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