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Following large scale production and lean production, modular production is honored as the third revolution of auto production mode. Swedish truck manufacturer SCANIA initiated the concept decades ago and Volkswagen fully implemented modular production in 2013, followed by Benz, VOLVO, Audi and TOYOTA, etc. In China bus manufacturing industry, Golden Dragon took the lead in this field.
Modular production is to assemble the universal module or subsystem connected by standardized interface into the complete product, which is helpful for manufacturers to remain the production flexibility and make differentiated products in batches.
In China bus manufacturing industry, mass customization as one way to meet customers" requirements for diversity and personalization may increase costs and reduce efficiency, while Golden Dragon achieves efficient and low-cost production and makes more competitive products by virtue of modular production.
In product design phase, based on the partition of reasonable function module for similarity of module that reduce the change of product mix and manufacturing structure, the manufacturer is able to control the diversity and cost of the products by virtue of module selection and combination. According to the document of Ministry of Transport, Golden Dragon started to develop XML6102 "Kaige" coach through module design in October 2012. Compared with other 10m coaches, this double-floor model is the shortest and lowest with the most seats and largest luggage compartment, reaching 51 seats and 8.5m3, equivalent to those of the 12m coach. Thanks to universal parts and standardized assembly, Golden Dragon XML6102 was finished within half a year. Modular production shorts the production period.
Up to 2012, Golden Dragon has reduced 32% of parts inventory ratio; procurement cost has decreased CNY 50 million; order cycle time has shortened to 15 days; development cycle of products has dropped 20%; turnover days of inventory has decreased from 60 days to 30 days. The perfect combination of modular production and supply chain enhances the competitiveness of Golden Dragon.