110040 - AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR LOGISTICS

Subject type: Optional

Coordinator: Maria Dolors Celma Benaiges

Trimester: Second term

Credits: 5

Academic year: 2025

Teaching course: 4

• Spanish

Classes are held in Spanish, but documents (articles, videos, reference manuals) in Catalan and English will be used during them.

The course is designed to teach students all the salient elements of automotive logistics from the beginning of the industry to the present day. It introduces the different production systems of the industry; the transport of automobiles by land and sea; supply chain management and cost evaluation and optimization in automotive logistics. It also analyzes current trends and challenges facing the automotive industry.

The classroom (physical or virtual) is a safe space, free of sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and discriminatory attitudes, either towards students or teachers. We trust that together we can create a safe space where we can make mistakes and learn without having to suffer the prejudices of others.

Topic 1: Introduction to automotive logistics.

• Components
• Historical evolution
• The automotive sector. World, Europe and Spain

Topic 2: From mass production to Lean Management.

• Historical evolution of production management models
• Mass production
• The Toyota-Lean Management production system
• Differences between the two models

Topic 3: Automotive Supply Chain Management

• Supply chain: actors
• Build To Stock and Order-driving planning strategies
• Modularity and implications
• Case studies
• Location and expansion strategies.
• Costs and optimization in car logistics

Topic 4: Car Transport by Land and Sea

• Shipping (Ro-Ro)
• Road transport
• Rail transport

Topic 5: Regulations applicable to industry

• International harmonization
• European and Spanish regulations
• Areas of regulatory interest: safety, environment and reuse
• Sector reverse logistics

Topic 6: Current trends and strategies in automotive logistics

• Current trends
• The electric vehicle
• The autonomous vehicle

• Final exam: represents 50% of the final grade
• Activities: represent 20% of the final grade
• Group work: represents 20% of the final grade
• Test-type exam: they represent 10% of the final grade

The continuous assessment cannot be retaken. Only the final exam can be retaken. A grade of 5 must be obtained in the exam to be averaged with the continuous assessment. Students who do not take the final exam will not be entitled to the retake exam.

Any form of academic fraud will be sanctioned in accordance with the center's assessment regulations. If signs of fraud are detected, including the improper use of generative artificial intelligence tools, the subject's teaching staff may call the student for an individual interview with the aim of verifying their authorship.

Gobetto, M. (2014). Operations management in automotive industries. From industrial strategies to production resources management, through the
industrialization process and supply chain to pursue value creation, 49.

Liker, JK (2000). The keys to Toyota success. Gestión 2000, Barcelona.

Acebrón, F., & Hermo, AG (2015). The regulation and homologation of vehicles. An international regulatory framework in one
global market Industrial economy, (396), 101-113.

Bhattacharya, S., Mukhopadhyay, D., & Giri, S. (2014). Supply chain management in the Indian automotive industry: Complexities, challenges and ways
ahead. International Journal of Managing Value and Supply Chains, 5(2), 49.

Cachon, GP, & Olivares, M. (2010). Drivers of finished-goods inventory in the US automobile industry. Management Science, 56 (1), 202-216.

Holweg, M. (2005). Beyond Mass and Lean Production – On the Dynamics of Competition in the Automotive Industry, Economies et sociétés, Vol.
39 (2), 245-270.

Holweg, M. (2008). The evolution of competition in the automotive industry. Build to order: the road to the, 5, 13-33.

Horak, S., & Cui, J. (2017). Financial performance and risk behavior of gender-diversified boards in the Chinese automotive industry: initial insights.
Personnel Review.

Martínez Sánchez, A., & Pérez Pérez, M. (2005). Supply chain flexibility and firm performance: a conceptual model and empirical study in the
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Meyr, H. (2004). Supply chain planning in the German automotive industry. OR spectrum, 26 (4), 447-470.

Pavlínek, P. (2020). Restructuring and internationalization of the European automotive industry. Journal of Economic Geography, 20(2), 509-541.

Shah, R., Ball, GP, & Netessine, S. (2017). Plant operations and product recalls in the automotive industry: An empirical investigation.
Management Science, 63(8), 2439-2459.

Sturgeon, TJ, Memedovic, O., Van Biesebroeck, J., & Gereffi, G. (2009). Globalization of the automotive industry: main features and trends.
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