Manufacturing Redesign Boosts OEM Flexibility

The Overview

A global automotive OEM planned to launch a premium SUV in a new market, leveraging a joint venture facility. The manufacturer wanted to redesign the station line sides and the material delivery system to boost production flexibility.

This was no ordinary project. The initiative required assembling multiple variants across platforms, with simultaneous manufacturing of four platforms and 32 product variants, plus the integration of two additional platforms — all on a single assembly line. Combining every platform and product variant into one line is recognized as the industry’s best practice. industry-wide because it gives manufacturers the agility to build vehicles based on real-time market demand.

The Challenge

Lack of a roadmap and floor space

To succeed, lineside storage equipment had to be redesigned and optimized for the more complex production scenario. However, the OEM didn’t have an in-house team with the required knowledge, skill and local planning expertise. Tight floor space for both operations and warehousing also added challenges. The manufacturer also lacked documentation for the new models' material flow and tooling requirements.

The Objective

To support the premium SUV launch at a joint venture facility, the OEM aimed to overhaul its manufacturing operations for greater flexibility and efficiency. The objective was to enable simultaneous production of multiple platforms and 32 product variants on a single assembly line—despite constraints in floor space and documentation. By partnering with HCLTech, the OEM sought to optimize station line design, material flow and warehouse layout to increase throughput, reduce defects and accelerate time-to-market for new vehicle models.

The Solution

Reaching out to a proven partner

For more than 20 years, the automotive manufacturer has worked with HCLTech for industrial engineering and material logistics management. When it came time to tackle line design and material flow optimization in the new facility, the OEM turned to us again. We provided station design and material logistics management to introduce two new models in a reworked brownfield plant. The client wanted a working solution, so our team applied industry standards and software to build it right.

Redesigned and optimized general arrangement layout using world class manufacturing principles.
Revamped internal logistics and material handling equipment in line with world class logistics standards.
Used simulation to optimize material delivery routes and workforce allocation.
Improved parts availability in Golden Zone from 33% to 77% through kitting, sequencing and new trolley designs.
Completely redesigned the warehouse layout.

Bringing in remote and on-site engineering talent

We brought together a range of HCLTech solutions for the initiative, including Industrial Engineering and In-plant Logistics Engineering. Our team included equipment designers, layout designers, in-plant logistics engineers and a discrete event simulation engineer - combining remote expertise with on-site presence.

The Impact

Significant gains in versatility and throughput

Our collaboration with the OEM focused on redesigning the general assembly area to integrate two new vehicle models and boost production throughput. The results speak for themselves:

Achieved 25% increase in line throughput, moving from 32 jobs per hour (JPH) to a targeted 40 JPH.
Reduced line-side parts stock by 65% by supporting just-in-time delivery.
Lowered defects from wrong part assembly by 25% through effective line-side display.
Optimized warehouse space by 25%, reducing footprint from 9,196 sqm to 6,909 sqm.

The brownfield redesign took 1.5 years and delivered on its promise — accelerating go-to-market processes for innovative new automotive models. As a manufacturing engineering partner, HCLTech gave the automotive OEM the flexibility they needed to produce variants that truly meet market demand.

Manufacturing redesign drives flexible product delivery for automotive OEM