Globalisation means products are now put together using parts from all over the world. The company with its name on a product does less and less of the actual manufacturing - they just put it together.
OEMs, tiers of suppliers, modules, platforms - this film explains the complex global supply chain which produces the radiator cap for a US pickup truck, the Dodge Ram.
INDIA: Sundram Fasteners in India manufactures the radiator cap for the US pickup truck. Sundram also supplies eighty percent of all Chrysler vehicles assembled in the US, including the Dodge Ram.
UK: Meanwhile In the UK two British companies are suppliers to Sundram, providing them with parts to make the radiator caps. Berck and PCR compete with cheaper labour from emerging markets by using technology to increase productivity.
US: The radiator caps travel from India to Tenessee, US, where another company assembles the radiator, the first tier supplier Modine Radiator. Modine ships the radiator to another factory in Warren, Michigan, where the pickup truck is finally assembled.
OFF-SHORING: But constant competition means that supply chains are always changing. To stay in the supply chain, suppliers off-shore work to lower cost countries to keep their costs down. China is a prime location.
MODULES & PLATFORMS: Car makers are squeezing more and more out of their suppliers by the use of modules and platform sharing. But as their supply chains spread out across the world and become more complex, manufacturers face a growing array of problems - any of which could cost them dear.
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