One of the current practices used by businesses, regarding increased productivity, quality and the reduction of product development lead time, is the involvement of suppliers. There are strong indications that this participation increases productivity and reduces both the development lead time and the possibility of delays in the project, and facilitates the incorporation of new technologies. One of the most conflicting points is how great the effect is in terms of quality of the product design. To evaluate this two case studies in automotive suppliers were conducted. In each one, the variables of integration and scope in development projects were compared between the company which produces specific auto parts and four of its clients which assemble vehicles, evaluating their influence on the quality of product design. The main results are: the formal mechanisms of client-supplier collaboration in product development were homogeneous, comparing several clients of one supplier; the increase of the scope positively affected the quality of the product design.
product development; collaboration between customers and suppliers; quality of product design; auto parts industry
