Browse Topic: Dealers / dealer networks
For my nearly 60-year lifetime, I have had the benefit of being part of a North American Automotive Industry that was, from a production perspective, completely rationalized and optimized. Given the unprecedented political events of the last couple of months, maybe we should all consider ourselves fortunate. Strong competition and a free market allowed for components, systems and vehicles to be produced in the optimal location with an optimized supply chain, all structured to serve markets in the U.S., Canada and Mexico with some exports mixed in. Consumers, dealers, suppliers and vehicle manufacturers all benefit from this optimized structure.
The automotive industry has been funding warranty repair work for many decades. The most common vehicle warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles [1]. Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in North America have dealers record all the work completed and submit claims for the work that qualifies for warranty reimbursement [2]. The OEM reviews the request and pays dealers for the work performed. In addition to payments, the database is also used to complete quality analysis for the vehicles. Often the software being used by dealerships is old and not designed for quality analysis. Reviewing all the warranty work done can be an arduous task. OEMs can receive 100,000 or more claims each day. To speed up the analysis process the OEMs will divide the repair work into sections based on the segment of the vehicle requiring work. This categorization allows the OEMs to spread the work across many experts in the company. But what does the OEMs do when the problem cannot be located at the dealership? The dealer still requires payment for the time they spent trying to find the issue. This is often categorized as TNF (trouble not found). This type of work without a resolution can account for a sizable percentage of warranty costs! It can be as high as 38% depending on the manufacturer. It can also affect customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In fact, one of the most common complaints submitted to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is “dealer unable to locate problem” [3]. To make matters worse, most customers end up returning to the dealer multiple times before the issue is, if ever, located, and fixed [4]. So how can we find a better way to analyze these warranty claims and improve the customer experience while decreasing the cost for the OEM? This problem can be improved through machine learning and statistical pattern analysis.
Transporting cargo has been a goal of helicopter operations since the earliest days of development. The concept of carrying passengers and cargo from and to remote locations without a runway was originally exploited by the US military in times of peace and war. Early helicopter designs were limited in fixed useful load after onboarding crew and fuel. The 1940's saw helicopters transporting small, lightweight packages on an as-needed basis. The decade of the 1960's started seeing heavy lift helicopters transporting specialty loads in construction and logistics supply, again on an as-needed basis. Today, several Part 135 helicopter operators offer as needed VTOL cargo services. Blade Air Mobility has developed a successful public company business model in Part 135 passenger transport and is also expanding in carrying parcels. With the advent of transformative VTOL air vehicle designs, there has been increasing emphasis on examining parcel delivery on a regular basis. As omni-channel ecommerce drives the ever-increasing need for same day delivery post order. Retails and distributors need to compete with big box retailers and warehouse companies such as Walmart and Amazon, respectively. This results in reducing or eliminating over-the-road transport delivery. The future of parcel and cargo distribution is proposed to be with VTOL air vehicles. To understand the future of such distribution, it is imperative to examine the development of helicopter size, performance, and operational uses.
SAE International's Global Ground Vehicle Standards group is planning a Legislation, Regulation, Enforcement Workshop in collaboration with the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA) scheduled for January 21, 2020. This special event will be held just ahead of the 2020 SAE Government/Industry Meeting (GIM) in Washington, D.C., which is set for January 22-24. The new workshop will focus on how standards are used in regulation, enforcement and legislation at the U.S. federal and state level, as well as globally (United Nations Global Technical Regulations), according to SAE International's Bill Gouse, Federal Program Developer.
In storage and/or transport of certain items, the ability to detect tampering with a container or compartment for such items can be necessary and valuable. In the transport of hazardous substances or nuclear materials (including fuels and/or radioactive waste), there are particularly stringent requirements to ensure integrity as well as safe transport and storage of materials. A retailer shipping inventory may need to know whether tampering with the container has occurred during transport to determine if shipment is original and complete.
Based on automotive concerns related to global warming, CO2 emissions, safety and fuel efficiency, a trend to use High Strength Steels was stablished in order to meet these concerns and enhance the Body In White (BIW) performance. The usage of Press Hardened Steel (PHS) on the BIW is greatly broadcasted by the automotive industry, however OEMs should consider other important aspects for the vehicle lifecycle, such as repair and serviceability in the occasion of vehicle collision. This paper addresses a repair procedure that meets regular performance characteristics. The study was based on the conditions available on emergent markets dealers to perform an optimized repair. This procedure ensures the proper serviceability of PHS parts on BIW systems and supports the usage of High Strength Steels technology in today’s emergent market vehicles.
During the 1962 - 1982 time period there were three distinct revolts against Igor Bensen's Popular Rotorcraft Association: members of the PRA who saw the PRA as an "association of Bensen dealers"; Ken Brock of California whose attempts to standardize and industrialize the Bensen B8M kit, which were not intended as a challenge, ended up forcing Bensen's withdrawal from formal PRA leadership in early 1973; and the International Gyroplane movement of Martin Hollmann of the mid-1970s which boldly challenged the Bensen heritage even after Bensen's presidency. The irony of each of these revolts is to be found in their genesis and eventual impact: the members' revolt was seemingly ineffective, yet analysis reveals it had a long-lasting impact; the Brock revolt appeared to be the most successful, yet it occasioned little change on the American popular rotorcraft movement; while the International Gyroplane Association, correctly perceiving that the PRA under the leadership of Ken Brock was, in many significant ways, actually a continuation of Bensen's PRA, mounted a vigorous challenge that was seemingly the least effective of the three revolts. But historical analysis reveals that the International Gyroplane revolt of Martin Hollmann, while deemed an utter failure, had the real potential of changing the American Popular Rotorcraft. That Hollmann's revolt did not have a significant impact was largely due to his vitriolic personality and animosity towards Bensen and Brock, and the Popular Rotorcraft movement is poorer for it.
There are variety of motors and generators/alternators being manufactured internationally, for variety of applications. It is a difficult task for the user to identify and select the type of motor /generator/alternator for a specific use, by the designer and ultimately the user is totally unaware of what is bought and why. There is a need to designate the motors and generators. So that by interpretation of the identification nomenclature of the motor or generator, its type can be judged. Whether it is a series motor, an induction motor etc, in case of motors. This will eventually make it easy for the manufacturer, the buyer and the consumer to identify the motor or generator type. So a universally accepted and followed identification nomenclature is required to be developed which will henceforth make dealing in motors and generators simpler for all. It will prove to be useful during troubleshooting. During the time of failure or any abnormality in the machinery, the person using it need not carry the machine as a whole to the supplier for enquiring its type and then asking him to replace it, instead just by knowing the nomenclature the concerned person can simply ask the supplier or dealer to provide him with that machine. By setting the universal identification nomenclature, the standards of specifications of motors or generators and all the components used therein, can be formulated, so that all the manufacturers are brought on the same platform to meet the set standards, which eventually will result in ease of selection of motors or generators by designers and end users for optimum output. This will build a smooth functional channel between the manufacturers, the suppliers or the dealers, the buyers and the consumers. The authors have attempted to develop and suggest such identification methodology.
The substantial increase of electronic systems and processors in vehicles is increasing the already remarkable amount of software code, generating thousands of software-related recalls according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), leading to frequent customer updates. Current software updating methods are inconvenient for customers and dealers alike, requiring a significant amount of time and expensive hardware to implement. With Wi-Fi technology and embedded modems entering vehicles, several OEMs have already taken an innovative approach with Over-The-Air (OTA) technology. OTA updating has shown to be a proven method in the telecom industry with tens of millions of phones equipped with OTA capabilities and millions of successful OTA updates performed each year, contributing to a reliable and efficient method of updating. This paper analyzes the different ways OTA is currently being used to successfully achieve in-vehicle software updates. This paper also presents the results of a questionnaire conducted to assess the familiarity and acceptance of software update technologies. This paper concludes with an analysis of the questionnaire results and the authors' preferred implementation method of OTA based on the research.
The Cadillac XTS model comes out in late spring, with the ATS to follow in mid-summer with the new R-1234yf A/C refrigerant. Behind the scenes, regulatory paperwork issues have delayed production from a DuPont-Honeywell joint venture plant in China, and an SAE committee chairman has asked the EPA to expedite approvals for service equipment. We're “almost” ready for R-1234yf, the new low global warming auto A/C refrigerant that is being used in place of R-134a to meet European regulations and gain U.S. EPA fuel economy credits. “Almost” applies despite the fact that R-1234yf already has been installed in a small number of cars in Europe since last winter and is coming to Cadillac dealers in a matter of a few months. The major problem is R-1234yf supply. A large plant in China, a joint venture between DuPont and Honeywell, reportedly is ready to go, but Chinese government requirements for additional documentation apparently have delayed the needed approval for production to start. So the only supply of R-1234yf is from a pilot plant operated by Honeywell, as the company holds patents covering applications for the refrigerant.
This article is a new methodology to create a strong and reliable procedure to measure oil level at dealers. Most of time, commercial trucks run full loaded. Engine oil level indication systems are designed to measure oil level at that condition. However commercial trucks are assembled and sold empty and without bodies for trucks. In result of this condition, vehicles with a false indication of low engine oil level are detected at dealers' pre-delivery inspection, resulting in oil addition. This oil addition causes unnecessary costs, since vehicles are produced with maximum oil level. The methodology presented in this study analyzes and treats all variables involved in engine oil level measurements from engine production line until dealers' pre-delivery inspection
North Carolina-based Li-ion Motors draws upon the region's motorsports heritage to engineer and build what it calls the world's first all American-made electric supercar. North Carolina is NASCAR country- and, apparently, high-performance electric vehicle (EV) country, too. In Mooresville, NC, a mere 30-min drive north from Charlotte on I-77, Li-ion Motors' scant but spirited team of designers and engineers has channeled the region's racing roots to create an all-electric, two-seater supercar that can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 3.4 s and boasts a top speed of 170 mph (274 km/h).
Automotive manufacturers across the world have experienced the saturation of demand in the mature markets. Foraying into the emerging markets of India and China brings a mix of opportunities and challenges. These economies with 15%+ rising consumer demand, 7%+ rise in per-capita income and a passenger car density less than 1/8 of mature markets, hold promise of sustaining double-digit growth of vehicle sales. But the challenges are immense. Ultra-low margins of OEMs, lack of transportation infrastructure, Low level of maturity of funding operations, fragmented demand, import restrictions and mandatory export obligations pose serious constraints to non-linear growth. HONDA (Honda Siel Cars India Limited), a subsidiary of Honda Motor Corporation, Japan has developed the next generation supply chain with a strategy cognizant of the global opportunities and the local limitations which such emerging economies present. Honda's vehicle supply chain has added constraints in the form of severe limitations of working capital of dealers, disjointed floor-fund visibility across banking institutions, bottlenecks and time constraints posed by invoice regulations, long transport lead times impacting delivery, seasonal systemic workarounds for demand spikes and quality related production constraints to meet daily model-mix requirements. In view of the frequent demand shifts and low margins, Honda has developed a push-pull balance between forecast demand and fulfillment operations. Special matrix combination of dealer and vehicle-model were developed to define unique demand replenishment strategies for each class of dealer-model combination. Also an integrated Production planning and demand fulfillment operations allows a progressive stage-wise late-customization, based on the nature of order and the order source. This delayed customization is facilitated by adopting a unique traceability across the entire order-life-cycle and supply chain operations. The supply chain system is a unique blend of top-down and bottom-up dealer allocation model, flexibility in fund-inventory-carrier validation, optimized distribution planning and creation of dealer exchanges to maximize fund utilization, maximize retail sales and optimize inventory. Though this paper primarily focuses on conditions and situations prevalent in India, as a case-study, but the solutions developed in this case study, would be applicable to similar situations arising in the automotive market in any other emerging economies, such as China, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Middle East, S.E. Asia and Eastern Europe.
Diverse factors of sustainability drive the life cycle analysis of the product which already exists and need to go through Eco-redesign strategy. Sustainability in all sphere of the design approach requires compliance with regulations and standards. The concept of the reverse logistics and take back is getting very important in the wake of product recalls for exclusive compliance of safety requirements to satisfy the regulations. That is why it is very important that the reverse logistic supply chain net work for the product return lead time and life cycle impact of product planning should begins long before disposal and at the new product design time. This is why it is now believed to be best the way to measure the impact through a Life cycle analysis and reverse logistic planning which necessarily to be decided at the conceptual stage as to how the steps and stage of reverse logistic will be followed. The EU End of life vehicle directive and its effect are very important in this direction. A conceptual model is presented in this regard which shows the role of reverse logistic and life cycle assessment of the product like packaging of plastic for which there is dearth of significant reverse logistic aspect that can influences the manufacturer's choice for the potential consumer. The dynamics in the lead time affect performance if this can be maximized stochastically in the wake of product take back and recalls for establishing global green economy. However, the model describes the function from the retailer path with which is the vital connection for other products like fridge, deep freezers, air conditions, juicers, mixers, cooking range heaters etc can be done by using the reverse logistic for re-manufacturing. Reverse Logistic and Life cycle analysis planning determines the big picture of the entire life cycle of the product in a holistic fashion for making policy decision and recommendations for all stake holders of the global market economy. Besides after the unloaded products to the specified consumer market station the return path of the same delivery service can be utilized logically for the reverse logistic and product take back. In the next generation of logistics, proactive companies must be innovative enough to integrate all strategic and operational factors in their reverse-logistics systems studies for their product take back as a part of a Comprehensive design for the new product & process system life cycle analysis.
JMS Proxy and C/C++ Client SDK ("JMS" signifies "Java messaging service" and "SDK" signifies "software development kit") is a software package for developing interfaces that enable legacy programs (here denoted "clients") written in the C and C++ languages to communicate with each other via a JMS broker. This package consists of two main components: the JMS proxy server component and the client C library SDK component. The JMS proxy server component implements a native Java process that receives and responds to requests from clients. This component can run on any computer that supports Java and a JMS client. The client C library SDK component is used to develop a JMS client program running in each affected C or C++ environment, without need for running a Java virtual machine in the affected computer. A C client program developed by use of this SDK has most of the quality-of-service characteristics of standard Java-based client programs, including the following:
The good old days of taking your car to the repair shop down the street and hoping for the best as Mr. Fix-It rolls up his sleeves, grabs his toolbox, and looks under the hood will soon be a thing of the past. When it comes to automobile repairs in the future, technicians will be carrying laptop computers and handheld devices that will connect to the car they are fixing, as well as the entire dealer network. This technology will enable technicians to seamlessly link to the car's onboard diagnostic system, its internal software and computer coding, as well as the automaker's electronic parts and service catalogs and the manufacturer's design network. With this electronic exchange of information, technicians will be able to digitally communicate with the vehicles they are fixing to determine what repairs are needed, quickly order the necessary parts, and complete the service faster and more efficiently than ever before.
Distributed-object computing systems are presented with many security threats, including network eavesdropping, message tampering, and communications middleware masquerading. NASA Glenn Research Center, and its industry partners, has taken an active role in mitigating the security threats associated with developing and operating their proprietary aerospace propulsion simulations. In particular, they are developing a collaborative Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) Security (CORBASec) test bed to secure their distributed aerospace propulsion simulations. Glenn has been working with its aerospace propulsion industry partners to deploy the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) object-based technology. NPSS is a program focused on reducing the cost and time in developing aerospace propulsion engines.
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