THE QUIET REVOLUTION are now so intertwined that their business relationships have become truly symbiotic , making every supplier - regardless of what tier it falls into - critical . They might be working in completely new geographies , or in completely new areas . We ’ re interested in supply chain resilience and our Resilience360 tool enables us to come up with an overview of the supply chain by monitoring different pockets of risk in different ways . These risks could be geographical or political . The tool can pick up industrial action risk , giving customers the ability to identify critical suppliers , understand if it ’ s happening in real time and respond accordingly . Disruption at even the smallest tier 4 supplier may now have the power to bring down an assembly line because it may be the sole source for a vital component .
Natural competition In some cases the automotive sector may find itself vying for supplier capacity with the tech industry , which may in fact be the larger customer . This competition naturally injects risk into the automotive supply chain , forcing automotive OEMs to forge closer partnerships with their supplier base and hedge risk by securing multiple suppliers for the same component . In some cases OEMs may even step in and provide financial and technical support to smaller suppliers of critical technology .
The combined impact of these two supplier-based trends is transforming the traditional automotive supply chain . And the pace of this transformation is accelerating . The stakes are high – profit margins , competitive advantage and potentially market share are all in play . Constructing this future supply chain requires closer communication , coordination and collaboration across all tiers of the automotive ecosystem .
As the automotive sector moves into the second half of this decade , one fact is now clear . The so-called quiet revolution isn ’ t so quiet any more . In fact , as the convergence of the auto and tech sectors continues to develop , it will change the face of both industries – permanently . For the auto OEMs , competing for parts with other industries is now the norm . So the task is not just to create a more visible , agile global supply chain but also to orchestrate the entire supplier ecosystem in a way that ensures future growth .
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