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Platform re-use : lessons from the automotive industry

Author

Listed:
  • Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini

    (GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Sylvain Lenfle

    (CRG - Centre de recherche en gestion - X - École polytechnique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

The platform strategy adopted by firms in a multi-project context reduces lead-time and development cost, enhances reliability, allows mass customization and increases manufacturing flexibility. While the major challenges of this strategy have been highlighted, the evolution of the platform and its management during its lifecycle is under studied. The paper address this missing point by considering the sustainability of the platform during its life cycle. Design/methodology/approach - For that purpose, the paper has carried out a field methodology research at a car manufacturer six years after the successful setting of the platform strategy. It analyzes at a fine-grained level the development of a second generation product on this existing platform. Findings - Using a model that traces the design decisions taken during this development, it has identified that, in order to reuse the platform over two generations, the engineers implicitly apply, besides the design rules that correspond to the very definition of platform strategy as presented in the literature such as the carry-over and the lean design, a learning routine that challenges these rules. It designates this routine by "smart reuse" because it enables the reuse of the platform from one generation to another. It highlights the interplay between the products and the platform that co-evolve by pointing out the reciprocal prescription relationships. This co-evolution operates through two levels: between the product planning and the platform on one hand and the product development and the platform on the other. Practical implications - The paper has several implications, such as the central role of the platform director in the platform reuse and the platform architecture, mainly its modularity, and its impact on the platform progressive renewal. This research reveals ideas that need to be validated and tested through other methods and in other industrial contexts. Originality/value - The paper offers insights into platform-re-use, focusing on the automotive industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini & Sylvain Lenfle, 2010. "Platform re-use : lessons from the automotive industry," Post-Print hal-00483039, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00483039
    DOI: 10.1108/01443571011012398
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Aoki, Katsuki & Staeblein, Thomas, 2018. "Monozukuri capability and dynamic product variety: An analysis of the design-manufacturing interface at Japanese and German automakers," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 70, pages 33-45.
    2. Jesús F. Lampón & Pablo Cabanelas & Javier González Benito, 2015. "The impact of implementation of a modular platform strategy in automobile manufacturing networks," Working Papers. Collection B: Regional and sectoral economics 1502, Universidade de Vigo, GEN - Governance and Economics research Network.
    3. Jesús Lampón & Pablo Cabanelas & Vincent Frigant, 2017. "The new automobile modular platforms: from the product architecture to the manufacturing network approach?," Post-Print hal-03187886, HAL.
    4. Dekkers, Rob & Chang, C.M. & Kreutzfeldt, Jochen, 2013. "The interface between “product design and engineering” and manufacturing: A review of the literature and empirical evidence," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 316-333.
    5. Frank Wiengarten & Prakash J. Singh & Brian Fynes & Ali Nazarpour, 2017. "Impact of mass customization on cost and flexiblity performances: the role of social capital," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 137-147, December.
    6. Zhang, Linda L., 2015. "A literature review on multitype platforming and framework for future research," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1-12.
    7. Stadtherr, Frank & Wouters, Marc, 2021. "Extending target costing to include targets for R&D costs and production investments for a modular product portfolio—A case study," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).

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