Information flow in automotive supply chains - present industrial practice

The automotive industry acts as a barometer and flagship of the national economy. First tier suppliers are essential enablers in the success of the sector. Here we identify present practices concerning information flow as perceived by typical first tier suppliers. Observations are made via “top pain analysis” facing an individual supplier and “quick scan analysis” on a range of automotive value streams. Major information flow weaknesses encountered in real‐world value streams are highlighted. To conclude, we show the “well‐trodden path” established for performance improvement as enabled in real‐world supply chains.

[1]  S. Helper.  How much has realliy changed between U.S. automakers and their suppliers , 1991 .

[2]  A. John Pendlebury,et al.  Business Process Reengineering: Breakpoint Strategies for Market Dominance , 1993 .

[3]  C. Harland,et al.  The dynamics of customer dissatisfaction in supply chains , 1995 .

[4]  Daniel T. Jones,et al.  The machine that changed the world : based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 5-million dollar 5-year study on the future of the automobile , 1990 .

[5]  Mohsen Attaran,et al.  The coming age of online procurement , 2001, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[6]  Terry Hill,et al.  Manufacturing Strategy: Text and Cases , 1993 .

[7]  Mohamed Mohamed Naim,et al.  Smoothing Supply Chain Dynamics , 1991 .

[8]  Hong Yan,et al.  Benefits of information sharing with supply chain partnerships , 2001, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[9]  D. Towill.  Time compression and supply chain management ‐ a guided tour , 1996 .

[10]  Janice H. Hammond,et al.  REENGINEERING CHANNEL REORDERING PROCESSES TO IMPROVE TOTAL SUPPLY‐CHAIN PERFORMANCE , 1997 .

[11]  Denis Royston Towill,et al.  The seamless supply chain - the predator's strategic advantage , 1997 .

[12]  J. Parnaby,et al.  A systems approach to the implementation of JIT methodologies in Lucas Industries , 1988 .

[13]  Richard J. Schonberger,et al.  World Class Manufacturing: The Next Decade , 1986 .

[14]  Richard D. Metters,et al.  Quantifying the bullwhip effect in supply chains , 1997 .

[15]  Alan Harrison,et al.  Investigating the Sources and Causes of Schedule Instability , 1997 .

[16]  P. Johnson,et al.  Supply chain management: the past, the present and the future , 1995 .

[17]  Herbert J. Grünwald,et al.  Many steps towards zero inventory , 1992 .

[18]  T. Jones,et al.  Using Inventory for Competitive Advantage through Supply Chain Management , 1985 .

[19]  Dean H. Kropp,et al.  The New Manufacturing Challenge: Techniques for Continuous ImprovementThe New Manufacturing Challenge: Techniques for Continuous Improvement, by SuzakiKiyoshi. New York: Free Press, 1987, 270 pp., $24.95, cloth. , 1988 .

[20]  Hau L. Lee,et al.  Information distortion in a supply chain: the bullwhip effect , 1997 .

[21]  Nick Oliver,et al.  Lean Production Practices: International Comparisons in the Auto Components Industry1 , 1996 .

[22]  S. Disney,et al.  Speeding up the progress curve towards effective supply chain management , 2000 .

[23]  Mohamed Mohamed Naim,et al.  A supply chain diagnostic methodology: determining the vector of change , 2002 .

[24]  Daniel T. Jones,et al.  From lean production to the lean enterprise , 1994 .

[25]  Robert A. Fleck,et al.  A cross-disciplinary model for improved information systems analysis , 2000, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[26]  D. Towill,et al.  Information enrichment: designing the supply chain for competitive advantage , 1997 .

[27]  Andrew Popp,et al.  “Swamped in information but starved of data”: information and intermediaries in clothing supply chains , 2000 .