This lecture slide was prepared for my session to the class of 2015/2016 MSc. programme of Operations, Project and Supply Chain Management in Manchester Business School, particularly for Research Methods module. This presentation covers the research stages, mainly in qualitative context, as well as my dissertation project: The enabling institutional context for a strategic shift toward milk-run logistics - Insights from an automotive manufacturer in Indonesia. It also shares some dissertation 101 tips to finish 15K-18K word paper with excellent result.

1. RESEARCH METHODS
SURVIVE AND THRIVE
YOUR
UNTIL
Dhanis Puspa Maharani, B.Eng, MSc.

2. • Strategic Buyer
in Purchasing
Division
2006-2012
Toyota
• Indirect Material
Procurement
Operations
Manager
2012-2014
Kraft/Mondelez • Qualitative
research about
Milk-run Logistics
2014-2015
OPSCM
Graduated from
Electrical Engineering
 Lecturer of Operations Management in
Bina Nusantara University, Indonesia
 Purchasing professional with CIPS
certification

3. My research
The enabling institutional context for a strategic
shift towards milk-run adoption: Insights from an
automotive manufacturer in Indonesia
About the enabling
institutional context for
the adoption of milk-run
logistics (MRL)
NOT the research to look
at the operational
aspects of MRL
implementation
Focuses on structuring
effective institutional
arrangements in
inbound logistics
Taking the case of
developing countries,
learning from Indonesia

4. • Overview about Indonesia’s transport infrastructure
• What is Milk-run logistics?
• Preliminary study outcomes
• Research contributions
General Overview

5. 50% underinvestment in infrastructure leads to
$1bn annual productivity lost
 Traffic congestion
in Jakarta has led
to poor logistics
performance & low
competitiveness
 Vehicle growth at
10x road capacity
expansion
5
Indonesia Infrastructure Capital Growth (in %)
Half of what
is needed
Source : The World Bank, “Indonesia: Avoiding The Trap” (2014)

6. Conventional Logistics Method
 Each
supplier
manages
direct
delivery to
customer
 Entails
minimum
delivery
quantity,
trucking
DIRECT DELIVERY
Supplier A
Supplier B
Supplier C
4x / day
8x / day
1x / day
4 Hour
2 Hour
16 Hour
Inventory
Level
Running Stock 2 ~ 16 Hours
Travel Distance 527 km

7. Milk-run Logistics in Toyota
 One fleet for
a specified
cycle and
route to pick
up parts from
various
collocated
suppliers
 Managed by
the buyer
10x / day
1 Hour
1 Hour
1 Hour
MILK-RUN
1 HourReduce inventory level
Inventory
Level
486 kmReduce travelling path
Supplier A
Supplier B
Supplier C

8. Preliminary study outcomes
 Among the duplication of a wide range of lean
practises, only few companies adopt milk-run in
Indonesia
 A rich body of literature on the operational
design of milk-run, but very rare touches the
institutional context

9. • offers empirical insights into MRL adoption
through the examination of institutional
dimensions that exist within the firm and its
interrelated suppliers
• contributes to the foundation of prescriptive
guidance for another company to shift to MRL
Practice
• enrich the literature of MRL as a means of
logistics optimisation strategy captured at a
different angle, i.e. institutional rather than
operational
Theory
Research Contributions

10. Research stages

11. #1 Design your research plan
Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up
• Word-count, referencing, structure,
rights & role
• What it takes for the final mark of your
dream
• Deadline
Read your
dissertation
handbook
• Define the stage of your research
• Create a weekly timeline with clear
deliverables
• Aligned with your supervisor’s agenda
Design your
research
timeline

12. Setting a project Gantt chart
Meeting
1st
W4 May
2nd
W2 Jun
3rd
W4 Jun
4th
W3 Jul
5th
W1 Aug
Expected
Deli-
verables
Agreed
Research Topic
and Questions
• Literature
review (LR)
structure
• Data
collection
instruments
• LR draft
feedback
• Research
methods draft
feedback
Finding
discussion
Dissertation
(complete)
draft
To be
discussed
Research
Gantt chart,
research
questions,
literature gap,
proportion of
each chapter
Literature
review, data
collection
Data collection
result and
preliminary
analysis
Answers to
research
questions
Where to
improve?
 Set the date of meeting your supervisor in your 1st meeting
 Define your daily activities to meet the deliverable target

13. My Research Project Gantt Chart
•Meeting w/ supervisor
•Plan vs Actual deliverable
Breakdown Research
Activities

14. Hard Truth
 It’s less than 3 months
 It’s on summer!
Relevant Significant Analytical Doable
Dissertation Goal
• To make a major
contribution to your field
• To dazzle the people with
your brilliance
• To solve the world’s
problem

15. #2
Initiate
Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up
Write alternative
topics & RQ in your
research diary
Assess each
alternative
Pick one &
improve
• Researchable?
• Established theories & research?
• Aligned w/ CIPS qualification?
• Possible sectors?
• Data access feasibility?
Milk-run
• Developing country:
Indonesia
• Automotive: Toyota
• Inbound logistics
• 3-party respondent
Keiretsu in today’s
competition
Milk-run logistics
implementation
Procurement in
Agile Project
Flaw,
broad,
general
RQs

16. Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up
#3
 Start using a referencing manager or literature
management tool, e.g. Readcube, Docear, Mendeley,
EndNote.
 Ensure the source reliability, e.g. ABS Academic Journal
Quality Guide.
Map the current
literatures to clarify
research gap
Develop alternative
structure of LR chapter
& get feedback from
your supervisor
Chapter 2
Write-up

17. Literature map of Milk-run Logistics
Case study
Literature
review
Institutional
Operational
Practice &
Application
Urban Implication
Arvidsson, 2013
Method or Modelling
Goto et.al, 2007
Rachman et.al, 2010
Kitamura, 2012
Kilic, 2013
Volling et.al, 2013
Hosseini et.al, 2014
Chen et.al, 2014
Optimisation
Wang et.al, 2010
Nemoto et.al, 2010
Ma et.al, 2012
Satoglu et.al, 2013
You et.al, 2014
Business
Implication
Kumar, 2014
Brar et.al, 2011
Research
Gap
Theoretical
Framework
Milk-run,
institutional,
context,
inbound
logistics

18. Using a conceptual model from a well-developed
theory might take you to the answers of your RQs
CULTURAL -
COGNITIVE
NORMATIVE
REGULATIVE
Beliefs
Values
Knowledge
Goals
Work norms & habits
Leadership
Community
Governance
Markets
Policies
Work rules
DIRECT DELIVERY
(Supplier A )
(Supplier B )
(Supplier C )
4x / day
8x / day
1x / day
10x / day
MILK -RUN
(Supplier A )
(Supplier B )
(Supplier C )
STRATEGIC
CHANGE
Multiple delivery cycle
More frequent-
smaller lot delivery
cycle
(Source: adapted from Scott, 2008; Palthe, 2014)

19. Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up
Narrow & improved RQs
1. How do institutional
dimensions enable a
strategic shift
towards MRL model?
2. What are the
motivating and
demotivating factors
for adopting MRL?
Flaw, broad, general RQs
•How does milk-run benefit
company objectives and its
partners?
•What can be the
implementation challenges?
•What are the critical
success factors to implement
the scheme in the tier-1
suppliers?
Conceptual
model as my
vehicle to help
addressing the
RQs

20. #4
 Select a simple
approach that works
 Clearly point out the
rationale of your
selected methods
 Bad dissertation might
be caused by an overly
ambitious
idea/methods
Include
 Research philosophy
 Research approach
 Research design (strategy,
case study selection, studied
organisation overview)
 Data collection (method
and technique, participant
selection)
 Data analysis
Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up

21. Data
Collection
Research Approach : Interpretivism
Qualitative
Single-Case
Study
Toyota Indonesia
inbound logistics
Primary Data
Semi-structured interviews
Key Literature
Review
Institutional Context
Milk-run Logistics
Change Management
Secondary Data
KPI & performance report
sampling (5-10 years)
Internal External
HR Logistics Purchasing Component
Suppliers
Logistics
Partners

22. Data
Collection
Research Approach :
Interpretivism, exploratory
Qualitative
Single-Case
Study
Toyota Indonesia
inbound logistics
Primary Data
Semi-structured interviews
Key Literature
Review
Institutional Context
Milk-run Logistics
Change Management
Secondary Data
Past-experience
Observation
Internal External
HR Logistics Purchasing Component
Suppliers
Logistics
Partners

23. Why Toyota Indonesia?
 Adopted MRL within the upstream supply network
for more than a decade
 Showcasing the situation in an underdeveloped
infrastructure setting to provide lessons (given that
the adoption may face broader challenges, e.g.
traffic congestion)
 Previous working experience (data access
feasibility, clear understanding of the topic and
familiarity with unusual terms/abbreviations)

24. • Use your current network or
build one (start now!)
• How?
Linkedin, Alliance
Manchester Business School,
PhD (or candidate) friends,
student union
Be
resourceful
• Prepare plan B (on-hand
one)
• Clearly inform the research
purpose and questionnaire
prior the interview
• Get to know your
respondents
• Anticipate risks
Be prepared
and flexible
#5
Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up

25.  Snowball
 Be cautious in using online interviews
 Run a quick trial
 Multiple gadgets, multiple apps
 Be on time, 30-min reminder might be a good idea
Other Functions
Marketing Leader
Researcher Me
Supplier A
PPIC HR
Supplier B
PPIC HR
Supplier C
PPIC

26. #6
Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis Write Up
 For qualitative research, you can select a data
analysis software (NVivo, QDA Miner, Xsight,
Annotations) or do it manually, whichever most-
convenient
 For cross-language research, make sure that the
chosen procedure will not reduce validity and
accuracy of the findings

27. My Data Analysis Procedures
Stage 1
• Interview
transcriptio
n (in
original
version)
Stage 2
• Highlight
some
quotations
to create
initial
thematic
codes
(in English)
Stage 3
• Generate
final
themes
(in English)
Stage 4
• Formulating
answers to
research
questions
Integrate interpretation
and translation

28. Stage 1:
Initial coding process of transcribed data

29. Stage 2:
Initial code condensation process

30. Stage 3:
Coding spreading and categorisation
MOTIVATE INHIBIT
3-
DIMENSION

31. Stage 4:
Thematic Map Development
 Integrating
interpretation and
translation saved time
 I use post-it, very simple
and practical to create
your mind-mapping
 Break down the
discussion into sub-
headings to help your
reader navigating
through the detail

32.  Start by outlining your mindmap
 Putting it all together is a
marathon, not a sprint. Set a daily
target (time allocation & output)
 Get yourself a reward for your
accomplishment
 Read through your draft along the
way. Improve, improve.
 Tie up the introduction and
conclusion. Make sure the
discussion leads to the answers.
#7
Initiate Research
Topic
Literature
Review
Research
Design
Data
Collection
Data
Analysis
Write
Up
Interpret & explain . Answer . Justify the approach . Critically evaluate
You may want to
revisit your
literature review,
and revise it to
draw out those
studies which have
proven more
relevant

33. What might help?
Online
tutorials
Daily
Off
Gadget
& Wi-Fi
Take
regular
(short)
breaks
Research
buddy
(ies)

34. My Research Findings:
Multi-staged institutionalisation of MRL adoption

35. The enabling institutional context of
MRL adoption

36. Q1 - Synthesis of the findings
 Toyota grounds the adoption with collective action, assuring adequate
understanding among the potential adopters in order to acquire
adopter buy-in so that the schema is capable of reaching the unified
objectives resolving common issues.
 Accordingly, Toyota puts more emphasis on the normative dimension in
order to enable social obligation as the compliance basis among
suppliers rather than equip some sort of regulatory sanctioning
approach.
 The institutional arrangement instruments are intensified by the
influence of the other dimensions. I.e. in a regulative dimension, Toyota
allows flexibility to adapt the standards. In a cultural-cognitive
dimension, Toyota demonstrates willingness to share proprietary
information. As a result, suppliers normatively show desire of MRL to
maintain a solid relationship with Toyota.

37. Q2 - This study shows lack of evidence on the
exploration of the inhibiting factors
 Only takes on
the suppliers that
accept to adopt
MRL
 The research
participants can
be extrapolated
to suppliers who
refuse to
participate, or
the ones who join
and quit later

38. Dissertation Do’s
 Set deadlines early on in the process
 Commit to your plan. Use apps (Trello) can be an option
 Keep the document and every changes on your PC and
secure cloud storage. Back up, back up!
 Be critical in your analysis. Read, read, read.
 Iterative often means a lot of drafts.
 Ask feedback early, often. Make it actionable to
improve your work.
 Consider time needed for binding (or proofreading)

39. Dissertation Don’ts
 Select something you have no clue about, but you think
it will impress whoever is marking it!
 Quote heavily from books, or unsolicited resources
 Be careless in format
 Submit your dissertation unless with (at least) two
drafts
 Challenge your supervisor(s) unless for a noble reason
 Manual referencing and leave it until last, use tools

40. Lastly…

41. OPSCM, Winter Finale 2015

42. dhanis.maharani@gmail.com
id.linkedin.com/in/dhanispuspamaharani