2005 ANNUAL REPORT - Renault

Cooperation and synergies
in manufacturing
Quality
One of the major contributions of the Alliance is
the progress achieved in the quality of products
and services by pooling the experience of both groups.
The Alliance Quality Charter, signed in 2002, defines
joint rules and tools such as the Alliance Vehicle
Evaluation System, the Alliance New Product Quality
Procedure and the Alliance Supplier Evaluation System.
The Charter has been applied to every project since
January 2003.
Manufacturing
Logistics
In 2004, Logistics acquired its own Cross-Company
Team (CCT) in an effort to capitalize on the close
geographical fit between the production plants operated
by the two groups worldwide. The same year, synergies
attained over $132 million. The Logistics CCT is made
up of six operational sub-teams focusing on overseas
parts logistics, supply parts management, in-bound
logistics, material handling, out-bound logistics
and common standard packaging. In 2005, four new
working groups were added, dedicated to strategy, cost
management for new projects, international resources
and human resources.
The Renault-Nissan
Alliance
Renault and Nissan have actively exchanged
and implemented best practices in the area
of manufacturing. Renault upgraded the Renault
Production Way by introducing shop floor management
with the support of Nissan experts, including
workstation standardization, implementation of Total
Productive Maintenance (TPM), quality control, and so on.
Renault practices adopted by Nissan include methods
to evaluate workstation ergonomics and control costs.
The Harbour Report, which ranks the productivity
of European plants each year, rated five Renault plants
among the eight most productive in Europe.
The Alliance is now shifting to more direct exchanges
between Renault and Nissan plants through cross-visits
and common studies.
Renault-Nissan
Purchasing Organization (RNPO)
RNPO was established in 2001 as the first Alliance joint-venture
company, representing about 30% of Nissan's and Renault's
global annual purchasing turnover. The scope of joint
purchasing activities was enlarged, increasing annual volume
from $21 billion at end-2002 to $33 billion in January 2005,
which represents 70% of the Alliance's purchasing turnover.
During the same period, the percentage of Renault and Nissan
common suppliers grew from approximately 20% to nearly
60% in 2005. In addition, RNPO's geographical scope is now
expanding from Japan, Europe and the US to all regions where
Renault or Nissan have industrial operations.
Key purchasing activities have been defined as Core
Processes, common to all RNPO, Renault and Nissan
Purchasing Departments, to reflect the best purchasing
practices of the Alliance.
RNPO has been an accelerator for the performances
of Renault and Nissan in the different purchasing sectors
under its responsability. A recent survey shows that suppliers
strongly support RNPO as it brings value to the business.
Process engineering
The purpose of the Process Engineering CCT is to improve
Quality-Cost-Delivery tasks of vehicle process engineering.
It aims to reduce investments in particular in stamping
dies, body assembly facilities and paint facilities. New
actions have been identified for 2006-2007:
- Study of Renault tooling in Europe;
- Renault Samsung Motors opportunities;
- Sharing the new process development list and seeking
new opportunities.
Nissan's factory in Barcelona, Spain
is a major production site for Trafic.
2005 Renault Annual Report
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