Since the invention of the wheel there have been many different evolutions for transportation devices. The automotive industry of twentieth century experienced many changes with consolidation of the major automakers, collaboration between suppliers of components and sub-assemblies and repositioning of key manufacturing and assembly locations. The twenty first century has continued this globalization and process transformation.
Countries that were once merely sources of components are now brand masters with products that are challenging the automotive empires in Europe, USA, Japan and Korea. The Chinese turbo charged economy has proved to be a game changer in many ways – a population for whom automotive ownership is a tangible goal in this new economy created new levels of demand. This creates both challenges and opportunities for automakers – Chinese capacity for production is currently outstripping demand, impacting the global status quo.
From a supply chain perspective the automotive industry has a high level of complexity with different levels of suppliers, highly integrated flows of materials and information, and an increasingly challenging global compliance environment.
Problems we have solved in collaboration with client team members include:
Information Technology
- Synchronization of data across disparate information systems
- Visibility for item, lot and heat level data across the product lifecycle
- Harmonized planning and scheduling
Supplier Integration
- Supplier rationalization and development of Strategic Alliances
- Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment
Manufacturing Excellence
- Establishing discrete manufacturing ‘cells’ within sub assembly manufacturing site
- Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints