Autonomous vehicle, infotainment and intelligent electronic products - today's consumers expect the most advanced features and the highest level of vehicle safety. Therefore, the automobile industry is making great strides and highly driving innovation. If manufacturers do not optimize their internal processes and digital supply chains, they will soon fail. More and more enterprises are turning to flexible cloud technology to modernize their infrastructure to achieve these transformations.

So far, the Internet of Things (IoT) has become the standard of the automobile industry: about 80% of passenger cars have been connected to the Internet. In addition, it supports personalization and advanced features, such as the interactive navigation system or driving assistant. However, the cloud provides an advantage not only for end products and consumers. Because of the greater scalability of the cloud, manufacturers and suppliers also benefit from greater connectivity and optimized production and logistics.

Importance of supply chain

Effective supply chain is the basis of efficient production. Suppliers provide manufacturers with a variety of components - from simple parts to complex hardware and software. This makes it more important to establish a well thought out supplier network based on strategic procurement plans. Close cooperation and real-time insight into the supply chain increase confidence in the logistics process, and even improve efficiency.

In this context, the return on investment of suppliers has become increasingly important for the supply chain. However, it is not only traditional parameters such as cost that are important; The strategic choice of reliable and well-known suppliers also helps to improve customer loyalty. When a company assesses the risk and profitability of its suppliers, for example, through a Kraljic matrix or a supplier memory card, it will build trust in its supply chain, thereby building trust in its market position.

Real time response to current demand

Transparency through effective data flow and real-time evaluation helps manufacturers and suppliers respond flexibly to changing demand situations. In this way, they can control costs and profits and adapt to new trends in a timely manner. Manufacturers recognize disruptions in the value chain and can react earlier to disruptions caused by external influences. This is achieved through, among other things, the concept of a visual supply chain that can be displayed in real time at different locations in the cloud. In this way, all relevant personnel can keep abreast of current events.

At this point, it is also recommended to use a system that can achieve seamless and transparent throughout the supply chain. They improve cooperation between manufacturers and suppliers, thereby increasing the efficiency of all work steps. Once full transparency is achieved in these processes, the supply chain can also be extended. For example, manufacturers can incorporate the needs of end consumers into their plans and develop new services or business models. And due to the connection with cloud technology, all relevant parties can adjust the process in a timely manner.

Global quality standards across the supply chain

Collaboration tools with cloud connectivity are an important foundation for these optimization processes. With these tools, you can manage the complexity of the supply chain and improve the quality of the final product. At the same time, the quality manager can digitize the process, standardize the audit type of the whole company, and quickly identify potential problems. These tools continuously collect data, store it in the cloud, and enable cross functional access and evaluation for all stakeholders. All processes can be analyzed and informed decisions can be made based on the data collected.

Therefore, the cooperation tools with the first cloud technology support the development of the trusted global supply network. In addition, due to the agile mobility and the scalability of the supply chain, they improve the market position of manufacturers. In combination with evaluation tools such as scorecards, common quality control standards and quality management systems (QMS) can be easily implemented. In this way, companies can ensure that their suppliers always meet the highest standards and that all components of the logistics chain are optimally coordinated.

The transformation from local IT infrastructure to cloud strategy has modernized many processes in the company. It also improves the agility of the supply chain. Cloud connectivity enables global suppliers and trading partners to access central supply chain information. This allows companies to expand their production and logistics processes more easily and respond more quickly to sudden changes in demand. This means that they are fully prepared for the accelerating pace of innovation in the automotive industry.