| The sudden epidemic in early 2020 brought huge challenges to the business management of most enterprises.In the automotive industry,due to material shortage and poor logistics,many enterprises had cut their production plans,and in 2021,because of the shortage of chip supply,it still severely restricts the production of the automotive industry.Although it is impossible to change the external environmental factors affecting enterprises,supply chain and inventory management within the enterprise are crucial to development of enterprises.Since 2009,China’s auto industry has been booming and has now become a major country in the world in terms of production and sales of automobiles.The year-on-year increase in vehicle production and the globalization of auto parts and components with the process of global integration have also contributed to the rapid development of China’s auto parts industry and the emergence of a number of excellent parts suppliers.However,as the market competition becomes more and more intense,effective cost control becomes an important prerequisite for sustainable business operation.Inventory management is the basis of survival and development of auto parts enterprises,how to optimize inventory management,reduce the operating costs of enterprises so as to improve the competitiveness of enterprises is the key to the success of auto parts enterprises.WH is a passenger car chassis parts manufacturer,currently providing chassis parts for mainstream car manufacturers at home and abroad,such as General Motors,Volvo Cars,Geely Automobile,Shanghai Automobile,Chery Automobile,Xiaopeng Automobile,NIO Automobile,etc.WH’s raw materials are mainly aluminum ingots,with two separate production workshops,first producing in-process products in the casting workshop,and then transferring them to the machine shop to produce the final product.Since the second half of 2019,WH has been experiencing the problem of high in-process inventory,WH management has been committed to solving this problem,but the problem has not improved significantly due to the large changes in customer demand in 2020,while the cost of raw materials is rising under the influence of the epidemic,which aggravates the occupation of capital by in-process inventory,on the other hand,the company also needs to invest more containers to place work-in-progress parts,which greatly affects the site 5S performance and FIFO management of materials.Therefore,how to effectively control the work-in-process inventory has become an urgent problem for production team.This paper firstly describes the current status of WIP inventory management,summarizes the main factors that affect the WIP inventory of WH and the impact of WIP problems on the company.Secondly,we analyzed the WIP inventory management problem from six aspects:personnel skill management,production schedule,part characteristics,site operation process,customer demand,and data statistics.Then,based on the theoretical knowledge of inventory management and lean manufacturing,we proposed optimization measures for WIP inventory control based on the results of the analysis,including the introduction of WIP classification and control strategies,the implementation of a one-person,with multi-skill system,the improvement of data statistics,the adjustment of production methods and the promotion of quick mold change,and the smooth implementation of the optimization measures through management participation,personnel training and corporate system protection.The implementation of the optimization program has effectively controlled WH’s work-in-process inventory management and reduced the company’s operating costs.The competition among manufacturing companies is increasingly reflected in the efficiency and cost of business operation,and the control of WIP inventory is an important reflection of business operation efficiency.It is expected that the optimization measures mentioned in this paper will provide valuable references for similar problems in similar companies. |
