Rational: The Fuel for Innovation Strategies to drive innovation at maximum speed, optimal efficiency and reduced cost

Component and services suppliers to automotive OEM’s continuously look for opportunities to deliver with maximum flexibility and speed, and reduce costs in the face of a dynamic automotive industry, increasing regulatory requirements and changing consumer demands. As electronics and embedded software enables vehicles to be more intelligent and connected, the complexity of the components are also increasing at an exponential rate - whether they are dashboards, gearboxes, lighting systems or electronic control units and software modules. Discover three steps that may help you identify opportunities to lower your component production cost; improve speed, quality and operational efficiency and achieving compliance with a growing list of industry standards and platforms.

Deliver the right component, the first time

As the rate of innovation and complexity of embedded devices increases, automotive manufacturers require a more disciplined approach to component engineering from suppliers. Reducing cost and managing complexity require a close association and integration between Automobile Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) and suppliers. Suppliers will need to closely align with rapidly changing OEM specifications to to deliver the right high quality component each time.

How: A first step is to improve requirements management effectiveness and adopt a requirements-engineering process for component production that integrates and aligns with OEM needs and specifications. An integrated platform is needed between suppliers and OEMs to foster collaboration, requirements reuse and improve time to market.

Deliver higher quality in less time

Testing options are often limited (ex. missing hardware, test environment, reduced timelines) and quality issues are detected by the OEM or worse, the consumer, leading to poor customer satisfaction, increased maintenance costs, costly recalls, and missed contractual obligations. Suppliers need to focus on component quality within realities of increasing complexity, shrinking budgets, smaller teams and shorter delivery cycles.

How: Leverage models across mechanical, electronic and software disciplines to reduce development time and cost. Drive testing earlier in the lifecycle, with models even before hardware becomes available, reducing cost of rework. Automate testing, dependencies and linkages to ensure impact analysis, traceability, and mitigate the risk of hardware-software incompatibilities. Change is inevitable; to manage change effectively across the systems engineering lifecycle, suppliers will need to make sure their quality discipline is integrated with change and configuration management,

Profit from compliance!

Adoption and compliance with auto industry platforms and process standards, such as AUTOSAR, CMMI, SPICE, or ISO 26262, requires investment, driving additional cost and pushing already strained resources. Suppliers need to automate compliance efforts to help jumpstart delivery for components. How: Start by centralizing regulatory requirements to ensure all regulations are communicated and understood.. Accelerate standards platform adoption thru visual tools that will not only automate documentation needed for compliance but also help accelerate component development, improve quality, mitigate rework. Automate traceability efforts of compliance requirement mandates and test results.

Drive innovation and deliver with maximum speed and flexibility at lowest possible cost with integrated offerings from IBM Rational

IBM Rational software provides automotive suppliers an integrated solution that helps to connect suppliers with OEMs to:

  • Facilitate end-to-end management and traceability of requirements
  • Improve quality by identifying defects early through continuous testing and visual simulation capabilities that reduce costs.
  • Automate compliance and documentation to regulation standards
  • Streamline communication with a collaboration framework that unifies various stakeholders in real-time and improves project transparency
  • Increase productivity by reducing the number of status meetings

Leverage the right offering, or set of integrated offerings, to help you achieve your business objectives.

  • IBM Rational DOORS software is a family of requirements engineering solutions for advanced systems and software development
  • IBM Rational Quality Manager software is a lifecycle quality management solution.
  • IBM Rational Rhapsody software is a family of products that help abstract complex designs graphically, simulate testing early in design—to aid in reducing costs.
  • IBM Rational Team Concert software provides a single view plus data mashups from disparate sources to help you improve and streamline your lifecycle management process.

To learn more about how Strongback Consulting and IBM can help you deliver zero-fault components with maximum speed, efficiency, and flexibility at lowest possible cost, contact us now.

Case Study: Delphi reduces costs through component reuse

Find out how Delphi was able to automate requirements management and promote cost savings through component reuse among global development teams.

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