TY - JOUR
T1 - Building Real Modularity Competence in Automotive Design, Development, Production, and After-service
AU - Sanchez, Ron
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - In recent years, modular approaches to design and production have been discussed and implemented in various ways in the automotive industry. However, this paper draws on the author's extensive work with firms in the automotive and other industries to suggest that there is still relatively limited understanding of what modular strategies really mean and of what effective implementation of modularity strategies would entail in the automotive industry ' with the result that at least some automotive firms that claim to be using modular strategies are in fact doing so in name only. This paper then proposes the essential principles on which effective implementation of modular strategies depends in any industry. We illustrate these principles with examples of both effective and faulty modularity practice from the automotive and other industries. We then propose a modularity maturity model for assessing the degree to which a firm has developed and is applying a real modularity competence in automotive design, development, production, and after-service.
AB - In recent years, modular approaches to design and production have been discussed and implemented in various ways in the automotive industry. However, this paper draws on the author's extensive work with firms in the automotive and other industries to suggest that there is still relatively limited understanding of what modular strategies really mean and of what effective implementation of modularity strategies would entail in the automotive industry ' with the result that at least some automotive firms that claim to be using modular strategies are in fact doing so in name only. This paper then proposes the essential principles on which effective implementation of modular strategies depends in any industry. We illustrate these principles with examples of both effective and faulty modularity practice from the automotive and other industries. We then propose a modularity maturity model for assessing the degree to which a firm has developed and is applying a real modularity competence in automotive design, development, production, and after-service.
KW - Action research
KW - Modularity competence
KW - Modular architectures
KW - Product development
KW - Automobile industry
KW - Automotive design
KW - Automotive development
KW - Automotive production
KW - Automotive after–service
KW - Modular strategies
KW - Modularity maturity model
U2 - 10.1504/IJATM.2013.054918
DO - 10.1504/IJATM.2013.054918
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1470-9511
VL - 13
SP - 204
EP - 236
JO - International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management
JF - International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management
IS - 3
ER -