Abstract
During the 20th century, the world went through many evolution phases, especially in the automotive industry. Today, this industry is a very important factor in economic development. PSA is a French automotive manufacturer. In 1973 the company made a merger with Citroën, and became the second European manufacturer behind the German group: Volkswagen and the 7th in the World. This status is maintained to date. The actual economic context is characterized by a constant increase of competition with a multiplication of national and international commercial flows. The products have shorter life cycles, and tastes have become different for everyone. Clients are constantly searching for a unique product which is perfectly adequate to their needs. Thus, differentiation is the only solution to satisfy the demand. The companies must insist on quality and diversify their production. Parallel to this, automobile companies have to reduce their production costs to remain competitive. Thus, PSA adopted the Just in Time to become more flexible and efficient in their methods of production. This management strategy has now become the base of their way of thinking, leading to the adoption of Kanban, and the lean management. The PSA group can put vehicles on the market quickly with reduced costs thanks to its platform policy in order to answer easily to all different expectations of the clients.
