Advantages
- Easier inventory management/smaller number of parts
- Platform sharing allows for fewer parts for different models of vehicles and therefore the task of inventorying those parts is greatly reduced.
- Lower development costs
- Platform sharing allows manufacturers to cover many different market segments when a platform sharing strategy is implemented. This is exemplified by Ford Motor Co. in the case of the Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer and Lincoln Aviator. They are essentially the same only they are considered mass-market, near luxury and luxury vehicles.
- Increased quality and innovation
- Platform sharing allows manufacturers to design parts with fewer variation. A byproduct of this is increased quality, which results in lower defect rates.
- Global standardization
- Platform sharing allows manufacturers to design flexible platforms that can be tailored to a country's specific needs without compromising quality. It also allows for manufacturing standardization and improved logistics.
- Greater product variety
- Platform sharing allows manufacturers to build/design differentiated products faster and cheaper. This is possible because the development and cost of the original platform have already been paid for.
Read more about this topic: Automobile Platform
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