Objective of this paper is to present how Fiat Auto has developed a peculiar andinnovative global sourcing model in conjunction with the rolling out of its "world car"project ?178?. Differently from other OEMs, that have designed vehicles with common"global" underbody platforms adapting body, trim levels and ride characteristics to localconditions, Fiat Auto "world car" concept and globalization strategy is more ambitiousand complex, since the standardization of the 5 models stemming from the 178 platforminvolves absolute cross-country identity not only of interior/exterior design and contentsbut also of quality levels, robustness and compliance with European rules in terms ofsafety and pollution.The international supply chain supporting this globalization process can be interpretedas a double network of operations and transactions: the ?internal? supply chain, where"makes" are exchanged between Fiat Auto plants; the ?external? supply chain where?buys? are purchased by Fiat Auto plants from suppliers. In the "external" supply chain,Fiat Auto manages, in a global sourcing perspective, a relatively stable group ofsuppliers, though in a competitive perspective, in order to guarantee cross-plant andcross-market component uniformity and worldwide efficiency.After depicting Fiat Auto global sourcing policies and the related organizationalstructures and processes, the paper highlights achievements and challenges of themodel.The paper argues that Fiat's global sourcing, while putting competitive pressure onsuppliers by means of worldwide information transparency on prices, quality andservice, works as a performance improvement stimulator within OEM-first tier supplierspartnership relationships ("voice" mechanism), rather than a pure and simple supplierswitchingdevice ("exit" mechanism).
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