It is not difficult to understand why, two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, large economic units in automotive manufacturing and industries such as plastics and commerce continue to be impacted in every way. New emerging business models, sudden changes in human behavior and new demands on certain products and services are just some of the causes.
The automotive industry has undoubtedly been one of the most affected. By the beginning of 2021, the INA (Industria Nacional de Autopartes) assured that assembly plants in both North America and Latin America would reduce their production, ceasing to manufacture up to 768 thousand vehicles per year due to the shortage of these key parts.
However, as a result of the confinement, the increase in demand for products such as tablets, computers and cell phones grew compared to previous years. As a consequence, the telecommunications industries had to increase their production. As a result, the purchase of semiconductors and chips also became a priority customer for many of the suppliers of these parts.
The result?
Imbalance between supply and demand, shortages, chip factories at maximum capacity and lack of technology, infrastructure and skilled labor to increase production, among many other consequences.
What can companies do from now on?
Take action. Some authors, such as Paul Sirrs, Sales VP for QAD Latin America, say there are ways to avoid going through a similar crisis:
Greater visibility.
Eliminate supply chains with manual processes on which they depend for inventory management, reporting and forecasting. This will allow them to have greater and clearer visibility of the materials available and, in turn, make better problem-solving decisions.
Greater understanding.
Clear understanding of the most critical processes that support supply chain performance. This will help ensure more efficient and higher value delivery.
Strengthen skilled talent.
Having the right talent, acquiring and training personnel as an investment.
One may wonder how having the right talent in these cases is important, but a highly skilled team can redesign and revalidate a product to enable continued production.
An example of this can be seen at Tesla, one of the automotive companies least affected by the world's chip shortage thanks to its ability to redesign its product.
At Lab it Studio we believe that skilled engineers are the key to an agile, flexible and market-proof company.
Now, with our new course offerings you will be able to acquire the knowledge that industries are looking for to face the challenges of the future and have greater visibility of your processes and production lines. Learn more about them here.
