WALLHAMNBOLAGEN AB

Abstract

Wallhamn is situated on Tjörn, an island on the Swedish west coast, and has served as a port since the middle of 1960. Today, Wallhamn is suffering a decrease in goods flow, and is now in a situation where something has to be done. The Board of Directors of Wallhamnbolagen AB are searching for alternative fields of action that can replace the old activities with a view to further securing job opportunities and Wallhamn’s existence. Due to Wallhamn’s negative development in recent years, together with the loss of important customers, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the possibility for Wallhamn to work as a third party logistic provider. We also aim to state and define different areas of importance for Wallhamn in order to create a successful logistic and market strategy. The purpose is also to suggest which operative activities Wallhamn should offer their customers as a logistic provider, and also how these activities should be formed and managed. In order to be able to accomplish the purpose of the thesis, we have identified a main problem that this research aims to answer. The main problem that we have identified is, what possibilities are there for Wallhamn to work as a third-party logistic (TPL) provider, and offer more logistical activities/services which add value for Wallhamn and their customers. In order to answer the main problem in a sufficient way we have identified a number of sub-problems: - Who are the competitors and how do they work?, - What customer segments should Wallhamn focus on?, - How should Wallhamn as a TPL provider position themselves?, - How can Wallhamn increase their flow of goods?. To solve the thesis problems, we have conducted an exploratory study and used personal in-depth interviews as our primary source. We have also conducted literature studies to find theories that are relevant for each sub-problem. The empirical research and the literature studies have given us a sufficient base on which we have build the thesis’ analysis, and that leads to the conclusions and recommendations of this study. To summarise the conclusions and recommendations, we believe Wallhamn has great potential in becoming a successful TPL provider however, becoming a TPL provider will not be an easy task. In this thesis we will not be able to solve all problems, instead we have focused our conclusions on three critical areas: Positioning, Customer segments, and Goods flow. We believe these are areas Wallhamn must develop to become a successful actor in the TPL industry.