Artificially intelligent: Top 10 Red Sofa interviews on supply chain digitalisation

Digitalisation can take many forms, especially in something as inherently complex as a supply chain. In principle, it refers to creating, adopting or leveraging digital technologies to transform operations or processes. The implementation of digital approaches can vary, ranging from companies integrating AI and data analytics tools to automation management systems.

A thread that is apparent throughout the Red Sofa interviews that Automotive Logistics has conducted is that, no matter what approach is taken, adopting increased digitalisation can only be to a company’s benefit. Through this evolving list of conversations with key decision makers, find out just why this is the case.

Gerardo de la Torre at Nissan Group of North America on leveraging digitalisation to improve visibility

Gerardo de la Torre, regional senior director of supply chain management at Nissan Group of the Americas and keynote speaker from ALSC Digital Strategies North America, took to the Red Sofa to provide a deeper look into Nissan’s usage of digital tools to improve resilience across the supply chain.

“We launched a digital solution that enables us to collaborate with our suppliers,” De La Torre explained. The tool captures and centralises tier-1 through tier-N data, aligning with NDAs and forming part of Nissan’s product development documentation. He emphasised, “I’m very happy to share that it’s been extraordinarily well received by our suppliers,” with over 94% tier-N data visibility now achieved across the US and Mexico. “This is extremely useful and very powerful information,” he added.

Beyond compliance, this data enables powerful use cases. “We’re now starting to explore more efficient logistics between tier-2s and tier-3s, when they share similar locations,” he said. This identification allows Nissan to add “synergy” and share capacity amongst suppliers. The solution also supports cybersecurity risk mitigation: “When a tier 2 supplier was attacked, we quickly alerted affected tier 1s, helping avoid production downtime in Mexico and the US,” he explained.

Skotti Fietsam at Accuride on ensuring efficiency between logistics and IT teams 

Since last joining the Red Sofa, Accuride’s Skotti Fietsam’s role has expanded to now include senior vice president of supply and chief information officer. This dual oversight gives her a valuable understanding of how the two functions can best collaborate.

This insight involves a new approach to planning digitalisation strategies. She explained that there should be a move away from just embracing whatever the newest technology is – instead, she “want to start with the people, and the priorities, and the business needs, and then set the business cases… and then go out and find those tools that best satisfy those needs.” Part of this involves improving team members’ information and awareness of tools, training them to be able to use them effectively – teams should become more “intelligent about artificial intelligence.” 

She also outlined how AI and other predictive tools can be used to improve resiliency in the supply chain. Through a combination of supply chain mapping and predictive analysis, Fietsam explained that teams should be able to identify “an immediate impact” that can be "calculated in seconds.” 

Paule Tchiegne Wandji at International Motors on cross-team collaboration 

Paule Tchiegne Wandji, associate director, logistics COE process and governance at International Motors, also discussed the importance of collaboration between teams in her Red Sofa.

“Increased collaboration between IT and logistics is critical,” Wandji stated. “Organisations must embrace a model of shared ownership and co-creation,” where logistics brings operational challenges and desired outcomes, and IT delivers the architecture to connect tools, data and technologies to turn those outcomes into value, she explained. 

Paule identified three pillars essential to effective change management: “clear direction and strategic alignment,” “stakeholder engagement,” and “capability building.” She stressed that transformation “starts with the people,” and requires ongoing support and continuous learning. 

John Godfrey’s Pirelli Tire on introducing next-gen management systems to processes 

John Godfrey, senior director logistics operations at Pirelli Tire North America, explained how the tier-1 supplier was adopting third-generation warehouse managements systems (WMS) and transport management systems (TMS). 

Pirelli is transitioning from second-generation WMS to third-generation systems, introducing barcode scanning and GPS tracking to significantly improve real-time visibility. “This is giving us and our 3PL partners greater visibility in our warehouses,” John noted, highlighting the importance of seamless data flow across logistics functions. On the transportation side, upgraded TMS platforms are being deployed to support both inbound and outbound flows across domestic and international markets. 

A key driver for Pirelli’s system upgrades is cost control. “You always want to have a cost benefit... visibility that allows you to see the costs before they happen,” said John. Data ownership and integration are also priorities: “We’re generating more and more data… it gives you the capability to do more and more analysis and come up with better solutions.” 

Chandan Trehan at Bosch North America on enabling digital fluency 

Chandan Trehan, digital supply chains and logistics lead at Bosch North America, explained the environment required for effective digitalisation.

He emphasised that transformation begins with self-awareness: “Make sure that you have done an honest, thorough assessment… and understand the urgency for change.” He cautioned against viewing digitalisation as merely a “technology refresh,” urging leaders to focus on value creation, not just compliance. 

A critical success factor is employee engagement. “Keep people involved in the process,” Trehan advised, stressing the importance of clearly communicating the “why” behind transformation. He also outlined a “digital fluency programme” run by Bosch that ensures every employee, regardless of role, is equipped with a foundational understanding of technologies like AI. “A big win will be if people on the front line understand what AI can do for them and come back with use cases,” he explained.

Trehan also acknowledged that transformation is rarely linear. “It’s okay to fail, but it’s important to fail fast and learn.” He advocated breaking the journey into manageable projects and fostering a culture of agility, where teams feel safe to pivot when assumptions prove incorrect. 

Manoj Tiwary at Subaru Canada on scaling data platforms to maximise solution efficiency 

Manoj Tiwary, chief information officer at Subaru Canada, shared an update on the OEM’s digitalisation roadmap and how it has influenced the company’s logistics transformation.

“Our goal is to get to the root cause of problems and build solutions that truly support the business,” Tiwary explained. A central pillar of this transformation is the creation of a modern intelligent data hub – a platform designed to unify siloed datasets across logistics partners. “It’s not that we don’t have the data,” he noted, “the challenge is that it’s all siloed.” 

Tiwary emphasised the importance of real-time, high-quality data exchange through APIs, moving away from batch-based updates to enable dynamic ETA predictions. “By 2025, the expectation is to provide realistic ETAs to dealers and customers,” he said. Future enhancements may also integrate external data sources, such as traffic and weather, to anticipate delays more accurately. 

Tiwary highlighted a broader ambition: integrating parts and vehicle logistics to ensure timely repair capabilities at ports and compounds. “This is one of the most overlooked areas,” he stated. “We need to know exactly where our vehicles are and what parts are needed for each VIN.”

GM’s Jeffrey Morrison on improving partnerships

Jeffrey Morrison, senior vice-president of global purchasing and supply chain at GM, sat down on the Red Sofa at Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Global 2024. In the conversation, he outlined how GM is focused on ensuring its partners are also invested in adopting new approaches alongside the OEM. “We’re focusing on bringing the best technology forward, but it’s equally important that our partners are ready to navigate these changes as well,” he said.

Using the example of EVs, he explained that sharing values with partners will be key to ensuring that vehicles are delivered efficiently. The increased weight of EVs and the associated limitations to transport spur discourse and investment across the value chain, such as looking into electric-powered freight solutions.

It is through such discourse that solutions can be found and new avenues for efficacy introduced. To summarise the benefits this can bring for OEMs and their partners, he stated that collaboration is “more than just securing capacity; it’s about finding new efficiencies and enabling key investments that will benefit both sides”. He added: “Together, we can be at the forefront of this industry transformation.”

John Torres at Mercedes-Benz on why data quality is integral to any digital strategy

With digital strategies – such as AI-led forecasting or the streamlining of operations systems – holding such potential for businesses, it makes sense that they are rapidly being introduced. However, John Torres, lead senior data scientist at Mercedes-Benz, reiterates the importance of ensuring that any such strategy is led by good data.

Sitting down on the Red Sofa at last year’s ALSC Digital Strategies Europe, he summarised the foundations needed for a successful strategy to be “data completeness [and] data transparency”. With these metrics in mind, teams can ensure that their work is optimised, as well as approach business units and work collaboratively with them to set parameters for actionable and quantifiably beneficial analysis. Using the example of vehicle delivery after purchase, a digital model with proper data can give customers a more accurate and realistic outline of delivery, boosting the customer experience and improving satisfaction.

He also stressed the importance of proper data governance, exploring the need to improve data literacy throughout organisations. With this, the human-focus of digital strategies remains at the forefront. As Torres pointed out, “the most important asset in any company is definitely the people” – a key takeaway but one that is often at risk of being overlooked.

Carolin Richter at BMW discusses advanced automation in plants

As discussed in other Red Sofa interviews, generative AI is a tool that holds immense potential for the industry – it can be used to streamline and speed up tasks, develop more intricate and evolving models, and facilitate operational efficiency. But, it can do more than support operations. In some instances, it can spur innovation itself: “Developments in the field of generative AI offers completely new challenges and possibilities of using AI models in robotics. The expectation of the next generation of robots would be that they can be trained entirely without programming, almost autonomously. It’s like a ChatGPT moment for robotics!”

This is an idea that Carolin Richter, head of next generation robotics at BMW, explored in her Red Sofa at ALSC Digital Strategies. There was good cause for her excitement, as she explained that BMW have already been able to automate tasks that “have previously [been] considered impossible due to cost effectiveness” in their plants. Expanding on the automation that is already in place, the advancements in AI have allowed Richter and her team to explore the possibility of using humanoids in manufacturing operations. Their benefit is that their design allows them to better interact with an environment designed for humans and is a prime example of how far digital solutions can be taken. What once was in the realm of science fiction, is now a viable option for companies to invest in and scale up.

Saba Azizi at CATL on diversity in digital platforms

In her Red Sofa interview at Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Digital Strategies Europe in Munich last December, Saba Azizi, overseas service network and development manager for CATL, discussed how digital solutions are at the forefront of the EV battery giant’s approach to customer satisfaction.

Traditional service network systems can lead to a lot of inefficiency, including “inaccurate data entry, tracking and performance”, and the lack of an integrated system did not align with customer values. Azizi’s introduction of a digitalised service network platform countered these issues, allowing for one synthesised portal to track functions across the network. Transparency and consistency can therefore be improved for customers, helping the company to achieve its goal of keeping the customer “satisfied, happy and loyal”.

The benefits in this case study extend beyond the customer too. Azizi explained that digitalisation is not just about creating a technology platform but instead is an avenue “where everyone with different backgrounds and perspective can cooperate with each other and exchange their ideas”. Azizi went on to explain that this is vital for growth and innovation, as the automotive industry is at a key junction in the road to electrification, especially at a global level. Creating such an avenue for discussion allows for greater insight to be gleamed and expertise to be utilised, which can be spun off into better understanding customer demand and adjusting accordingly to capitalise on it.