The role of GMSA to assist their suppliers with the successful implementation of lean practices
- Authors: Conybeare, Nabiel
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: General Motors (South Africa) , Production management -- South Africa , Business logistics -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8742 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/763 , General Motors (South Africa) , Production management -- South Africa , Business logistics -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- Management
- Description: Over the past couple of decades traditional manufacturing techniques have been replaced by lean production around the world. This change in production methodology brought about the opportunity for numerous companies to reduce costs and customer lead time through the application of this lean philosophy. The worldwide shift from traditional manufacturing to lean manufacturing can be ascribed to the success of Toyota Motor Company. Lean manufacturing refers to a manufacturing improvement process in order to minimize or eliminate waste while maximizing production flow (Tapping, et al., 2002:30). A value stream includes all the operations and processes to transform raw material into finished products or services. Value stream is a management tool used for the planning of a production process involving lean techniques through systematic data capturing and analysis (Tapping 2002 et al., 41). Value stream is a proven process for planning the improvements that will allow companies to develop lean practices. One key to Toyota’s success that GMSA and many other South African companies have not been able to emulate is the transformation of their suppliers to apply the lean philosophy. This lack of supplier transformation is due to various reasons including supplier proximity, supplier relationships, supplier performance levels, and the ordering policies used for supplied parts. Even though many manufacturing organizations realize the importance of practicing lean manufacturing techniques, few organizations apply lean techniques with the required knowledge and tools to transform their organization from traditional manufacturing to lean manufacturing. This research project is based purely on the lean manufacturing principles and philosophies. The aim of the study is to make GMSA’s suppliers aware of the principles and processes of lean manufacturing and to develop a lean implementation strategy to assist organizations with the successful implementation of lean practices. In order to correctly implement and sustain lean manufacturing practices this study will also focus on supplier support and development and the behavior an organization must exhibit to make this transformation a success. The research methodology comprised the following steps: • A literature study was performed by the researcher to get a better understanding of the principles and philosophies of lean manufacturing; • A second literature study was also performed to get a better understanding of the continuous improvement philosophies of lean manufacturing including supplier support & development; and • To accomplish the objectives of this study, interview sessions were conducted with four senior managers of General Motors South Africa. The researcher selected the interviewees from the following departments within General Motors South Africa: Global Purchasing and Supply Chain; Supplier Quality and Development; Vehicle Assembly Operations and Material Supply. The interviewees from General Motors South Africa were identified as qualified data sources for this research project, as their professional opinions and viewpoints could best address the research questions.
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- Date Issued: 2007
An assessment of the supplier development practices at Volkswagen of South Africa
- Authors: Erasmus, Bradley Quentin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Volkswagen of South Africa (Firm) , Production management , Business logistics -- Management , Motor vehicle industry -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8555 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/500 , Volkswagen of South Africa (Firm) , Production management , Business logistics -- Management , Motor vehicle industry -- South Africa
- Description: The underlying objective of the research is to assess the nature of the supplier training at Volkswagen of South Africa (VWSA). To achieve this objective, a theoretical study was conducted to establish what literature reveals to be the most important theory of supply chain management as well as supplier development geared towards lean manufacturing. The information obtained in the literature study was analysed to solve the main problem namely, an assessment of the nature of the supplier training at Volkswagen of South Africa (VWSA). The research was divided into two questionnaires: The first questionnaire is targeted at the suppliers. This questionnaire has two sections namely section A, the biographical data and section B attempts to determine the quality systems and manufacturing requirements. It further attempts to gauge training support and needs as compared to other OEM’s. The second questionnaire is targeted at the Supplier Development Manager. The aim of this questionnaire is to establish what the current training offerings are, the source of what VWSA teachers and the awareness of the Toyota Training College.
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- Date Issued: 2006