Projects

Box-Plant Trucking Logistics

Research Theme: Enterprise Effectiveness

Project Objective Statement: To identify for corrugated box-plants, the best practices in trucking logistics needs and practices and understand their macro implications for the pulp and paper industry.

Project summary: Trucking logistics operations in the pulp and paper industry can be complicated and costly. In order to simplify the study without sacrificing meaningful results, this project will limit its focus to corrugated box-plants and the production and shipment of corrugated boxes. A limited number of representative corrugated box plants (e.g., using over 80,000 tons per year of containerboard for corrugated box production with similar sizes of production and warehousing facilities) will be selected, and their trucking transport logistics operations studied in detail in order to meet the objectives identified above. Detailed reports and papers will be submitted to the CPBIS and the TIP for project reviews. Two graduate students will be working with two faculty PIs on this project.
The following steps outline the activities involved in the project studies:

- With the help of CPBIS, TIP, and the respective industry sponsors, the project team will select two or three representative corrugated box plants for an in-depth analysis of their trucking transport logistics. Selecting box plants that are as similar as possible in size and operation but that utilize alternative types of trucking transportation (e.g. third-party logistics, private carriage) in satisfying their shipment needs will be important.

- The case studies will entail a number of actions: [1] A review of the literature on best practices in traditional and related industries. [2] A detailed profile of the transport logistics operations in each of the selected plants. [3] Conduct rigorous science-based profiling-studies on the plants' logistics records and processes. [4] Create measurable indicators to describe and evaluate logistics operations environment of box plants; and [5] Investigate factors leading to successful logistics.

Contact:

Prof. Jye-Chyi Lu, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tel: 404 894-2318

JCLU@isye.gatech.edu

Planned Duration: 1 year; started in Fall 2002