Defining optimal warehouse locations for Europe and Nordics : case: Metso Minerals Inc.

The purpose of this thesis is to focus on distribution supply lanes for defined material group to customers in Europe and Nordic for company Metso Minerals Inc. The aim is not to implement, but to carry out a study which would result suggestions on where the warehouses should locate and how many should there be so that customers could be served with promised service level. The study was carried out with cooperation with an external party. The data for the study is gathered from ERP and reporting systems used by Metso Minerals, whereas the tools used for supply chain modelling were provided by the external party. The outcome of the study was not only suggestions for improvements, but also a statement how current distribution set up looks for person looking from outside and therefore also a baseline for improvements. The suggestions given include simplification of the distribution supply chain though localization and a reduction in terms of number of warehouses in the regions in scope