M2C E-handel

Manufacturing-to-Consumer E-commerce

M2C E-handel is a research project at Jönköping University co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

The overall goal of the project is to increase knowledge and expertise around sustainable competitiveness in e-commerce, with a particular focus on the manufacturing industry in Jönköping County.

This is in line with the Jönköping County Region's specialization strategy (S3) within the prioritized areas "Smart Industry/Knowledge-intensive Manufacturing Companies" and "E-commerce and Logistics".

The project has three sub-objectives (Activity Packages):

To increase competence and maturity in e-commerce among manufacturering small-and-medium enterprises.
To establish a knowledge group with expertise in e-commerce and logistics at JTH
Create an active e-commerce network in collaboration with Science Park

Start: January 2024

End: December 2026

CIRCLE - Research Group

CIRCLE – Cluster for Innovative Retailing and e-Commerce Logistics Excellence

CIRCLE is a research group initiative which aims to be a national leader in shaping the future of retailing and e-commerce logistics through research, education, and industry engagement dedicated to solving contemporary challenges.

CIRCLE was initiated within the M2C E-handel research project financed by the European Regional Development Fund via The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth in collaboration with The School of Engineering (JTH), Science Park Jönköping, and Region Jönköping County (RJL).

Advance Research

Conduct cutting-edge research on retail and e-commerce logistics, focusing on areas such as innovative last mile logistics, responsiveness, and sustainable logistics.

Engage with Industry

Collaborate with regional actors, including retailers and manufacturers, logistics firms, and technology providers, to address real-world challenges in retail and e-commerce logistics.

Educate and Train

Offer educational courses and training to students, industry and professionals to enhance their knowledge and skills in retail and e-commerce logistics.

Research Focus Areas

Last Mile Logistics

Responsiveness

Sustainability and Circularity

Executive Education

The Research Group is involved in developing a new course called AI in Retail, within the AI for Managers (AIM) courses, which will be held online in Autumn 2026. The course targets executives in the retail industry who are interested in learning more about the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in their business. The course is developed in collaboration between JTH and JIBS by faculty from AI, logistics, and marketing. The course AI in Retail is a fully online, executive-oriented program worth 5 ECTS, delivered at a 25% pace over ten weeks.

Competence Development Program

The development program specifically relates to sub-objective 1 of the project.

The aim is to directly support a group of 10 SME's in the manufacturing industry with expertise on M2C e-commerce. This will be done through a series of workshops and coaching.

The sub-activities for the Competence Development Program are:

Identification

This includes short-listing and contacting relevant SME's in Jönköping which are interested in starting or developing direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce. Here, the companies are meticulously chosen based on their products, geographical spread, and interest.

The format and contents of the workshops are designed together with the companies, and are delivered in collaboration with Science Park.

Workshop 1

WS1 focuses on discussing the reasons, as well as the drivers of barriers of D2C.

Workshop 2

WS2 addresses strategic issues related to selecting sales channels.

Workshop 3

WS3 covers the operational issues related to last-mile logistics.

Workshop 4

WS4 entails managerial issues in relation to digital transformation and e-commerce implementation in an SME.

Coaching

The project offers coaching to the participating firms based on their unique challenges.

Participating Companies

Network

Based on Science Park's "Community Platform", this Activity Pacakges aims to establish a dynamic network consisting of stakehoders with an interest in e-commerce. The ambition is to create a network that is also value-creating for companies that already have an established e-commerce business, as the next step for them can be further development through servitization, customer configuration, after-sales services, etc. in the digital customer relationship.

The target is to have 100 active members by the end of the project.

Within M2C E-handel, we will organize a series of Network Events together with Science Park.

Network Event 1

On September 19, 2024, Science Park hosted over 50 participants. Besides updates on the progress of the M2C E-handel project, there was a speech by Nefab, followed by a discussion by the participants.

Network Event 2

On November 8, 2024, we hosted a large number of partcipants at Science Park. Following a progress update on the project, a speech on the development of e-commerce and D2C was given by the Project Manager. Moreover, the findings from the pre-study as well as the plans for the upcoming years were presented.

There were also speakers from Husqvarna, Columbus, and Science Park. The day-long event was finalized by a group discussion by the particpants.

Network Event 3

On November 20, 2024, Science Park hosted a breakfast event hosting a speaker from Briqpay focusing on payment solutions in e-commerce.

Network Event 4

On March 19, 2025, over 60 participants attended the breakfast event at Science Park. The guest speaker form HAGAB held a speech on their e-commerce journey as an SME.

Network Event 5

On September 29, 2025, following Handelsrådet's Trendspaning event in Jönköping, a roundtable panel discussion was held at Spira with representatives from Sevensk Handel, Pacson, Bubbleroom, Columbus, and Science Park.

Network Event 6

On October 14, 2025, a breakfast event was held at Science Park during which Kiland held a speech on their e-commerce journey and branding.

Events

CERR 2025

Our Research Group proudly hosted the 9th Colloquium on European Research in Retailing (CERR) on the 26th and the 27th of June, 2025 in Jönköping.

https://cerr.sciencesconf.org

The event received 51 submissions which were presented in 14 tracks. These are included in the Book of Abstracts.

Overall, 61 participants from 15 countries participated in the conference. World-leading international researchers in supply chain management and marketing gathered to explore innovative strategies and methods that will shape the future of retail.

More information can be found here.

Trendspaning

The Research Group collaborated with Handlesrådet in the Trendspaning event in Jönköping. This included coordinating with some local stakeholders, as well as presenting the latest research done within the project.

The presentation can be found on YouTube.

Publications

Jafari, H., Paulraj, A., & Ghaderi, H. (2025). Leveraging Last Mile Logistics for Customer Responsivenessin Omni-channel Retailing: The Contingency Effects of Environmental Uncertainty. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

Jafari, H., Brusset, X., Frasquet, M., Teller, C., & Kotzab, H. (2025). 9th Colloquium On European Research In Retailing: Book of Abstracts. In 9th Colloquium On European Research In Retailing (CERR 2025), Jönköping, Sweden, June 26-27, 2025. Jönköping University, School of Engineering.