Automotive Supply Chain Management In Slovakia - Icabr.com

• Both OEMs and car suppliers do not always meet the needs of the end customer.
Most car drivers want sound, reliable products at reasonable prices. The total cost of
ownership will remain the most important buying factor.
• OEMs and suppliers will have to significantly improve efficiency in all R&D processes
to keep costs under control.
• Cost improvement measures, such as off-shoring of engineering, complexityreduction
programs, standardization and modularization, optimization of new product
development, lean processes or the development of low-cost cars will help the
industry control some of the cost increases produced by the growing number of
functions.
Strong emphasis on innovation and product development is visible in the publication of
Kováč, M. (2007). He says that innovation will be most important factor in the future and
mainly in automotive industry in SMEs. Focus of innovation will be more on eco-innovation,
cost reduction, specific requirements of customers, safety innovation, alternative fuels, ICT
and electronics.
Supply Chain Structure in Slovakia
Supplier structure of Slovak automotive environment belongs to the Central Europe
automotive industry with strong connecting to Western European car producers and
suppliers. Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary are next three Central Europe countries
where are established car production plants.
Slovakia needed replace fail of heavy industry and armament industry after economic
transformation process. Slovak economic and industry analyzes showed that automotive
industry was only new opportunity for utilization of traditional machinery industry for next
economic development. Slovakia offered good conditions for foreign direct investors, mainly
in automotive industry. In the present, Slovakia is automotive industry country with 1 st place
in the world in 2007 – car production per 1000 inhabitants=105.7 cars. Car production in
Slovakia in 2007 was 571 071 cars, car production in Slovakia in 2008 was 575 776 cars.
There are more than 75,000 employs in 2007, more than 200 suppliers, good established
local R&D network and universities in Slovakia. Automotive industry brought on Slovakia
economic growth, high-tech technologies, new production methods and management of
manufacturing culture in companies, more innovation and increasing of productivity and
quality in all industrials sectors. Automotive industry influenced other industry sectors such
as: machinery, chemistry, electronics and electrotechnics, transport, civil engineering and
service development. Automotive industry with its supplier sector has key share on total
industry production and it is key industry for growth of the Slovak economy. Slovak
government supports investments into research and development and it emphasis
importance of high-tech and innovation technologies. Here are built modern and high
productive production capacities, quality human resource (availability of technicians,
engineers, researchers and scientists), political stability, Euro currency, innovation policy and
next important factors for foreign investors. On Picture 1 is map of Slovakia and locations of
foreign car producers. Slovak supply chain was adapted to conditions and requirements of
three different cultures of car producers (German, French and Korean).