Role of European Automotive Supplier Integration in New Product Development

Over the past two decades, the automotive industry has experienced major changes as a result of globalisation, changing customer requirements and environmental legislation. The supplier integration in the new product development process is a significant step in facilitating reduction in the time to market of innovations and reducing costs. The aim of this work is to assess the extent of supplier integration in automotive organisations and to identify what barriers still exist. An exploratory Europe-wide survey was conducted, and 31 usable returns from automotive organisations spread across the EU. The survey confirmed the increasing importance of supplier integration in the automotive industry; however, the practice varies from organisation to organisation. They also indicate that most automobile manufacturers are engaged in functional rather than strategic supplier integration, indicating that the supplier integration is not yet fully developed, but progress in the first tier of suppliers is becoming common. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-3631-6.ch011