| RESCOVS | This project is closed |
| Development of a Responsive Supply Chain in the Commercial Vehicle Sector |
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Context The majority of supply chain literature and experience relates to the automobile industry with its high volumes and heavy reliance on mass production automation. In the commercial vehicle sector, lower volumes and higher product variety demand more agile product development and manufacture for competitiveness. In particular it requires the development of more effective engineering information systems to enable late configuration. This would have a major impact on inventory and responsiveness to customer needs. Also the industry cannot rely upon a well organised , mature and robust first tier in its supply chain. The CV sector with its high variety and low volumes represents an important area of learning for automobile manufacture which is moving towards the same position. Aims To review the supply chain of a major UK CV manufacturer to Generate a transferable methodology for Complete Supplier Development within the CV sector which can be made available to other companies in the sector. It will also make the experience of late configuration improvements available to the automobile industry. Method The supply chain from identification of demand to call off from suppliers will be mapped using a novel process developed at Huddersfield University. This will be used to research both information and materiel flows within and between the companies, leading to an identification of important performance measures and recommendations for improvement. Measures to improve the alignment of host and supply company systems will be identified. A generic method for Complete Supplier Development will be developed and implemented, and disseminated to the CV and automotive sectors. Benefits Responsiveness within the CV supply chain will be increased leading to an improvement of the global competitiveness of the sector. The volume automotive industry may be able to apply the same methodology Participants Huddersfield University Seddon Atkinson Vehicles Ltd Bowman Group Haywood Plastics Ltd |
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