Role of Manufacturing Logistics in Indian Automobile Industries – A Case Study

Manufacturing Logistics refers to all planning, coordination and service functions required to carry out manufacturing activities. The scope of manufacturing logistics begins from the point where end-item customer demands are determined, and extends to the point where the demands are fulfilled. The characteristics of the manufacturing processes and activities are a major determinant of the logistics activities and logistics system design. Manufacturing Logistics addresses opportunities and problems whose primary focus falls within a given scope. These opportunities either involve a set of key logistic activities or support the deployment of a set of key resources that support manufacturing activities. Logistics Engineering can be divided into internal or in-plant logistics and external manufacturing logistics. The Internal or in-plant logistics includes the material handling, warehousing and storage systems and the external manufacturing logistics includes the transportation. Both must be integrated to minimize costs at a competitive level of service. For example, plant layout and production planning must consider internal logistics. The design decisions are made in the early phases of product design and development will have a significant effect over future manufacturing and logistical activities. In this paper, a methodology is developed and presented to minimize design cycle time of any manufacturing firms including their suppliers and maximize the whole system effectiveness.