Leveraging the Supply Chain: How DaimlerChrysler Does It
To support production of the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the worldwide supply organization at DaimlerChrysler Corp. (Auburn Hills, MI) oversees the transport of more than 1,300 components and 425 truckloads of material from more than 300 internal and external suppliers each day.
Components and subassemblies arrive from many different locations around Detroit and the Midwest. Some material comes from as far away as Hamburg, Germany. Any break in the supply chain can disrupt vehicle production, so sophisticated systems are employed to ensure that the flow of parts into the plant is not disrupted.