Service Divergence In Swedish Round Wood Transport

Abstract

Structural changes in the Swedish forest products sector have resulted in increased round wood consumption per mill. Increased consumption volumes result in increased round wood transport distances and transport output (m³·km). At the same time, the coordination of transport services is being taken over by transport organizations of increasing size. New technological developments combined with organizational innovations have made linking between transport service providers easier. This has lead to the opportunity to offer different services through networking and diversify service levels for different customers (service divergence).

This study examines the service divergence potential of round wood transport in Sweden. The goal of the study is to develop a better understanding of customer demands and service complexity. This study is based on the interview results of 20 transport service providers and buyers in the Swedish forest sector. The results presented concern three main themes: transport service goals, decisions and decision support processes. The study reports the rankings of responses as well as their correlations in order to group them into a goal-decision-decision support hierarchy. The rankings and correlations are used to suggest a customer service matrix for round wood transport. The interview also included a fourth theme describing current problems with planning and control. The responses of this final theme are related to the different parts of the hierarchy in order to identify impediments to service divergence.

Keywords:

• service divergence
• transport providers
• wood supply