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ACC JOURNAL 2019, Volume 25, Issue 2 DOI: 10.15240/ ul/004/2019-2-006
CHALLENGES FOR ACHIEVING COMPETITIVENESS IN THE EU AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSTRY
Má cio Rod igues1; Bea iz Mendes2; E a Ší o á3
1,3 Technical Uni e si y o Libe ec, Facul y o Economics,
Depa men o Business Adminis a ion and Managemen ,
S uden ská 1402/2, 461 17 Libe ec, Czech Republic
2 S a e Uni e si y o Campinas (Unicamp), São Paulo, B azil
e-mail: 1ma cio. od [email p o ec ed]; 2bea iz. mende[email p o ec ed]; 3e[email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
A clea unde s anding o cus ome ’s needs is an essen ial aspec in he pu sui o
compe i i eness in companies. Answe ing he ques ion which one deli e s he bes p oduc o
se ice becomes ha de as he ime lows, as all o hem a e in pu sui o achie ing he same
goal: uly unde s and how he ma ke beha es. I is a ac ha compe i i eness and
benchma king p ocess among au omo i e companies a e challenging in a s able global
economic scena io. How would hose p ocesses look like in a global economic c isis? Which
challenges will companies ha e o add ess in o de o be compe i i e in his scena io? This
a icle p esen s a case s udy o a global au omo i e supplie and he challenges i aced du ing
he 2008-2009 economic c isis o e s a is ical analysis o i s demand and down imes, whe e
many lessons lea ned om his scena io could be s udied o be e p edic ion and handling
u u e ones.
Keywo ds
Benchma king; Compe i i eness; Au omo i e indus y; Global inancial c isis.
In oduc ion
The ques ion which company deli e s he bes p oduc o p o ides he bes se ice becomes
ha de as he ime lows, as all o hem a e in pu sui o achie ing he same goal: uly
unde s and which he cus ome ’s needs a e. Due o he e olu ion o humani y and i s as e
means o knowledge dissemina ion h oughou he globe, hose demands become mo e
complex o ul ill, as p oduc s and se ices need o be mo e cus omizable, adap able and, a
he same ime, eliable, obus and wi h g ea quali y e alua ion. These aspec s seem o be
e y subjec i e when di e en ma ke s a e analyzed bu he e is ce ainly one aspec ha
needs o be aken in o conside a ion so ha a p oduc , a se ice and, consequen ly, a company
be compe i i e: he lowes selling p ice possible. And aking i deepe in o he p oduc ion o
agg ega e alue chain, he s a emen becomes a ma e o who ac ually deli e s he lowes
cos possible.
In o de o compa e companies o a same ma ke , he p ocess o benchma king has been used
since i s i s publica ion in 1989, whe e he ones which a e a ed as ma ke leade s o de ain
he bigges ma ke sha e o also conside ed a e e ence acco ding o a de e mined compa ison
pa ame e (e.g. Quali y con ol, cos , lead ime, eliabili y, obus ness, se ice le el and
o he s) se he le el o he o he compe i o s (Delb idge, 1995 e al). I also p o ides suppo
o compa ison o di e en plan s and p ocesses o one company, inding possible gaps and
imp o emen oppo uni ies wi hin he p oduc ion p ocesses.
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Leading he discussion o he au omo i e indus y, compe i i eness and benchma king
p ocesses a e e en mo e sensible, as i s p ocesses and p oduc s ha e a high complexi y le el
and a huge impac on he wo ld economy (Žižka, 2016). I ’s no only a ma e o which
company has he lowes p oduc ion cos s, bu also a e y de ailed quali y con ol p og am
(mos ly implemen ed wi h To al Quali y Managemen ), main enance o p oduc ion machine y
and a e sales, spa e pa s con ol, in e nal and ex e nal logis ics, adminis a ion o he supply
chain and a e y impo an , key aspec : he en i onmen al impac (Sulí o á e al., 2017).
Clea ly, i ’s no a simple p ocess o de e mine which au omo i e b and would be called as he
“bes -in-class”. I ’s mainly a ma e o which pa ame e (s) is (a e) aken in o conside a ion o
compa ison. Ano he impo an aspec wo h men ioning is he geog aphical e ec o he
ma ke , which is deeply ela ed o he cus ome p o ile. Despi e he ac ha au omo i e
ma ke widens i s global e ec each yea , i would be accu a e o compa e equally how
compe i i e a ehicle is in di e en ma ke s wi hou unde s anding cus ome ’s ca
p e e ences? I would deli e inaccu a e in o ma ion o he company.
All hose app oaches p ope ly add ess he ac ha compe i i eness and benchma king
p ocess be ween au omo i e companies a e challenging in a s able global economic scena io.
How would hose p ocesses look like in a global economic c isis? Which challenges mus
companies add ess in o de o be compe i i e in his scena io?
To unde s and his ques ion, his pape b ings an analysis o which challenges an au omo i e
supplie om Eu opean Union (EU) aced du ing he 2008-2009 global c isis in i s
main enance p ocess.
Be o e ocusing on he company’s da a, i ’s necessa y o unde s and he impac s o he global
economic c isis on he au omo i e indus y p esen ed in he nex chap e o his pape .
The pape is di ided in o i e sec ions. Chap e 1 shows ele an li e a u e esea ch ega ding
benchma king and compe i i eness. Chap e 2 p esen s ele an in o ma ion abou he s udied
company. Chap e 3 b ings conclusions and u u e possible wo ks om his esea ch.
1 B ie Li e a u e Re iew: Benchma king
Since he ea ly 80’s he concep and applica ion o he benchma king p ocess ha e been
s udied and published in li e a u e, including he discussion o Xe ox Co po a ion p ac ices
compa ing ope a ional cos s be ween US and Japanese plan s (Delb ige e al, 1995). The
concep was o iginally adop ed by he Wes inghouse P oduc i i y and Quali y Ca e, when
Xe ox won he Malcolm Bald ige Na ional Quali y Awa d in 1989. I co ela es he pu sui o
be e p ac ices o imp o e compe i i e pe o mance, quo ed as:
“Benchma king is a con inuous sea ch o an applica ion o signi ican ly be e p ac ices ha
lead o supe io compe i i e pe o mance.” (Camp, 1989)
Du ing he 90’s and ea ly 2000’s, a ew publica ions discussed he concep b ough in 1989,
b inging guidelines, ela ionship wi h p ac icabili y, imp o emen oppo uni ies esul ing
om he benchma king p ocess. Da akuma (2003) p esen s hese pe spec i es o e he
concep shown in Table 1.
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Tab. 1: Ou come o ea lie li e a u e e iews
#
Pape Ti le
Ou come
1
“Roadmap o cu en
benchma king li e a u e”, by
Jackson e al. (1994)
The pape gi es a guideline o he classifica ion o
li e a u e on benchma king, based on he ypes o
benchma king and associa ed issues and commen s
on each a icle in e ms o hese c i e ia
2
“Re iew o key publica ions
on benchma king: pa I and
pa II”, by Zai i and Yousse
(1995c, 1996)
The pape s spell ou in de ail abou he con en s o
only books on benchma king in e ms o he
p ac icabili y and applicabili y o he esou ce
ma e ial. Publica ions in jou nals and con e ences a e
omi ed in his pape
3
“Benchma king: a selec
bibliog aphy”, by Vig (1995)
The pape is a ge ed owa ds pe sonnel in lib a ies,
o enable hem o ack au ho wise classifica ion o
a icles on benchma king
4
“A amewo k o
benchma king in he public-
sec o li e a u e e iew and
di ec ions o u u e esea ch”,
by Do sch and Yasin (1998)
In he pape , he au ho s ha e iden ified ha he
academic communi y is lagging in e ms o p o iding
and ad ancing models and amewo ks ha in eg a e
he many ace s o o ganiza ional benchma king. The
au ho s also men ion ha mos o he benchma king
know-how a ailable a e he esul s o p ac i ione s’
e o s.
5
“The heo y and p ac ice o
benchma king; hen and now”,
by Yasin (2002)
The pape summa izes ha despi e he inc easing
scope o benchma king ac i i ies and he numbe o
o ganiza ions u ilizing benchma king, he field o
benchma king emains o a la ge ex en wi hou a
uni ying heo y o guide i s ad ancemen . Also, a call
is gi en o de eloping inno a i e me hodologies o
guide benchma king p ac ices in e-comme ce and
supply chain managemen
Sou ce: Adap ed om Da akuma (2003)
Recen publica ions explo e he de ini ion o a amewo k (De os e al. 2006), b inging he
need o a se o pa ame e s o aspec s delimi ing he benchma king p ocess, i.e. he base da a
o compa ison be ween companies (e.g. lowes lead- ime, highes se ice le el, bigges Mean
Time Be ween Failu es (MTBF) and o he s). De os e al. (2006) p esen some models o
gene ic benchma king p ocesses (as ci ed in Spendolinni, 1992 and NPC, 1999), whe e he
main s eps o hei implemen a ion a e explained, as shown in Figu es 1a and 1b. The i s
one shows in a PDCA-like cycle he phases and hei bene i s o he compa ison p ocess. The
second one is a lowcha o he main phases o his p ocess.
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Sou ce: Baba (2006) (as ci ed in Spendolinni 1992 and NPC 1999)
Fig. 1: a (le ) and b ( igh ): Models o he benchma king p ocess
O he au ho s b ing classi ica ion and di e en ia ion inside he benchma king p ocess
(F ey ag and Hollesen, 2001), gi ing i a be e p ac ical and applicable app oach. They di ide
he whole p ocess in o h ee main de ini ions:
 Benchma king as an independen g owing p ocess o e iciency, which elies on analysis
o pe o mance le els o wha is in examina ion compa ed o o he le els inside he
o ganiza ion and iden i ica ion o oo causes o pe o mances p oblems o p ope guide
co po a e ac i i ies econ igu a ion (as ci ed in K u een 1999);
 Benchlea ning associa ed wi h he p e iously men ioned “bes -in-class” company o
objec in o de o abso b hose p ac ices in all company, also known as “lea n om he
bes ” and
 Benchac ion as he wo k plan o implemen a ion o all changes ob ained om
benchma king and benchlea ning, and also o imp o e employees wi h aining and
de elopmen .
F ey ag and Hollesen (2001) also de ine some ypes o benchma king, depending on wha he
company wan s o compa e:
 In e nal: ela ed o p ocesses and uni s ha ha e simila unc ions, iden i ying he bes
in e nal p ac ices and expanding o he o he uni s;
 Indus y (also called by he au ho s as unc ional): This is an in e nal o ex e nal
compa ison, which measu es he company’s unc ional ope a ions and hen compa es o
simila measu es om o he companies, mos ly wi h ma ke leade s o which de ains he
bigges ma ke sha e. I ’s also no a di ec compe i ion, mos ly in ended o sha e
in o ma ion o p ocesses imp o emen s wi hin a ma ke o mul ina ional company;
 Compe i i e: Ex e nal compa ison used agains di ec compe i o s, in o de o change he
ma ke sha e be ween hem, poin ing ailu es and ad an ages o concu en p oduc s and
se ices. In o ma ion is ha de o be ob ained om his p ocess and gene ally in ol es
high cos s and
 P ocess (also called as gene ic by he au ho s): his one compa es simila p ocedu es a
dissimila companies and i ’s e y ha d o implemen , because i needs a e y solid and
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b oad unde s anding o p ocess and p ocedu es, in o de o ex apola e o o he ma ke s o
indus ies.
They also compa e ad an ages and disad an ages o he benchma king p ocess wi hin and
ac oss indus ies, shown in Table 2.
Tab. 2: Ad an ages and disad an ages o benchma king wi hin and ac oss indus ies
Benchma king wi hin he indus y
Benchma king ac oss indus ies
Ad an ages: simila i y o he compe i i e
si ua ion eases he ans e o expe ience
Ad an ages: inspi a ion o imp o e p ocesses,
e c. In which a eas a e he ad an ages bes
and/o easy o ealize
D awbacks: he pe cep ion o he
compe i i e si ua ion is oo na ow which
makes i di icul o ca ch up wi h o he
companies as ega ds compe i ion
D awbacks: i is di icul o ans e
expe ience ac oss indus ies. Pe haps
elimina e ocus om he ob ious p oblems in
he company
Sou ce: Adap ed om Da akuma (2003)
2 Resul s o he Resea ch
2.1 The S udied Company
Due o con iden iali y, he name o he company won’ be p esen ed in his a icle. Howe e ,
o his esea ch, he da a analyzed on nex subchap e s we e ob ained om a global
au omo i e ex e io pa s supplie , mos ly om i s ac i i ies in he Czech Republic ope a ions
acili ies. Acco ding o i s 2016 annual epo , i egis e ed a ne e enue o US$ 2.78 billion,
wi h mo e han 155,000 employees alloca ed in 29 coun ies a ound he wo ld.
The Czech acili y is esponsible o p oduc ion and assembly o on and ea bumpe s,
ene gy managemen sys ems, polyca bona e modules, spoile s o ae odynamics and many
o he pa s inside a as p oduc po olio o he global au omo i e ma ke .
Sou ce: AIE (2016)
Fig. 2: Compa a i e demand o passenge ca s in Eu opean Ma ke
As he demand o passenge ca s has subs an ially dec eased in 2009 and eached he lowes
alue in he ho izon o he las 10 yea s, as shown in Figu e 2 o he whole Eu opean ma ke ,
many challenges ha e appea ed o i s ope a ion: s ock managemen and i s inc eased cos , as
p edic ed demand was expec ed o be much bigge , a new pa e n o seasonal demand,
inc ease o machine y non p oduc ion and many o he s, b inging he company a big educ ion

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o i s ne e enue by he end o he yea as a e lex o his global c isis and inc easing o
a iable and ixed cos s. In he nex subchap e he main ocus o he case s udy is desc ibed
in de ail.
2.2 Resea ch Objec i es
The da a analysis conduc ed by he s a is ical SW Mini ab aims o check he s a is ical
co ela ions be ween some pa ame e s in he au omo i e indus y, such as seasonal demand
and s oppage ime. I is impo an o highligh ha he conclusions p esen ed he e a e ela ed
o he yea o 2009, which, as said be o e, was a u bulen pe iod o he wo ld and also he
Eu opean au omo i e indus y.
2.3 Discussion
In Figu e 3 below, i is possible o obse e ha he numbe o main enance, which is s ongly
ela ed o p oblems occu ed in-line p oduc ion, p obably due o demand. I is clea o obse e
ha main enance a he beginning and a he end o he yea is qui e lowe han he es o he
yea , also i is no a ying close o he mean, as he o he esul s. I is impo an o highligh
ha he da a p o ided o Janua y s a on he day 26, so many da a a e p obably los o he
p oduc ion aced a long ecession.
Sou ce: Own
Fig. 3: Numbe o main enances pe mon h in 2009
Besides he numbe o main enance o Janua y and Decembe a e no close o he mean, as i
can be obse ed in Figu e 4, hey a e s ill in o he con idence le el o 95%. I means ha he
p ocess is in s eady-s a e – p- alue o oscilla ion is abo e alpha o 0.05 – and he e a e no
ou lie s in his p oduc ion line. So, o his pe iod o ime, special causes can be neglec ed.
This ac is jus i ied by he p- alue o clus e ing abo e alpha alue. Also, a ia ion in numbe
o main enance shows a downwa d end om mon h 6 – p- alue o ends o 0.598 – which
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can be caused by implemen a ion o a be e p oduc ion con ol o equipmen o dec ease in
p oduc ion.
Sou ce: Own
Fig. 4: Va ia ion in numbe o main enance o a con idence le el o 95% in 2009
In o de o comple e he e alua ion o hese da a, a no mali y es was conduc ed and he
esul s a e shown in Figu e 5. As he da a a e no a om he i ed dis ibu ion line ( ed line)
and he p- alue is highe he alpha alue, he null hypo hesis, which he da a do no ollow a
no mal beha io , can be neglec ed by lack o in o ma ion o p o e i . Howe e , i 's no
possible o a i m ha i p esen s a no mal beha io .
I is also impo an o analyze he du a ion o each main enance, since i a ec s he p o i s and
p obably he whole p oduc ion chain. Figu e 6 shows he a ia ion in ime o each mon h. In
Janua y, he a ia ion occu s due o he lack o da e, which means ha he da a will no
con e ge o he mean alue, as he o he esul s.
In ela ion o mon hs om Feb ua y o Decembe , he du a ion o main enance ime a ies
app oxima ely o a mean. When he Janua y da a a e excluded, i is possible o no e ha he
a ia ion in main enance ime is app oxima ely o 100 minu es.
121110987654321
250
200
150
100
50
0
Mon h
Main enance Mean
_
_
X=107.9
UCL=225.9
LCL=-10.1
Va ia ion in Numbe o Main enance o Con idence Le el o 95%.
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Sou ce: Own
Fig. 5: No mali y es o numbe o main enance in 2009
Sou ce: Own
Fig. 6: In e al plo o main enance ime o each mon h in 2009
Decembe /09
No embe /09
Oc obe /09
Sep embe /09
Augus /09
July/09
June/09
May/09
Ap il/09
Ma ch/09
Feb ua y/09
Janua y/09
500
400
300
200
100
0
Da a
95% CI o he Mean
Indi idual s anda d de ia ions we e used o calcula e he in e als.
Time In e al Plo o Each Mon h
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Conclusion
This a icle has been in ended o discuss and p esen challenges aced by companies om he
au omo i e sec o du ing he 2008-2009 global c isis, ocusing on he Eu opean Ma ke .
Chap e 1 explo es ele an concep s on he benchma king p ocess, p esen ing ongoing and
pas models and explana ion o i s undamen als. Chap e 2 p esen s he main con ibu ion o
his a icle, discussing he e ec s o he c isis in a global au omo i e supplie company in
Eu ope, p esen ing some s a is ical analysis o e seasonal demand and s oppage ime.
A e a b ie in oduc ion and a li e a u e e iew o ele an concep s and opics o
benchma king, i is clea ha achie ing compe i i eness is a cons an need o majo
mul ina ional companies, especially in a c isis scena io, whe e a ailable esou ces a e a i s
lowe le el, cos s a highe , demand as minimum as e e and many ope a ional p oblems
come ahead o make his p ocess e en ha de .
Wha is impo an o sus ain is ha all lessons lea ned ha came om in e mi ency and
seasonal e ec o demand in a c isis en i onmen a e e en mo e sensi i e han a egula
economic scena io and se e as a base o imp o emen o demand o ecas and p edic ion
pa e ns o he u u e. Who knows when he nex economic c isis comes? I ’s no 100%
gua an eed o p edic , bu i is de ini ely necessa y o be eady when i comes again.
Fu u e esea ch on he opic discussed in his a icle is possible, as indi idual aspec s o
main enance, size o s ocks, demand o ecas and so on and so o h can be discussed based
on he da a collec ed o his a icle, as a consequence o how ele an i is o unde s and he
e ec s o a global economic c isis om all pe spec i es in companies and i s impac and
challenges o achie ing compe i i eness.
Acknowledgemen s
This a icle was suppo ed by SGS 21301 “P ojec Managemen and In o ma ion Sys ems in
Quali y and Supply Chain Managemen ” p o ided by Technical Uni e si y o Libe ec, Czech
Republic
Li e a u e
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amewo k o au omo i e manu ac u ing SMEs. Benchma king: An In e na ional
Jou nal. 2006, 13(4), 396-430. DOI: 10.1108/14635770610676272
[2] BARTRAM, S. M.; BODNAR, G. M.: No place o hide: The global c isis in equi y
ma ke s in 2008/2009. Jou nal o In e na ional Money and Finance. 2009, 28(8), 1246-
1292. DOI: 10.1016/j.jimon in.2009.08.005
[3] DATTAKUMAR, R.; JAGADEESH, R.: A e iew o li e a u e on benchma king.
Benchma king: An In e na ional Jou nal. 2003, 10(3), 176-209.
DOI: 10.1108/14635770310477744
[4] DELBRIDGE, R.; LOWE, J.; OLIVER, N.: The p ocess o benchma king.
In e na ional Jou nal o Ope a ions & P oduc ion Managemen . 1995, 15(4), 50-62.
DOI: 10.1108/01443579510083604
[5] FREYTAG, P. V.; HOLLENSEN, S.: The p ocess o benchma king, benchlea ning and
benchac ion. The TQM Magazine. 2001, 13(1), 25-34.
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