2022 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
German and Japanese Auto-parts Suppliers' Project Management
| Project/Area Number |
18K12842
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Automotive industry / Auto-parts suppliers / Project management |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
No progress could be achieved last year, mainly due to COVID-19 pandemic.
An initial case study conducted before the pandemic found that suppliers rather rely on technology-based approaches such as modularisation and anticipating future technology trends via extensive analysis of customer requirements instead of project management.
Project management was mainly directed at customers, but the important engineering work was conducted in a previous development stage where the firm central R&D center would develop 'core components' (modules) that are subsequently combined or slightly modified to meet customer requirements. Thus, this case study indicates that technology management was of greater importance than projet management.
This research was presented at an international conference and received some encouraging feedback.
The basic idea to study automotive supplier firms' project management (or lack thereof) via case studies is unchanged, but the implementation is difficult due to the pandemic.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
The COVID-19 pandemic made international travel difficult. Further, firms are reluctant to welcome outside visitors not directly related to business due to the pandemic.
As this research project is based on qualitative research methods, implementation was extremely difficult.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
It will be tried to implement the research as COVID-19 seems to ease and allow more contacts. However, as the research is dependent on firm cooperation, implementation will depend on the question if firms are going to become more open to non-business visitors.
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| Causes of Carryover |
It is hoped to implement the delayed research during the next fiscal year, so the amount is needed to carry out this plan, including travel to Germany if cooperation from firms can be achieved.
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