The Chinese Motorcycle Manufacturing Industry

[dy245000]

I was an engineer, not a business person. The terminologies that you used are alien to me.

[MJH]

A relational databases eliminate repetitive entry of details.

Another way of stating that is to change any repetitive lists of details to a single code and then the relative details are in a separate table. Employees at each level maintain the data related to their functional position.

A vehicle Identification Number [WMI]*************** has seventeen characters, within it are codes, in one table only the VIN is seen however part of that code within the VIN is linked in another table that has all the details for the actual World Manufacturer Identification.

Another linked table could be that of a production series ID, [WMI]**********[0101], then another table would have all the details of that series.

The series ID should reveal within its table a parts list ID and in that reveal another table that had all the specific parts and it being a specific part number used on models in that series. Each part having a code or part number has it own set of data, it get it own table or also could be called a part data sheet.

So the digital representation mirrors the actual process, the assembling of parts also is associated with the assembling of the data list, then they are permanently stored, the actual part inventory t is all the parts used in the factory, the part list ID would be the subset of the total parts inventory that was used on the specific models in a specific series.

Then entering in one part number could reveal all models that use that part.

That is done through queries and all RDMS system use SQL standard Query language They also use defined joins that link all the tables together and that is done on key fields. So the query can reach across join and assemble data from various different tables.

So when a part is made or purchased, it gets a data sheet and ID, it then is entered into the parts supply table.

When a model is assembled, before the series in run in production, the parts list for it is selected and its as a list is named and it would then be represented in each of the vehicles in the run, represented in the VIN assigned to all the vehicle in that series.

Then from the consumer or end user position entering a VIN would pull up a related view of data for that model. Buying a part after production is actually is replacing the part, the action would get tagged and sent back to engineering, as a part failure.

The actual parts all would have costs associated, then so would a series, it all feeds into financials. The entire business process is series of functional divisions and these have to or should operate synergistically.

So the series has a count, and with it has lists of parts that assembled have a total cost, plus labor, plus fixed costs. If you think about that you can understand why the unit cost fall when the production keeps going, it also rises when the production stops. So a loss of production can also come with not only a loss of revenue, it also make the remaining production less profitable per unit.

[MJH]

If a manufacturer makes only one of a model that model is the most expensive, it in fact has all of the research and development imbedded in its costs. Those costs are recovered or for example if they make another then the total cost per unit is 50% less, simply because all the costs associated would then be divided in two between each unit.

So the most efficient way to recover costs is to have a large production any model that does not sell well costs more to make, even if it is relatively cheap, if it does not hit a target level it becomes a negative value on the total cost of goods sold and can make a companies operating ratio lower then the industry average and in that less profitable

So they sell sure things and avoid taking risks and in that avoid investing in developing a model that will not sell well.

That is why having global models is best the biggest market globally is what the Chinese are currently making. It is because they are the largest producer and also selling to a global market.

The number one seller of all time is this:


That is what the majority of the Chinese production centers on, its all centers around a simple step through design. Globally the majority of its sales are a variations of that design.

Making larger more advanced models will cost more and in that sell less, the price goes up because the cost of production goes up. Even incremental advancements more, a simple 250cc air cooled engine does not sell as well as a 150cc scooter. It does not sell better then a 125cc or 150cc street bike.

The only way they can enter European or North American markets is with small and less expensive. They offer the same versions of smaller for often half the price of the markets current offerings. However they do not have the same quality of support, they offer cheap replacement parts, if you have the time and patience to find or wait for them, often to find out the part failure is inherent in the design, in that it just breaks again.

That’s because the profit margins are slim and redesigning costs and if they do that then another cheap option will displace them in the market.

In many cases those that manufacture engines have to sell those engines to others, they do that to reduce the production costs per unit of the engines, but in return they supply other brands with models that will displace sales in the market. That’s has a stagnating effect, it holds the industry in place. The shear number of manufacturers keep it from progressing, none have the resources to progress.

What to make and were to sell it, that requires a bottom up approach and in that its distribution. It is for the most part access to actual consumers. They can sell online and ship direct but that models require more then haphazardly set up virtual stores fronts on Taobao.

But read backwards, unless you have a system that can keep track of the millions of parts for thousands of model variations it is too me lessons in futility.

They have no capital, they should be investing in operations that are vertically integrated, process driven and keep the ego and sales people at bay. It truly does require a digital process, it requires a data driven approach.

They must develop EFI versions for over 150cc and if the costs of those are too much higher they will die trying and if they are unreliable its a double death blow to the industry.

That focus should be a 200-400cc market range, it should be fuel efficient and reliable, it’s a globally marketable range its higher end in emerging nations and entry level in developed nations.

The next blow to the industry will be restrictions to under 150cc so in that they are looking to develop the technology at that level, because the next set of standards are on the horizon, they many that is will likely pocket and keep testing until that level reins in, then the smallest player will die off, the result will be over half of the existing manufactures disappearing.

So they are now looking at respecting technology rights, they are on the other side of the coin. The only real way to keep up with that is enforcing digital documentation and in that are detailed diagrams and smart systems that review all parts as components and check them for licensing and also levels of variance in a design. If too similar the rights to market could and should be denied.

That’s about submitting not just a model for approval to the market, it is about submitting digital data that is subsequently reviewed through a digital system, a sort of AI, an algorithm that runs it through analytical scripts. That makes government more efficient and makes it smarter and in that more acceptable to the majority.