Concurrent engineering in an Indian automobile firm: the experience of Tata Motors

Abstract

Product development cycle time has come down drastically. This paper illustrates the use of concurrent engineering in an automobile firm. Overlapping phases of development, taking up long lead time activities, failure analysis and vendor involvement in the early part of the cycle helped Tata Motors to reduce the product development cycle time. Rapid learning was one of the major factors, along with empowered decision-making systems that made the concurrent engineering initiatives to succeed at Tata Motors. Apart from the hard elements some soft elements made the change process smooth at Tata Motors. These are commitments to lead, to compete, to inspire and to learn. These soft elements made concurrent engineering effective.