Front Loading in Product Development Process: Focusing on the Pilot Center at Hyundai Motor

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This paper aims to show how Hyundai Motor Company has adopted a front loading method in its new product development process. Hyundai Motor Company has solved the problems of new product development in advance, using a front loading method in Pilot Center that has been operated in Hyundai Research Institute since 2003. During the stage of pilot production (P1, P2) that is prior to the stage of mass production, Hyundai Engineers intensively find and solve problems that are related to manufacturing as well as design of new product. The administrators who belong to Cross Function Team at the Pilot Center coordinate the conflicting interests among functional departments in Hyundai Motor Company. With the success of Pilot Center, Hyundai Motor Company has saved hugh amount of cost, enhancing its quality level as well as manufacturability.

Pilot Center was constructed to coordinate conflicting interests among functional departments of the research institute in Hyundai Motor Company. Pilot Center manufactures about 200 pilot cars to find and solve the problems of new product, operating the production facilities that are similar to the automobile factory. The characteristics of new product development process in Hyundai Motor Company have been due to the adversarial industrial relations as well as the hierarchical culture of organization. Pilot Center shows the unique way of new product development process in Hyundai Motor Company.