Automotive Industry
Overview
Automotive manufacturing companies and their tier one and tier two suppliers comprise one of the most cost-driven and efficiency-seeking industries in the world. With an ever-increasing focus on optimizing the supply chain, the automotive industry has a relentless drive for quality and cost reduction. Companies in this category require many distinct skill-sets to make and sell their products. Among them:
- Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
- Collaboration with key vendors
- Just-in-time inventory management
- Supply chain optimization
The automotive industry requires a true understanding of its unique processing needs, including multiple EDI relationships and requirements, key cost drivers and process metrics, as well as transportation and logistics requirements. For example, a supplier's IT system infrastructure must minimize transaction handling time and charges as well as manual entry and maintenance of systems data. Customer orders must be processed as efficiently as possible to pass immediate demand to the shop floor for fulfillment.
In addition to filling customer orders, suppliers must react to constantly changing forecasts, pushing them to rely on complex methodologies and collaborative planning with their customers. The automotive industry has a unique mix of OEM and aftermarket supply needs, the fulfillment of which often depends on a mix of repetitive and made-to-order manufacturing.
Key Industry Business Drivers and Complex Requirements
Among the characteristics that are common to companies in the automotive industry, these are the most:
- Kanban processing
- Customer and supplier side EDI processing
- Customer-specific product, box, and pallet labeling
- Finite scheduling
- Scrap management
- Consignment inventory management
- Freight consolidation and trucking management
- Bar code data collection
- Line sequencing - product shipment exactly when required
- Retrobilling
Our Experience
Logan Consulting has assisted a marquis roster of automotive industry companies. Among them:
- Johnson Controls, Inc. - ASG (Automotive Systems Group)
- Milwaukee Wire
- Breed Technologies, Inc.
- Android Industries
- Asyst Technologies LLP
- Eaton
- Camcar Textron