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Today, cost-effective functional light-weight design is the most significant parameter value within the development of modern vehicle structures. The quality of various vehicle properties is dominated by the functionality of the body-in-white component. Generally, the vehicle dimensions and functional demands increase from one generation to the next. Nevertheless - in the case of BMW model ranges - the fractional amount of the body structure on kerb weight was able to be decreased continuously, taking the particular predecessor as reference. Apart from an appropriate choice of materials, optimized development processes are primarily responsible for this.

Based on the principles of the renown Toyota Production System, a new planning approach has been applied to a product development project at Mercedes-Benz do Brasil, Sao Paulo. The key elements are Master Process Sheets, which document assembly operations as agreed standard operations and hence assure continuously high, repeatable quality. Master Process Sheets visualize the assembly operations using explosion drawings and provide a much higher degree of understanding and information accessibility to production workers compared to earlier main-frame based process planning systems.