Since the late 1990s, manufacturers have outsourced vehicle modules to their global supply base, creating large system suppliers who have expanded their product development and R&D capabilities.  At the same time, both manufacturers and suppliers have globalized their product development and R&D activities by strategically locating these functions in important markets around the globe and linking them through the use of information technology.  As both groups begin to reap the fruits of these strategies, they are now beginning to test the waters of outsourcing some of the business processes tied to these critical functions.

Countries like India and China are developing the skilled work forces that may make outsourcing these processes more viable than was once thought possible.  The skills needed for product development and R&D that were once assumed to be the differentiator that kept these functions in their home regions may no longer be unique to developed economies.  

This session will look at recent research on the outsourcing of product development and R&D business processes in the automotive industry with speakers describing how manufacturers and suppliers are globalizing these functions and how advanced they are in outsourcing this seminal work.

Chair: Bruce Belzowski

Senior Research Associate
and Associate Director,
Automotive Analysis Division,
University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute

Speakers TBD