Automotive News - August 11, 2008 - (Page 36e) INSIGHT AUGUST 11, 2008 • 36E the values that we need, we certainly are working through that process. But there’s no question, at least on the interior side of the business, that there’s going to be fallout. Denton: It’s a full-time job. You end up putting risk managers or something in place. There’s a lot of room for improvement here because our customers are well-aware of the value chain, too. There could be a much more transparent sharing of information going forward with some of the significant Tier 2s. The key to it is no surprises, right? If somebody’s in trouble, fine, they’re in trouble. But don’t surprise me by all of a sudden calling and saying, “I’m not shipping today.”c SUPPLIERS Automakers expect more innovation continued from Page 36D said. You have to really look at what is the best process for the region in which you’re going to produce. For example, we would have in highercost locations more automation, versus where we can take advantage of lower costs in best-cost countries. Take a quick connect that we’ve designed for a quick connection of all these lines as you assemble them. That’s a great example of a global product that you can just explode globally because it works on every platform across the world with every customer, especially when it’s a robust design and you can produce that in centralized locations or consolidated locations. Alapont: Globalization, true globalization, is not a choice; it’s a must. You have no chance to survive in the auto industry if you are not global. You need to design in technology and innovation, and you need to be capable to deploy globally at the percentages that customers are requiring because you cannot produce everything in a given country. It will be too simple to produce everything in China. If the pipeline, the supply chain, gets any interruption, all your plants in the world will stop. You need to have a certain balance of globalization. We’ve surveyed suppliers over the years on how the OEMs are able to actually adapt and commercialize your innovations. When we started that survey, the Detroit 3 were low. Are you seeing OEMs, and particularly Detroit OEMs, being more able to execute and commercialize innovations? Kamsickas: On the interior side, there are stats that say that the ultimate consumer spends 40 percent more time in their vehicle now than they did 10 years ago. The interior of a vehicle basically became their living room. The OEMs’ desire for us to provide innovation and technology to them is on a huge upswing for us. They know that we see more. They know that we study more. They know that we provide market research. They know that we know how to execute it and deliver it in the end. Denton: There are more models than ever, so everyone’s looking at some way of making their vehicle unique. So I think you’re going to see the innovative part of this actually accelerate. And the five of us are putting more investment there. You’ve got to protect that investment, so I think you’ll see more emphasis on patents and patent protection. Kozyra:I think all the OEMs always try to look at how they can improve the integration or the implementation of new technology from suppliers. Some really struggle with that, and some do an excellent job. But one Detroit-based OEM does a great job. They have a technology day at their location. We come in as a supplier and set up our new technology. It’s a three-, four-day process where their engineers will spend time with our engineers going through the new innovations that we have available. On the last day, the OEM actually awards development contracts to you right on the spot, saying, “Out of these 12 things you brought in to us, we want to go down the road with you on this, this and this.” It’s a wonderful process because it’s effective, it’s quick. We get instant direction. Are you worried about your suppliers? Kamsickas: We’re a lot closer from a transparency standpoint with our supply base. I think we know where the strong ones are, where the weak ones are. We’re not going to be able to save everybody. That’s not a good business model for anybody. The ones that provide the cost, technology and desire for us to provide innovation and technology to them is on a huge upswing for us. “ The OEMs’ JAMES KAMSICKAS International Automotive Components North America and Asia ” JOE WILSSENS The Premier Automotive Technology Event Host Company: For more information on exhibiting, sponsoring or advertising, contact SAE Customer Sales and Support at: Phone: 1-888-875-3976 or 1-724-772-4086 (outside U.S./Canada) E-mail: CustomerSales@sae.org www.sae.org/congress Tier 1 Strategic Partner: http://www.sae.org/congress http://www.sae.org/congress
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