GM's Mónica García on priorities for achieving supply chain resiliency in Mexico
On the Red Sofa at the Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Mexico conference, Mónica García, director of global purchasing and supply chain at General Motors Mexico, discussed the need for end-to-end visibility to ensure resiliency in Mexico's automotive supply chain.
As well as taking part in a panel discussion on Mexico's path to resilience and a student forum on the future of automotive logistics, GM's Mónica García sat down with Automotive Logistics on the Red Sofa to speak more about how resilience can be achieved and what GM is doing to gain visibility and agility within its supply chain in Mexico.
Supply chain mapping
In order to achieve resilience, García said that increasing visibility and control across the supply chain is a top priority at GM. "The more control we have, the more resilient and adaptable the system will be," she said.
A key enabler for this, García noted, is for suppliers to lead on supply chain mapping. She shared her view that gaining an understanding of the supply chain from end to end, down to tier n is "essential", especially as recent shortages have highlighted the necessity of reliable access to raw materials and critical minerals.
By doing this, she explained that OEMs can identify risks and vulnerabilities in their supply chain easier, allowing them to address them before they become an issue. "Once the supply chain is clearly understood, we can model risk and anticipate [issues], and act proactively," she said.
She shared her perspective that Mexico offers "a strong foundation" for this strategy, noting that there are around 650 tier-one suppliers in Mexico and the country is the second-largest source of auto parts for GM globally.
Localisation in Mexico
García acknowledged that "nearshoring and localisation in Mexico has significantly reshaped the supplier landscape", noting that Mexico has a "strategic anchor" in these kinds of strategies. "The supply chain and vehicles system is evolving rapidly and becoming more competitive, more connected and more aligned with our top priorities around quality, technology and sustainability."
GM has adapted its sourcing strategy to accommodate this new reality, García explained, with increasing flexibility, agility and adaptability becoming top priorities for the automaker as it looks to maintain and increase its competitiveness in North American market.
GM has making footprint decisions that prioritise these factors. "What we are seeing now is achieved through tactical relocation for strategic integration," García said.
Logistics partnerships
In order to boost resilience and mitigate disruption, many OEMs have prioritised deepening its relationships with logistics partners and gaining a greater understanding of their operations. GM is no exception to this.
"We have strengthened our partnerships with our carriers and customer brokers to ensure faster response times and better routes," she said. "We are including strategic planning into our tactical operations, and this includes strategies such as alternative routes... a strategic buffer of inventory alternatives and digital tools that can give us real-time visibility across the [supply chain]."
She added: "In the end, it's about creating and building a logistics ecosystem that can absorb disruptions, act quickly and can support the continuation of our operations."
Increasing digitalisation
García described digitalisation as one of GM's main priorities and noted that a key part of GM's strategy to move towards a stronger and more reliable supply is investing in its mapping capabilities. "We launched a platform in 2022 that identifies the vulnerabilities that we have in the supply chain and this helps us to minimise risk, increase visibility and agility," she said. "This tool supports our need to monitor the supply chain and proactively predict risk."
She also noted that GM has launched "comprehensive training and tools" to allow its suppliers to accurately map their entire value chain in order to improve end-to-end visibility along its own supply chain, benefitting both GM and its suppliers.
"Value chain digitalisation is really important," García concluded. "By that I mean technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning and other predictive analytics tools that can give us more visibility and to predict what will be an issue in the supply chain."
