OEM Suppliers Research Articles

Testing the Performance of Color Difference Formula for a Mixed Display Technology Setup

Automotive cockpits are becoming more and more digital day by day and this is evident by the increase in the number of displays inside the cockpit. With the advent of OLED displays, automotive cockpits not only have LCD but have started having mixed display technologies. A recent example of such a cockpit display is the MBUX Hyperscreen in Mercedes EQS. A general situation is most mid ranged cars from Renault includes several displays inside the cockpit. These displays are placed at different locations inside the cockpit and go through various changes in external environmental condition during day and night. A vehicle cockpit experiences a wide range of illumination change during the day, from 35 kLux in bright sunlight to a few Lux during the night. The displays are generally used in high luminance range during the day and very low luminance during the night. Traditional color difference formulae like the CIEDE76 or CIEDE2000, the latter being the current industry standard, are defined for a specific set of evaluation conditions. For the myriad of different conditions that the displays undergo inside the cockpit, there isn’t a recommended color difference formula which can be used to quantify the color difference between any two chosen displays inside the cockpit. An attempt has been made to include various real time parameters involving color difference evaluation between two displays, one of which is an LCD and other OLED. The motive of this study is to find out which color difference formula is the most representative of the perceived color difference between two mixed technology displays for a group of observers. The metric used for this the study is the CIE recommended STRESS index. The outcome of this research is to serve as a reference regarding the choice of color difference metric by display manufactures and OEM suppliers.

Analyzing and evaluating supplier carbon footprints in supply networks

Green purchasing in green supply chain management (GSCM) literature plays an essential role in achieving carbon neutrality by seeking to eliminate CO2 emissions. Single organizations would, however, not aim at such a goal if it is to their economic detriment. GSCM research streams highlight that the successful implementation of environmental considerations leads to better economic performance in the long term. Therefore, this paper aims to identify and analyze suppliers that exhibit both environmental and economic success, indicating an effective and efficient realization of their sustainability measures. Given the long-term horizon of the research problem, we differentiate from previous microeconomic research by taking a macro perspective on sustainable supplier analysis, which investigates macroeconomic indicators focusing on firms' revenues. The above-described economic and environmental efficiency is analyzed in a multiple case study using sustainability reports from 66 OEM suppliers as well as data on their revenues and ratings on their carbon pollution measured by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). First, a text mining inspired quantitative sustainable SWOT analysis is performed to evaluate the long-term strategy of organizations. A subsequent data envelopment analysis aims to identify efficient suppliers and causes for their efficiency. The overall results not only outline sustainable suppliers but also give insights into suppliers that may become sustainable in the future. We further show that large organizations struggle with meeting environmental expectations, whereas low-to-medium-sized suppliers tend to be more economically and environmentally efficient.. Based on the results, we discuss implications both for management research and practice.

How and when does co-production facilitate eco-innovation in international buyer-supplier relationships? The role of environmental innovation ambidexterity and institutional pressures

Eco-innovation is an important element of a firm's environmental sustainability strategy and provides both competitive and environmental benefits, resulting in a win-win solution. Although previous studies have examined the influence of co-production on innovation, little is known about how and when co-production affects eco-innovation in the context of international buyer-seller relationships. Building upon the resource-based view, the dynamic capability perspective, and institutional theory, this study develops a conceptual model focusing on the effects of co-production on eco-innovation, the mediating effects of environmental innovation ambidexterity, and the moderating role of institutional pressures. The research was carried out using a survey-based quantitative study and the proposed hypotheses were tested using the hierarchical regression analysis. The results of a survey of 124 OEM suppliers in Taiwan show that co-production has a positive effect on environmental innovation ambidexterity. Our findings also show that the direct relationship between co-production and environmental innovation ambidexterity is stronger when institutional pressures are high as opposed to when they are low and that environmental innovation ambidexterity mediates the relationship between co-production and eco-innovation. This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of why some firms develop more environmental innovation ambidexterity than others, by analyzing co-production as a predictor and institutional pressures as a moderator. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our findings.

New Award for OEM Suppliers

THIS YEAR'S AGRITECHNICA, TAKING PLACE IN HANOVER, NOVEMBER 10-16, WILL SEE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FIRST EVER WINNERS OF A BRAND NEW COMPETITION FOR TIER 1 SUPPLIERS

One‐Stop Shop

AbstractThere is one critical, little‐known success factor for automotive manufacturers: the manufacturing know‐how of OEM suppliers, who currently generate over 75 % of the value added for a vehicle. Yet, their success can only be assured if they perform proper part inspection.

'Fulfilled by Amazon': A Strategic Perspective of Competition at the E-commerce Platform

This paper examines the economic effects of the fulfillment services offered by Amazon (FBA) to the third-party sellers on its retail platform (Amazon 2018). Logistics is critical for e-commerce. By FBA, the service levels of the third-party sellers are substantially improved, and so is their competitiveness. We develop a strategic competition model to understand why Amazon is willing to provide such services to its potential competitors. Interestingly, we find that although FBA may intensify the service competition, it can mitigate the price competition, besides the direct revenue Amazon collects from the services. The latter effects dominate the former when the cross-service sensitivity of the consumers is either sufficiently low or sufficiently high. Therefore, not only the third-party sellers but also Amazon can benefit from FBA. Moreover, since the sales of Amazon's products may increase due to FBA, its OEM suppliers can gain from FBA too. This finding extends to the setting where Amazon's OEM suppliers may strategically adjust their wholesale prices in response to the change of the downstream competition due to FBA. In fact, this wholesale price effect can help Amazon when FBA is detrimental given that the suppliers may lower their wholesale prices. Of course, it can also reduce the benefit of FBA for Amazon when the suppliers increase their wholesale prices.

Modularity as a support for frugal product and supplier network co-definition under regional market constraints: a mirroring hypothesis application

Creating new products or adapting existing ones to fit with specific customer requirements from regional as well as emerging markets is a challenging issue for competitive companies that work to maintain acceptable market share rates. Besides the importance of providing original solutions tailored to the target market characteristics, companies should consider their production strategy as a key factor for reaching frugality objectives under regional constraints. The co-evolution of product and production network aims to provide a concurrent design and management of product architecture, local production systems, and OEM–suppliers relationships. This paper proposes a modular-based approach as an application of the mirroring hypothesis for supporting the co-definition of product structure and supplier network. Supplier selection and evaluation method for frugal innovation perspective is proposed as a key part of the proposed approach and applied in an industrial use case for validation.

Assessing the economic and environmental impact of remanufacturing: a decision support tool for OEM suppliers

The circular economy is often presented as a solution for companies to increase the sustainability of their business. In many situations where suppliers produce subassemblies or modules for OEMs in a B2B context, dependency on their clients limits their options for profitable closed-loop supply chains. In this paper, we develop a simple tool suppliers can use to quickly assess whether remanufacturing is economic and environmentally attractive compared to producing new components. We derive optimal acquisition and reuse quantities that minimise total costs. Based on our analysis with a supplier in the automotive industry, we find that used core prices and remanufacturing yield rates have a large impact while an optimised design for remanufacturing can only marginally improve the situation. The tool is applicable to a wide variety of suppliers and industries that remanufacture their modules or subassemblies, or are exploring the option to engage in remanufacturing operations.

Corporate entrepreneurship, operations core competency and innovation in emerging economies

This study used a blended view of corporate entrepreneurship and operations core capability as enablers of innovation. Survey data collected from automotive OEM suppliers in five emerging countries in South-east Asia are used to examine the relationships among corporate entrepreneurship, operations core competency and innovation. We measured corporate entrepreneurship by its corporate culture and leadership, whereas operations core competency was operationalised by a firm’s knowledge management, technology management and process management. Finally, innovation is measured by process innovation and product innovation. Our analyses show that in the context of Asia, corporate entrepreneurship affects a firm’s operations core competency, which in turn affects innovation. Our findings provide valuable insights about the enablers of a firm’s operations core competency and innovation.

International Customer's Willingness to Offer Favorable Prices to OEM Suppliers: Theory and Evidence

This study examines how to lead international customers to offer more favorable prices to OEM suppliers, especially in emerging market. Drawing from economics-based, industrial organization and marketing literatures, we develop three distinct perspectives regarding the different roles of favorable prices in our setting of OEM-supplier relations. These three perspectives offer four predictions about the strategies for OEM suppliers to increase bargaining positions and lead international customers to offer more favorable prices. Based on a survey of 217 international customers of OEM suppliers in the electronics industry, which came from 49 countries, and their suppliers mostly from emerging markets. Results indicate that OEM supplier power and customers' expectation of relationship continuity will increase customers' favorable prices offering. In contrast, OEM suppliers who make specific transaction assets investment will reduce the likelihood that customers' willingness to pay more. Lastly, we also find that customers' concern about quality will increase their willingness to pay more only when OEM suppliers do not make specific investments and customers do not intend to maintain long-term relationships with suppliers. We discuss the implications of our theory and findings for the customer-supplier relationship literature on different roles of favorable prices.

Contribution of supply chain to corporate strategy: a case study in agriculture machinery industry

The strategy-developing unit of analysis has shifted from industry (industry structure view) to firm’s unique characteristics (resource-based view) to dyad routine and processes (relational view) to the current network relationships (strategic network) view. As a result, the supply chains, due to their cross-functional and cross-organisational nature, are getting promoted from being merely operational and tactical concerns to more strategic ones and therefore becoming a major stakeholder in corporate strategy. This change is significant particularly in industries that are classified as low clock-speed and complex product industries. In this article, a conceptual framework for investigating the contribution of supply chain management to corporate strategy is developed and applied in agriculture machinery industry. The results indicate that supply chain contribution to the corporate strategy is significant in multi-business firms that are characterised by low clock-speed industry, high reciprocal interdependence between OEM and immediate suppliers, related diversification strategy, focus on economy of scale advantage, and that are looking for synergies such as vertical integration, centralised procurement, asset improvement and centralised inbound and outbound logistics.

Investigating the transmission loss effect via optimizing the insulator package on vehicle's firewall

Nowadays, noise and vibration of attributes of motor vehicles have a dominant effect on customers’ judgment about the cars, and hence, car manufacturers and OEM suppliers have dedicated remarkable time, budget, and concern to the investigations in this field. From NVH perspective, firewall is the foremost structural member in vehicle body design, since it is the main pass for transferring the engine induced noise to the passenger cabin. In this research, effect of the insulator package is studied through different configurations considering the radiated noise level and the optimized design is proposed using an optimization procedure. Indeed, it is concluded that adding the optimized insulator package can significantly refine the noise transmissibility while avoiding structural modifications in the firewall.

Entrepreneurial SCM competence and performance of manufacturing SMEs

This study reviewed the literature and interviewed managers to discover the dimensions of a new construct called the entrepreneurial supply chain management competence of small and medium-sized enterprises. We measured entrepreneurial SCM competence in terms of five first-order constructs: innovation orientation, proactiveness orientation, risk-taking characteristics, relational capital, and coordination capability. We further proposed that this competence affects SMEs’ performance directly and indirectly via the firm's SCM strategies. A set of survey data collected from automotive OEM suppliers in five ASEAN countries was used to test the research model. Results show that the five constructs are important dimensions of entrepreneurial SCM competence, and that they affect performance indirectly. Our findings provide valuable insights about the enablers of an SME's SCM practices and their effects on firm performance.

Marketing of competence-based solutions to buyers in exploratory relationships: Perspective of OEM suppliers

In face of mounting challenges from delocalized production, commoditized products, and escalated demand from professional buyers, providing solutions rather than selling products has been put forward in the normative literature as a promising business model for creating high-value differentiated offerings. Nonetheless, empirical survey research into the processes whereby traditional suppliers of “basic products, spare parts and services” migrate towards marketing of “integrated solutions” is still sparse. Grounded in a competence-based marketing view, the current research addressed the research problem of how OEM suppliers upgrade their value offerings via competence-based solutions. The research model was tested by a sample of 403 contract/OEM manufacturers located in China. This resultant findings revealed the processes undertaken by OEM suppliers during the development of competence-based solutions, found out the internal coordination and innovation capabilities required to support competence-based solutions, and uncovered the external communication/disclosure of competence needed to strengthen the link between competence-based solutions and upgraded relationship value.

A New Responsive Model for Educational Programs for Industry: The University of Detroit Mercy Advanced Electric Vehicle Graduate Certificate Program

Today's automotive and electronics technologies are evolving so rapidly that educators and industry are both challenged to re-educate the technological workforce in the new area before they are replaced with yet another generation. In early November 2009 Ford's Product Development senior management formally approved a proposal by the University of Detroit Mercy to transform 125 of Ford's “IC Engine Automotive Engineers” into “Advanced Electric Vehicle Automotive Engineers.” Two months later, the first course of the Advanced Electric Vehicle Program began in Dearborn. UDM's response to Ford's needs (and those of other OEM's and suppliers) was not only at the rate of “academic light speed,” but it involved direct collaboration of Ford's electric vehicle leaders and subject matter experts and the UDM AEV Program faculty. In fact, before teaching each course, the UDM engineering and science professors will work for one or two months in the Ford engineering group that is directly involved in the design and development of the systems that the course focuses on (batteries, e-drive systems, power electronics, etc). The prime architects of this process and curriculum include the UDM dean, associate dean and faculty of engineering and science from UDM, and Ford Learning & Development managers and Product Development leaders from Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Research & Advanced organizations. Such a rapid and highly responsive curriculum development is not the norm in academia. To accomplish this outcome UDM had to be more customer-focused like industry and Ford needed to embrace academic priorities and provide access to its electric vehicle SME's by UDM faculty. The paper will discuss the following related issues: building the relationship and trust between Ford and UDM; collaborative development; “just in time” development and deployment of curriculum; shared investment; modularizing education (it doesn't always have to be in “degree-sized chunks”), linking suppliers and OEMs; balancing service to corporations and service to students.

Pb-free v/s Tin-Lead Reliability Comparison for Telecom/High Reliability Applications

With the European Union's (EU's) RoHS directives coming into force in July 2006 for consumer electronics products, the transition to lead-free (Pb-free) solder has occurred at a rapid pace. This push has driven many OEM suppliers/manufacturers to adopt Pb-free solder and End of Life many of their conventional Tin-Lead (Sn-Pb) components. This has forced telecom or high reliability applications to adopt Pb-free solder compositions with many reliability anomalies unanswered. While there have been many studies published on long term reliability of Pb-free solder joints at the component level, there have been few studies focused on the time zero reliability of the joints at the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) level. The goal of this study is to help the OEM suppliers and their customers (like service providers) to come up with a common PCBA test methodology that will help identify and weed out early, marginal manufacturing and design defects that would crop up due to transition to the Pb-free solder. A normalized reliability data comparison and impact of the test on Pb-free and Tin-Lead solder alloys using test vehicles is presented in this study. The sequential PCBA level evaluation methodology involves a series of tests that include Thermal Aging, Mechanical Shock, Vibration, Functional test over elevated temperature and Destructive Analysis (Dye & Pry and Cross-sectional analysis) . The solder joint reliability comparisons for different components are presented against this methodology using different PCBA constructions (test vehicles).

Why firms make unilateral investments specific to other firms: the case of OEM suppliers

AbstractThis study examines why and under what conditions firms will make unilateral relationship‐specific investments to their transaction partners. We propose that firms are more likely to make such investments when the investment yields positive economic spillover values for other transactions with the same exchange partners as well as for third‐party transactions. We also model two types of positive inter‐project spillover effects that a transaction may generate: knowledge spillovers and reputation spillovers. We find empirical support for our developed theory in the context of Taiwanese suppliers of original equipment manufacturers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

THE BENEFITS OF USING E‐BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY: THE SUPPLIER PERSPECTIVE

The use of e‐business technologies between supply chain organizations has primarily been examined from the viewpoint of buying firms or retailers, with little attention given to the benefits accrued to suppliers. Further, previous studies have been limited to either financial or marketing performance measures, or a narrow range of operational measures. This study builds on research in this area by testing a model of the relationship between supplier use of e‐business technologies in communication with their primary buyer, degree of buyer‐supplier coordination, and a complete set of benefits that include strategic and operational performance measures. Using data from 241 first‐tier OEM suppliers in the computer industry, the findings show that supplier use of e‐business technologies positively impacts organizational benefits both directly and indirectly by promoting buyer‐supplier coordination.

Pattern of information technology use: The impact on buyer–suppler coordination and performance

The use of information technologies between supply chain organizations has been shown to promote organizational coordination and have a positive impact on performance. Drawing from organizational theories of learning, we build on this research by proposing a model that relates the pattern of supplier use of IT to specific types of supply chain coordination activities and a comprehensive set of organizational benefits. Specifically, we evaluate how two patterns of IT use by suppliers (exploitation and exploration) relate to two specific types of coordination activities with their buyers (operational and strategic coordination), which in turn are posited to promote specific organizational benefits. Using data from 241 first-tier OEM suppliers in the computer industry, our findings show that each pattern of IT use directly promotes a specific type of coordination activity. Although both types of coordination activities are needed to achieve both strategic and operational benefits, we find each coordination activity to be uniquely promoted by a specific pattern of IT use. IT use for exploitation is found to be an antecedent to operational coordination; IT use for exploration is found to be an antecedent to strategic coordination. No crossover between pattern of use and coordination activities is found. Our findings show that to achieve a complete set of benefits, suppliers must ultimately use IT for both exploration and exploitation. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the mechanism of how the pattern of IT use can result in a comprehensive set of organizational benefits for supplier firms.

Building global logistics competence with Chinese OEM suppliers

In today's global economy, Chinese manufacturer networks serve as an important manufacturing base for many goods. Leading companies in those industries inevitably cooperate with Chinese manufacturers to build their global logistics capability to serve increasingly demanding customers worldwide. Many scholars have noted that guanxi ( connections) relationships are a key practice of doing business with the Chinese. This paper presents a theoretical framework and empirical evidence on how to enhance global logistics competence by leveraging guanxi relationships with Chinese suppliers. Relationship development or network building between organizations is critical for corporate success in all parts of the world, not just in Chinese society. Results suggest that resource integration, manufacturing flexibility, and IT infrastructure capacities are positively associated with global logistics competence. The impacts of information sharing and asset specificity on global logistics competence are not significant. It is interesting that we found that guanxi serves as a moderating influence and it interacts with information sharing, resource integration, and manufacturing flexibility. Managerial implications are also discussed.