Fredrik von Corswant

Sourcing trends in the car industry - a survey of car manufacturers' and suppliers' strategies and relations

Intense competition and structural changes characterize the car industry. Several trends (i.e. general changes over time) concerning sourcing strategies and supplier relations can therefore be identified. The article aims to analyze how these trends correspond to the actual situation in the car industry. Based on a survey answered by both car manufacturers and first tier suppliers, this article provides facts and analyses regarding sourcing‐related trends over the past decade as well as some future predictions. The results show that both car manufacturers and suppliers continue to reduce product development time. They also increase supplier involvement in product development and the share of inbound JIT‐deliveries. However, while suppliers increase their outsourcing and globalization of production and product development activities, car manufacturers do not. Only some of the identified sourcing‐related trends are actually supported by the presented results. Hence, this article modulates the picture of the current development within the car industry.

Coordinating customers and proactive suppliers A case study of supplier collaboration in product development

Abstract This case study aims at increasing our understanding of what factors are critical for successful supplier collaboration, and shed light on the complexity of collaboration. The research was performed as in-depth case studies of the product development collaboration between a Swedish auto manufacturer and five of its most important system suppliers. The empirical evidence is based on 36 personal interviews and four group interviews with representatives both from the auto manufacturer and from the five suppliers. The results indicate that reality is often more complex and multifaceted than has been illustrated in previous research. The suppliers’ internal organization of product development and production and their co-operation with other manufacturers and suppliers were found to be of crucial importance. Further, both auto manufacturers and suppliers will need to adapt to new roles when suppliers are involved in the product development process.

Organizing Activities in Industrial Networks: The Case of Volvo S80

This chapter addresses the organization and efficiency of activity structures. The aim is to further our understanding of how firms choose to organize their activities within industrial networks, where efficiency analysis cannot be limited by firm boundaries. As a starting point we use Richardson’s (1972) model for analyzing the activity structure for the development and production of the Volvo S80. More specifically, Volvo’s relationships with two of its module/systems suppliers are analyzed. The case shows that the actors involved strive to achieve efficiency through realizing economies of scale where possible. These potential economies of scale are, however, limited by the actors’ efforts to create unique end products. These contradictory ambitions result in a situation in which a number of different dependencies between activities need to be coordinated. Thus, the characteristics of various activity dependencies have strong implications for the organization of the activity structure.