Rebuilding the supply chain after the pandemic - AL and Supply Chain Live Brochure

Covid-19 impacted supply chains all over the world. Here Professor Raphael Lopez Marquez and Dr Hector Debernardo discuss how those supply chains will change in the near future and how technology will be used support operations

The Covid-19 pandemic has tested the supply chains of enterprises worldwide, closing borders, reducing mobility and trapping people in quarantine. The automotive industry was no exception and was greatly affected because of its degree of integration within different countries and continents.

Supply chains are always vulnerable to so-called ‘acts of god’ and disruptions such as strikes and bottlenecks along the network.

In 2009, the H1N1 virus affected business operations. Work travel was reduced, catering services at the manufacturing facilities were eliminated to avoid large concentrations of people, and health measures were implemented to prevent people who were sick from working and continuing to spread the virus.

However, there were no disruptions at the supply chain level. The Covid-19 pandemic is the first time in our globalised economy that a disease has caused such a deep impact worldwide.
Many manufacturing operations were shut down for a long period of time, between six to eight weeks, by the pandemic and there was not enough inventory to absorb that impact.

Dealing with dilemma

Supply chains around the world will definitely change to ensure a stronger and more resilient network, supporting operations that may have to adapt to further challenges.

Currently, there are several dilemmas affecting automotive supply chains and experts are looking at how to rebuild and adapt them. Questions include:

• Should they be more local and be segmented by region instead of being global?

• In terms of nearshoring, could production be localised near end consumers to make

operations simpler and more resilient?

• Should supply chains be shorter and distribution channels more diverse?

• How could inventories be handled to improve response and to support operations?

• Are action plans to tackle contingencies going to change? Are these plans going to be

designed and implemented by each company, or would they better be organised

nationally or even globally?

• Is it advisable to increase automation and digitalisation in the logistic chain to be better

prepared and, if so, how?

• How are the operators of the logistic chain prepared and ready to learn to take

advantage of this experience?

Dealing with dilemma

Supply chains around the world will definitely change to ensure a stronger and more resilient network, supporting operations that may have to adapt to further challenges.

Currently, there are several dilemmas affecting automotive supply chains and experts are looking at how to rebuild and adapt them. Questions include:

• Should they be more local and be segmented by

region instead of being global?

• In terms of nearshoring, could production be

localised near end consumers to make

operations simpler and more resilient?

• Should supply chains be shorter and

distribution channels more diverse?

• How could inventories be handled to improve

response and to support operations?

• Are action plans to tackle contingencies going

to change? Are these plans going to be

designed and implemented by each company, or

would they better be organised nationally or

even globally?

• Is it advisable to increase automation and

digitalisation in the logistic chain to be better

prepared and, if so, how?

• How are the operators of the logistic chain

prepared and ready to learn to take advantage

of this experience?

Dealing with dilemma

Supply chains around the world will definitely change to ensure a stronger and more resilient network, supporting operations that may have to adapt to further challenges.

Currently, there are several dilemmas affecting automotive supply chains and experts are looking at how to rebuild and adapt them. Questions include:

• Should they be more local and be segmented by region instead of

being global?

• In terms of nearshoring, could production be localised near end

consumers to make operations simpler and more resilient?

• Should supply chains be shorter and distribution channels more

diverse?

• How could inventories be handled to improve response and to

support operations?

• Are action plans to tackle contingencies going to change? Are these

plans going to be designed and implemented by each company, or

would they better be organised nationally or even globally?

• Is it advisable to increase automation and digitalisation in the

logistic chain to be better prepared and, if so, how?

• How are the operators of the logistic chain prepared and ready to

learn to take advantage of this experience?

Protecting staff and suppliers from Covid-19 remains a top priority for OEMs, including Škoda

As you can see there are tough challenges ahead of us and they are certain to be discussed by the experts at Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Live. Regarding those coming discussions, there are two elements that could be taken into account:

• What the automotive industry made brilliantly in the past: benchmarking. This industry

adopts best practices developed by both nuclear and aerospace industries, such as

quality assurance systems. The automotive industry did it well, but maybe it was not

wide enough. Maybe it is time to rigorously adopt Probabilistic Safety Analysis, where

concepts such as redundancy and system reliability are key pillars.

• What the automotive industry is going to experience in the near future: simplicity.

Electric vehicles and 3D printing could dramatically simplify supply chains.

When there are tough challenges are ahead of us, a back to basics approach is usually a great strategy.

Raphael Lopez Marquez is professor of the Postgraduate Faculty of Engineering at Universidad Panamericana and Dr Hector Debernardo is postgraduate professor and advisor to the same faculty, with a PhD in Operations Research & Management Science, looking at business optimisation, data science and AI

As you can see there are tough challenges ahead of us and they are certain to be discussed by the experts at Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Live. Regarding those coming discussions, there are two elements that could be taken into account:

• What the automotive industry made brilliantly

in the past: benchmarking. This industry adopts

best practices developed by both nuclear and

aerospace industries, such as quality assurance

systems. The automotive industry did it well,

but maybe it was not wide enough. Maybe it is

time to rigorously adopt Probabilistic Safety

Analysis, where concepts such as redundancy

and system reliability are key pillars.

• What the automotive industry is going to

experience in the near future: simplicity. Electric

vehicles and 3D printing could dramatically

simplify supply chains.

When there are tough challenges are ahead of us, a back to basics approach is usually a great strategy.

Raphael Lopez Marquez is professor of the Postgraduate Faculty of Engineering at Universidad Panamericana and Dr Hector Debernardo is postgraduate professor and advisor to the same faculty, with a PhD in Operations Research & Management Science, looking at business optimisation, data science and AI

As you can see there are tough challenges ahead of us and they are certain to be discussed by the experts at Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Live. Regarding those coming discussions, there are two elements that could be taken into account:

• What the automotive industry made brilliantly in the past:

benchmarking. This industry adopts best practices developed by both

nuclear and aerospace industries, such as quality assurance systems.

The automotive industry did it well, but maybe it was not wide

enough. Maybe it is time to rigorously adopt Probabilistic Safety

Analysis, where concepts such as redundancy and system reliability

are key pillars.

• What the automotive industry is going to experience in the near

future: simplicity. Electric vehicles and 3D printing could dramatically

simplify supply chains.

When there are tough challenges are ahead of us, a back to basics approach is usually a great strategy.

Raphael Lopez Marquez is professor of the Postgraduate Faculty of Engineering at Universidad Panamericana and Dr Hector Debernardo is postgraduate professor and advisor to the same faculty, with a PhD in Operations Research & Management Science, looking at business optimisation, data science and AI