Mercedes carrying out far-reaching changes; CEO targets production, development and logistics

HARALD HAMPRECHT | Automobilwoche

Posted Date: 6/2/05

Eckhard Cordes, Mercedes-Benz car group CEO, is carrying out far-reaching changes in product development, production and logistics.

The changes are expected to improve assembly operations and quality and save at least $3.78 billion by 2007.

"We want to clearly be No. 1 in image, quality and our rate of return," Cordes said.

The new course will have a big impact on the way Mercedes builds cars.

"We will dramatically reduce the complexity of our assembly lines," Cordes told Automobilwoche, a German-language sister publication of AutoWeek .

Workers now will have one minute to complete as many as five tasks at a station. This job configuration means production costs will decline substantially and assembly quality will go up, Cordes said.

"Downtime and waste will diminish," he added.

Cordes aims to achieve significant savings in logistics costs.

"In recent years, we have already achieved savings in double digits, and we see further potential," he said.

Cordes also is pushing for higher reuse rates for components that have been tested.

"We are going to investigate what we can standardize right through the Mercedes production series and what proven technologies we can adopt for new models," he said.

In addition to reducing development times for models, Cordes wants to trim development costs by 5 percent annually.

Cordes is putting pressure on suppliers to achieve higher production quality. He is not ruling out changes in the supplier structure.

"No supplier is set with us for the long term," he said. "The need to strive to be the best also extends to our suppliers."

Cordes also said he will reduce Mercedes' product lineup. According to media reports in Stuttgart, the C-class sport coupe will be killed in 2008.

source : autoweek

 

unless Mercedes plans to implent significant automation in their factories, i think their quality will take a further slide. Another great Mopar idea!

 

I don't agree with Cordes' reasoning. To some extent, faster work on the assembly lines DOES bring down production costs, but then you hit a point where you not only start to cause worker burnout but a higher injury rate as well....so there goes your health costs. In addition, rush-rush work often means more assembly-line mistakes...so the money you save at the factory by nickel-and-diming it only goes right back to the dealerships in warranty costs when they have to spend an endless amount of time repairing the cars after delivery. Chrysler itself was one of the prime examples of this from the late 1960's through the 1980's when most of their cars were nothing but half-assembled junk that shed parts faster than Bill Clinton shed girlfriends.
Now.....one minute to do five or six different jobs?
Sorry.... but I'd like to think that the factory worker who helped assemble my car spent more than a lousy ten seconds doing something like torquing the wheel-lugs, securing the fuel-line plumbing, or hooking up the steering-column properly.