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Eden Farm Ltd (a medium-sized company that produces frozen foods in the north east of England) approached Durham University Business School (DUBS) to work together from 2005. The impact of this collaboration was that DUBS research provided the company with (i) a changed approach to the management of resources, resulting in improved service delivery; (ii) the development of new and improved work processes; (iii) improved effectiveness in workplace practices; and (iv) better access to financial opportunities. Indeed, turnover and profitability increased well ahead of the sector average between 2008 and 2012 — growth that the company attribute to improvements from the application of DUBS research.
Research at the University of Sheffield has led to the development of a Reverse Logistics Toolkit that enables companies in the retail sector, together with members of their supply chain, to improve management of the flow of surplus or unwanted products returned by customers. Companies using the toolkit have seen a reduction in returns of up to 40%, a significant figure given that total UK retail returns have been valued at around £6 billion per annum. The toolkit has enabled companies to reduce costs, improve service provision and reduce transport movements.
This case study focuses on the impact of research studies and their influence on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) carried out by Manchester Business School (MBS). International accounting harmonisation is currently the most topical issue debated in the accountancy world. These studies have attracted the attention of practitioners, e.g. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and policy makers, e.g. the UK Accounting Standards Board (ASB). The research has informed the policy debate of whether IFRS should be mandated further, and been taken up in the negotiating position of several key bodies. It has been used to justify the continued application of IFRS among UK quoted companies.
Developing sustainable consumption and production policies and practices in industry requires analysis of technical, environmental, economic and social performance of supply chains delivering goods and services. In a programme covering the 20 years since its foundation, the University of Surrey's Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES) has played a major role in developing a systematic "whole system" approach to assessing and managing supply chains, starting from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Management (LCM) and progressing to sustainability analysis.
This approach underpins current national and international standards and policy and is embodied in the corporate strategies of a number of major companies (for example Unilever and M&S); the approach is also starting to be adopted in guiding the development of new consumer products.
Loughborough University research into the threats and opportunities presented by the growth of shared service centres has directly influenced the strategies and practices of a wide range of organisations confronted by changes in the provision of business support services. It has influenced the educational policy of the world's largest professional body of its kind, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, which has acknowledged the work as "an exemplar" that has had a "profound effect" on the industry. Through a pioneering forum for sharing business knowledge, it has also helped to shape the working methods of global companies, including Rolls-Royce, national organisations, including the Post Office, and numerous SMEs and new firms.
Environmental regulations threaten commercial operations in many smaller ports. This impact case study empowered Falmouth Harbour Commissioners (FHC) to ensure sustainable anchoring, bunkering and ballast water exchange operations in Falmouth Bay by redefining environmental management as a business process and transforming stakeholder management. KTP award (KTP007098) funded by ESRC, NERC and FHC developed a Port Sustainability Management System (PSMS) and stakeholder management framework to ensure systematic collation and analysis of fragmented data, which ensured sustainable operations and safeguarded commercial revenue streams, protecting the port. A CUC-ESF studentship award (ESF11200NCO5) is investigating processes which underpin implementation in Europe's largest port industry.