (HATS). This is done in order 

to evaluate the appropriateness of the material feeding principles kitting and sequencing. Secondly, 

an analysis of parameters for article characteristics is done and the studied articles are evaluated. 

Finally, a simulation of studied material flows transformed from sequenced- to kitted material flow is 

done in order to study the effects on the articles in the two different material flows and to validate 

previously presented data in the analysis.  

5.1 Hats analysis 

All of the activities from the MFM, presented in appendix 3-6, of the studied articles are categorized 
into handling-, administration-, transport- and storage activities, (HATS) in order to facilitate analysis. 
First, handling is analyzed. According to Johansson and Öjmerz (2003) a handling operation is defined 
as the “picking up and putting down a unit, as for example when the units are picked up, 
transported, and put down by a fork-lift truck”. This definition has been used in this master thesis i.e. 
the activities picking up, transporting, and putting down has been accumulated into one handling 
operation. The analysis of the handling operations has further been divided into two sections: 
material handling to line side storage racks, and material handling at the assembly station in order to 
achieve a better clarity in the analysis. Secondly, administration- and transportation analysis is 
presented. Thirdly, the storage analysis is presented. The storage analysis is complemented with 
analysis of required space at the stock locations. Finally, a summary of the findings from the HATS 
analysis is presented. 

5.1.1 Analysis of material handling to line side storage racks 

In the left pile of Table 2, the numbers of material handling operations to the assembly station for 

the studied articles are presented. The majorities of these operations are standard handling 

procedures and occur within all of the studied flows i.e. these handling operations correlate in the 

respective flows. The sequencing articles Antenna and Dashboard panel has 10 respectively 9 

operations. Even though these articles vary greatly in their characteristics, Antenna is a small and 

light article while Dashboard panel is big and heavy, the performed handling operations are 

correlated in each step of the flow. The only difference is that a “break bulk” operation is performed 

for Antenna to minimize the inventory at the sequencing station while Dashboard panel is 

maintained on supplier pallet in the sequencing station hence adding one operation to the Antenna 

flow. Since kitting as explained earlier in the report is a form of sequencing (Hanson, 2009), hence 

performing the same handling operations as sequencing, it is no surprise that the flow of the kitted 

article ESH is comparable to that of Antenna and Dashboard panel. ESH has 11 handling operations. 

Just like Antenna, ESH breaks the supplier pallet before the kit preparation area (sequence 

preparation area for Antenna) but due to an overflow storage solution at Saab another handling has 

to be performed due to one extra storage place. Instrument cluster, which is first supplied in 

sequence to the kit preparation area and then supplied in a kit to the assembly station, i.e. is 

subjected to a double handling, has ten handling operations.  

 

 

 



 

28 
 

 

Article Number of required 
handlings: 

Handlings per hour: 

Dashboard panel (sequencing) 9 65.6 
Antenna (sequencing) 10 42.1 
ESH (kitting) 11 34.6 
Instrument cluster (both 
sequenced and kitted) 

10 72.8 

Table 2: Number of required handlings and handlings per hour 

The number of operations that are required for each of the studied flows does however not give a 

fair comparison of the required workload. Comparing the number of handling operations does not 

give an accurate picture of the work performed in each individual handling i.e. even if the required 

numbers of handling operations are almost the same for the studied flows the frequency of each 

handling can vary greatly. How often the handling operations are made thus have to be considered. 

Assuming that Saab has a takt time of 2 minutes, 30 cars have to be assembled every hour. The 

frequency with which an article has to be handled per hour is dependent on two factors; the quantity 

handled on each occasion, and quantity required per hour. For example, a pallet of 480 ESH divided 

by the quantity required per hour (30) equals the run out time of the pallet (16 hours). This means 

that the pallet has to be replenished every 16 hours i.e. 0.0625 handlings per hour. To get the 

required handling per hour for an article each individual handling in the flow has to be calculated as 

mentioned above and summarized.  In the right pile of Table 2 above, the required number of 

operations in one hour for each studied article is presented.  

It would be beneficial to compare the handling operations to the time on each handling, however, in 

this master thesis it was not permitted to study the cycle times (monitor workers) in the Saab 

factory, thus only the number of handling operations for one hour is considered. The number of 

articles handled depends on several factors: (1) a very large article e.g. Dashboard panel can only fit 

four articles per pallet in comparison to previously mentioned ESH, which amounts to 480 articles per 

pallet, (2) postponing the break of supplier pallets closer to the end costumer means that more 

articles are handled in each step of the flow minimizing the required frequency. The kitting of articles 

next to the assembly station is preferable since the breaking of supplier pallet is done late in the 

supply chain. Similarly, sequencing at supplier is less favorable since smaller quantities of articles are 

handled in the flow. The article Instrument cluster is handled in both sequence preparation area and 

kit preparation area and handling at these areas is the most frequent because here the handling is 

done for one article at the time. This results in Instrument cluster being the most handled article per 

hour of all of the studied flows. 

5.1.2 Analysis of material handling at the assembly station 

Comparing how frequent handlings have to be performed by the assembler at the assembly line does 

not give as an accurate picture of the work done as it did in the previous section for material 

handling to the assembly station. Analyzing the frequency that an article has to be handled does not 

consider the other articles that are handled at the same time, e.g. articles in a kit container, but only 

how frequently the handling has to be performed. At the assembly line the articles are handled in a 

one-piece-flow meaning that the handling is done for each assembly object, once every second 



 

29 
 

minute but depending on the choice of either sequencing or kitting, different amount of articles are 

handled at the same time. 

The sequenced articles are displayed next to the line side storage racks sorted by part number, 

meaning that the assembler has to walk to the line side storage racks once for every assembled 

article. The kitted articles on the other hand are displayed together next to the assembly object 

hence minimizing the need to walk for materials. If one kit contains 13 articles the assembler only 

has to walk to the line side storage racks one time in order to fetch a kit container containing the 

articles while for the sequenced articles the assembler has to walk to the assembly station 13 times. 

The distances between the material presentation and the assembly object are presented in Figure 

15. As explained earlier, the sequenced articles are presented at a further distance from the 

assembly object than the kitted articles. 

 

Figure 15: Distance for assembly operator to transport articles to assembly object. 

5.1.3 Administration 

The same administrative activities are performed in the studied material flows indifferent of the 

specific material feeding principles. The divides the administrative activities into the categories 

control (control of consignment note, quality check, and replenishment signal), registration (input to 

MPS system, scan barcode), and labeling (barcode, signing performed activity). Although the nature 

of the administrative activities do not differ between the material feeding principles the execution of 

the performed activities can differ depending on which actor in the supply chain who is performing 

the specific activity.  

At DHL, all of the picked articles for sequencing are scanned in order to validate accurate picking. This 

gives little room for human errors hence increasing the quality and control of the material supplied 

to Saab. In the case of the Instrument cluster, the numbers of administrative activities are especially 

high (see Table 3). Instrument cluster is as explained earlier first handled in a sequenced flow to the 

Kit preparation area where it is then supplied to the assembly station via kitting. But the extra 

number of administrative activities is not due to the “double handling” sequencing/kitting. Instead, 

the added administrative activities are connected to the fact that the article does not have a barcode 

from supplier thus has to be properly identified, barcoded and scanned. Since the articles are 

carefully administrated at DHL, Saab does not need to perform this activity. At DHL however, the 

articles have to be reported both in to DHL’s own MPS system and Saab’s MPS system resulting in 

another form of “double handling”.  

5150 

2200 

600 960 

2600 

Dashboard panel 
(sequencing) 

Antenna 
(sequencing) 

ESH (kitting) Instrument 
cluster (both 

sequenced and 
kitted) 

Kit rack 

Distance (mm) 



 

30 
 

TTAB, which is used for continuous supply and kit articles, only reports to Saab’s MPS system. The 

main part of the articles is kept on supplier pallet thus eliminating the need for advanced pick 

validation equipment. TTAB performs other forms of picking but the studied flow, ESH, is only 

redistributed via the TTAB facility keeping the supplier pallet intact and administrative activities to a 

minimum, hence making analysis of these other picking alternatives difficult. 

Saab performs many administrative activities within the borders of the factory. Activities such as 

control of consignment notes do not have to be performed for articles from TTAB and DHL since this 

has already been performed. But Saab has articles that are sent directly to Saab which require this 

administrative activity. Saab has introduced picking systems to parts of the kit station in order to 

facilitate picking. A picking light visualizes what the picker should pick and the picker validates the 

pick by switching of the light. Since there are articles presented in the kit station that does not have a 

kit signal a higher risk for wrong picking exist. Saab has had problems introducing picking systems to 

their internal material handling systems due to the changes of factory layout and cost connected to 

introductions of new car models. Important to mention is that the kit station at Saab is located so 

close to the assembly line that this can be corrected more easily than if the fault was made at DHL. 

Article Number of administration activities: 

Dashboard panel (sequence) 12 

Antenna (sequence) 15 

ESH (kitting) 11 
Instrument cluster 
(sequence/kitting) 

19 

Table 3: Number of administration activities 

5.1.4 Transport 

Both the sequencing flow and the kitting flow require one transport between either DHL and Saab or 

TTAB and Saab. The time and distance betw