The Design and Evaluation of a Supply Chain Logistic Hub for Automobile and Parts Distribution

Abstract

Enterprises in Taiwan are facing global competition which requires enterprises to implement sound business models and maintain effective operational processes. The most pressing need is to develop global logistic processes and models that satisfy rapidly changing business and operational objectives. This research studies how the automotive industry in Taiwan has adopted its logistic hubs to improve international business operations and objectives. In the first phase of the study, Taiwan automotive firms were surveyed and their current (as-is) logistic models were derived. In the second phase, based on the industry characteristics and the company's global strategy, the improved (to-be) logistic processes were derived. Further, a case of Taiwan automobile manufacturers is used to apply and demonstrate the to-be logistic models and evaluate the performance of the proposed models. The resulting framework for a global logistic hub is designed to improve the operations of automotive companies with respect to time and cost, as well as to ensure information sharing among automotive supply chain partners.