Modularization and Outsourcing: Implications for the Future of Automotive Assembly "Management of the Extended Enterprise" Research Team

Overview Twice in this century, automotive assembly has been the setting for dramatic innovations in production organization that have transformed the basis of competition in the auto industry. Henry Ford's mass production and Taiichi Ohno's lean production are both systems of interrelated practices held together by a core "logic" powerful ideas shaping how we think about "making things". As we approach the second century of the car, there are important debates about whether, once again, auto manufacturing will strike off in a new direction -commonly described as "modular assembly." Our IMVP research team aims to contribute to this debate through the research project described below.