Word: franzens
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...systems that incorporated side air bags, and safety-minded Volvo got a one-year exclusive deal to use the systems. Going modular helped Volvo offer more flexibility on a limited range of basic models. "With the traditional assembly process, you can usually manufacture just one car per assembly line," Franzen says. "In our case, being one of the smaller players, we don't have the volume to justify setting up multiple assembly lines, so we have to use one line for all the varieties of a model...
...cooler, headlights and crash box. German plastics, chemical and industrial-ceramics company Dynamit Nobel snaps on plastic body panels and the whole vehicle is done in four hours--down from the 20 or so it takes a traditional car manufacturer. "It's an admirable experiment," says Volvo's Franzen. "They've gone and outsourced the assembly line itself. The entire industry is looking at it with interest and, I must admit, skepticism because assembly is also a core competency...
...Swatch-Mercedes art). SMH owned 19% of MCC until Daimler-Benz bought its stake in MCC before merging with Chrysler in October. "Basically, you could say the Smart's design, engine and chassis platform were all done by the assembler, because Swatch was an owner at the time," Franzen says. "These three things will always be done by assemblers themselves, but it's up to each developer to define its own core competencies and then outsource the competencies it feels can better be handled by a more specialized provider...
Outsourcing of entire systems does more than save money. It gives customers unprecedented freedom of choice. "The new S80 is built 100% to customer order, and virtually every car is different," says Volvo's Franzen, who credits systems suppliers, and their willingness to provide finished modules in sequence, with making that practicable. "Just think of something as simple as door panels," says Franzen. "There are four to five basic colors per car line, plus various internal surfaces such as textile, leather or wood trim, and then there are electric and mechanical mirrors. For just one car model, 3,000 variants...
...construct components and subsystems and line them up in the proper order before shipping them to the assembly plant. It all happens in double-quick time. "We give them eight days' notice to get the quantities together, and then we give them four hours' notice to do the sequencing," Franzen says...