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Purpose –Transport is considered a waste where internal transport specifically is considered a waste. To make a business's processes more effective, companies need to identify and reduce the waste that arises in the flow of internal transport. Therefore, the purpose of this study is:To investigate how internal transport should be handled for increased efficiency.The purpose has then been broken down into two research questions: [1] What factors contribute to the need for internal transport? [2] How can internal transport be made more efficient? Method – The study is a case study and the data collection was carried out in two rounds, the first step was to collect data to map the current situation and the second step was to collect data to measure waste. The data collection methods used to answer the study's research questions were literature study, interviews, observations, frequency studies and document studies. The researchers considered that triangulation was an important part of data collection in order to ensure the validity of the collected data. Finally, the results from collected data were compared with theories in the field to be able to answer the study's purpose and research questions. Findings – The results of the study demonstrates the importance of conducting a value flow analysis in order to be able to identify which factors contribute to the need for internal transport. With the help of a value flow map, the non-value-adding activities could be identified which in this case were lack of signaling systems, lack of communication and interaction between employees and lack of standardized working methods. Subsequently, suitable solution proposals were developed where automation and the three lean principles; standardized working method, kaizen and just-in-time were considered to be the methods that could make a company's internal transports more efficient based on identified problems. Implications – Based on the results of the study, it is considered that today's companies need to work on identifying the problems surrounding the flow of internal transport. It appears that there are good opportunities for improvement regarding signal systems, communication and interaction as well as standardization. The study clarifies that investments in addressing these issues can make the flow of internal transport more efficient and generate a high level of profitability on the investments made in the area. Based on collected theory, it is demonstrated that making business processes more efficient is necessary to remain competitive in a market with constantly changing requirements. Limitations – As the study is only based on one case, the generalizability of the survey results can be questioned. Furthermore, the limited time period is considered to have affected the breadth and size of the study. Access to more time could have resulted in longer data collection periods and thus more representative data as well as the inclusion of more cases to increase the generalizability of the study conclusions. |
