SUBARU等日本航空零部件企业将全国化共同配送以配合波音等增产

UTSUNOMIYA, Japan -- Subaru and other Japanese aviation parts makers are banding together to make joint deliveries of components from subcontractors in order to reduce costs and workloads for the aircraft assembly supply chain, Nikkei has learned.
The move comes as Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers boost production.
Participants will include Subaru's aerospace operation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries subsidiary Nippi and ShinMaywa Industries. Ground shipping company Nippon Express will provide support for delivery operations.
Aircraft manufacturers generally procure materials for supply to parts makers, which routinely outsource such processing steps as cutting, heat treatment and coating to small and midsize subcontractors.
The subcontractors arrange for trucks to deliver the components to clients' factories. In many cases, the subcontractors also meet with higher-tier suppliers at the time of delivery.
Subcontractors often make deliveries on their own schedules, meaning that higher-tier manufacturers have a hard time knowing when components will arrive. Wide variations in delivery times can complicate the formulation of production plans.
To streamline their supply chains, Subaru and other parts makers are fully embracing the "milk run" approach to deliveries where Nippon Express handles the bulk of the logistics.
In a milk run network, trucks make rounds to multiple subcontractors to pick up the goods. This replaces the old system of individual deliveries by subcontractors scattered across the country. The term "milk run" originates from dairy companies collecting raw milk from dairy farmers on fixed routes.
Subaru has already established a milk run logistics system in a region just north of Tokyo and in the region around the city of Nagoya. The runs involve 45 subcontractors, covering around 80% of the materials. Thanks to this system, Subaru reduced the number of truck entries into factories by about 90%.
Nippi does milk runs primarily in the Nagoya region, while ShinMaywa does them mainly in greater Osaka.
Subaru, Nippi and ShinMaywa have been carrying out joint deliveries in the Nagoya region and are now taking them national. Nippi has begun participating in Subaru milk runs north of Tokyo and in ShinMaywa milk runs in the Osaka region.
Joint deliveries will also be expanded for core logistics routes linking major cities. These deliveries will make use of a Nippon Express collection hub in Gifu prefecture, for example. This arrangement will sharply cut transportation costs.
Global demand for aircraft is growing rapidly. Boeing and Airbus delivered a total of 665 commercial planes in the first half, the highest level in eight years. The Japan Aircraft Development Corp. has forecast that airlines will need roughly $6 trillion worth of new passenger jets over the next two decades.
Boeing and Airbus are rushing to reduce their order backlogs, but securing stable supplies of parts remains a challenge. If joint parts deliveries become widespread in Japan, then suppliers' workloads will be eased, freeing them to focus on processing materials.
"You can track delivery status almost in real time, which allows you to concentrate on manufacturing," a Subaru executive said.