Bmw 7 Series
Table Of Contents
Executive Summary 3
Project Description 6
Problems Encountered 9
Project Analysis 12
Discussion Questions 24
Summary & Recommendation 29
Executive Summary
In June, 1991, Carl-Peter Forster, director of Prototype and Pilot Manufacturing at BMW had a major decision to make. It was a little less than three and half years into the six year development program for the completely redesigned 7-series luxury sedan. Up to this point, BMW had been following their traditional method of designing automobiles. However, a project meeting was scheduled for that day to decide whether to change to a new approach for prototyping the cockpit of the new 7-series. This new approach would result in higher tooling costs and longer lead times, but the team felt that it could drastically reduce problems downstream and greatly improve the quality of the initial production units.
BMW is a company in a very competitive environment. They compete head-to-head with Daimler-Benz in Germany as well as the new Japanese luxury automobiles hitting the markets. Through the years, BMW’s success can be attributed to their break from traditional car design and through their heavy investment in Research and Development.
To retain their lead, BMW needs to identify and focus on their strategic objectives. To that end, BMW’s upper management set three major strategic objectives to focus on: Increased Product Variety; More Frequent Product Introductions; and Improved Quality of the Newly Launched Models. To meet these objectives, they dedicated the Regensburg plant to make more styles in more colors for different countries. They decided to introduce a new model or new engine every year. And they decided to change the number of complaints they deem acceptable for a launch vehicle.
BMW also needed to change their approach to Quality. Rather than bringing Quality on board in production, they brought Quality in for the entire 6 year development journey;
Executive Summary 3
Project Description 6
Problems Encountered 9
Project Analysis 12
Discussion Questions 24
Summary & Recommendation 29
Executive Summary
In June, 1991, Carl-Peter Forster, director of Prototype and Pilot Manufacturing at BMW had a major decision to make. It was a little less than three and half years into the six year development program for the completely redesigned 7-series luxury sedan. Up to this point, BMW had been following their traditional method of designing automobiles. However, a project meeting was scheduled for that day to decide whether to change to a new approach for prototyping the cockpit of the new 7-series. This new approach would result in higher tooling costs and longer lead times, but the team felt that it could drastically reduce problems downstream and greatly improve the quality of the initial production units.
BMW is a company in a very competitive environment. They compete head-to-head with Daimler-Benz in Germany as well as the new Japanese luxury automobiles hitting the markets. Through the years, BMW’s success can be attributed to their break from traditional car design and through their heavy investment in Research and Development.
To retain their lead, BMW needs to identify and focus on their strategic objectives. To that end, BMW’s upper management set three major strategic objectives to focus on: Increased Product Variety; More Frequent Product Introductions; and Improved Quality of the Newly Launched Models. To meet these objectives, they dedicated the Regensburg plant to make more styles in more colors for different countries. They decided to introduce a new model or new engine every year. And they decided to change the number of complaints they deem acceptable for a launch vehicle.
BMW also needed to change their approach to Quality. Rather than bringing Quality on board in production, they brought Quality in for the entire 6 year development journey;