Future Closed-loop Supply Chain Competences in Electronics Industry
Nykter, Sami (2020)
Lataukset:
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020112724668
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020112724668
Tiivistelmä
The EU circular economy action plan gives closed-loop supply chains major significance in reaching the climate neutrality. The EU shall update the existing and introduce new legislation to encourage manufacturers to develop new business models including closed-loop supply chains.
The purpose of this thesis is to research the compentencies required to implement and operate a closed-loop supply chain and to identify knowledge areas that need the most strenghtening within the Finnish electronics industry. The thesis consists of two parts: a literature review, and an online survey within the Finnish electronics industry. The thesis is part of a project whose goal is to provide material for the development of the universities of applied science (UAS) future curricula. The thesis was done during 2020.
The literature review revealed that closed-loop supply chains are complex networks demanding strategic design. Implementing and managing a closed-loop supply chain requires a multi-diciplinary team and highly integrated cooperation between supply chain partners. The closed-loop supply chain competences are arranged under three categories: network structure, processes, and management. Network structure competences adderss the logical network structure. The process competences represent the operational functions in the closed-loop supply chain. Management competences describe the required organizational measurement and management.
The analysis of the survey data uncovered that all of the the required competences have some presence within the Finnish electronics industry, but no indications of strategic implementations of closed-loop supply chains were detected. The results indicate that the most of the electronics manufacturers in Finland regard the disposal of the end-of-use equipment to be the responsibility of the customer. The analysis suggests that in the UAS curricula the most strenghtening is needed to extend the product management in the industry to cover the full end-to-end life cycle of a product. Achieving the required paradigm shift demands developing and adopting new circular economy business models. The author also recommends to strengthen the UAS curricula on automated information management technologies and artificial intelligence that can help businesses to meet the next generation of EU reporting standards.
The purpose of this thesis is to research the compentencies required to implement and operate a closed-loop supply chain and to identify knowledge areas that need the most strenghtening within the Finnish electronics industry. The thesis consists of two parts: a literature review, and an online survey within the Finnish electronics industry. The thesis is part of a project whose goal is to provide material for the development of the universities of applied science (UAS) future curricula. The thesis was done during 2020.
The literature review revealed that closed-loop supply chains are complex networks demanding strategic design. Implementing and managing a closed-loop supply chain requires a multi-diciplinary team and highly integrated cooperation between supply chain partners. The closed-loop supply chain competences are arranged under three categories: network structure, processes, and management. Network structure competences adderss the logical network structure. The process competences represent the operational functions in the closed-loop supply chain. Management competences describe the required organizational measurement and management.
The analysis of the survey data uncovered that all of the the required competences have some presence within the Finnish electronics industry, but no indications of strategic implementations of closed-loop supply chains were detected. The results indicate that the most of the electronics manufacturers in Finland regard the disposal of the end-of-use equipment to be the responsibility of the customer. The analysis suggests that in the UAS curricula the most strenghtening is needed to extend the product management in the industry to cover the full end-to-end life cycle of a product. Achieving the required paradigm shift demands developing and adopting new circular economy business models. The author also recommends to strengthen the UAS curricula on automated information management technologies and artificial intelligence that can help businesses to meet the next generation of EU reporting standards.