MBW: The Digital Auto Report
BMW: The Digital Auto Project
Case Analysis Report
1. Recommendation
1-1. We recommend 3-series touring wagon development project as a target of Digital Car Project. The ultimate objective of the project is to halve lead time of product development in BMW from 60 months to 30 month. As a result, the firm can incorporate reflect fickle customers’ tastes and the latest technology to their product development quickly and it enable them to fit the market needs strategically. If this change is successful, the experience and knowledge can be transferred to 7-series and all other new projects. It will make BMW in front of the competition. And it will save huge money and time of the firm.
1-2. Digital technology, such as CAD, is considerably effective to reduce product development lead time even in other competitors. Considering digital technology as hardware, its directions and capability of staff operating the technology, however, might be critical issue on product development using digital technology. Moreover we should not ignore the fact that the capability and experience would be brought as a result of learning and accumulated experience and knowledge.
1-3. 3-series touring wagon will inherit platform and basic design concept from 3-series sedan. Fortunately the current 3-series sedan has been developed through computer design process. Therefore, it can be thought that there is some accumulated experience of product development using computer design. Additionally, the staff had realized its untapped potential as strategic product development tool. In other words, by adopting the development project as pilot experiment of the digital project, we think that BMW can accumulate and develop the competences for learning and adapting new process.
2. Rationale
There are several reasons for us to make such recommendations.
2-1.BMW has not experienced revolutionary change in the product development process, which can be proven by the fact that BMW
Case Analysis Report
1. Recommendation
1-1. We recommend 3-series touring wagon development project as a target of Digital Car Project. The ultimate objective of the project is to halve lead time of product development in BMW from 60 months to 30 month. As a result, the firm can incorporate reflect fickle customers’ tastes and the latest technology to their product development quickly and it enable them to fit the market needs strategically. If this change is successful, the experience and knowledge can be transferred to 7-series and all other new projects. It will make BMW in front of the competition. And it will save huge money and time of the firm.
1-2. Digital technology, such as CAD, is considerably effective to reduce product development lead time even in other competitors. Considering digital technology as hardware, its directions and capability of staff operating the technology, however, might be critical issue on product development using digital technology. Moreover we should not ignore the fact that the capability and experience would be brought as a result of learning and accumulated experience and knowledge.
1-3. 3-series touring wagon will inherit platform and basic design concept from 3-series sedan. Fortunately the current 3-series sedan has been developed through computer design process. Therefore, it can be thought that there is some accumulated experience of product development using computer design. Additionally, the staff had realized its untapped potential as strategic product development tool. In other words, by adopting the development project as pilot experiment of the digital project, we think that BMW can accumulate and develop the competences for learning and adapting new process.
2. Rationale
There are several reasons for us to make such recommendations.
2-1.BMW has not experienced revolutionary change in the product development process, which can be proven by the fact that BMW