Robust concurrent product development across the supply chain: An assessment methodology for integrator and supplier risk

Many companies report that they can attain a competitive product development advantage from strategic relationships with key suppliers, but even the successful relationships are not without their challenges. Industry has expressed a need for robust concurrent product development (CPD) practices to include supplier issues. Unfortunately, most of the practices currently available focus on supplier management and collaboration techniques. Little is provided to quantitatively analyze the product development process and to identify risk as a direct result of supplier interactions. Thus, the two research objectives of this dissertation are: (1) Quantitative CPD risk assessment from supplier interactions and (2) linking CPD supplier risk to design decisions.; A detailed case study identifies and validates nine sources of CPD uncertainties that result from integrator and supplier interactions during product development. These results lead to five key elements that are essential to a robust CPD strategy across the supply chain. To address these requirements, this research considers program, supplier subsystem and engineering metrics (EM) risks.; The proposed framework introduces the concepts of degree of design customization (DoDC) and coupling ratio (CR) to assess program and supplier subsystem risks. A correlations analysis based on HP LaserJet development projects demonstrates that the proposed metrics for DoDC and CR are good indicators of the likelihood of product development efficiency. Furthermore, there was enough evidence to use the interaction term, the coupling ratio multiplied by the degree of design customization, as a risk index.; The three steps to characterize EM-level risk are to: (1) deploy the voice of the customer to assess the importance of the EMs, (2) assess the coupling of the EMs, and (3) assess the performance risk of the EMs relative to their target. By mapping the results of each dimension one can quickly discern areas of highest risk and then take appropriate mitigating action.; The framework proposed at the program, supplier subsystem, and EM-levels led to a prescriptive eight-step assessment process. A semi-hypothetical printer project example based on a real monochrome multi-function printer demonstrates the utility of the assessment methodology.