Materials administration / Dag Ericsson

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Materials administration: theory -- Definition of systems and environment -- Different types of system -- The company system and its environment -- The company as a controlled system -- The distribution channel as a controlled system -- The materials system -- Materials systems -- Materials administration (MA) -- Control systems -- Summary of control and company management -- Control of complex systems -- The tasks of company management -- Administrative processes -- Planning -- Organization -- Communication -- Review -- Development -- Materials administration: practice -- Introducing MA -- The design of the MA system -- The information system -- The budget system -- The construction of the information system -- The total materials and information flow -- Design of control systems -- Physical distribution -- The physical distribution system - PD system -- MA in commercial companies -- Mechanized handling and automated warehouses -- Distribution study in five stages -- Organizational aspects -- Marketing -- Introduction of new products -- Sales tactics -- Forms of integration -- The forecasting system -- The production function -- Materials and production control -- The purchasing function -- The purchasing function as connecting link -- The contribution of the purchasing department to the achievement of objectives -- The information flow of the purchasing function -- The decision process in the choice of supplier -- Supplier development (SD) -- Summary of the tasks of the purchasing department -- Organization -- Traditional organization -- The design of the materials system -- The effect of the MA concept on two companies -- AB Gulu -- AB Deric -- Summary of the results from AB Gulu and AB Deric -- A practical plan of campaign for the analysis of the MA system -- The MA system from an explanatory viewpoint -- Developments in the area of materials handling -- Analysis of materials administration problems -- Increased delivery service through shorter lead times -- Ways of influencing costs and service -- Initial problems for MA -- Appraisal of the efficiency of the materials system -- The development of the MA concept -- The Zenz study -- The Sylvania study -- A Swedish investigation -- Summary.

In the last few years systems theory has been increasingly discussed in connection with companies and company control. In this book an attempt has been made to convert these (often quite theoretical terms and concepts into a tool for practical use. In the first part of the book I have chosen to elucidate the theory behind the systems approach, while the second part of the book deals with practical application of this approach to a special problem area- materials administration. The objective is that the applications set out in part two shall give a better understanding and a deeper knowledge of the theoretical concept in part one. At the same time the theoretical frame of reference provides a better perspective for the practical problems and gives us the opportunity to assemble the various pieces of practice into a single whole a system. The concept of MA has up to now come to be largely associated with applications within industrial companies only, even though in Sweden there are also successful applications within commercial businesses.