Auto companies should exhaust vendors'' portfolio of products
By Our Corporate Bureau | 01 Dec 2004
Chennai: With speed being the main criterion to market and launch new products, automobile manufacturers should involve their vendors at the vehicle design stage itself.
"In fact, vehicle manufacturers should leverage the existing product line of their vendors before opting for a new design," said B D Parekh, deputy chief, 'strategic sourcing group,' Tata Motors Limited, at The Indian Automotive Supply Chain Conference — Auto SCM India 2004.
Auto SCM India is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and CII Institute of Logistics. Parekh added that modifications to an existing product is easier and takes less time and cost than designing a component afresh.
Speaking about Tata Motors' practice, he said, the company calls all its existing and potential suppliers to discuss different technologies. "The day the meeting is called is known as 'technology day.'"
According to him, before deciding on the supplier, Tata Motors involves multiple vendors in all the key areas with the vendors' engineers getting involved at the design stage itself.
The other challenges for new product development are: rapidly changing technology, emission regulations, shorter product life cycle, emergence of mega component suppliers who are larger than the vehicle manufacturers, amalgamation of technologies- mechanical with telematics and competitive pricing.