The aim of my thesis is to describe the automotive industries of the most significant countries in the Asian region. The whole thesis is focused on passenger cars. The thesis is focused on the following countries: Japan, South Korea, China and India. Another aim is to analyze the impact of selected auto makers from these countries to the European market. One of the aims is also introduction of the future trends in the Asian automotive industry, related to Europe. The last aim is to determinate when the Chinese automaker will belong to the world's car manufacturers.

This master thesis is focussed on optimalization of material flow in an automotive company. First part introduce theoretical background. Automotive industry and its actual trends on global markets. Follows short introduction of the company where project of this thesis was executed. Main theoretical part describes concept of lean management, its tools in practical examples, but it is also focussed on philosophical approach to the work and mindset of the company. Follows the aplication part based on theoretical background. The whole project of this master thesis is focussed on specific area called PC store. At first this area is showed in context of overall material flow. Shortly there are introduced processes and areas where full material packaging flows. Follows deeper analysis and optimalization of PC store itself. There are three approaches of stock and lead time reduction applied. Last part shows the comparison of initial and future state including performed changes.

The entry of China into the globalized world and onto the stage of the global automarket has presented auto manufacturers with the largest ever market opportunity. While global competitive forces drive firms to develop product innovation through their global supply chains, the approach of global auto manufacturers and their first tier suppliers has been to bring existing technology into China. Only recently has the supply chain in China become integrated into the global product innovation cycle. While innovations generated by supply channel relationships, as opposed to individual partners, are playing an increasingly important role in the success of all supply chain partners, there has been limited research in the literature on how supply chain relationships cultivate the process of such innovation generation, particularly in China. Correspondingly, this study explores how multinational suppliers can develop adaptive product innovation in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage in China and how the protection of their knowledge helps them sustain it. Drawing on the knowledge-based view and transaction cost economics, and integrating those with behavioural governance and the institution-based view this study identifies drivers of product innovation for MNC suppliers in their relationships with Chinese OEMs, investigates the influence of supplier involvement and knowledge protection on supplier product innovation and examines the outcomes in the specific context of the Chinese automotive industry from the first-tier supplier perspective. Survey results of 170 multinational automobile suppliers in China indicate support for most of the hypotheses. Specifically, knowledge protection is found to have an impact on product innovation in the context of the auto industry in China. Supplier involvement in co-design and co-development with an automotive OEM customer has an inverted U-shaped relationship with product innovation. Furthermore, trust and technological uncertainty are found to drive greater product innovation. In addition, the institutional environment moderates the effect of product innovation on performance. Overall, this study enhances the understanding of how MNC suppliers can acquire local knowledge, develop products adapted to the local market requirements and foster product innovation while retaining their knowledge and know-how and minimizing negative effects of spill-overs to the local competition in the automotive industry in China.

The aim of this thesis is to show effects of foreign direct investment on labour productivity in Czech automotive sector in the period 2004-2009. The effects are measured through horizontal spillovers (technology transfer) representing the influence of foreign firm on Czech automotive sector and through Herfindahl index representing market concentration in the automotive sector. Based on models used in this thesis I have found out that between labour productivity and technology transfer of foreign firms in the automotive sector is not significant relationship, but labour productivity is positively and significantly influenced by market concentration in the sector. These findings do not correspond fully to widespread opinion that foreign direct investments enhance labour productivity of domestic firms by bringing new knowledge or technology. These findings correspond only to the hypothesis that higher concentration of the sector caused by foreign presence positively influence labour productivity.

The main goal of the thesis is to analyze the development of the automotive industry on both the global and the European level from the strategic perspective and to assess the impact of the identified trends on the position of the automotive suppliers within one of the emerging centers of the industry on the European continent. The auxiliary aims of the thesis include the identification of the main reasons, which have led to the current position of the automotive industry within the Central and Eastern European region, and the forecast of the expected future development. The thesis attempts to fill the gap in the existing literature both in the Czech Republic and abroad by presenting new findings in all of the above mentioned fields.

The first chapter presents SKODA AUTO a.s. The second chapter deals with the theorethical background of automotive industry. Then the thesis deals with intersection with customer needs and car market in CR. The fourth chapter deals with introduction of czech car market. Fifth chapter: there is provided analysis of performance of czech family car market. Final part of thesis deals with recomendation how to rearrange the product portfolio.

O cenário do mercado exige que as empresas desenvolvam produtos inovadores e feitos com processos eficazes. Uma das alternativas que as empresas automotivas tiveram para atingir tais objetivos é o uso de sistemas de produção enxuta (SPE). Neste contexto, este trabalho apresenta diretrizes para reprojeto de células de manufaturas enxutas. A aplicação do método é ilustrada por meio do caso de reprojeto de uma célula em uma fábrica de autopeças. A célula foi reprojetada em função da necessidade de adaptação à entrada de um novo produto demandado por um dos principais clientes. Como ponto de partida para o reprojeto, a célula existente foi analisada segundo o nível de uso da produção enxuta, por meio de uma ferramenta de avaliação das práticas de produção enxuta disponível na literatura. Essa aplicação permitiu aperfeiçoar a ferramenta de avaliação e identificar oportunidades de melhoria nas células. Depois disso, o reprojeto seguiu as seguintes etapas: projeto preliminar, projeto detalhado e planejamento da implementação das novas células de manufatura. Contudo, os resultados satisfatórios de um Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos (PDP) dependem da comunicação entre as etapas e atividades relativas ao processo e a necessidade de integração interfuncional. / The scenario of the market requires that companies develop innovative products and with effective processes. One of the alternatives that the automotive companies had to achieve these goals is to use the lean production systems. In this context, this paper presentsguidelines to redesign lean manufacturing cells, an auto parts factory. Cells were redesigned according one need to adapt to the entry of a new product demanded by a major customer. As a starting point for redesign, existing cells were analyzed according to the level of use of lean production, using an assessment tool of lean production practices available literature. This application allowed improving the assessment tool and identifies opportunities for improvement in the cells. After that, redesign involved the following steps: preliminary design, defining the detailed design and planning of the implementation of new manufacturing cells. However, a satisfactory result of a PDP depends on the communication between the steps and activities related to the process and the need cross-functional integration.

A necessidade de melhorar a competitividade e de atingir metas e objetivos, dentro de uma empresa, faz com que estudos como este sejam, cada vez mais úteis. A eliminação de desperdícios é uma das principais atividades que contribuem para alcançar melhores resultados, pois além de proporcionar a redução no custo total de fabricação de peças e dos serviços prestados, eliminam também, atividades que não agregam valor ao produto, atividades estas, que os consumidores não estão dispostos a pagar. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo demonstrar um estudo real da implantação de técnicas da Teoria das Restrições TOC, aliado a utilização da Mentalidade Enxuta Lean Manufacturing, como ferramentas para eliminação de desperdícios, aumento da produtividade e estabilidade do processo no departamento de Carrocerias de uma indústria automobilística. Num primeiro momento foi analisado o processo produtivo como: os índices da Eficiência Global dos Equipamentos (OEE), balanceamento de cargas de trabalhos e o layout fabril, onde se pode observar várias oportunidades de melhorias como: identificação dos gargalos que restringiam o fluxo produtivo; redução dos lotes de produção em processo; redução do takt time; alterações de layout e aumento da produtividade. A partir daí, foi possível aplicar ações para melhoria do desempenho do processo produtivo, tanto na implementação das ferramentas, como na melhoria contínua. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que a correta utilização das técnicas da Teoria das Restrições integradas aos conceitos do Lean Manufacturing, podem gerar ganhos substanciais em competitividade, inclusive com a superação das metas da organização, conforme foi verificado no presente estudo. / The need to improve competitiveness and achieve goals and objectives within a company, makes studies like this are increasingly useful. Waste disposal is one of the main activities that contribute to achieving better results, as well as providing a reduction in the total cost of manufacturing parts and services, also eliminate activities that do not add value to the product, these activities, which consumers are unwilling to pay. In this context, this paper aims to demonstrate an actual study deployment techniques Theory of Constraints `TOC, combined with the use of Lean Thinking `Lean Manufacturing as tools to eliminate waste, increase productivity and process stability Bodies department in an automobile. At first we analyzed the production process as indices of Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE), balancing workloads and factory layout, where you can observe several opportunities for improvements such as: identification of bottlenecks restricting the production flow; reduction of production batches in process, takt time reduction; layout changes and increased productivity. From there, it was possible to implement actions to improve the performance of the production process, both in the implementation of tools such as continuous improvement. The results showed that the use of correct techniques Theory of Constraints integrated the concepts of Lean Manufacturing can generate substantial gains in competitiveness, including overcoming the goals of the organization, as was found in this study.

Background: The discussion regarding value co-creation begins within the field of service marketing, it tells that the value is mutually created in process between the firms and the customers. And that concept has been developed further in many aspects, such as B2B context in which the knowledge intensive industry is involved. Many researchers have argued the importance of value co-creation and emphasized on the need of more studies within business practices. In this study, the particular automotive-3PL relationship would be added in to explore the empirical study of value co-creation. Purpose: The main purpose of the thesis is to study how value co-creation can be managed and achieved from the perspectives of 3PL providers and the users within automotive industry. Method: Through the qualitative research approach, the comprehensive knowledge, which includes the 3PL providers and users’ insights and undertaken behaviours behind the value co-creation is obtained after conducting eight semi-structured interviews in a case study. Conclusion: The results show that the value co-creation is actualized when 3PL providers and automotive users together actively participate in a certain process, in which the offering, interaction and learning are the core activities that should be maintained circularly. Furthermore, the high level of relationship commitment and trust should be sustained between actors.

This thesis is focused on sustainable development of a company using PLM systém in the environment of an industrial company, that manufactures components for the automotive industry. In the theoretical part the life cycle of the product (PLM) is described as well as its demands and benefits. This is followed by an analysis of current IT environment, which contains basis for adjustments of the current system. Thank to them is possible to reduce narrow places of the slim production of the company, avoid wasting time and material, and above all to achieve sustainable development of the company while using current technologies.