Network design for build-to-order automotive production

Abstract

Establishing a pure BTO system in the European automotive industry demands the investigation of new concepts concerning product structures, planning and execution processes and supply chain design. This chapter describes possible supply chain designs and compares scenarios for future network structures in the European automotive industry. The qualitative comparison of alternatives in component supply, vehicle assembly and distribution is supported by a quantitative model-based analysis. In this respect a network containing close to 200 first-tier and second-tier suppliers, four and 15 vehicle final assembly plants, a number of distribution centres and 500 dealer locations all over Europe has been modelled. The scenarios investigated differ with regard to modular vs conventional sourcing, centralised vs decentralised final assembly and a number of different distribution concepts. The evaluation delivers key performance indicators regarding logistics costs as well as transport times. Apart from these economic measures, overall transport mileage and pollutant emissions are included in the evaluation to reflect the environmental impact. In addition, a dynamic evaluation has been applied to estimate lead times and reliability, and study the dynamic behaviour of the networks considered. As a result, implications for the design of future BTO automotive networks in Europe are derived. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.