TO THE EDITOR:
If “North American auto leaders have a lot on their mind — and on their plate” (Lindsay Chappell, autonews.com, May 28), how do we think suppliers are feeling?
The introduction of electric vehicles alongside traditional internal combustion engine vehicles doesn’t mean there will be a boost in vehicle sales — it means suppliers are looking at more programs and having to do more things simultaneously, as BMW’s Sebastian Mackensen put it.
These undesirable economics pose a threat to suppliers that are still reeling from COVID-19 and its related challenges.
Automakers understand the outsourced model to mean that parts supply is unconstrained. So while they see constraints to key EV commodities such as batteries and chips, they see no constraints on door panels, seat rails or suspension assemblies. However, this isn’t completely true. The truth is that suppliers require expert teams ranging from sales, design, engineering, purchasing and quality to take the automakers’ part specs and follow the mandated advanced product quality planning processes. These human resources are both expensive and constrained, and the launch processes of the vast majority of suppliers today employ outdated technology that limits productivity.
If the industry’s electrification goals are to be realized, automakers must recognize that the supply chain for traditional parts is also constrained. They can help by simplifying, standardizing and modernizing their supplier-facing program management processes and reusing parts across models. In parallel, suppliers must move quickly to modernize their program management and no longer treat it as the stepchild of their technology strategy.
DAVE OPSAHL, CEO, Actify, Detroit
Actify offers tools to improve quality and productivity in executing automotive programs.
