Tuesday Afternoon Session, August 2, 1:30–4:30 p.m.

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Many OEMs are demanding just-in-time (JIT) location, delivery, and service from their suppliers. However, close supplier proximity to their customer implies many compromises, not the least being that it may conflict with a supplier’s optimal business model. There are many trade-offs for suppliers between scale economies and individual customer focus. This panel will feature up-to-date discussions regarding broadcast time and sequencing versus production economics.

Additional issues to be addressed include: what role does integrated production play in these decisions, what are the advantages of regional dispersion versus supplier clusters, and what kinds of products and services need to be produced close to a customer, and what ones do not.

We will also seek to address whether there are differences among the new domestic companies and the traditional domestics, and whether the Asian companies approach the issue differently than European OEMs. Other factors playing a role in the JIT decision—such as pooled resources to address environmental remediation of large sites, cost-effective utility and other service delivery—will also be brought into the discussion.

These World Class Manufacturing Seminars will provide examples of these issues, opportunities, strategies and ramifications. Perspectives will be shared from both strategic and tactical points-of-view. Panelists will provide case examples of how these challenges are being confronted, and discuss their impact on the automotive industry.

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