The coronavirus pandemic meant 2020 was a tough year for everyone in the automotive sector. GM was no exception. While the carmaker’s sales for the calendar year reached 2.5m units, total deliveries were down 12% and retail deliveries down 6% for the year. However, toward the end of 2020 retail sales recovered to pre-pandemic levels. According to the carmaker’s executive vice-president, Steve Carlisle, that was down to the efforts made by GM’s workforce. They kept launches on track and each other safe.

Carlisle specified that the result was down to the teamwork of manufacturing and supply chain teams, as well as GM’s dealers. But it was also down to the carmaker’s prescient adoption of outbound logistics software. That software afforded it much better visibility in the delivery of its vehicles during the crisis.