外文翻译设计供应链以用来合理区分原始设备制造商的特点.docx

外文翻译设计供应链以用来合理区分原始设备制造商的特点.docx

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外文翻译设计供应链以用来合理区分原始设备制造商的特点

中文3070字

标题：

MakingsupplychaindesigntherationaldifferentiatingcharacteristicoftheOEMs

原文：

Theownershipofthepartsmanufacturerswasconsequentlyfusedtogetherintonewglobalcompanieswithsignificanttechnologicalandinnovationcapabilities.Atthesametime,theOEMsdivestedtheircomponentsandsub-systemsdivisionsinanefforttotapintothenon-OEMautomotivemarkets.ThesedevelopmentsintensifiedtheOEMs’movetooutsourcethebulkofthemanufacturinganddesignofthesubsystemsandcomponentstotheirsuppliersand,ineffect,lostmostoftheirmanufacturingstrengthandbargainingpowertothem;thesupplierscurrentlyaccountfor28%ofthetotalautomotiveindustryprofitsasopposedtoonly24%fortheOEMs.TheoutsourcingtrendhasthusresultedinOEMsrelinquishingtheirhistoricalstrategicroleandtopositionthemselvesmorelikeoriginalbrandmanufacturers（OBMs）.

Thesetrendshavecontributedtoanacceleratedincreaseofthesupplyuncertaintyinadditiontothealreadyrecognizeddemanduncertainty.VarioussupplyuncertaintyreductionstrategieshavebeendesignedinordertostabilizetheplanningprocessamongwhichthemostsignificantisthedesigncollaborationwhichincludesthesharingofNPIplansandevenajointNPIplansdesign.

Asthecomponentsandsub-systemsarebeingoutsourced,andthesuppliersareleveragingtheinnovationandtechnologicalcostsacrossOEMs,industrySCstructurehasalsoevolvedintoanextremelycomplexandintricatenetworkinwhichallsupplierstendtohaveshort-termrelationswithmultipleOEMs.Theresult:

anydifferenceinquality,performance,safety,fuelefficiency,andamenitieshasbeenreducedsignificantly.

TheOEMs,inmanyways,havehistoricallybeentreatingSCdesignasa‘‘tactical’’issueseparatefromconcurrentlydesigningtheproductandmanufacturingprocess:

aftertheconceptdesignphase,thePurchasingDepartmentwouldstartcontinuousquestforthelowestcostcomponentsbyestablishinganoptimumbetweenthecapacityandproductioncosts,locationofthesupplier’sfacility,andransportationandlogisticscosts（FinancialTimes2005）.Chainperformancewouldthusbemeasuredinoversimplifiedandsometimescounterproductive（costreduction-based）terms.

However,theperformancemeasuresthatemphasizemainlycostsdistortthewayinwhichthechainmembersreachkeydecisionsconcerningwhichcustomersarethemostimportantandthereforethemostprofitabletoserve.Thefundamentalproblemofcost-centricmeasuresisitsfocusonindividualcostsminimizationratherthanonthemaximizationofvaluetoendcustomers（seee.g.SimaputangandSridharan（2002）fordetailsontheadvantagesofcollaborationandcooperationinSCM）.

Whilethecost-centricmeasuresmightstillbeacceptableforcomponentswithlowstrategicimportance,lowcustomervisibilityandlowclockspeed（e.g.nutsandbolts）,theyarefarlessappropriateforthosewithhighclockspeed.

Thelessonslearnedfromfastmovingindustries（suchasDell,NikeandLi&Fung）teachusthatthecompaniesthathavesuccessfullyoutsourcedtheirmanufacturinginordertolowertheircostsandincreasetheirflexibilityconcomitantlycreatedextremelyvaluableSCcontrolsthatledthemtoremainthedominantplayeroftheSC.Thisinturnhaspermittedthesecompaniestofurtherdifferentiatethemselvesfromtheircompetitorsandhasallowedthemtomaintainasustainablecompetitiveadvantage.NotfollowingthestrategyofimplementingSCcontrols,ontheotherhand,hasseverelylimitedtheabilityoftheOEMstomakethefundamentalSCdesignandsynchronizationdecisionandhasultimatelycausedthemtolosetheirroleasintegratorswithinthevaluechain.

Tomaintaintheirroleasvaluechainintegrators,theOEMsshouldputmoreemphasisontherestructuringoftheirexistingSC;theindustryhastoshiftitsdifferentiationfocusintotherealmofSCdesignandsynchronization.Thisimpliesthatthesupplierselectiondecisionsshouldbeguidednotonlybyoperationalfactorsbutalsobystrategicfactorssuchasflexibility,thecapacitytoinnovate,andthesupplier’sbusiness-technologyalignment.

WhenthedevelopmentoftheSCbecomesintegraltotheNPIprocess,thenthesuppliers’responsibilitiesatdifferentstagesofproductandprocessdesignscouldbeclearlyacknowledgeddependingonthestrategicimportanceandtheclockspeedofdifferentcomponentsandsub-systems.

Infact,inouropinion,thedesignoftheSClinksthatprecedethefinalassemblyshouldbeconsideredastherationaldifferentiatingcharacteristicoftheOEMsfromanoperationalpointofview（agility,innovation,qualityandreliability）.Styling,andistributionchanneldesignandmanagement（thepost-OEMassemblyoperations）aretheemotionaldifferentiatingcharacteristicsfromabrandperspective.

ClassifyingcomponentsbasedontheirclockspeedThebarrierstoclockspeed,thedampeners,arethecomplexityoftheproductarchitectureandtheorganizationalinertiaoftheOEMs.Theup-streamratesoftechnologicalinnovation,whicharedictatedbythecustomerdemandsandtheindustrycompetitiveness,areacceleratingastheycascadedownthesupplychain.Inordertocapitalizeonthisdown-streamacceleration,theOEMshavetomodularizetheirproducts’architecture.

Asmentioned,therearedifferentclockspeedsfordifferentautosub-systemsandcomponents.Toillustrate,wecanconsider10ofavehicle’smostrepresentativecomponents.Thesheetmetalandthehardware（screws,bolts,nuts,rivets,etc.）havethelowestclockspeedbecausethesecomponents’rateofchangeandinnovationisrelativelylow.Sheetmetalandautomotivehardwareisproducedinlarge-scalemanufacturingfacilitieswithverylittleflexibility.Theengineeringeffortsarefocusedonefficiencyandoptimizationofprocessesandnotonnewproductdesign.Attheconceptdesignstagealltheproductandprocesscharacteristicsarewellknownandcanbeeasilyplannedfor.Toalesserextent,thesameisvalidforglassandotherautomotiveconstructionmaterialssuchassteel,aluminium,rubberandplastic

Thenon-functionalstructuralcomponentsliketheframes,sub-frames,rearaxels,suspensioncomponentsandtheseatsarelocatedinthemiddleofthescale.Thesecomponentsarefabricatedinlargebatchesandtheengineeringeffortsarefocusedbothonimprovingefficiencyaswellasproductinnovationandquality.Someproductattributesneedtobedesignedanddevelopedaftertheconceptdesignphase

butingeneraltheapproachisconservativeandincrementaltocurrentdesignsandprocesses.

Exteriorandinteriorornamentationcomponentsandcolorsarecloselyrelatedtothelatestdesigntrendsand,asaresult,theyareassociatedwithahigherclockspeedthantheothercomponents.Duringtheconceptphasethedesignfashiontrendsarestillevolvingbutthecoreproductattributes（plasticmoulds,pigments,etc.）areknown,asarethebasicmanufacturingprocesses.Thebatchesaresmallerthantheonesusedforthepreviouscomponentsinordertoensureflexibility.

Theelectroniccomponentsandsoftwarehavethehighestclockspeedamongtheautomotivesub-systems.Duringtheconceptdesignphaseonlytheperformancespecificationscanbedetermined.Eventhesespecificationsaresubjecttochange

pendingtechnologicaladvancementduringthedesignphaseaswellasthesocialpreferencesofthecustomers.

Intheautomotiveindustrythehighestfinancialburdeniscreatedbythehugetimegapbetweenthecapitalinvestmentandthemomentofthefirstsale.Thiscreatesanacuteneedforaccuratesalesvolumespredictionsand,evenmoreimportantly,salesoptionmix.Thebasemodelsvolumes（withlowerstickerpricesandprofitability）areeasiertopredictthanthehighoptioncontentvehicleswhichbringinthemostprofits.Ingeneral,thehighertheclockspeedthelesspredictablethedemandbecomes.Theclockspeedofthecomponentsandtheirassociatedclockspeedscoresareinstrumentalinprioritizingtheproductdesign,processcapacityplanningandSCcoordinationactivitiesduringtheNPIconceptdesignphase.

Classifyingcomponentsbasedontheirstrategicimportance

Fromthegovernmentrequirementsandcustomerpreferencespointofview,thecomponentsandsub-systemscouldalsohavedifferentstrategicimportancetotheOEMs.Infact,aswewillshowlater,the‘‘makeorbuy’’decisionsaswellasthe

designoftheSCduringtheconceptphaseoftheNPIalsorequireagreaterunderstandingofthecomponents’strategicimportance.

Howcouldweorganizethesestrategicdifferences?

Generally,thearchitectureofaproductisconsideredaconstraintforthesourcingdecisions.Intheopenarchitecture（theonewhosespecificationsarepublic）,aslongastheperformancespecificationsofaproductaremetthenthemanufacturingprocesscouldbespreadoutsidetheboundariesofonecorporation.Oneofthegreatadvantagesofanopenarchitectureisthatanyonecandesignadd-onproductsforit.Bymakingarchitecturepublic,however,amanufacturerallowsotherstoduplicateitsproduct.BicyclesandPCsareexcellentexamplesofmodularproductswithopenarchitectures.Puttingtogetherstandardizedpartswillresultinthefinalproduct.

Naturally,theextremecomplexityofavehicle（4,000–5,000maincomponentsandupto20,000parts）andtheinheritedintegralcharacterofthesystemmakeitdifficulttodeveloprobustinterfacesandperformancespecificationstoserveasadevelopmentbasefortheindividualsub-systemsandcomponentsfunctionalspecifications.However,theapplicabilityoftheopenarchitectureconcepttoautomanufacturingisagrowingphenomenon.Today,t