A Report On The Automotive Industry

Production practices have had an important role in satisfying the dynamic market. Many approaches have being developed in order to respond effectively to specific business requirements. In fact, some areas of management have focused its study on the overseeing, designing, and controlling the process of production in an effort to find the best methodology that ensures the business success and performance. However, complexities arise in this field because many variables such as costs, inventory, scheduling, suppliers, etc have to be considered in any business. Lean approach and the traditional approach are two points of view that aim to address this complexities, and those will be examined in this essay.

In today 's competitive marketplace, all firms are seeking ways to improve their overall performance. One such method of improvement, recently adopted by many firms, is benchmarking. Benchmarking is a technique used to evaluate internal business processes. "In this analysis, managers determine the firm 's critical processes and outputs, baseline those processes, then compare the performance of each process against a standard outside the industry" (Bounds, Yorks, Adams, & Ranney 1994). To effectively improve a business process to world-class quality, managers must find a firm that is recognized as a global leader, not just the industry

The information gained from such a comparison allows firms to determine how well they perform in comparison with the “best” and, in turn, develop new and better strategies to work towards making improvements or adopting certain best practices. Benchmarking is usually an ongoing process in which companies continuously seek the improvement of their practices. (Debitoor, 2017)

While undergoing transformation, various factors have and are still accelerating metamorphic process of the company (Victoria Times Colonist, 2010). Need for improved efficiency is one of the factors that have accelerated change within the firm. Company’s efficiency determines how fast production process is. Efficient company not only improves quality of its products but also is important in quality of services delivery. Effectiveness of labor in a company also constitutes

General Motors is faced with a dilemma. In the face of economic depression, competition from foreign players was driving down profits and the market’s preference was changing to efficient cars due to

While car manufacturing is a global industry, automotive companies such as JLR operate in broader regions such as Europe and Asia. Three major trends were identified affecting car production in mature markets, the first was the fragmentation of mature markets, customers were demanding more choice, and this has made it difficult for manufacturers to obtain economies of scale, so cost had to be reduced and with the general

In the book, The Toyota Way, Jeffery Liker provides an in-depth account of, not only the tools and methods of Toyota’s Production System, but also a broader explanation of the principles at work in the Toyota culture. This philosophy of manufacturing can be summarized through two important pillars: “Continuous Improvement” and “Respect for People.” These pillars help define Toyota’s approach to doing business, were the focus is on continuous learning and embracing change. By incorporating this ideology and its 14 principles into its manufacturing operations, Toyota has become the greatest manufacturer in the world. In this essay, I will provide a synopsis of Toyota’s 14 principles and also offer my own account of lean manufacturing at CNH Industrial.

The lean thinking has been established in a well manner in the competitive world. The countless business industries have proved their effective growth in terms of brand recognition and in terms of the good profit amount with the effective application of the lean production system in their operational activities. Toyota has added their name in the application of the lean thinking in their production process first in the global competitive market. The book “the Gold mine” written by Freedy and Michael Balle is a definite attempt to highlight the challenges that the leaders are facing in the perfect transformation of the lean thinking in their operational activities. This essay has discusses the direct connection between the content the

After a self-satisfied period, American auto manufacturers encountered formidable competition from the Japanese (the most intense competitor, holding a combined U.S market share of approximately 25%) & German manufacturers. American market share was lost to these foreign brands as a result of better gas mileage, attractive design features & affordability provided by these foreign entities. Consequently, U.S car sales struggled in the European market while these foreign auto makers established production facilities & or expanded their already existing facilities (the Japanese manufacturers) in the U.S. Japanese manufacturers have instituted innovative productions by modifying U.S. manufacturing models, adapting & utilizing technology. Even so, the U.S. have merged with & established strategic commercial partnerships with other

Benchmarking is a powerful tool used to promote continuous improvement of an organization. It enables the decision-makers to realize how much improvement is required to achieve satisfactory performance. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has defined benchmarking as “a measurement tool for monitoring the impact of governance, management and clinical and logistical functions” (as cited in Ettorchi-Tardy, Levif & Michel, 2012). There are four different kinds of benchmarking: internal, external or competitive, functional and generic or best practice. Also, there are several benefits of using benchmarking within healthcare organizations such as improving the quality of patient care, encouraging accountability among providers, improving productivity, yielding greater efficiency, meeting accreditation requirements, etc.

Automotive Builders, Inc. (ABI) is a company that consistently changed its production lines and strategic goals relative to the needs of the times, starting out producing diesel engine parts for tractors in the 1940’s, switching over to the production of parts for military vehicles during World War II, and then, after the war, settling into its current placement in both the automobile and tractor industry. Due to the downturn in the economy and stiff and superior competition in both quality and price rising up from the Japanese who had recently entered into the industry, ABI is trying to find productive and innovative ways to improve sales and guarantee placement as the number one company in its

I have chosen two major international automotive manufacturing companies for this annual report project. General Motors Co. a Delaware Corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and its international competitor Daimler AH a German Corporation located in Stuffgart, Germany. These two companies build and sell cars, trucks and automotive parts. The two auto giants also provide financial services to their customer base. General Motors brands include Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Holden, Open and Vauxhall. Daimler AG brands include Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, FUSO, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses and BharatBenz.

Lean manufacturing originated long before Toyota and Ford, however the thought that it originated with Toyota is flattering since they are the ones who perfected it. By creating the Toyota Production System (TPS), Toyota found a better way to produce large quantities of product efficiently with eliminating the waste factor and while cutting down cost. Taiichi Ohno a former Toyota vice president promoted the idea of JIT (Just-in-Time) which means “producing the necessary units in the necessary quantities at the necessary time.” (Monden) Which leads to Toyota’s ultimate goal in the TPS is to improve productivity for better return in investment. To have continuous flow in a production system Toyota sought out to achieve the concept of JIT and autonomation . Since the TPS is what creates the parts who monitors the JIT system? The kanban system which is an informational system that controls quantities being produce in each process. As the discussion carries on throughout this paper about Toyota and their use of the kanban system the topic

By 2007, Toyota was leading its industry as the largest automotive manufacturer in the world. Operating under a strong growth strategy, their reputation for exceptional quality and high safety ratings coupled with operational efficiency promoted their competitive advantage. Furthermore, Toyota was principally the symbol of excellence and a benchmark for every other company. When examining their strategy under Porter’s model Toyota maintains a strong combined plan focusing on both cost leadership and broad differentiation. Through the process of lean daily management and just-in-time delivery Toyota led the manufacturing world with a distinguished level of efficiency. Examining their success and processes, manufacturing was transformed and Toyota was the envy of many. Additionally, through innovation Toyota actively sought differentiation as a generic tactic. Hybrid technology was successfully implemented into their Prius model vehicles and the Prius became the first, pioneering mass-produced vehicle of its kind.

This work is done to study the improvement of the quality in automobile industry. This chapter consists three sections named as “Problem definition”, “Objectives” and “Methodology of the study” respectively. The section 3.1 named as “Problem definition” describes the challenge or difficulty that is to be solved. The solution may be achieved after fulfilling the objective by using some sub-objectives that are described in section 3.2 named as “Objectives”. The methodology described in section 3.3 in details. This methodology has been devised keeping in mind the view of “Problem definition” and the “Objectives” that are suggested for the fulfilment of the solution for the problem.