NOVI, MI – As the auto industry moves into the battery-electric age, automakers are looking for suppliers who can make the transition with them, according to panelists at a recent Original Equipment Suppliers Assn. meeting here.
Ford, for example, is looking at suppliers as partners as it builds its BEV business, says Kathy Worthen, the automaker’s newly named executive director of supply chain. Better supplier relations are one of the keys to improving quality, a priority for Ford, as well as securing critical materials, she says.
Bruce Baumgartner, vice president for supply chain, quality and reliability at Zoox, says key suppliers are investors in the autonomous-vehicle start-up backed by Amazon. That gives them a stake in Zoox’s success as they assume responsibility for important pieces of the business.
Working closely with suppliers, and having a transparent relationship, helps Zoox respond quickly to issues that arise, Baumgartner says: “I can’t be in a conversation for six months on how to get things done.”
Anirvan Coomer, executive director of electrification, software, infotainment and connectivity purchasing for General Motors, says events of the past couple of years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, shipping challenges and semiconductor shortages, have underscored the importance of resiliency in the supply chain. Without resiliency, “enterprise costs” climb, he says.
But the multiple challenges the industry has faced recently alongside the transition to BEVs have allowed GM to reset its relations with the company’s supply base.
Maintaining a balance between internal-combustion-engine and battery-powered vehicles is part of GM’s strategy. “As EVs grow, we are counting on our ICE business to bring in revenue and fund investment to grow EVs,” Coomer (pictured, left) says, adding consequently, there is still a lot of opportunity for a diverse set of suppliers.
GM is working with its traditional supply base to help make the transition to BEVs, he says. Lear, one of the automaker’s largest suppliers, has begun making a special component for BEVs: a battery-disconnect unit (pictured, below). The move is a win for both companies, Coomer notes, as GM has a supplier on which it knows it can count and Lear picks up new business.
As part of the BEV transition, suppliers will have to be able to move quickly. “What’s going to be critical to our success is our ability to scale up quickly,” he says.
