Thesis Work - Shaping the Future of Production Planning with Digitalization and AI

Volvo Construction Equipment; Eskilstuna kommun; On-site; SEK 201,000 - 268,000; Full time

Job summary

Volvo Construction Equipment Eskilstuna is seeking a Master’s thesis student to explore a future-state concept for production planning. You will map current processes, identify AI-enabled improvements, and define the future role and ways of working for planners.

The project aims to reduce manual work, enable proactive decisions, and provide a roadmap toward a digitalized planning approach. Start date is 18 Januari, 2027, with on-site placement preferred.

Qualifications

• Master's student in a relevant field focusing on production planning.
• Proficient in English; able to communicate in writing and speaking.
• Interest in digitalization, AI, and data-driven decision support.
• Ability to map, analyze and improve processes and workflows.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving mindset.

Responsibilities

• Map the current production planning process and decision points.
• Identify activities that AI/digitalization could support or automate.
• Explore AI for scenario analysis and risk identification.
• Define the future role and working methods for production planners.
• Identify gaps between current and desired future state.
• Develop an actionable A3 describing the future state and roadmap.

Skills

Industrial Engineering and Management

Production Development

Supply Chain Management

Logistics

Data Science / AI

Other relevant backgrounds

Job description

Transport is at the core of modern society. Imagine using your expertise to shape sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions for the future. If you seek to make a difference on a global scale, working with next‑gen technologies and the sharpest collaborative teams, then we could be a perfect match.

Background

Production planning is becoming increasingly complex, while digitalization, data analytics and AI create new opportunities to support planners in making faster and better decisions. Volvo CE wants to explore how the future production planning process could evolve by combining human expertise with digital and AI‑based decision support. The ambition is not simply to digitalize today's way of working, but to challenge it and develop a vision for how production planning should work in the future. The thesis should explore how digitalization and AI can reduce manual work, identify risks earlier, support scenario analysis and enable planners to spend more time on proactive planning and decision‑making.

Thesis Scope & Deliverables

The thesis will focus on developing a future‑state concept for production planning. Key activities include:

• Mapping the current production planning process, challenges and decision points.
• Identifying activities that could be supported, simplified or automated through digitalization and AI.
• Exploring how AI could support scenario analysis, risk identification and decision‑making.
• Defining the future role and way of working for production planners.
• Identifying the gap between the current and desired future state.
• Developing an A3 describing the future state, key gaps, prioritized improvement areas and recommended actions.
• Providing recommendations and a roadmap for moving towards the future production planning process.

Suitable Background

• Industrial Engineering and Management
• Production Development
• Supply Chain Management
• Logistics
• Data Science / AI
• Other relevant backgrounds combining production, planning and digitalization

The thesis is particularly suitable for students interested in the intersection between production, people, processes, data and emerging technologies.

Thesis Information

• Level: 30 credits (Master’s thesis)
• Language: English
• Start date: 18 Januari, 2027
• Location: Volvo CE Eskilstuna (on site preferred)
• Number of students: 2 students (preferred)

Ready for the next move?

Last application day is November 30.

In Case You Have Questions About The Position, Contact

• Peter Ståhlberg – [e-mail]
• Henrik Sohlén – [e-mail]

Who We Are And What We Believe In

We are committed to shaping the future landscape of efficient, safe, and sustainable transport solutions. Fulfilling our mission creates countless career opportunities for talents across the group’s leading brands and entities. Applying to this job offers you the opportunity to join Volvo Group. Every day, you will be working with some of the sharpest and most creative brains in our field to be able to leave our society in better shape for the next generation. We are passionate about what we do, and we thrive on teamwork. We are almost 100,000 people united around the world by a culture of care, inclusiveness, and empowerment. Part of Volvo Group, Volvo Construction Equipment is a global company driven by our purpose to build the world we want to live in. Together we develop and deliver solutions for a cleaner, smarter, and more connected world. By unleashing everyone’s full potential, we build a more sustainable future for all our stakeholders. Come join our team and help us build a better tomorrow.