Shanghai GM: Use "zero" inventory to create cost advantage

Under the pressure of energy shortages and carbon emissions, how to save energy and reduce emissions is the common pursuit of the automotive industry. Who can run faster will mean that he will be able to lead the competition in the future.

Shanghai General Motors is obviously rushing to run. In the middle of last year, Shanghai General Motors released the all-round strategic development plan for the “Green Dynamics Future” of the company from 2011 to 2015, which includes three parts: green product strategy, green system strategy, and corporate responsibility strategy.

“Green move” drives sales at the product level. Shanghai GM not only devotes great efforts in the field of new energy and further develops hybrid power systems; it actively promotes electric vehicles that replace petroleum energy and accelerates the formation of industrialized products; it is also the latest energy technology. Keep pace with the development of hydrogen energy technology. In addition, Shanghai GM did not give up on the optimization of the performance of traditional internal combustion engines and transmissions.

Over the past year or so, Shanghai General Motors has fully integrated its parent company's superior resources and solidly promoted its green product strategy. The three major brands have launched a total of 19 green models listed, including three models with power upgrades. Currently, green models account for the total number of companies. The proportion of sales has reached 72%.

The implementation of this strategy is also very effective. When Shanghai’s auto market entered the adjustment period this year, Shanghai GM still maintained a relatively rapid development. Following last year’s history as the first passenger car company in the history of China’s auto industry to leap into “millions of scale” passenger car prices, Shanghai GM will It took less than 10 months to once again surpass the 1 million mark, which was a year-on-year increase of 19.0%, setting a record for sales over the same period over the same period, and continuing to surpass the average growth rate of the passenger vehicle market. First-rate production and sales volume of car companies.

Shanghai GM's three main brands sell products not only in the leading position in the various market segments, brand and product value is also rising.

The Buick brand, which has eight series of products, has accumulated sales of 550,008 units this year, a year-on-year increase of 20.8%, and completed sales for the whole of last year in less than 10 months. At the same time, the Buick brand is also synchronizing global technology, introducing advanced technologies such as SIDI smart direct injection technology, turbocharging technology, eAssist new generation of hybrid electric power system, FlexRide adaptive driving system, and firmly occupying the mid-to-high end of each segment.

The rapidly growing Chevrolet brand also achieved a 15.1% year-on-year growth rate, with cumulative sales of 427,678 units in the previous month. Benefiting from this year's thriving luxury car market, the Cadillac brand has sold 23,200 units in 2011, an increase of 63.6% year-on-year.

In addition to launching the “Green Future” strategy, Shanghai GM is also continuously strengthening cooperation with related companies in order to achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement.

In September of this year, Shanghai GM and Shanghai Automotive formally signed a technical cooperation agreement. The two parties will jointly build a new generation of electric vehicle platforms and use the Pan-Asian Technology Center as a global research and development base to jointly develop electric vehicle research and development. Both parties also stated that they will launch their own electric vehicle models for the new platform in the future. This is another step in the further strengthening of cooperation in the core areas following the signing of an agreement on the research and development of new energy vehicle basic technologies and a new generation of vehicle models in November 2010.

To create “zero” inventory as a retail and distribution company, inventory often determines the operational efficiency of the company, and in order to achieve the goal of reducing inventory and increasing inventory turnover, the “circulation and picking” model adopted by Shanghai GM once let industry insiders talk about it. It is through this model that Shanghai GM’s spare parts inventory is almost "zero."

Shanghai GM introduced that the number of parts of the three major models of Shanghai GM reached more than 5,400, which is equivalent to the number of single-products in a medium-sized supermarket. And if you add North American and Brazil two imported parts bases, Shanghai GM has 180 suppliers at home and abroad, which is similar to the number of suppliers of a large shopping mall. And, more importantly, 80% of the suppliers are located in the suburbs of Shanghai. How to improve the efficiency of the supply chain and help reduce the inventory of the entire supply chain has become a crucial link.

Shanghai General Motors stated that Shanghai GM will send its products directly to the factory for suppliers that have a very large delivery volume. The smaller supply quantities are integrated in the transportation process. Through the optimization of the line and the optimization of the loading, Shanghai GM has not only obtained very high prices. The load capacity, increase the volume of bicycles, improve the safety factor, also achieved the purpose of saving fuel. Shanghai GM's trucks start from the factory each morning, and prepare the raw materials for the first supplier, and then go to the second and third homes until all the materials are loaded and return. This has the advantage that The cost of returning empty vehicles to all suppliers has been fully saved to save transportation costs.

Shanghai GM is relying on the "recycling" model. The cost of spare parts transportation can save 3 million yuan each year, which is a drop of more than 30%.