Supply chain management within the automotive industry has always entailed elements of risk and uncertainty. Manufacturers have long relied on an incredibly complex method of bringing together the many necessary parts required to produce a vehicle. If any one step along the way goes wrong, there is no quick fix. Natural disasters, wars, trade policy changes, supplier bankruptcies, black swan events—all of these could derail operations at an automaker.
New mobility demands only add to the uncertainty with the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and the new bill of materials (BOM) that comes with their constituent parts, namely their batteries. As a result, supply chain vulnerabilities are compounding. That’s the take from Anders Lillevik, Chief Executive and Founder of supply chain software start-up Focal Point. Lillevik has more than two decades of experience as a Chief Procurement Officer and has seen first-hand the importance of adaptable and responsive procurement-related processes.