Challenges and Opportunities in Managing a Sustainable Supply Chain : A Case Study of AlmabStorvik AB

Sammanfattning

ABSTRACT Aim: This study critically examines the challenges and opportunities of managing sustainable supply chains among international industrial equipment suppliers, with a particular focus on how firms navigate tensions among sustainability objectives, operational efficiency, and financial constraints. Using AlmabStorvik AB, a leading Swedish manufacturer of high-tech handling equipment for sawmills and planing mills, as a case study, the research explores the practical realities of implementing Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) within a highly regulated European context. It seeks to understand how industrial B2B firms balance the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) dimensions when global sourcing, product quality demands, and regulatory pressures create inherent trade-offs. Methodology: The study adopted an interpretivist philosophy and a qualitative research design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with managers, staff, customers, and suppliers of the case company. A deductive approach, guided by the conceptual framework developed from the literature review, was employed in the data analysis, enabling a critical examination of challenges, adaptive strategies, and emergent opportunities within the industrial equipment sector. Findings and Conclusion: The findings reveal that while the company faces significant challenges, including cost-quality tensions, supplier commitment gaps across borders, regulatory inconsistencies, and internal skills deficits, it adopts pragmatic, compliance-oriented strategies such as wellness certificates, codes of conduct, and selective collaboration to manage these pressures. Sustainability opportunities were perceived primarily as long-term, revolving around enhanced legitimacy, governance improvements, and regulatory resilience rather than immediate financial gains. The study concludes that SSCM in this sector functions more as a strategic governance mechanism for managing persistent TBL trade-offs than as a source of straightforward win-win outcomes. Contributions and Future Research: This research contributes to SSCM literature by providing contextualized insights into industrial equipment supply chains and advancing understanding of TBL trade-offs, stakeholder dynamics, and pragmatic adaptation strategies. Practically, it offers guidance for manufacturers on balancing compliance with operational realities. Future research could strengthen these insights by adopting a longitudinal design to examine how sustainability practices and TBL trade-offs evolve over time, particularly in response to changing regulatory pressures and technological advancements in the industrial equipment sector.