Potentiale einer zentralen Planung von Backhaultransporten am Beispiel eines österreichischen Lebensmitteleinzelhändlers

Abstract

The company under consideration has been conducting backhaul transports for several years. In particular, the relevance of backhaul transports has increased significantly since the strategic objective to achieve the highest possible collection logistics rate was established. As part of the rollout of the new system in Austria, cost calculations have already been adapted and the organization of backhaul transports has been centralized. The roll-out will be extended to the remaining subsidiaries over the course of the next year, during which the responsibility for managing these transports will also be transferred to Austria. Currently, each subsidiary faces specific requirements and operational particularities regarding the execution of backhaul transports. Due to the coexistence of two different systems, data transparency remains limited in the other subsidiary countries. The aim of this thesis and the associated project is to identify process-related differences and to establish a unified data foundation, in order to fully exploit backhaul potential and enable centralized control. The first part of the thesis, comprising the initial two theoretical chapters, outlines the various modes of transport and the organization of transportation in the food retail sector. Additionally, the calculation of transport costs is explained, taking into account the different types of transport. This theoretical foundation supports the second part of the thesis, which connects the findings to company-specific practice. In this section, the current state of processes is analyzed using two subsidiary countries as examples. The final chapter focuses on the creation of cross-country data transparency and outlines the necessary measures for centralized backhaul transport management. The process analysis reveals that different procedures exist across the subsidiaries regarding both the identification of potential suppliers and the execution of backhaul transports. Furthermore, each subsidiary is influenced by specific factors and local conditions that must be considered when planning and implementing backhaul transports. By identifying the key differences compared to the Austrian system, adjustments have already been initiated to ensure a smooth transition during the upcoming go-live phase. The newly obtained transparency regarding transport costs and transported backhaul volumes allows for cross-company management of backhaul operations. In addition, raising awareness about the relevance and benefits of backhaul transports has already led to a noticeable increase in transported volumes across all subsidiaries.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Efrem Lengauer (Supervisor)