The three-day car challenge: Investigating the inhibitors of responsive order fulfilment in new vehicle supply systems1

Time as a source for competitive advantage has been widely acknowledged, yet the motor industry struggles to provide quick response to customer demand. Current new vehicle supply is still based on large inventory in the market-place, and customers are left with the choice of either taking a vehicle from stock—often compromising on specification—or waiting an average 6 weeks for a custom-built vehicle. This study investigates the reasons for this lack of responsiveness in UK new vehicle supply systems. Taking a holistic approach, all key subsystems—component supply, vehicle manufacturing and logistics—are investigated regarding their ability to support responsive order fulfilment at system level. The findings clearly show that the current vehicle supply systems are misaligned to external customer needs. Specifically, four key inhibitors could be identified, and based on further empirical evidence a set of principles is proposed as to how these inhibitors could be overcome in order to implement a build-to-order strategy.

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