RFID-enabled product-service system for automotive part and accessory manufacturing alliances
- 6 January 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in International Journal of Production Research
- Vol. 50 (14), 3821-3840
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2011.592863
Abstract
Automotive part and accessory manufacturers (APAMs) at the lower tiers of automotive vertical supply chains have been responding to major initiatives taken by leading vehicle assemblers in adopting RFID (radio frequency identification) and ubiquitous computing technologies to alleviate their manufacturing systems. RFID-enabled real-time traceability and visibility facilitate and enhance the implementation of advanced strategies such as just-in-time (JIT) lean/responsive manufacturing and mass customisation (MC). This paper reports on findings gained from a series of industrial field and pilot studies conducted within collaborating companies. Being typically small and medium sized, APAMs are faced with business and technical challenges that are summarised by the so-called ‘three high problems’, namely high cost, high risk and high level of technical skills. This research takes a more cost-effective pragmatic approach to overcome the ‘three high problems’ by sharing out the problems among APAMs while taking a longer-term, expensive and lengthy, approach to absolutely reduce the problems. The sharing approach requires the establishment of an innovative service-oriented framework, abbreviated AUTOPS, based on the Product Service Systems (PSS) business model. RFID hardware devices are innovated into gateways as hardcore products to formulate a PSS. RFID-enabled real-time services are deployed at a common platform across members of an APAMs alliance. AUTOPS facilities are shared by APAM alliance members to reduce the start-up investment costs, reduce the level of required specialist skills, speed up installation processes and streamline maintenance services, and improve the reliability of the RFID gateway services.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- The material handling trade-off when lot splitting with RFID in a job shopInternational Journal of Production Research, 2010
- Radio frequency identification system optimisation models for lifecycle of a durable productInternational Journal of Production Research, 2010
- Radio frequency identification (RFID): research trends and frameworkInternational Journal of Production Research, 2010
- Agent-based workflow management for RFID-enabled real-time reconfigurable manufacturingInternational Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 2010
- State-of-the-art in product-service systemsProceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 2007
- Product-Service Systems: reviewing achievements and refining the research agendaJournal of Cleaner Production, 2006
- Cooperation and conflict in modular production and supplier parks: the case of Volvo Cars' modular assembly systemInternational Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, 2006
- Supplier parks in the automotive industrySupply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2004
- Auto ID systems and intelligent manufacturing controlEngineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 2003
- Potential for two‐dimensional codes in automated manufacturingAssembly Automation, 2000