Lean Product Development for Small and Medium-sized Suppliers

Abstract

Product development processes (PDP) in the manufacturing industry have been increasingly designed according to the principles of lean development (LD). This concept is based on the fundamentals of lean production systems (LPS) and was transferred into the specifics of PDP. Supporting this concept, numerous companies were already able to partially realize and anchor significant improvements in their PDP. In addition to these improvements, an enhanced relocation of individual tasks and activities in the direction of the suppliers can be continuously observed in the context of product development (PD). As a result, external development service providers and suppliers thus obtain considerable influence on the dimensions cost, quality, and time of PD. While the concept of LD is successfully adopted for the manufacturers, suppliers hardly or do not work at all according to these principles and methods. Recent studies show that these methods and principles are of limited use for suppliers. This circumstance results from the difference in the process structure and the supplier-specific task and activity depth. Due to the proven successes of LD, it is necessary that – for further serious measures of improvement in the PDP – measures of improvement can also be transferred to suppliers. This article pursues the question of how such a LD should be designed for small and medium-sized suppliers (SMSSes). For this purpose, the existing LD concept is explained, and the characteristics of SMSSes are highlighted. Supplier-specific requirements that need to be considered for SMSSes in LD arise from these characteristics. Suitable established principles and methods are to be included in the supplier-specific concept or, if necessary, adapted to changed requirements. The article's aim is to develop and present a comparative concept, which highlights the differences and is specifically adapted to the SMSSes’ requirements.