Increasing lean logistics’ influence during a paradigm shift
In an era defined by disruption, the Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Global 2025 conference cast a spotlight on lean logistics as a stabilising force across the automotive value chain.
Despite chaos from geopolitical tensions, cybersecurity incidents and ongoing tariffs, leaders from GM, Nissan, Bosch, Lucid and more framed lean as a mindset of continuous flow, clarity and resilience at ALSC Global 2025. Drawing on lessons from packaging, visibility, border operations and talent development, the conference underscored how lean logistics can bridge the gap between volatility and competitive advantage.
Staying lean during disruption with tech and talent
In automotive logistics, lean has long meant minimising cost, shaving excess inventory and improving container fill. Yet, as multiple speakers at ALSC Global emphasised, lean today must be understood differently.
The supply chain shocks of the last five years, ranging from the pandemics to semiconductor shortages, shipping congestion, geopolitical conflict and tariff volatility, have shifted the conversation. As Christopher Ludwig, chief content officer at Automotive Logistics said at the opening of the conference, for those who have only recently entered the industry, they "only really know a supply chain that is undergoing transformation" and "only really know a situation of uncertainty, of the need for sort of continuous change". There is no going back to “whatever that halcyon time might have looked like before”, he said. Lean is no longer just a matter of cutting costs and inventory, it is now about enabling supply chain stability, giving OEMs and suppliers the capacity to respond when conditions change overnight.
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Disruption also reinforces that lean logistics needs to be considered in board room discussions from the very beginning. To react in a lean, flexible way, logistics should be considered from the start of planning, something that Marcio Lucon, executive director of global logistics and containers at GM stressed.
“When logistics is called into the process a little bit later, and when you do that, you lose a lot of opportunities to do the right things,” Lucon said. "If you don't find out the right business model, it's difficult for you to perform and to make adjustments. You need to make sure you are ahead of that, in the front end of all the discussions, and that you are not positioning yourself as a neighbour. We are really driving a lot of things and this is generating a lot of good decisions in the company.”
One aspect of this is shifting to more strategic, data-driven logistics. As a result, logistics and supply chain roles and transforming intro data-literate leadership functions, rather than being purely operational and sitting separately from business decisions. Companies are urged to cultivate robust analytics capabilities, encouraging storytelling with data, and fostering proactive decision-making. This move away from reactive problem-solving towards predictive and preventive measures is fundamental to lean operations.
Adam Olson, vice-president, logistics mobility Americas at Bosch, Chris Styles, vice-president, Supply Chain Management at Nissan Group of the Americas, and Moe Saleh, president and CEO, Greatway discussed how this is something to bear in mind when aiming to drive talent development and retention and AI integration and readiness.
They agreed that the industry is moving towards utilising data for better predictability and proactive decision-making, minimising the historical reactive mode of operation. Logistics is a diverse and evolving industry with daily surprises, navigating obstacles like weather factors, Department of Transport regulations, and various stakeholders, meaning individuals need strong problem-solving skills.
To help tackle this, Nissan has developed a separate 'Supply Chain Innovation' team to focus on future needs, bringing in data scientists and starting an internal data analytics development program.
“One thing we realised a few years ago was that our supply-chain team was so focused on day-to-day operations that nobody had the bandwidth to step back and think about the future. We developed a separate group outside of daily operations - a Supply Chain Innovation team - and brought in data scientists to start our own internal development program around data analytics,” he said.
Styles explained that the aim was to bridge a generational gap between long-time employees and newer recruits. “Many of our veteran team members had decades of experience running operations but weren’t exposed to the newer tools and skill sets coming through universities. By combining them with the new hires who already had some of those analytics skills, we created a program that merges both worlds,” he said.
“It’s not just about running spreadsheets anymore, it’s about understanding the information and moving from manual effort to insight-driven decision-making. The goal is to evolve continually with the tools available while helping our people develop the skills they need to keep up and feel part of that evolution,” Styles noted.
While new software and tools like AI are imperative to stay lean and flexible, Styles highlighted that it’s more about the people than the digital tools.
“To me, AI is just another tool,” said Styles.
"It’s really about helping our team members understand what that tool can do for them and how to evolve with it. You can apply AI across a number of different functions, whether it’s packaging design, engineering, product planning or scheduling. It helps us do things faster and narrow down scenarios more efficiently, but you still need the human factor - people who interpret what it’s telling us and make the final decisions. At the end of the day, it’s another tool we just need to keep expanding on and helping people understand how to use,” he added.
Packaging as a lean lever
Few areas made the case for lean more clearly than packaging. What was once viewed as a back-office detail has become a front-line issue for cost, flow and compliance.
Bridget Grewal, director of packaging continuous improvement at Magna International offered a vivid case study on phytosanitary compliance. Lapses in meeting ISPM-15 wood treatment standards had led to container rejections, costly re-routing, and weeks of delay. The fix required more than compliance paperwork, and meant training local handlers, conducting inspections earlier in the chain, and driving accountability into the supplier base.
Poor control of standards can create bottlenecks and waste, while lean discipline can bring visibility, accountability and resilience. Brad Jorgenson, general manager of advanced planning for parts logistics and packaging at Toyota North America captured this shift neatly. “Packaging is no longer just a box around the part. It is a lever for cost, efficiency and resilience across the entire supply chain,” he said.
From returnable containers to standardised designs and regenerative loops, OEMs and suppliers shared how packaging decisions can shape flows across continents. The discussions reinforced that packaging, when guided by lean thinking, reduces touchpoints, harmonises processes and supports predictable supply.
Lean in vehicle launches and product flows
Another recurring theme was the importance of embedding lean upstream in vehicle launches. Traditionally, logistics has been invited late into the design process, after packaging and supplier decisions are already locked. This often leads to inefficiencies including suboptimal packaging dimensions, fragmented freight lanes, or suppliers too distant from assembly plants.
Nissan’s Styles, alongside Hamza Uddin, senior global supply manager at Lucid Motors and Ted Bowley, director of Southeast sales at Carter Logistics, underlined the risks of such late involvement. They argued that logistics must be part of early design and procurement choices. By applying lean as a design constraint, companies can harmonise packaging sizes, optimise supplier locations and reduce unnecessary variability long before production ramps up.
“It seems like logistics in the beginning was kind of like the last thought was kind of like, you know, hey, we'll deal with that when we do it,” said Bowley. “And it seems like it's been more integrated now."
Launch planning, packaging design and supplier selection all offer opportunities to embed lean before inefficiencies become entrenched.
Lean at the borders: Tariffs and trade friction
Speakers at the conference stressed that as well as internal lean operations, external frictions such as tariffs, customs checks and shifting trade rules must be built into lean thinking.
Facing challenges such as border congestion, shifting tariff regimes, new trade policies and complexity of moving parts across the US, Mexico and Canada increases risk and costs but also creates opportunities for digital tooling, smarter partnerships and stabilising flows and strengthening resilience. Cross-border focus has shifted from cost to strategy, with companies prioritising resilience, visibility and compliance over just-in-time efficiency.
JJ Feregrino, director of strategic sales and supply chain solutions at Agramont Worldwide Logistics said: “Policy noise is constant, so what we do is we treat it like weather. You watch it, you plan for it, and then you move early."
Partnerships with authorities are crucial for secure cross-corridors, according to Ana Luchia Ochoa, global director of supply chain management at the Driveline division of American Axle Manufacturing.
“What we're doing is we're partnering closely with the carriers that have certified operators to cross the border, investing in more planning tools that will allow us to give more visibility and gain the predictability of the freight,” she said. “So we become, or they help us to become, a more attractive customer. And despite the tight capacity, they will want to work with us because we have a systematic way to plan the freight.”
Rather than treating tariffs and border delays as exceptional shocks, logistics networks must treat them as predictable features of the landscape. Dual sourcing, buffer stock near borders, flexible lanes and proactive customs compliance are all lean tools when applied to external uncertainty, showing that a lean supply chain is one that flows smoothly even when external forces create uncertainty.
From ‘nice-to-have’ to strategic imperative
Lean logistics is no longer optional, and the industry is no longer debating whether lean has value, but rather how to scale it across complex, global networks, according to the experts at ALSC Global.
Lean needs to go hand-in-hand with digitalisation, as creating and maintaining clean data and AI systems can magnify the impact of lean logistics.
It also needs to inform engineering, packaging and procurement decisions from the beginning, rather than just downstream logistics. But the lean strategy only works if the whole supply chain buys in, with training for talent to increase skills with digital tools.
For an industry navigating the twin transformations of electrification and digitalisation, mastering lean logistics means companies will not only survive disruption, but could set the pace for the next era of global supply chains.
