“Do it right and in the right time,” Nissan’s De la Torre says, as he details the four-pillar strategy for real-time resilience across the Americas

“We have to get it right.” It’s a simple statement, but one that sits at the heart of how Gerardo de la Torre, regional senior director of supply chain management at Nissan Group of the Americas, approaches today’s complex supply chain and logistics landscape. His strategy is defined not by abstract digital ambitions, but by the real-world demands of operational resilience – built on data infrastructure, cross-functional governance and supplier visibility.

In this exclusive interview with Automotive Logistics, Gerardo de la Torre – who leads the carmaker’s innovation group and digital action plan for supply chain across the region – explains how Nissan is turning compliance, supply chain visibility, digital tooling and regional integration into core enablers of resilience, offering practical insight into what it means to act quickly, thoroughly and consistently across the Americas. And at a time of trade and market uncertainty, regulatory complexity and supply chain transformation, it’s a plan that can help Nissan both to ‘comply’ as well as to gain strategic advantages.

A strategy anchored in four pillars 

Nissan’s regional Supply Chain Management (SCM) Innovation department, initiated under the leadership of De la Torre into the company’s regional SCM organisation, was established to address opportunities for operational excellence, drive technological change and support long-term scalability across the Americas. Through its cross-functional collaboration and digital-first approach, the department developed what is now recognised as a strategic playbook – an actionable framework, comprising crisis response protocols, that informs both day-to-day decisions and long-term supply chain strategy.

Also, shaped by hard-earned lessons from the semiconductor crisis and cyberattacks, the innovation strategy is steering the organisation toward proactive resilience through four clearly defined strategic pillars:

1. People and skills development

Driving Nissan’s resilience transformation is a purposeful commitment to investing in its people. The company launched a Data and Analytics Skill Academy to empower employees with the capabilities needed to harness new digital tools and generate actionable insights.

“Since integrating the SCM Innovation department, we’ve identified four key pillars,” De la Torre shares. “Naturally, the first is focused on people and skill development. People now have greater access to digital tools and a clearer understanding of their purpose – what they’re designed for and the kinds of solutions they can create themselves.”

This approach not only decentralises problem-solving capacity but also enables greater agility across operations. It reflects a shift from relying on centralised analytics teams to enabling frontline staff and middle managers within SCM teams to explore, test and deploy data-driven solutions independently.

Nissan’s people-first approach is particularly significant in the context of increasingly data-intensive supply chain environments. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies and operational complexity rises, the ability to interpret, act on and innovate with data at every level of the organisation becomes a strategic necessity.

2. Data and analytics

As digital maturity becomes a prerequisite for supply chain competitiveness, Nissan has also placed data at the core of its transformation. The organisation built a robust data infrastructure centred on a data lake, enabling seamless integration and centralisation of disparate data streams across logistics, purchasing and manufacturing systems.

“This was one of the first pillars we initiated,” De la Torre explains. “We began by compiling and centralising large volumes of data, followed by the development of unique workflow applications. These tools enable different users across the supply chain to run various queries, conduct investigations and generate assessment reports.”

This centralised architecture reduces data silos and accelerates decision-making across operational and strategic layers. Nissan’s digital tools allow users to access real-time analytics and generate insights autonomously, enhancing both speed and precision.

The scalability of this data infrastructure has supported the expansion of Nissan’s regional SCM organisation, as evidenced by its integration of the South America region into the broader Americas structure, which also includes North America.

3. Regionalisation and system reintegration 

To better align operations across an increasingly interconnected Americas region, Nissan has prioritised region-wide digital alignment. This effort was catalysed by the integration of South America – specifically Brazil – under a single umbrella: Nissan’s SCM Americas Organisation. The newly integrated organisation is led by vice-president of SCM Chris Styles, with De la Torre leading across functions including supplier management, systems and data integration.

“Some initiatives, such as how we operate our vehicle processing compounds or how we process yard management in North America, are now becoming integrated into one single solution,” De la Torre says. This regionalisation enables standardisation in warehouse management, yard operations and transport logistics, while preserving the flexibility needed to meet local requirements.

The rationale is twofold: first, to replicate proven best practices across markets, and second, to enhance visibility and control in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape. “Brazil is now included in the initial assessment of which regional solutions make the most sense and how adaptation processes need to happen,” he adds.

By integrating South America into a common SCM organisation, De le Torre and his team are playing a key role in network design and optimisation. Brazil’s output, for example, is expanding strongly, forecasted to rise by more than 50% this year compared to 2024, including the launch of new models to support exports to over 20 countries, the country now represents a major realignment in production. Brazil is also emerging as a central hub in Nissan’s resilient supply chain model.

“Brazil is set to become a very important manufacturing source not only for local operations but for the entire Latin American region,” De la Torre explains.

As part of realignment of production capacity, Nissan will also consolidate production in the region. The company announced earlier this year that it would consolidate production of its Nissan Frontier and Navara pickups at its CIVAC plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico, ending production of these models in Cordoba, Argentina. This move will require supplier and production shifts across the region and will see the Argentinian market served by regional plants from Mexico and Brazil.

“There’s been significant progress [in the region’s reintegration strategy],” he adds. “Much of the work was previously done in Excel, but we’re now integrating all this data to create a unified regional data source that everyone can access.”

The operational focus in Brazil is not just about cost efficiency, it also reflects Nissan’s broader supply chain strategy to increase agility and responsiveness to regulatory changes – especially as global trade frameworks such as Mercosur and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) evolve. “We have to be humble, agile, resilient and bring all the digitalisation and innovation tools to enable the Americas resilience,” he adds. 

4. Risk sensing and resilience 

In a landscape increasingly shaped by unpredictable disruptions – from semiconductors, cyberattacks and extreme weather, to more stringent regulations and trade disputes – Nissan has embedded proactive risk management into its operational DNA.

Central to this effort is the Tier-N Sourcing Data Digital Platform that provides a comprehensive view of Nissan’s entire supplier ecosystem, reaching as deep as tier-five to Tier-N. This level of visibility has allowed the company to prepare more proactive and coordinated responses.

“When some tier-two suppliers faced a cyberattack, it was incredibly valuable to immediately identify all the tier-one suppliers connected to that tier-two, part number, models and Nissan plants potentially at risk” explains De la Torre. “Thanks to the creation of what we call our playbook… we’ve been able to successfully mitigate all of those incidents – resulting in significant reduction on the supply disruption to our Nissan factories.”

The importance of the playbook capability became evident through hard experience. “If I may humbly compare it to what we experienced a little over four years ago – when we had to halt production for nearly three weeks due to the semiconductor shortage – we didn’t have visibility into the full Tier-N structure,” De la Torre reflects. “But now, we do.”

With a database that supports compliance checks, human rights audits and origin tracking, Nissan has transformed its supply chain into a source of strategic strength. The initiative not only enhances resilience but also reinforces Nissan’s ability to comply with evolving trade and human rights regulations – before they become crises.

Why Tier-N Sourcing is more than a compliance digital tool

Originally conceived as a mechanism to comply with the Human Rights Sourcing Requirements, Nissan’s Tier-N Sourcing Data Platform has evolved into one of its most strategic assets. The system’s ability to map complex, multi-tier supplier relationships in real-time has allowed Nissan to proactively manage disruptions, ensure legal compliance and validate origin declarations.

“This has become one of the most useful databases that we have in our company,” De la Torre says. “It’s essential not only for supply chain due diligences but also for addressing a wide range of major potential disruptions.”

What sets the Tier-N Data Platform apart is its dual role as a compliance safeguard and a strategic intelligence hub. “We’re already in the phase of developing interactions between this database and our purchasing, customs and trade departments,” De la Torre shares. “This allows us to operate more efficiently.”

Nissan’s supplier engagement strategy has been instrumental to the platform’s success. As of May 2025, more than 94% of its MFG parts suppliers in the Americas have voluntarily onboarded, sharing the Official NPQP Document “CSSC Component Supply Chain Chart” to reflect the Tier-N sourcing data through a secure and confidential channel. “The collaboration from our suppliers has been extraordinarily positive,” De la Torre emphasises. Logistics partners have also aligned with the platform’s data-sharing standards. 

Additionally, this transparency through data sharing has enabled Nissan to pre-empt disruptions – a marked shift from the reactive posture it held during the semiconductor shortages that started in 2020.

Embedding compliance as a core capability  

Compliance has moved to the centre of Nissan’s SCM innovation strategy, not only as a regulatory imperative but also as a mechanism for competitive advantage. To institutionalise this shift, the company established the Nissan Supply Chain Compliance Steering Committee, which provides strategic alignment and oversight across regional and global teams. 

“When the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act was enacted, we had to immediately prepare our capabilities to enable full supply chain execution,” De la Torre says. “I’m very proud of the cross-functional collaboration we have deployed over the past two years – not only in the region but globally.”

In addition to governance, Nissan has partnered with third-party analytics providers to enhance Tier-N visibility from external perspectives. “We’ve been able to compare and bundle what is the external view within the internal view,” he adds. This dual-lens approach supports more thorough due diligence and risk evaluation.

Nissan has also updated its official policies, including a newly ratified SCM policy that codifies the company’s commitment to human rights. Strategic cross-functional workshops with key partners have followed, enabling teams to prioritise and roadmap their compliance objectives. “Together, we identify the upcoming priorities and determine options – whether it’s option one, two, or three – to address each one,” De la Torre explains.

Despite the progress made, Nissan acknowledges that its SCM digital strategy can become even more automated and seamless. “We still need to establish a more holistic, unified data source for all risk prevention, cybersecurity and compliance-related inquiries,” he notes. The company is actively exploring ways to integrate systems across departments and regions to streamline response and strengthen oversight capabilities.

For automotive logistics leaders, this approach offers a blueprint: embed compliance early, invest in governance and use data not just to report, but to anticipate.

While speed and complexity remain challenges, De la Torre emphasises the role of humility, confidentiality and talent retention as cultural cornerstones to overcoming them.

Watch: Nissan’s de la Torre on the Red Sofa

Cybersecurity is still a threat, but now a managed one 

Cybersecurity has become a defining pillar of Nissan’s supply chain innovation. Now in its third year, Nissan’s Manufacturing Cybersecurity Supplier Program (MCSP) is both structured and adaptive, shaped by supplier collaboration, risk analytics and AI-powered monitoring.

“Our programme initially started with… the integration of what we call our Cyber Security Manufacturing Supplier survey,” De la Torre says. This framework combines best practices from both North American infrastructure standards and the Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association. It evaluates more than 24 dimensions of supplier security preparedness – from policies and procedures to infrastructure and response protocols.

The survey helps identify high-risk suppliers before vulnerabilities escalate into disruptions. “It’s far better to uncover risks through an internal survey than to react after an incident occurs,” De la Torre emphasises.

To further strengthen early warning capabilities, Nissan partnered with a security provider that monitors the dark web for signs of potential breaches. “We are able to identify any potential event threats… even before a cyberattack is officially announced,” he notes.

The programme’s maturity is now visible in how quickly Nissan can respond. “Every time we work together and find the ways to mitigate and work proactively, we have successfully done so,” De la Torre says. Though attacks have not diminished in frequency, Nissan’s resilience has measurably increased.

Cybersecurity is also now embedded into Nissan’s broader supply chain collaboration – particularly with logistics providers. “Logistics companies have become highly engaged and are demonstrating much stronger cyber hygiene and prevention measures,” De la Torre says. This level of alignment reflects a growing recognition that supply chain security is only as strong as its weakest link.

For logistics leaders navigating volatile conditions, Nissan’s model provides an important lesson: resilience isn’t just about digital infrastructure – it’s about shared vigilance and proactive coordination.

The role of AI and digital twins 

While much of Nissan’s digital transformation has focused on building foundational infrastructure and securing cross-functional alignment, the company is now turning its attention to next-generation technologies – most notably AI and digital twins.

“We still need to accelerate our adoption of AI,” De la Torre acknowledges. “Our teams are conducting initial trials and early digital twin assessments, but I strongly believe we need to move faster on that front.”

The company is consolidating the results of initiatives launched over the past two years, stabilising systems before taking the next evolutionary step. “I don’t want to run before walking… a lot of this year is about the consolidation of results from strategies that were deployed two years ago,” he shares.

That said, early use cases are already emerging, particularly in the areas of supplier risk assessment and scenario planning. AI tools – especially those deployed through strategic partners – are playing a pivotal role in enhancing speed and accuracy of insights. “It’s been incredibly effective and eye-opening to see how powerful AI can be during rapid investigations, especially when uncovering critical facts,” De la Torre says, referring back to its role in cyberattack prevention.

As digital twins and AI analytics move from experimentation to deployment, organisations with stable data foundations and clear governance will be positioned to scale their impact fastest – and most responsibly.

Leadership reflections 

De la Torre’s closing reflections distil the philosophy behind Nissan’s supply chain transformation: leadership grounded in humility, clarity of purpose and relentless commitment to people. His message to logistics executives navigating today’s volatile market is simple but profound.

“Remain humble,” he emphasises. “If you are the leader, make sure you are a consistent, supportive leader that helps your team to unlock the barriers.”

This ethos has underpinned the company’s evolution – from ad-hoc disruption response to structured, strategic resilience. De la Torre’s emphasis on internal alignment and top-level sponsorship is particularly telling. “If you don’t have the full support of your top executives, please speak your mind,” he says. “At Nissan, I feel we’re extremely well aligned because we have strong backing from top SCM and manufacturing leadership.”

Equally critical is talent development. De la Torre regularly engages in weekly deep-dive reviews with team members to ensure visibility and accountability, noting, “Otherwise, things can become complacent – and in the supply chain, you can never assume there aren’t new threats on the horizon.’”

His final counsel to leaders: nurture passion. “Enjoy, be humble and happy. Because if you love [your work], you and your team will be very happy and highly motivated.”

For decision-makers charting their next move, this perspective offers a compelling lens: resilience starts not just with systems or processes – but with leadership that empowers people, prepares for complexity and acts with conviction.