Abstract
Since car production in China has been increasing rapidly in recent years, the number of auto parts manufacturers and the production volume have also been increasing drastically. Some parts manufacturers have adopted some method of demand-pull type supply for their customers, the car assembling companies. Although the Kanban system of Toyota Motors is a typical pull system, some other demand-pull or customer-driven system may also be effective for inventory reduction. In this study, auto parts manufacturers in China are analyzed and grouped into several categories which show the management level of pull or customer-driven parts supply and production including not only the Kanban system but also other broader definition pull type systems.
The survey was done at twenty parts manufacturers in China in the summer of 2004. One of the authors interviewed these manufacturers using a 48 question survey. From the results of this survey, the twenty auto parts manufacturers could be grouped into 5 categories. At the conclusion of this study, the authors explain the characteristics of each category. From the explanations, the present situation of auto parts manufacturers in China, from the point of view of a demand-pull parts supply and production to the car assembling companies, could be clarified.
