Product engineering process and supply chain
Product engineering process can be generally explained by the development chain which involves some decisions that a company has to make in the process of production of new products. For instance, the management of a company may need to either make a commodity that is needed in production or buy it. Some other factors that fall under the development chain are; product architecture, supplier involvement in the earlier stages of production, partnering contracting suppliers (Kenneth
2005).
Supply chain refers to the network formed by the companies involved in the production and distribution of a product from the time of manufacturing the product to the time it gets to the end consumers. The two frame works, Supply and development chain, must at several points point intersect as we have seen from what they involve.
Development chain is currently encouraging the involvement of suppliers in the earlier stages of production. In the supply chain suppliers play a very major role since they participate in creating the network of production and distribution. Therefore whatever affects the development chain negatively will also affect the supply chain in the same manner and vice versa. This means that companies should review these two frameworks in their firms for them to be able to maximize both their production and profits.
Design for logistics and its effects on supply chain
Design for logistics has three main concepts i.e. the way products are packaged and transported, parallel and concurrent processing and finally standardization. When products are packaged and transported in large numbers require some fewer cost compared to when they are in smaller number, also known as economies of scale. In the case of Hewlett-Packard the production of all deskjet printers was done from one firm in Vancouver and this helped in achieving the above mentioned advantage of bulk transportation and packaging.
Parallel and concurrent production helps in .reducing the overall manufacturing time. This concept leads to high inventory of the raw materials and other components used in production instead of high inventory of the whole product. The advantage of this is that the raw materials can be bought and supplied in bulk and this would save some cost. Hewlett-Packard has already implemented and practiced standardization and this is one of the reasons why its supply chain was and is successful in most parts of the world.
Delayed differentiation
This is a technique used in manufacturing products whose demand is highly unpredictable. It involves the production of the generic components of a product and leaving the final standardization to be done in accordance with the demand. For instance, HP can manufacture the generic components of the deskjet printer and live the process of ‘localization’ for the Distribution centers in Europe and Asia. This would help in reducing the level of inventory in Vancouver and also the problem of shortage of supplies in Europe will be solved since the printers will be customized locally. The advantages of delayed differentiation can only be quantified by comparing the overall cost and sales before and after its implementation.
Suppliers involvement in Product development process
Their involvement helps in ensuring that they are fully responsible for the design of the product. This helps in improving coordination in the supply chain, Product and process design. Better coordination helps in increasing efficiency and reliability of all parties involved.
Mass Customization
This is a strategy that considers the fact that the success of any firm is greatly determined by satisfaction of customers’ needs. It encourages manufacturing and production of more flexible products as opposed to standard products. For instance in Europe where the voltage of printers needs to be adjusted, HP can alternatively use universal power supplies instead of using power supplies that can only be used in Europe. The supply chain can affect mass customization positively since on one end there are the retailers who are always in direct contact with the end consumers. This would help in identifying the needs of the consumers and customize the products to meet them.
References
Kenneth, J, P., Robert B. H. and Gary L. R. (2005). Supplier integration into new product development: coordinating product, process and supply chain design. Journal of Operations Management. Vol 23, 371-388
