Offshore Suppliers Research Articles

New developments in design and manufacturing automotive bulb shields

Automotive bulb shields are important components in automotive headlamps. Progressive draw is the primary process for making bulb shields. Since the complexity of deformation modes, progressive draw die design is the most formidable stamping process to be developed. Like those of other small automotive stamped parts, manufacturers involved in the design and production of bulbs are facing new challenges, such as aggressive styling to meet fast changing customer tastes, increasing performance requirement to meet government regulations and fierce competition from low cost offshore suppliers. In this study, several new developments are introduced to tackle these challenges. The dome test is designed and conducted to test sheet formability at a progressive speed. Tailor-welded design is proposed to improve vibration durability. A roughness modeling and FEM simulation-based cosmetic appearance prediction method has been created to predict the cosmetic effect in the early stage of development. A global manufacturing structure is established to increase economic efficiency.

Workforce Planning for a Global Automotive Economy

Globalization of the automotive industry continues to accelerate as offshore manufacturers and suppliers open production facilities in North America, and North American companies invest overseas and throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region. But perhaps the most compelling reason to globalize is to reduce costs that would otherwise trickle down to consumers (as higher prices) and shareholders (as reduced profits). Pressure to rein in costs has become fierce in the last few years, spurred by the ever-increasing market share of leaner Japanese companies. With labor-related costs among the highest that companies incur in normal business operations, outsourcing labor has become a popular financial fix as automakers call on both contract labor and their suppliers to take on more of the production involved in bringing a vehicle to market. And as overseas workers in both blue- and white-collar positions become better educated and more skilled technically, the popularity of offshoring is increasing.

Lamb‐buying preferences of Canadian abattoirs and producer marketing groups: implications for the Canadian supply chain

The Canadian lamb industry is small compared to lamb industries in many other countries and the supply chain for lamb is weak and fragmented. Without improvements in the flow of information, product quality and continuity of supply, the formal supply chain in Canada may collapse and Canadian lamb will become a local cottage industry with the retail chain and institutional markets serviced by offshore suppliers. Examines one of the key interfaces in the Canadian lamb supply chain. Conjoint analysis is used to assess the attitudes of the major commercial buyers of lambs ‐ abbatoirs and producer marketing groups ‐ towards key attributes of the lamb supply chain. The relative importance of a number of characteristics are assessed: a regular supplier, the basis of payment, reduced handling of lambs from farm to abattoir and the price paid for the lambs.

Factors influencing the export potential of the british offshore supplies industry

AbstractAfter establishing exporting in its context as a strategic alternative in corporate planning, and explaining its apparent appropriateness given the anticipated decline in the domestic market and the supposed technological lead held by British offshore suppliers, a wide range of factors influencing the export potential of the industry are identified, emphasizing in particular that the United Kingdom's technological superiority (and its relevance with respect to exports) has in the past been exaggerated, while inept marketing continues to be a problem.