Vehicle Suppliers Research Articles

Evolutionary game analysis of vehicle procurement in the courier industry from the perspective of green supply chain

In the contemporary era, green development has become integral to modern industrial supply chains. Accelerating the green transformation of the supply chain in the express delivery industry poses a significant challenge in China. To address this challenge, we establish a trilateral evolutionary game model that considers the interdependent constraints involving the government, vehicle suppliers, and courier companies. This model aims to explore the optimal stable decisions for each stakeholder and the entire supply chain system. Through numerical simulations, we analyze the impact of key parameters on the stability of strategies and find that there are four Evolutionary Stable Strategies (ESS) in the system. Economic factors play a dual role: income-related factors encourage the adoption of green strategies by stakeholders, whereas cost-related factors extend the time required for stakeholders to transition to green strategies. For sustained production and utilization of new energy vehicles, the government must utilize a balanced system of rewards and penalties effectively. Vehicle suppliers and courier companies should collaborate for mutually beneficial outcomes, jointly fostering the green transformation of the supply chain with a focus on cost reduction and efficiency improvement. This study offers theoretical insights and methodological support for decision-makers in green supply chain management.

Integration of carrier selection and supplier selection problem in humanitarian logistics

Carrier selection is a crucial issue in humanitarian relief operations, and the shortage of transportation vehicles can considerably affect relief distribution. In this paper, the significance of commodity and vehicle suppliers and guaranteeing prevention of shortage via on-time supplying of each relief commodity by the suppliers is emphasized by suggesting the integration of carrier selection and supplier selection for developing contractual agreements in humanitarian logistics. For this close relationship to be described, a scenario-based two-stage stochastic programming model for the establishment of joint decision-making in preparedness and response phases is developed so that a contract can be created on the quantity of reservation of both commodities and vehicles by the suppliers, as well as the transmission of the reserved commodities in the form of commodity purchase and vehicle rent in the response phase. An efficient two-step solution technique is suggested as a solution method for real scale problems, the effectiveness of which can be seen through the results. To illustrate the applicability of the model, a case study is suggested. The application of the model is discussed via numerical studies as well as a sensitivity analysis. The results have provided an appropriate managerial insight for responding to disaster for relief agencies.

From vehicle suppliers to value co-creators: the evolving role of Italian motorhome manufacturers

Recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturers have traditionally been viewed as having no direct effect on caravanning experiences beyond their role as the suppliers of the vehicles. Drawing on the theoretical approach known as service-dominant logic, this paper suggests that RV manufacturers play an active role in the co-creation of tourism experiences. This study adopted the framework developed by Storbacka, K., Brodie, R. J., P., Böhmann, T., Maglio P. P., & Nenonen, S. [(2016). Actor engagement as a microfoundation for value co-creation. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 3008–3017] that considers engagement as a microfoundation of value co-creation to investigate value co-creation in this context. A template analysis of the data collected from in-depth interviews with all Italian motorhome manufacturers revealed themes relating to five issues: engaging actors, engaging platforms, actors’ dispositions, engagement properties and resource integration patterns. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Assessing the Performance-based Logistics Service Model for Taiwan's Heavy Vehicle Supply Chains

ABSTRACT This article investigates the performance-based logistics (PBL) theory and explores the potential of introducing the PBL service model to Taiwan's heavy vehicle supply chains. A multiple case study approach is used to explore this research question. Four case firms are selected for this study. The analyses have identified several major risks and influencing factors that hinder the application of the PBL model to Taiwan's heavy vehicle supply chains. However, with PBL's strength to bring sustainability benefits, an extended assessment analysis of the risks and influencing factors is conducted, and the counter-risk strategies are explored. This study has shown there is a high opportunity for PBL development in Taiwan if the obstacles can be dealt collaboratively in the heavy vehicle supply chains. The research findings provide valuable insights into Taiwan's heavy vehicle supply chains and similar emerging Asian economies relying mainly on international heavy vehicle suppliers.

Experimental behaviour of Li-ion and supercapacitors cells for HEVs under standardized and tailored-life cycle testing

A large European Project, named HCV (Hybrid Commercial Vehicles) started in January 2010 with the participation of 18 European organizations (vehicle manufacturers, components integrators and suppliers, and research organizations) and with the scope to develop and demonstrate the next generation of hybrid heavy duty (HD) commercial vehicles by using various types of storage systems. In this project, seven research (AIT, ENEA, University of Pisa) and industrial organizations (IVECO, Volvo, Magna, DimacRed) from various European countries have been working together to experimentally analyse, with electrical and safety tests, the behaviour of Li-ion and supercapacitor cells and modules to support the design and the optimization of the final storage systems to be installed on different HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicles): urban buses and commercial vans. This paper summarizes the experimental work carried out at ENEA and is focussed on electrical and safety tests, which fully characterized the selected storage samples according to conventional and testing procedures, tailored on the technical specifications of the HEV under development. Initially, basic characterization testing, together with safety tests, confirmed the technical performances of the two storage technologies, and, subsequently, project-specific testing, including cycle life and accelerating procedures, verified the behaviour in operating conditions, adapted to the selected HEV. The final results substantiated the suitability of the storage systems in powering the commercial hybrid vehicles under development in HCV project, and gave innovative inputs to the definition and validation of mathematical models and control algorithms, not analysed in this paper, to be used in the BMS (battery management systems) for both storage technologies, suitable for thermal management and overall storage control.

Flexible Automation for the Production of Stators and Rotors of Electric Vehicles

The increasing electrification of the drive train will - sooner or later - lead to significant changes in the value chains for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers, while sales potentials are still uncertain. Due to the currently small number and high diversity of industrial electric motors with higher power and the complex handling of the necessary materials, the processes are based on manual labor content. For the automotive industry high volume production concepts for electric traction motors will be required in the future. Thus, the importance of automated assembly and manufacturing technologies for electric motors moves into focus. In the production of electric motors e.g. the wiring processes of the stators and the magnet assemblies for permanent-magnet synchronous rotors show potential for further process rationalization. This paper presents alternative approaches for the automation of wiring and magnet assembly processes developed at the Institute for Factory Automation and Production Systems (FAPS) at the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Investigation of the injury threshold of knee ligaments by the parametric study of car–pedestrian impact conditions

Pedestrian safety is a serious global problem that needs to be addressed by drivers, vehicle manufacturers and researchers. Since the first European Committee directive for pedestrian safety was published, vehicle suppliers have implemented pedestrian protection requirements to automobile structures at the design level. As to the development of current automobile front-end structures, a question arises about pedestrian safety: are there existing injury criteria for the new generation of cars? Most previous injury thresholds for knee ligaments were principally based on isolated sub-segment tests with contrived loading conditions, and rarely took the entire front-end shape of the car model into account to simulate realistic pedestrian loading conditions. Hence, the current study aims to investigate injury thresholds of primary knee ligament injuries in car–pedestrian impact environments as well as to evaluate the previous criteria proposed by isolated sub-segment tests. The entire front-end shape of a car model was employed. A parametric study of various pedestrian loading conditions was implemented by finite element simulations regarding three influencing factors: impact heights, locations of impact and impact velocities. Finally, the injury thresholds associated with primary knee ligament injuries of pedestrians were defined with the dominant injury mechanisms: combined lateral bending and shearing effects. These thresholds are also well correlated with the previous criteria defined by isolated lower limb tests.

Outsourcing practices in automotive supply networks: an exploratory study of full service vehicle suppliers

Most automotive companies outsource the design, manufacturing and assembly of some complete cars to independent suppliers or full service vehicle companies (FSVs). FSVs represent a relatively unexplored form of outsourcing which combines joint efforts in developing a modular product with the externalisation of specific niche manufacturing processes. On the basis of comparative cases and of qualitative information collected within three FSVs and three OEMs, this study aims to investigate the associated advantages and risks for FSVs, commonalities/differences from the practices of outsourcing to component/module specialists that can be found in other industries and why and for what kind of products FSVs can be appropriate in automotive supply networks. The study contributes to the debate on outsourcing in the automotive industry by providing an original interpretation on why FSVs have recently seen a shakeout with some growing whilst others have faltered.

SEA modelling for sound package development — inclusion of simulated airborne noise loads

During the last years, the statistical energy analysis (SEA) has been widely used by vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to analyse the airborne noise on road vehicles. While the basic workflow for the construction of vehicle SEA models is now well established, an accepted specific methodology for the evaluation of the SEA airborne loads to be used in these models is not available yet. In the framework of a joint project between Rieter Automotive and Volkswagen, a hybrid procedure that combines the standard finite element analysis (FEA) with the recently developed energy boundary element analysis (EBEA) was used for the evaluation of such loads and validated obtaining rather satisfactory results.

Assessing the benefits of active driver assistance systems

More and more active safety systems are expected to make the biggest single contribution to avoiding accidents or to mitigating the effects of accidents. Assessing the benefits of driver assistance functions has therefore a growing relevance for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers in their targetted efforts to increase driving safety. This Opel paper is an abridged and edited version of a presentation held at the Baden-Baden VDI Symposium Electronic Systems for Vehicles 2007.

From function design to system design in model-based software development

The amount of software in modern electronic control units (ECUs), and the degree of networking between them, has reached such proportions that they increasingly cause software development and maintenance problems for vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. To meet this challenge head on, dSpace, the leading supplier of tools for developing automotive software, has added System Desk to its tool chain. System Desk introduces a model-based development process at system level, allowing users to extend existing development processes

Modularity, open architecture and innovation: an automotive perspective

Competitive pressures in the automotive industry are forcing Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to modify their traditional scope for value creation and value capture. This situation is exemplified by the semi-open architectures of today's motor vehicles, in the complete modification of hierarchies in the automotive value networks and in the modification of the relations of automotive OEMs ecosystems. These phenomena are studied in this paper through the discussion of the causes of the shift toward automotive architecture openness and the utilisation by OEMs of Full Service Vehicle suppliers (FSVs) as tools for value creation.

Trends and drivers of change in the European automotive industry: (II) scenarios and implications

This paper follows on from the mapping exercise covered in the first article. The authors consider four possible scenarios for the future development of the European car industry. These are primarily based on the strength of demand inside and outside Europe, and the extent to which variation might be accompanied by a faster or slower rate of consolidation of vehicle makers and suppliers. The scenarios take account of the growth of new players from emerging car markets, such as China or India, the legislative framework and consumer choice. They enable consideration of the impact of demand on production geography, organisational and manufacturing change, total employment and employment conditions and contracts and the role of public policy.

Standardization in Tire Modeling and Tire Testing — TYDEX Workgroup, TIME Project

Abstract As a result of the 1st International Colloquium on Tire Models for Vehicle Dynamics Analysis in 1991, the international TYDEX Workshop working group was established. This workshop concentrated on the standardization of the exchange of tire measurement data and the interface between tire and vehicle models in order to improve the communications between vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, and research organizations. The development and knowledge of tire behavior is of great importance to both the tire and vehicle industries and will be intensified. Therefore the TYDEX Workshop received great interest from all parties to come to some kind of standardization. In the two expert groups, one of which focused on Tire Measurements — Tire Modeling and the other on Tire Modeling — Vehicle Modeling, the TYDEX-Format and the standard tire interface have been developed, which will be explained in this paper. Furthermore, a short overview of the European TIME project aiming at a standard tire testing procedure will be given, which is reliable and consistent with realistic driving conditions. Standard testing procedures are some of the important consequences of the TYDEX Workshop.

Lessons from Using Supplier Guest Engineers in the Automotive Industry

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of supplier guest engineers in the development of new products within the UK automotive industry. Guest engineers are technical specialists who reside for a period of time within the vehicle manufacturer—in either a design or a production engineering role. The paper draws upon data from two studies of supplier involvement in automotive product development. It reports on the roles and responsibilities of these supplier engineers and presents a number of lessons that can be learned by vehicle manufacturer and supplier when employing this form of inter-firm coordination mechanism. The findings indicate that a variety of roles exist, at different phases of the product development process. Tour provisional types of guest engineer have been identified from in-depth interviews with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. The recognition of these different roles is important for suppliers involved in or proposing closer cooperation in product development, since each alters the type of relationship and expectations of both parties.

Tyre pressure measurement using smart low power microsystems

Describes the progress made to date in testing and developing a system to monitor the environment within a commercial vehicle’s tyre ‐ its temperature and pressure ‐ by means of a radio link to a single central receiver inside the vehicle. Discusses the economic and safety implications of maintaining the correct pressure in vehicle tyres and reports that reactions from commercial vehicle suppliers have been positive.

TYDEX Workshop: Standardisation of Data Exchange in Tyre Testing and Tyre Modelling

ABSTRACT As a result of the ‘1st International Colloquium on Tyre Models for Vehicle Dynamics Analysis’ in 1991, the international ‘YDEX Workshop’ working group was established. This workshop concentrated on the standardisation of the exchange of tyre measurement data and the interface between tyre and vehicle models in order to improve the communication between vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and research organisations. The development and knowledge of tyre behaviour is of great importance to both tyre and vehicle industry and will be intensified. Therefore the TYDEX Workshop showed great interest from all parties to come to some kind of standardisation. In the two expert groups - one focused on Tyre Measurements - Tyre Modelling and the other on Tyre Modelling - Vehicle Modelling - the TYDEX-Format and the Standard Tyre Interface have been developed, which will be explained in this paper. Furthermore a short overview of the European TIME project aiming at a standard tyre testing procedure will be given, which is reliable and consistent with realistic driving conditions. Elaborating standard testing procedures is one of the important consequences from the TYDEX Workshop.