Special Section Auto supply chains brace for a very different future After decades of offloading low-value production and producing the same old technologies, the industry is transforming the supply chains that bring it all together. The auto industry is craving greater supply chain visibility Two years of disruptions caused by the pandemic, the microchip shortage and a wide range of supply chain challenges are prompting automakers and suppliers to pursue a better sense of where their parts are. Trade groups think through tomorrow's supply chain Electric vehicle stakeholders must figure out how to build a supply chain for tomorrow, with access to raw materials and rigorous environmental and labor standards. Move over auto suppliers — cloud companies are moving in Automakers and suppliers are creating oceans of new data that need to be managed and analyzed. Who better to partner with than Google, Microsoft, Amazon and other global giants of cloud commerce? Automakers expect suppliers to deliver CO2 targets According to the World Economic Forum, automotive is one of eight supply chains that account for more than half of all global emissions. EV batteries creating a new U.S. supply base Huge investments are going into U.S. EV battery production capacity. But that will require upstream parts and materials that are not common to the North American industry. Ukraine war redrawing Europe's auto supply chain map In Europe, the industry is wondering if just in time is an idea of the past — while at the same time calculating how to bring suppliers closer.
