Causal factor relations of supply chain competitiveness via fuzzy DEMATEL method for Thai automotive industry

Abstract

The automotive industry is complex and global. An automotive supply chain involves multiple manufacturers and service providers in different parts of the chain across different countries. Diffusion of the global production system creates both opportunities and challenges for the supply chain itself as well as production base countries. Thailand is a production base for over 15 automotive brands. The industry contributes significantly to the Thai economy and employs approximately half a million people. To address competitiveness of the Thai automotive industry, its supply chain is studied in this paper. Ten factors affecting the competitiveness of the Thai automotive supply chain are analysed through the fuzzy DEMATEL method. The method forms a structural model that categorises the causal or effect roles of the factors, and the degree at which they impact the supply chain. This study focuses on Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers of the supply chain. The results reveal that there are three common causal factors and four common effects in both tiers. The other four factors play different roles in different tiers. Managerial implications relating to these factors are also discussed and certain recommendations proposed in order to enhance the competitiveness of the Thai automotive supply chain.     

How Sourcing of Interdependent Components Affects Quality in Automotive Supply Chains

In the automotive industry, many firms source key components from different suppliers, even though the components may function interdependently. In this study, we investigate how component level interdependence impacts quality performance and analyze how various operational factors moderate this relation. We synthesize information from several case studies to model the quality challenges faced by an automotive firm. For several sub‐assemblies that go into its products, the firm sourced key components from two different suppliers. The sub‐assemblies would fail whenever a component fails, but due to interdependent operations, failure of one component could cause the failure of the other. The firm found it challenging to improve the suppliers' quality performance as it was difficult to trace the failures to specific components. Our analysis reveals that – (i) the impact of interdependence is governed by the supply chain structure: reducing the interdependence between components improves quality when suppliers provide the components, but reducing interdependence worsens quality when the firm manufactures the entire sub‐assembly; and (ii) the relation between interdependence and quality performance is moderated by factors such as penalties, production costs, and interdependence costs. Additionally, we find that quality performance is lower when the firm outsources the components than when the firm manufactures the entire sub‐assembly. We identify coordinating mechanisms that leverage incentives and penalties to bridge the quality performance gap.     

Comparative Potency Method for Cancer Risk Assessment: Application to Diesel Particulate Emissions1

An estimation of the human lung cancer “unit risk” from diesel engine particulate emissions has been made using a comparative potency approach. This approach involves evaluating the tumorigenic and mutagenic potencies of the particulates from four diesel and one gasoline engine in relation to other combustion and pyrolysis products (coke oven, roofing tar, and cigarette smoke) that cause lung cancer in humans. The unit cancer risk is predicated on the linear nonthreshold extrapolation model and is the individual lifetime excess lung cancer risk from continuous exposure to 1 μg carcinogen per m³ inhaled air. The human lung cancer unit risks obtained from the epidemiologic data for coke oven workers, roofing tar applicators, and cigarette smokers were, respectively, 9.3 × 10^?4, 3.6 × 10^?4, and 2.2 × 10^?6 per μg particulate organics per m³ air. The comparative potencies of these three materials and the diesel and gasoline engine exhaust particulates (as organic extracts) were evaluated by in vivo tumorigenicity bioassays involving skin initiation and skin carcinogenicity in SENCAR mice and by the in vitro bioassays that proved suitable for this analysis: Ames Salmonella microsome bioassay, L5178Y mouse lymphoma cell mutagenesis bioassay, and sister chromatid exchange bioassay in Chinese hamster ovary cells. The relative potencies of the coke oven, roofing tar, and cigarette smoke emissions, as determined by the mouse skin initiation assay, were within a factor of 2 of those determined using the epidemiologic data. The relative potencies, from the in vitro bioassays as compared to the human data, were similar for coke oven and roofing tar, but for the cigarette smoke condensate the in vitro tests predicted a higher relative potency. The mouse skin initiation bioassay was used to determine the unit lung cancer risk for the most potent of the diesel emissions. Based on comparisons with coke oven, roofing tar, and cigarette smoke, the unit cancer risk averaged 4.4 × 10^?4. The unit lung cancer risks for the other, less potent motor-vehicle emissions were determined from their comparative potencies relative to the most potent diesel using three in vitro bioassays. There was a high correlation between the in vitro and in vivo bioassays in their responses to the engine exhaust particulate extracts. The unit lung cancer risk per μg particulates per m³ for the automotive diesel and gasoline exhaust particulates ranged from 0.20 × 10^?4 to 0.60 × 10^?4; that for the heavy-duty diesel engine was 0.02 × 10^?4. These unit risks provide the basis for a future assessment of human lung cancer risks when combined with human population exposure to automotive emissions.     

Mass Customization in the Automotive Industry: Comparing Interdealer Trading and Reconfiguration Flexibilities in Order Fulfillment

Mass customization has been viewed as desirable but difficult to achieve in the volume automotive sector. Here we consider flexibility in automotive order fulfillment systems to enhance the ability to satisfy customers with their desired vehicle variants within acceptable delivery lead times. Two types of flexibility are compared in a Virtual‐Build‐to‐Order system—reconfiguration in the planning pipeline and interdealer trading. A representative simulation model is used to investigate the impact of the two types of flexibility across a wide spectrum of product variety levels. The impacts on major stakeholders in the system—the producer, dealers, and customers—are considered. The study shows that both types of flexibilities can bring significant benefits in terms of reductions in lead time and inventory holding. The level of product variety strongly influences the observed effects—an important finding in the mass customization context. Upstream reconfiguration flexibility brings greater benefits than downstream trading flexibility. Reconfiguration tends to dominate trading as a fulfillment mechanism when both are in operation. The findings have implications for the design and management of automotive order fulfillment systems in improving their ability to offer mass customization. The study has relevance for companies in other sectors with high levels of variety that seek to combine efficiency, speed, and flexibility in order fulfillment.     

协作研发与在位企业突破性技术创新及代际知识桥的中介作用——以汽车行业为例

鉴于代际知识桥对企业突破性技术创新的作用可能不同,以65家汽车行业整车在位企业为样本,对其2009~2019年的面板数据进行负二项回归分析后发现:协作研发能够直接提升在位企业的突破性技术创新绩效,且显性代际知识桥与隐性代际知识桥在其间均可发挥积极中介作用;旧技术创新绩效对协作研发与突破性技术创新绩效的关系会产生积极作用,对显性代际知识桥与突破性技术创新绩效的关系会产生消极作用,但均不显著;旧技术创新绩效对隐性代际知识桥与突破性技术创新绩效的关系会产生显著消极作用。     

Evaluating the human resource related soft dimensions in green supply chain management implementation

Because of increased carbon emissions, environmental protection initiatives have gained significant attention at global level. One of the major initiatives taken by the industrial sector to minimize the negative environmental effect of the value chain activities is Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). In industry, soft (human resource-related) dimensions influence the implementation of GSCM process greatly. In the literature, relatively less discussion is provided on assessing the significance of soft dimensions in efficient GSCM acceptance in industry. The present work is an attempt to construct a structural framework for assessing the significance of the soft dimensions in adopting GSCM concepts by taking a case of automotive company in India. A hybrid approach of Best Worst Method (BWM) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is employed in this work. BWM is used to prioritize the GSCM oriented soft dimensions, and DEMATEL is employed to extract interrelationships among them. The result shows that ‘Top management commitment’, ‘Employee involvement’, ‘Organizational culture’ and ‘Teamwork’ are the highly prioritized causal soft dimensions in efficient GSCM adoption. This research work would help industry managers and practitioners to decide where to concentrate for GSCM concepts in context of soft dimensions for sustainable business development.     

Electronic markets in support of procurement processes along the automotive supply chain

Since the introduction of the internet, firms have continued to seek ways to use these public networks to gain competitive advantage. The procurement function is beginning to take on greater strategic importance as these networks started providing firms wider opportunities such as choices of suppliers. This aims not only to reduce procurement costs, but also to build stronger relationships with suppliers to improve quality and flexibility in meeting customer demand. This type of linkage of firms with their suppliers when the product manufactured is complex and supply-chain is heavily tiered, such as the case of the automobile industry, creates challenges to any electronic market or exchange that is aiming to support such a system. Based on discussions with some key individuals in an automotive supply chain and an in-depth analysis of a supply-chain segment, this paper explores the role electronic markets may have to play, if they are to support the procurement processes of various agents along the supply chain.     

高职《汽车机械基础》课程改革探讨

《汽车机械基础》在汽车运用技术专业学生的培养中起着承前启后的重要作用。文章结合汽车行业发展对汽车运用技术高技能人才能力结构和技能水平的需求,借鉴国内外发展职业技术教育取得的成功经验,根据高职教育和学生特点,从《汽车机械基础》课程实际及人才培养模式的整体目标出发,对其课程设计、教学内容、教方法与手段、实践教学及课程考核等方面的改革进行了探讨。     

汽车开关面板注射成型工艺参数优化

针对汽车内饰件开关面板这类制品在注射加工过程中容易产生翘曲变形的缺陷,采用计算机CAE模拟技术和 Taguchi试验相结合的方法,以翘曲变形作为质量指标,把注射过程中的模具温度、熔体温度、注射时间、保压时间和保压 压力这5个工艺参数作为影响制品翘曲变形的影响因素,运用CAE软件对不同水平下各工艺参数进行注射成型的数值 模拟。结合极差分析法、信噪比法优化得到最优工艺参数组合来减少翘曲量。将得到的最优工艺参数组合进行CAE模 拟,发现开关面板的翘曲变形得到较大的改善。通过实际注射试验验证了CAE模拟的结果。     

安徽汽车零部件工业发展的SWOT分析及对策

汽车产业是支撑安徽经济的重要支柱产业,但安徽汽车产业的发展不均衡,汽车整车在国内有一定的影响力,而与之相配套的汽车零部件工业的发展却相对滞后。文章运用SWOT分析法,分析了安徽省汽车零部件工业发展所面临的内外部环境,并就其存在的主要问题,有针对性地提出了几点对策建议。