For decades, the companies in the automotive industry, have made significant investments in optimizing the development of their product as well as the manufacturing processes, trying to look for new opportunities in that particular and competitive market share. Some companies have developed product and manufacturing strategies in order to provide several car options to the final customer and therefore, obtain a purchase order. This document is the key element for the entire industry.
A structural strategy was implemented several decades ago, simplifying a manufacturing process based on a common architecture and on providing a limited number of variants. These variants refer to vehicle parts that are not used in all the different models of that car. For instance; luxury accessories.
Recently, a functional strategy has become the solution for the demand of the consumer that is looking for a customization option according to his specific needs and preferences. This strategy is based on the construction by modules, where the number of car variants are higher than the structural strategy, and each different combination of modules has the necessary components needed for the specific functions and specifications requested by the final client, and therefore the manufacturing process is designed in accordance to each required specification.
The objective of this thesis, is to provide a Wire Harness Company, the key steps to implement a functional manufacturing strategy, in order to generate an economical value, by implementing the optimal solution in its manufacturing system.
A computational study (Simulation with Arena) is applied in order to perform and validate the functional strategy proposed.
