Browsing by Author "Engelbrecht, Marthinus Johannes"

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    Evaluating packaging system performance and sourcing strategies of flexible packaging material in inbound supply, combined with the total cost of ownership impact analysis : a case study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Engelbrecht, Marthinus Johannes; Louw, Johan J.; De Bod, Anneke; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Logistics. Logistics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Packaging contributes to product value as it protects, markets and extends the life of the content of the product. Packaging is manufactured in all shapes and sizes and from various materials, with one of the main material types being polyethylene. Polyethylene forms part of the flexible packaging sector, and is a material, which requires specialist sourcing strategies. This study sets out to determine the packaging system performance and sourcing strategies of polyethylene at a case study company. The study further utilised the total cost of ownership model to consider the business impact of the recommendations from the study. Previous research failed to address both measurements and mainly considered sourcing or packaging system performance as a singular measurement. Polyethylene contributes 70% of the material spend at the case study company. This, among other things, led to the need to understand and evaluate the current packaging system performance and sourcing strategies. There was a further need to develop implementable recommendations for the single-case study. Quantitative data and qualitative data was obtained through semi-structured interviews for the required input to the identified models. By using the packaging scorecard, the study was able to determine that the scorecard criterion of “stackabilty” was the worst performing criterion in the supply chain. The strategic sourcing investigation, using the Kraljic model, identified polyethylene as a “strategic product” and one which requires a “diversified sourcing strategy” to reduce its cost. These findings were tested with the total cost of ownership model. The results indicated a total cost decrease when the stackability inefficiency is addressed by allowing polyethylene rolls to be double-stacked. The total cost of ownership model further illustrated a material spend decrease if the company considers polyethylene a strategic product and implements the recommended diversification sourcing strategy. Although the results of this study are only relevant for the case study company, this hybrid combination of approaches provide a holistic evaluation of a sourced commodity and some new supply chain insights (not necessarily possible by applying only the approach in isolation). The study recommends further exploration of the improvement potential of this hybrid approach as applied to multiple cases (supporting decision-making).