November  2014  

 

 

MANAGING  FOR  PROFITABILITY  AS  GROWTH  ACCELERATES  IN  THE  AUTOMOTIVE  MARKET  ENTERPRISE  APPLICATIONS  AND  TECHNOLOGY  ARE  KEY    

Growth  in  the  automotive  markets  continues  to  accelerate,  but  this  rapid  growth  also  brings  more  diversity,  complexity  and  risk.  Gone  are  the  days  when  the  automotive  market  primarily  served  mature  and  stable  economies,  growing  at  a  modest  and  predictable  pace.  Emerging  markets  create  an  unprecedented  demand  for  vehicles  resulting  in  exponential  growth  and  opportunity  in  certain  parts  of  the  world.  Yet  supplier  networks  are  likely  to  still  be  in  their  infancy  and  lessons  learned  from  mature  markets  may  no  longer  apply.      

At  the  same  time  consumer  preferences  are  disrupting  even  mature  markets.  Vehicles  themselves  are  undergoing  a  digital  transformation,  both  in  terms  of  safety  and  also  for  personal  connectivity  and  entertainment.  All  these  circumstances  combine  to  present  unprecedented  opportunities  as  well  as  unprecedented  challenges,  not  only  in  determining  the  where,  what  and  why  of  growth,  but  also  how  to  grow  profitably.  The  right  enterprise  level  tools  and  technology  are  keys  to  managing  for  profitability  in  the  quest  to  secure  market  share.  

WHERE?  

While  the  automotive  industry  took  a  serious  hit  with  the  onset  of  the  economic  crisis  in  2008,  globally  it  has  recovered  and  is  experiencing  significant  growth.  According  to  IHS  Automotive  (May  2014),  global  vehicle  production  has  increased  by  25  million  units  since  2009  and  will  increase  by  an  additional  21  million  units  by  2021.  But  this  growth  will  not  be  uniform  across  the  globe.  While  the  mature  market  in  North  America  will  continue  to  grow  modestly,  and  Europe  (also  a  mature  market)  is  expected  to  (finally)  rebound,  China  alone  will  account  for  half  of  this  growth  while  Japan  and  South  Korea  will  decline.    

Indeed  China  is  a  driving  force.  According  to  McKinsey  &  Company  China  overtook  the  United  States  as  the  largest  single-­‐country  market  in  2010  and  will  contribute  35%  of  profits  between  2011  and  20201.  Yet  even  with  this  growth,  market  penetration  in  China  will  still  be  only  15%,  which  signals  continued  opportunity.  But  China  alone,  one  of  several  emerging  economies,  is  a  very  diverse  market  all  by  itself,  with  different  provinces  in  different  states  of  “emergence.”  Some  are  starting  to  plateau  while  others  explode.  The  

Key Takeaways ü According  to  IHS  

Automotive  (May  2014),  global  vehicle  production  has  increased  by  25  million  units  since  2009  and  will  increase  by  an  additional  21  million  units  by  2021.    

ü China  overtook  the  United  States  as  the  largest  single-­‐country  market  in  2010  and  will  contribute  35%  of  profits  between  2011  and  2020.  

ü BRIC  countries  represent  potentially  huge  opportunities,  but  in  parts  of  the  world  characterized  by  high  concentrations  of  population  separated  by  huge  distances  and  supported  by  poor  infrastructures.  

ü Consumer  preferences  are  disrupting  even  mature  markets.  Vehicles  themselves  are  undergoing  a  digital  transformation.    

ü Achieving  profitable  growth  will  require  a  diverse  set  of  enterprise  software  including  ERP,  supply  chain  management,  design  tools  and  product  lifecycle  management,  project  and  program  management,  analytics  and  visualization  and  talent  management.    

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market  complexities  of  just  this  one  country  of  3.748  million  square  miles  (the  fourth  largest  land  mass  in  the  world)  create  enormous  hurdles  to  overcome.  But  if  automotive  OEMs  and  suppliers  can  beat  these  obstacles,  the  opportunity  is  tremendous.  

And  don’t  forget  the  opportunity  in  other  emerging  (BRIC)  countries  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  These  others  represent  potentially  huge  opportunities,  but  in  parts  of  the  world  characterized  by  high  concentrations  of  population  separated  by  huge  distances  and  supported  by  poor  infrastructures.  

These  huge  distances  have  an  impact.  The  sheer  size  and  complexity  of  the  vehicle  manufacturing  process  means  a  lot  of  the  manufacturing  must  be  done  locally  to  ensure  optimal  efficiency.  Being  in  the  right  place  at  the  right  time  is  critical.  This  means  expanding  operating  locations,  sometimes  to  new  and  distant  parts  of  the  world.    

Figure  1:  Automotive  Operates  in  a  Distributed  Environment  

 Source: Mint Jutras 2014 Enterprise Solution Study

*All survey respondents in the “large automotive” category had more than 20 locations. We use 22 as an approximation where different groupings are being averaged.

The  Mint  Jutras  2014  Enterprise  Solution  Study  found  distributed  environments  very  common  in  the  automotive  market.  This  annual  study  investigates  goals,  challenges  and  status  and  also  benchmarks  performance  of  enterprise  applications  with  Enterprise  Resource  Planning  (ERP)  at  the  core.  In  2014  this  study  captured  data  from  65  respondents  from  the  automotive  industry,  representing  companies  ranging  from  very  small  to  very  large.  The  

A Diverse Market The  Automotive  market  referenced    includes:  

üOriginal  Equipment  Manufacturers  (OEMs)  who  make  the  vehicles  

üTier  0.5  suppliers  who  make  items  like  seat  or  dashboard  assemblies  as  a  finished  sub-­‐module  for  directly  fitting  to  the  vehicle  

üTier  1  suppliers  who  also  supply  directly  to  the  line    

üTier  2  and  3  suppliers.  including  suppliers  of  wiring  looms,  plastics  trim,  metal  formed  parts,  engine  components,  etc.  

In  this  report,    Mint  Jutras  references  data  collected  from  65  participants  from  the  automotive  market  in  its  2014  Enterprise  Solution  Study.  

 

“In  economics,  BRIC  is  a  grouping  acronym  that  refers  to  the  countries  of  Brazil,  Russia,  India  and  China,  which  are  all  deemed  to  be  at  a  similar  stage  of  newly  advanced  economic  development.”  

Wikipedia  

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majority  (64%)  operate  from  more  than  one  location  and  the  number  of  operating  locations  expands  quite  significantly  with  growth.  

Figure  1  segments  these  respondents  by  company  size  based  on  annual  revenues:  

• Small  companies  are  those  with  annual  revenues  under  $25  million.  They  are  likely  to  be  the  tier  2  and  3  suppliers.  

• Those  in  the  lower-­‐midmarket  produce  revenues  between  $25  and  $250  million,  and  also  tier  2  and  3  suppliers.  

• The  upper-­‐midmarket  is  made  up  of  companies  in  the  range  of  $250  million  and  $1  billion  in  annual  revenues  and  here  might  start  to  reach  into  higher  tier  (.5  and  1)  suppliers.    

• Large  enterprises,  those  with  revenues  in  excess  of  $1  billion  are  OEMs  and  the  largest  higher  tier  suppliers.  

This  expansion  creates  an  interesting  and  challenging  dynamic  in  the  overall  automotive  supply  chain.  As  the  major  automakers  expand  their  reach  into  increasingly  remote  areas  of  the  world,  suppliers  must  follow—either  building  out  new  locations  themselves,  or  complying  with  new  regulations  and  shipping  more  globally,  both  efficiently  and  cost  effectively.  However  in  certain  parts  of  the  world,  automakers  will  choose  to  (or  be  forced  to)  utilize  local  suppliers.  This  means  either  establishing  a  new  supplier  network,  or  adding  complexity  to  existing  supply  chains,  or  most  likely  some  combination  of  the  two.  

Where  building  out  a  new  supplier  network,  particularly  in  emerging  economies,  automakers  will  face  uncertainties  in  terms  of  quality  of  component  products  and  reliability  of  suppliers.  And  it  will  be  more  important  than  ever  to  be  able  to  connect  easily  with  suppliers  regardless  of  their  level  of  technical  sophistication.  While  interoperability  has  (for  quite  some  time  now)  been  growing  in  importance,  suppliers  in  new  economies  will  not  have  the  same  level  of  sophistication  in  either  supporting  systems  or  necessary  infrastructure.  So  OEMs  and  higher  tier  suppliers  will  need  to  be  able  to  adapt  to  the  lowest  common  denominator,  while  also  supporting  the  highest  level  of  connectivity.  Many  of  these  new  networks  will  be  built  from  the  ground  up,  accomplishing  what  could  never  have  been  accomplished  without  the  Internet,  leap  frogging  older  methods  of  communication.  

Capturing  market  share  in  these  emerging  companies  will  come  at  a  significant  cost.  But  not  all  opportunity  is  created  equal.  Enterprise  level  business  software  like  ERP  and  surrounding  applications  will  not  quantify  the  market  itself  or  tell  you  where  the  most  market  opportunity  lies  for  your  individual  business.  But  these  applications  are  essential  in  evaluating  your  ability  to  serve  those  markets  profitably.    ERP  is  necessary  to:  

• Manage  the  order  processing  and  release  management  unique  to  the  automotive  industry  

• Provide  an  accurate  measure  of  costs  

Enterprise  level  business  software  like  ERP  and  surrounding  applications  will  not  quantify  the  market  itself  or  tell  you  where  the  most  market  opportunity  lies  for  your  individual  business.  But  these  applications  are  essential  in  evaluating  your  ability  to  serve  those  markets  profitably.  

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• Accurately  assess  demand  • Determine  asset  utilization  and  help  manage  current  capacity    

ERP  should  also  serve  as  a  focal  point  of  supply  chain  integration.  Solutions  that  recognize  and  support  standards  such  as  MMOG/LE  are  necessary  to  reduce  lead  times  and  contain  costs.  And  certainly  the  ability  to  plug  into  existing  supplier  exchanges  is  a  big  plus.  

It  will  be  equally  important  to  augment  these  ERP  and  supply  chain  management  applications  with  analytical  tools  that  help  you  forecast  and  simulate  production  and  sales  levels,  along  with  expected  profits.  It  is  no  longer  sufficient  to  do  this  at  a  very  high  macro  level.    

WHAT?  

What  products  will  you  be  bringing  to  market  in  terms  of  growth?  If  you  sell  only  premium,  high-­‐end  vehicles  you  will  likely  not  be  able  to  capitalize  on  the  opportunities  in  emerging  economies.  If  you  concentrate  of  the  “value-­‐based”  mid  market,  can  you  bring  your  costs  down  enough  to  compete  here?  Or  are  you  limited  only  to  the  economy-­‐priced  end  of  the  market?  To  answer  the  question  of  “What?”  you  need  to  get  down  to  individual  products  by  different  locations.  That  might  mean  a  lot  of  data.  Your  analytics  need  to  get  you  to  the  right  level  of  granularity  with  the  right  speed  and  visualization  capabilities.  Think  big  picture  (i.e.  pie  chart,  bar  chart,  scatter  graph,  etc.)  because  a  picture  (or  visual  representation)  is  worth  a  thousand  words.  But  you  better  be  able  to  drill  down  to  the  appropriate  level  of  detail  from  that  big  picture.    

 At  the  same  time,  even  in  existing  markets,  new  regulations  are  critical.  “Compliance”  by  automotive  standards  means  much  more  than  regulatory  reporting.  Regulations  affect  product  design  for  safety  measures  and  environmental  impact,  including  emissions.  So  the  product  you  sell  today  might  not  lead  to  growth  in  the  future.  You  might  not  even  be  able  to  continue  selling  current  models  or  components  designed  specifically  for  current  models.  Therefore  you  need  to  get  innovation  right  and  you  need  to  bring  it  to  market  quickly,  from  design  to  production  to  phase-­‐out.  This  brings  additional  enterprise  applications  to  the  party  for  product  design  (computer  assisted  design  or  CAD)  and  full  product  lifecycle  management  (PLM).  

And  how  do  you  manage  the  process  from  idea  to  design  to  production?  It  is  highly  likely  that  you  have  some  sort  of  tools  to  help  you  manage  projects,  even  if  they  just  run  on  a  desktop.  But  do  these  project  management  tools  support  the  kind  of  collaboration  between  engineering  and  manufacturing?  What  about  suppliers?  Do  they  help  you  just  manage  individual  projects  or  complete  programs?  Do  they  have  the  built  in  workflow  management  that  insures  nothing  slips  through  the  cracks  in  managing  a  multi-­‐discipline,  even  multi-­‐company  kind  of  endeavor?  

MMOG/LE

“MMOG/LE  (short  for  Materials  Management  Operations  Guideline  /  Logistics  Evaluation)  is  a  self-­‐assessment  tool  used  by  auto  suppliers  to  score  their  competency  in  materials  handling  and  logistics.  Developed  by  the  The  Automotive  Industry  Action  Group  (AIAG),  this  self-­‐survey  is  designed  to  validate  that  the  supplier  has  robust  material  planning  and  delivery  processes  in  place  to  support  overall  business  objectives.  It  is  a  required  component  of  many  automotive  supplier  programs,  including  Ford,  GM,  Chrysler,  JLR,  PSA,  Volvo  car  and  Volvo  Truck.”  

Source:  Wikipedia  

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WHY?  

Why  are  these  new  markets  emerging?  Why  are  there  now  whole  new  middle  classes  in  parts  of  the  world  where  previously  there  were  only  the  very  rich  and  the  very  poor?  Because  of  technology.  Of  course  that  is  an  over-­‐simplification  of  a  very  complex  set  of  economic,  technical,  social,  political  and  cultural  issues,  but  technology  has  caused  the  world  to  shrink,  or  flatten,  depending  on  your  perspective.  We  communicate  faster  and  more  freely,  which  opens  up  a  world  of  possibilities  where  once  there  were  none,  and  technology  has  awakened  whole  populations  that  never  knew  anything  beyond  their  own  villages.  

Yes,  safety  and  environmental  concerns  are  helping  to  shape  features  and  driving  product  designs,  but  nothing  is  transforming  vehicles  and  options  as  fast  as  technology.  Just  as  business  is  undergoing  a  digital  transformation,  so  are  the  vehicles  themselves.  We  now  have  the  concept  of  the  connected  vehicle  –  both  from  an  information  and  entertainment  perspective,  and  also  from  an  Internet  of  Things  (IoT)  perspective.  Just  as  sensors  collect  data  on  our  shop  floors,  vehicles  sense  and  collect  data  from  their  environments.  Vehicles  have  been  able  to  “tell”  us  when  they  need  an  oil  change  for  almost  a  decade.  They  help  us  navigate  through  traffic.  Now  some  automatically  stop  when  they  “sense”  a  pending  accident  and  even  park  themselves.  

This  creates  opportunity,  not  only  for  traditional  tiered  auto  suppliers,  but  also  for  some  suppliers  that  never  participated  in  the  automotive  industry  before.    Some  of  this  technology  is  introduced  under  the  guise  of  safety,  although  much  of  it  seems  to  be  taking  advantage  of  the  desire  for  convenience  and  entertainment.    

Who  would  ever  have  thought  Bluetooth®  technology  would  be  commonplace,  connecting  drivers  to  the  mobile  devices  that  seem  to  be  taking  over  many  lives?  At  least  the  Bluetooth  device  keeps  drivers’  hands  on  the  wheel,  if  not  their  minds  on  their  driving.    

Even  several  years  ago,  the  only  use  for  a  camera  in  a  vehicle  was  in  the  hands  of  a  passenger  taking  pictures  or  perhaps  a  surveillance  camera  in  a  taxi.  Now  rear-­‐view  cameras  are  standard  features  in  some  models,  and  not  only  in  the  very  high-­‐end  vehicles.  The  United  States  will  mandate  them  starting  in  model  year  2018.  How  soon  before  they  are  ubiquitous?    With  new  parking  assistants,  will  the  skill  of  parallel  parking  go  the  way  of  the  skill  of  reading  maps?  As  vehicles  automatically  brake  when  objects  are  detected,  are  poor  driving  habits  being  reinforced  under  the  guise  of  safety  features?  

Clearly  the  growing  market  for  videos  and  electronic  games  in  the  backseats  of  sport  utility  vehicles  is  a  sign  of  the  steady  rise  in  the  market  for  digital  technology.  This  creates  new  and  vast  opportunities,  not  only  for  veterans  of  the  automotive  industry,  but  for  new  entrants  as  well.    

Safety  and  environmental  concerns  are  helping  to  shape  features  and  driving  product  designs,  but  nothing  is  transforming  vehicles  and  options  as  fast  as  technology.  Just  as  business  is  undergoing  a  digital  transformation,  so  are  the  vehicles  themselves.  

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These  new  entrants  to  the  market  will  look  want  to  look  for  enterprise  software  with  the  right  industry-­‐specific  functionality  and  a  software  vendor  with  the  right  level  of  experience  in  order  to  come  up  to  speed  quickly.  Doing  business  in  this  market  is  different.  

HOW?  

With  the  availability  of  these  new  technologies,  consumers  are  demanding  more:  more  technology,  more  differentiation,  more  features  and  functions.  But  of  course  they  don’t  want  to  pay  more,  so  this  only  puts  more  pressure  on  making  smart  decisions  and  containing  costs.  

Enterprise  applications  like  ERP  have  long  focused  on  process—streamlining  and  automating  business  processes.  This  focus  has  produced  good  results,  but  it  is  no  longer  sufficient.  Today  growing  companies,  particularly  those  looking  to  capitalize  on  the  accelerated  growth  of  the  automotive  industry,  will  need  to  broaden  their  focus  to  include  data,  and  the  volume  of  data  for  decision-­‐making  is  growing  at  an  alarming  pace.  Without  the  proper  tools  to  deal  with  this  new  “big  data,”  you  will  be  forced  to  make  decisions  at  a  summary  level  that  won’t  give  you  the  full  picture.  You  will  need  to  dive  down  to  a  more  granular  level.    

Simple  reporting  will  not  be  enough  to  determine  how  best  to  attack  new  markets  and  growth  opportunities.  You  will  need  a  level  of  analytics  that  provide  real-­‐time  insights,  and  for  this  you  need  speed  and  proper  visualization.  When  and  how  the  data  is  presented  will  be  critical  to  making  timely  and  informed  decisions.  

Step  one  is  ensuring  profitable  management  of  your  current  environment  -­‐  carefully  collecting  and  managing  all  costs.  Older  solutions  based  on  legacy  infrastructure  and  technology  won’t  support  this  type  of  data-­‐driven  decision-­‐making.  Many  in  this  situation  recognize  this  and  embark  on  a  replacement  strategy  with  one  goal  in  mind:  modernize  their  solution.  While  this  is  necessary,  it  is  not  enough  to  insure  success.  

It  is  also  important  to  set  business  goals  and  measure  progress.  Those  in  the  automotive  industry  that  measure  improvements  and  cost  savings  since  implementing  ERP  produce  very  good  results  (Figures  2  and  3),  but  an  alarming  percentage  (30-­‐50%)  simply  do  not  measure  selected  improvements  or  reductions.    Those  with  World  Class  ERP  implementations  measure  more  and  produce  double  and  triple  the  savings  and  improvements,  including  59%  more  improvement  in  profits  year  over  year,  a  metric  that  can  and  should  be  sustainable.  

“Big Data”

“Big  data  is  an  all-­‐encompassing  term  for  any  collection  of  data  sets  so  large  and  complex  that  it  becomes  difficult  to  process  using  traditional  data  processing  applications.  

“The  challenges  include  analysis,  capture,  curation,  search,  sharing,  storage,  transfer,  visualization,  and  privacy  violations.”  

Source:  Wikipedia  

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Figure  2:  Improvements  Measured  Since  Implementing  ERP  

 Source: Mint Jutras 2014 Enterprise Solution Study

*Improvement in profits is measured over the past two fiscal years

Figure  3:  Cost  Savings  Measured  Since  Implementing  ERP  

 Source: Mint Jutras 2014 Enterprise Solution Study

While  measurement  of  your  current  environment  is  step  one,  don’t  forget  that  in  this  growing  market,  you  are  likely  to  step  out  beyond  your  current  location(s).  As  you  expand  your  presence  into  new  parts  of  the  world,  you  will  also  want  to  standardize  on  processes  and  master  data  and  therefore  on  enterprise  applications.  World  Class  manufacturers  are  clearly  further  along  in  implementing  and  enforcing  standards  (Figure  4).  

Figure  4:  Corporate  Standards  for  ERP  

 Source: Mint Jutras 2014 Enterprise Solution Study

“World Class” Mint  Jutras  defines  “World  Class”  in  terms  of  the  performance  of  ERP  implementations.  

Survey  responses  are  used  to  measure  cost  savings  and  other  improvements  since  implementing  ERP,  progress  made  in  achieving  goals  and  selected  metrics  of  current  performance,  metrics  that  can  apply  universally  to  any  business.  

The  top  15%  in  performance  is  categorized  as  “World  Class.”  World  Class  shown  in  Figures  2,  3  and  4  is  based  on  all  manufacturing  respondents.  

 

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Cloud-­‐based  solutions  can  have  a  significant  impact  on  speed  of  startup  as  well  as  implementation  and  enforcement  of  corporate  standards.  Mint  Jutras  has  been  tracking  preferences  for  different  deployment  options  for  years  now.  Figure  5  shows  those  in  the  automotive  industry  have  a  clear  preference  for  solutions  delivered  as  software  as  a  service  (SaaS).  

Figure  5:  Which  deployment  options  would  you  consider  today?  

 Source: Mint Jutras 2014 Enterprise Solution Study

Participants were allowed to select as many deployment options as they wanted

For  purposes  here,  we  need  to  distinguish  between  “cloud”  and  “SaaS”.  

• Cloud  refers  to  access  to  computing,  software,  storage  of  data  over  a  network  (generally  the  Internet.)  You  may  have  purchased  a  license  for  the  software  and  installed  it  on  your  own  computers  or  those  owned  and  managed  by  another  company,  but  your  access  is  through  the  Internet  and  therefore  through  the  “cloud,”  whether  private  or  public.  

• SaaS  is  exactly  what  is  implied  by  what  the  acronym  stands  for:  Software  as  a  Service.  Software  is  delivered  only  as  a  service.  It  is  not  delivered  on  a  CD  or  other  media  to  be  loaded  on  your  own  (or  another’s)  computer.  It  is  accessed  over  the  Internet  and  is  generally  paid  for  on  a  subscription  basis.  It  does  not  reside  on  your  computers  at  all.  

Using  these  definitions,  we  can  confidently  say  all  SaaS  is  cloud  computing,  but  not  all  cloud  computing  is  SaaS.  While  a  hosted  solution,  or  even  one  deployed  on  your  own  premises  might  be  accessible  through  the  cloud,  you  know  for  sure  that  a  SaaS-­‐based  solution  definitely  is.  Implementing  a  corporate  standard,  deployed  as  SaaS,  can  help  enforce  standards  while  bringing  new  sites  up  quickly  and  consistently,  even  in  very  remote  parts  of  the  world  where  not  only  automotive  manufacturing  experience  but  also  IT  talent  and  expertise  might  be  rare.  

 

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DON’T  FORGET  THE  PEOPLE:  TALENT  MANAGEMENT  And,  therefore,  in  your  expansion,  don’t  forget  the  people.  Profitable  growth  requires  new  talent.  You  not  only  will  need  to  staff  new  locations,  but  technology-­‐driven  innovation  may  also  require  new  skill  sets.  Manufacturing  has  traditionally  viewed  labor  simply  as  a  cost  to  be  managed,  and  the  automotive  industry  is  no  exception.  But  as  production  facilities  become  more  automated,  we  have  new  profiles  of  workers.  Human  capital  management,  including  recruiting  and  talent  management,  takes  on  a  higher  priority.  The  category  of  Human  Capital  Management  (HCM)  as  enterprise  software  is  not  necessarily  new,  but  it  is  often  ignored.  Look  for  new  and  better  support  for  recruiting,  learning  and  performance  management,  along  with  the  traditional  aspects  of  human  resource  management.  

SUMMARY  

Growth  in  the  automotive  market  continues  to  accelerate,  moving  beyond  mature  markets  into  emerging  economies  and  new  parts  of  the  world.  These  new  markets  are  often  categorized  by  high  concentrations  of  population,  separated  by  enormous  distances  and  poor  technical  and  logistical  infrastructures,  adding  new  and  challenging  market  complexities.  At  the  same  time  markets  and  automotive  products  themselves  are  being  disrupted  by  digital  transformation.  All  these  factors  combine  to  present  unprecedented  opportunities,  but  with  those  opportunities  come  unprecedented  challenges.  

Sustainable  and  profitable  growth  can  be  achieved,  but  only  with  the  careful  analysis  of  the  opportunities  and  well-­‐managed  execution  of  strategies,  supported  by  the  right  enterprise  tools  and  technology.  ERP  is  table  stakes  today,  but  ERP  must  support  the  unique  requirements  of  the  automotive  industry.  And  ERP  alone  is  not  enough.  You  will  also  need  to:  

• Manage  an  increasingly  complex  supply  chain,  and  perhaps  connect  into  supplier  exchanges  

• Manage  from  idea  to  production  with  modern  computer  assisted  design  (CAD)  tools  and  product  lifecycle  management  

• Elevate  project  from  the  desktop  and  possibly  add  program  management  

• Effectively  recruit,  manage  and  retain  talent  with  the  appropriate  support  from  talent  management  applications.    

• Expand  your  focus  from  “process”  to  also  include  “data”  with  powerful  analytics  and  visualization    

The  right  enterprise  level  tools  and  technology  can  make  all  the  difference  in  your  quest  to  secure  your  share  of  this  burgeoning  market.  Put  these  solutions  in  the  cloud  and  you  might  grab  that  share  even  faster.  

 

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1  Bigger,  Better,  Broader:  A  perspective  on  China’s  auto  market  in  2020,  McKinsey  &  Company,  November  2012  

 

About  the  author:    Cindy  Jutras  is  a  widely  recognized  expert  in  analyzing  the  impact  of  enterprise  applications  on  business  performance.  Utilizing  close  to  40  years  of  corporate  experience  and  specific  expertise  in  manufacturing,  supply  chain,  customer  service  and  business  performance  management,  Cindy  has  spent  the  past  9  years  benchmarking  the  performance  of  software  solutions  in  the  context  of  the  business  benefits  of  technology.  In  2011  Cindy  founded  Mint  Jutras  LLC  (www.mintjutras.com),  specializing  in  analyzing  and  communicating  the  business  value  enterprise  applications  bring  to  the  enterprise.