Automotive News - Traverse City - August 6, 2019 - 4

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CAR MBS DAILY

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019

Imagine a supply chain that operates itself
Auto industry moves toward autonomous logistics

Lindsay Chappell
lchappell@crain.com

he global auto supply chain is closer
to full automation than it might look,
says a leading purveyor of supply-chain management.
The final step - getting all suppliers
around the world, in all tiers, operating with
real-time digital inventory tracking, connected supply-and-demand communications
and accurate forecasting tools - could be
reached by the middle of the coming decade,
says Cary VandenAvond, president of manufacturing, distribution and logistics for sup-

ply chain solutions company JDA Software.
"That's the moonshot for the automotive
software industry, to bring autonomy to supply chain management," said VandenAvond,
who is meeting with customers here this
week. "It is happening in the same way that
the industry itself is pursuing fully autonomous transportation."
Also like the industry quest for fully autonomous driving, automated supply chain
management will roll out in phases, he said.
The first will allow supply chains to predict
disruption and use machine learning to recognize patterns for looming problems.

which represents parts and materials
The second phase will have supply
that have to be rushed to their destichains that are capable of recomnation because of an unexpected
mending remedies to the problems,
disruption in parts flow.
VandenAvond said.
To fully automate, the oversight
The third will have supply chains
will require the global supply chain
that can dispense with recommento become fully digital in real time,
dations and automatically take acVandenAvond said. JDA estimates
tion.
that the supply industry is about
The final phase will be the power of VandenAvond:
self-healing - when supply chain "The moonshot" halfway there. Tier 3 and Tier 4 supcontrols can reach into a potential
plier operations are probably closer
disruption to prevent it from happening.
to 30-40 percent fully digital, he said.
"Once companies everywhere feel secure in
The motivation for all this effort is cost-savsharing their data with other companies,
ings, he said.
we'll be well on the way to autonomous supJDA estimates that the auto industry spends
about $15 million a day on expedited freight,
ply chains." a

Electric wave sparks
new 'cool' vehicles
Fresh opportunities
open for aftermarket
Jack Walsworth

jwalsworth@crain.com

Warmup for the main event

Blue skies greeted attendees Monday for a golf outing
at Grand Traverse Resort's Wolverine Golf Course before
the seminar sessions begin Tuesday morning. Above,
golf carts line up at the start of the event. At right, Bob
Evans, president of the golf outing's sponsor,
Freudenberg North America, prepares to take some
practice swings. Below, Dan Rustmann, co-chair of
Butzel Long's automotive practice, with his wife, Alice

Battery power, fuel economy, lightweighting and smaller engines may be
on the minds of many. But the way John
Waraniak sees it, the auto industry is livChevy's eCOPO Camaro concept, an
ing in a golden age of new performance.
example of aftermarket electrification
"Even though vehicles are becoming
more complex and have more tech- electrification of systems: drive-by-wire,
nology, automakers know there's steer-by-wire, brake-by-wire. A lot of
more than one definition of cool," said those systems came out of racing, and
Waraniak, vice president of vehicle are being put on performance cars
technology at the 7,000-member Spe- through SEMA members."
New definitions of "cool cars" transcialty Equipment Market Association.
"Cars are works of art, power, access late to personalization. Waraniak said
and fun. Everyone has different defini- consumers still want increased personalization in vehicles, and
tions of what's cool," he said.
automakers understand that.
Waraniak, who has moniLarger wheels and tires are
tored automotive technology
the biggest market segment,
trends for 25 years, is schedby percentage, for customiuled to speak here Tuesday
zation, Waraniak noted.
morning during a session ti"When a consumer wants to
tled "Future Factories."
add those products to a vehiWaraniak said industry incle, whether it's new, retro or
novation is sparking new
used, if the vehicle can acproducts in every field, such Waraniak: New
as electrification and the op- market segments commodate those accessories
and modifications, you will
portunity to improve safety
performance by retrofitting vehicles sell more vehicles," Waraniak said.
A striking example of aftermarket
with advanced driver assistance syselectrification came in the form of the
tems.
That extends to the aftermarket, eCOPO Camaro concept - a full-elecwhere parts manufacturers are bring- tric version of Chevrolet's drag-specific
ing new technologies to consumers as racer - that Chevy presented at SEMA's
annual show last year.
retrofits and add-ons.
"OEMs understand the appeal of
"Vehicle electrification is creating totally new market segments for SEMA having a vehicle that is modificamembers," Waraniak said. "You have tion-friendly," he said, noting that
electric-vehicle producers like Rivian, modifications now include software
Bollinger and Tesla, but there's also the and electronics. m

Bailo buffs a more 'crisp and concise' version of seminars
Leslie J. Allen
lallen@crain.com

Shaking things up is nothing new for Carla
Bailo.
Bailo, who became CEO of the Center for
Automotive Research in fall 2017, is remaking
the group's signature event, the annual Management Briefing Seminars.
Her goal: Preserve its valuable content and
networking opportunities, but present it in a
more "crisp and concise" form.
Speaking with Automotive News just before
the seminars, she said she shortened the event
from 3.5 days to 2.5 days after listening to attendees.
"They said it's really difficult to spend three and

show] has next year," she said. "We
a half days," she said of the Traverse City
believe because they are such differgathering.
"The fact that we're opening on
ent events, and there's still a couple
Monday night versus Sunday night
of months between them, we should
was, again, allowing people to have
be OK."
the weekend, so they didn't have to
Bailo stopped short of suggesting
take a half-day Sunday to drive up.
the seminars might move to Detroit.
And they could even work part of the
"It's a double-edged sword," she
day Monday and come up."
said. Traverse City "is a great venue
Bailo: Dates
CAR is also moving to shorter pre- could change
to have great discussions. People are
far away from the office. We can realsentations and discussions this year.
And more changes could be coming. With the ly talk about a plethora of subjects and have an
Detroit auto show moving to June beginning in engaged audience.
2020, the seminars might move to later in August,
"It is a five-hour drive," she acknowledged.
rather than in late July-early August, Bailo said.
"For people coming internationally or even
"We'll see what impact [the Detroit auto from within the domestic 50, it's not so easy to

Shift podcast

CAR's Carla Bailo on mobility,
union negotiations and what's
next for the seminars at
autonews.com/carla
get there in terms of logistics."
CAR has studied holding the event in Detroit,
Grand Rapids, Mich., or other locations.
The drawback to holding it in Detroit, she
added, is that "we'll get people maybe for one
session, and they'll go back to the office. And
that's not the purpose of MBS. The purpose is
really those relationships - to continue the
discussions throughout the day." m

http://www.autonews.com/carla

Automotive News - Traverse City - August 6, 2019

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