Factors that influence warranty costs at Volkswagen South Africa
- Authors: Blignaut, Bevan Hyron
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Warranty , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Total quality management , Quality assurance
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:8944 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013088
- Description: Driving a vehicle while it is within the warranty period provide customers with assurance that should a failure occur on the vehicle, there would be no financial obligation for the customer to repair the vehicle. For the manufacturer, it is a huge financial obligation to repair or replace components that fail on the vehicle. The research conducted in this study explores and identifies the main reasons for high warranty costs as well as the reasons that do not influence high warranty costs at VWSA. The purpose of this research is to provide VWSA with a potential starting point to reduce warranty costs and increase profits. The study revealed that the main cause of high warranty costs at VWSA was related to the quality of vehicles. By improving the quality of vehicles produced, VWSA could reduce a significant portion of the warranty costs it spends each year. With reduced warranty costs, VWSA could increase the warranty period and thereby attract more customers to purchase VW products. In a cutthroat automotive industry, this would ensure a competitive advantage over rivals; maintain longevity, increase profits and continued success.
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- Date Issued: 2013
Key factors required to be classified as a world-class supplier from a South African automotive industry perspective
- Authors: Cook, Gavin Trevor
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9335 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/935 , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Description: Over and above the fact that South African automotive business firms do not have the advantages of a major domestic market and are far removed from the major world markets, they face the challenges of operating in a tough and ever-changing environment. This environment is characterised by a global recession, aggressive global competition, high inflation and more demanding customers. To overcome these obstacles and to ensure their continuous success and existence, these domestic firms need to create a competitive advantage. The establishment of such a competitive advantage is dependent on a number of factors which mainly include sourcing from a world-class supplier base in terms of price, quality and service delivery. The main objective and central theme of this study is to determine the factors that are required by a supplier in the South African automotive industry to be classified as a world-class supplier. In support of the main objective, it was necessary to source the reasons why a firm would find it important to trade with a world-class supplier base, and to determine whether the current levels of supplier performance as experienced by buying firms in the Eastern Cape automotive industry, could be regarded as world-class. Furthermore, the study set out to determine the consequences to customer firms of inferior supplier performance, as well as the actions currently taken and support programmes in place to bring suppliers in line with world-class standards. As a starting point to the study, a literature review was undertaken which revealed the definite interdependence between a business firm and the environment in which it operates. The review underlined the need for environmental scanning as a means to proactively manage the impact of environmental changes on a firm. Porter’s value chain and business process re-engineering, as discussed in the study, are also perceived as means to manage environmental changes. The literature study further revealed some of the latest business trends followed by automotive business firms, as well as the expected supplier buy-in to ensure success. A statistical analysis on the quantitative data gathered, grouped specific items (questions) that relate to the study’s main objective with three respective individual supplier performance areas. A confirmatory factor analysis which focused on the three factors, namely quality, pricing and service delivery was carried out to assess the validity of the questions used for gathering the research data. The Cronbach Alphas determined for the three factors portrayed the reliability of the research instrument as acceptable. The empirical study revealed a few main factors that automotive business firms strongly perceive as being key to the establishment of a world-class supplier base. These factors are: a culture of continuous improvement; consistently meeting delivery deadlines by being able to respond to customer schedule changes; quoting fair prices and having respect for business ethics; as well as the consistent application of a quality policy which leads to conformance to specifications and subsequent high levels of product reliability. The empirical study also identified the following benefits enjoyed by customer business firms when trading with a world-class supplier base: Firms are able to be more flexible to customer schedule changes; they receive products that meet specifications; and they are able to operate at lower costs. The empirical findings with regard to the current level of supplier performance in the Eastern Cape Province automotive industry highlighted mainly three problem areas. These are late deliveries; the inability of suppliers to respond to customer schedule changes; as well as a lack of continuous improvement. Late deliveries which lead to production stoppages, with its resultant high costs, as well as the receipt of below-par quality products, were revealed as the main consequences when dealing with suppliers whose performance are not world-class. The main actions taken and programmes or incentives offered by automotive business firms to bring inferior suppliers more in line with world-class performance, include the rewarding of good suppliers by granting them more business; applying formal supplier performance evaluations; and having regular supplier audits.
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- Date Issued: 2009
Increasing competitiveness through the enhancement of logistics processes in the South African automotive industry
- Authors: Njokweni, Thobela
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Business logistics , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Competition, International
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/418 , Business logistics , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Competition, International
- Description: Logistics has become one of the automotive industry's most crucial sub-sectors. Previously, logistics had to step aside to make way for production considerations. Today it is regarded as being every bit as crucial as production in the global village. Advancement of logistics in South Africa is crucial because original equipment manufacturers are producing to developed world standards but are having to cope with low developing world logistics standards. The logistics processes that need to be enhanced in order for the South African automotive industry to be more competitive were investigated. To examine the main problem, three sub-problems were identified. The first sub-problem that has been identified dealt with logistics processes that will enhance the competitive advantage of the South African automotive industry. The second sub-problems looked at key logistics opportunities and threats to the environment in which South African motor manufactures trade. They were investigated by assessing the nature of the South African motor manufacturing industry. Finally, the third sub-problem investigated conclusions that can be arrived at concerning the appropriateness and strategic value of the analysis.
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- Date Issued: 2005
An evaluation of a strategy of lean manufacturing as a means for a South African motor vehicle assembler to achieve core competence
- Authors: Maritz, Louis Wiehahn
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Manufacturing industries -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10834 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/26 , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Manufacturing industries -- Management
- Description: South African businesses are facing unforeseen opportunities and threats following the country’s remarkable political transformation that culminated in its first non-racial, democratic elections in April 1994 (Krüger, 1997: 138). The objective of this paper was to understand what core competences a South African motor vehicle assembler requires to survive this era of declining protectionism and increasing competition. It is argued in this paper that organisations that want to compete with the best in the world market needs to adopt lean manufacturing principles. This paper is concerned with the core competences of an organisation and how an organisation identifies and utilises these in order to become a lean enterprise. The qualitative research method was identified as the most appropriate for the study. Two methods of data collection were used i.e. interviews with senior and middle management and a detailed literary study on the subject. The senior management interviews were aimed at identifying what they perceived to be the core competences a motor vehicle assembler requires in order to be a world-class lean manufacturing enterprise. The literary study was the base for the understanding of core competence and lean manufacturing. Finally, a second round of interviews with middle management was conducted to obtain clarity on the perceived role of middle management in the selected organisation’s quest to be a lean manufacturing concern. This paper concludes that if an organisation wants to survive it needs to identify and assess its core competences. These competences need to be developed or discarded in the organisation’s aims to be a lean manufacturing enterprise by eliminating all forms of non-value added activity. The programmes or projects that the selected organisation embarked on were primarily driven from the top down, placing middle management in the centre with the resistance coming from the lower levels in the organisation. Middle management should be given the necessary tools to overcome the resistance and assist the company to make smooth transitions.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Development of a Human Resource development strategy for the Border-Kei motor industry cluster
- Authors: Maritz, Andre
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Manpower policy , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Personnel management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10832 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23 , Manpower policy , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Personnel management -- South Africa
- Description: DaimlerChrysler’s investment of R 1.4 billion in its East London Plant has resulted in the formation and development of an industry cluster, with DaimlerChrysler as the main industry driver. The rest of the cluster is made up of suppliers to the motor industry, as well as organisations involved in attracting and stimulating economic development in the region. The investment by DaimlerChrysler signalled the entry of DaimlerChrysler South Africa (DCSA) into global markets, supplying right-hand drive C-Class vehicles to the rest of the world. As a global player, world-class quality standards are expected of DCSA and, in turn, their suppliers. World-Class skills are therefore expected of the employees from all of the organisations within the cluster. This factor poses a challenge to South African organisations who are subjected to and challenged by the legislation that seeks to address and correct the societal imbalance of the past. The research problem addressed in this study was two-fold. The first objective was to determine whether or not there was a competitive advantage to be gained by being part of an industry cluster. The second objective was to determine how suppliers to DCSA from within the cluster developed world-class skills despite the constraints imposed upon them by South African legislation. To achieve these objectives, a theoretical study was conducted on existing conditions within clusters worldwide, as well as on methods being implemented by global organisations to develop world-class skills. An empirical study, covering the topics of competitive advantage and developing world-class skills, was developed and sent to suppliers of DCSA to test the degree of concurrence between methods implemented in the Border-Kei Motor Industry Cluster and global organisations elsewhere in the world. The results of the empirical study indicated a strong concurrence in many of the factors, and essentially only differed in instances where a cluster was more developed.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Development of a model of factors promoting team effectiveness in the automotive component industry
- Authors: Hutton, Timothy Strathearn
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Teams in the workplace , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10833 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/24 , Teams in the workplace , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study was to determine what makes a work team successful. To achieve this objective a theoretical model of factors promoting team effectiveness was developed, using relevant literature in which models for team effectiveness are described. The theoretical model consisted of the following factors: Individual background factors; Facilitation; Team Factors; Synergy; Team effectiveness; Organisational factors. Each factor of the model was broken down into dimensions that were then analysed using literature identified during the literature study. The theoretical model was then used to develop a questionnaire to test the degree to which managers working for automotive component manufacturers in the Port Elizabeth /Uitenhage magisterial district and falling under Chapter III of the Bargaining Council for the Motor Industry concur. The empirical results obtained indicate a strong concurrence with the theoretical model of factors promoting team effectiveness that was developed in the study. This resulted in the theoretical model being confirmed and being accepted as a model of factors promoting team effectiveness.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Integrating customer requirements in the design of service processes in South African motor dealership
- Authors: Hodgkinson, Peter
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- Customer services , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Customer services -- Quality control
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10837 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/30 , Automobile industry and trade -- Customer services , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Customer services -- Quality control
- Description: The Motor Industry is set in a highly competitive and dynamic global arena constantly shaped by both external and internal forces. From an organisations point of view many of the external or macro forces are largely uncontrollable. Against this backdrop, players in the South African Motor Industry need to find new methods of differentiating themselves from competitors – One manner of performing this strategy is for Motor Dealerships to understand, meet or exceed customer requirements. In this research, the literature survey revealed the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) and fail-safing, the meaning of superior customer service and the importance of customer loyalty and retention. Customer service excellence levels of three Williams Hunt dealerships in the Port Elizabeth – Uitenhage metropole were measured by utilizing the SERVQUAL instrument for calibrating service quality. Customer expectations and perceptions were determined by means of the empirical study which yielded a service quality “gap.” From analysis of this gap and related findings, suggested improvements were suggested as a guideline for dealerships to utilise with the aim of improving customer service levels.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Strategic analysis of the South African motor manufacturing industry's changing business environment
- Authors: Stockwell, Cecil
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10840 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36 , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management
- Description: Introduction: The South African economy has shown very little economic growth and car sales declined steadily from 1988 till they increased slightly in 1999. 2000 saw the economy recovering from a recession, and motor vehicle sales increasing. In order for the South African motor manufacturing industry to remain viable, the manufacturers, who must operate within the framework of the Motor Industry Development Plan, face increasing international competition as the large motor firms from around the world strive to gain a foothold in Africa in anticipation of an “African Renaissance.” South African manufacturers have to develop appropriate strategies to ensure profitability and survival in the new millennium. This entails a thorough analysis of the changing business environment the industry finds itself trading in.
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- Date Issued: 2000