Exploring factors causing and amplifying ‎delivery schedule instability: An OEM ‎perspective from the ‎automotive industry

Paper in proceeding, 2020

Purpose
The purpose is to explore how OEMs generate instabilities in material delivery schedules ‎within automotive supply chains. ‎ Design A multiple case study of three automotive OEMs were conducted to collect qualitative and ‎quantitative data as to explore factors causing and amplifying schedule instability measured ‎by inaccuracy and nervousness. The quantitative data includes two-year delivery schedule ‎history, and the qualitative data includes the OEMs’ manufacturing planning and control ‎processes and policies.‎
Findings
From literature and cross-case analysis, the study generates a framework of causing and ‎amplifying variables. Four factors (take rate, transport lead times, unit loads, and pick-up ‎frequency) were proposed to have common and significant impact on schedule instability. ‎Take-rate and transport lead time amplify schedule inaccuracies, and pick-up frequency ‎amplifies schedule inaccuracy for items with low take-rates.‎
Research implications
The quantitative study analyses the amplifying effect of a few selected factors at one of ‎the OEMs. Future studies may address additional factors including causes like production ‎disturbances and may validate the findings at more OEMs.‎
Practical implications
Understanding the amplifying effect at an item level guides the instability dampening ‎policy making at OEMs to, for instance, establish clusters of components with sensitivity ‎profiles‎.‎ Original The study compliments previous frameworks with refined and additional factors, exploring ‎empirically rich data about how OEMs, an understudied perspective, propagate schedule ‎instability, an area dominated by simulation studies.‎