Automotive News Canada - September 2021 - 21

* SEPTEMBER 2021
21
Dive into your data
AFTER 18 MONTHS OF A PANDEMIC THAT
has all but redefined the term " volatility, "
automakers and parts suppliers should be
looking to their data as a key part of the way
forward.
Data is at the foundation
of all artificial intelligence
tools, but the
industry often underestimates
the value and lacks
insight into how to use AI
to problem-solve and
innovate, said Jeanine
DAVID
KENNEDY
Lassaline-Berglund, president of the
Canadian Association of Moldmakers
(CAMM) and Automate Canada.
The risks of staying on the sidelines are
high. Businesses treating data and AI as
afterthoughts could be losing the ability to
compete, Lassaline-Berglund said. Cost and
productivity savings in metal-cutting illustrate
one of the many reasons why.
Applications
that sound
simple can
generate
real savings.
" The purest form of moldmaking is how
fast can we cut metal in
order to produce a finished
part, " she said. " And the
faster you can cut that
metal, the faster you get
through production, the
faster you get paid. "
AI excels at parsing data
to identify these efficiencies.
It can pinpoint the optimal moment to
replace cutters before they have dulled or
broken but not before their intended life
span. Many Canadian moldmakers are
already using their data to predict cutter failure,
and they can also relay their metrics to
cutter manufacturers to help improve the
technology over the longer term.
Similar examples of in-plant uses for data
and AI abound throughout the automotive
supply chain.
But making use of either requires getting
organized. Often, it means trading in the
spreadsheets and legacy enterprise-resource-planning
systems for cloud-based
software capable of neatly cataloguing the
data points. There is a perception that making
the switch is expensive, though
Lassaline-Berglund said this is not necessarily
the case. Businesses
should not let the investment
or learning curve hold
them back.
TORONTO
BUREAU
CHIEF
Using data to catch supply
chain issues before they
become major problems
presents a big opportunity,
especially in the current climate.
It will likely be a few years before analysts
can rely solely on data modeling to predict
the next pandemic or microchip shortage,
but having a clearer picture of key
inputs and the ripple effects that shortages
can have puts automakers and parts suppliers
in a better place to respond.
Applications that sound simple - such
as using AI to comb
through previous customer
orders, cross-check
them with new requests
and follow up when the
numbers do not compute
- can generate real savings.
More advanced
tools forecast demand
and predict lead time,
helping manufacturers
map out their production
schedules.
LassalineBerglund:
Treating
data
and AI as
Lassaline-Berglund
expects that in the nottoo-distant
future, parts
suppliers will be able to
afterthoughts
could make
a business
uncompetitive.
FILE PHOTO
produce customized just-in-time components
that will seamlessly find their way to
the correct vehicle during assembly.
" In a perfect world, we could collect even
consumer data that goes back to design
immediately, " she said, noting that the
stream of information could highlight how
consumers interact with their vehicles, as
well as a part's performance. - ANC
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GUEST COMMENTARY
A case for the agency model
EDITOR'S NOTE: Lawrence Hamilton is
executive director of Genesis Motors
Canada. His guest commentary is in
response to a Page 1 story in the August
issue that addressed the agency retail
model and whether franchised dealers
would be willing to make the switch to
selling cars on a commission basis on
behalf of automakers.
CUSTOMER NEEDS ARE SHIFTING
rapidly, and that is driving a change in the
long-held assumptions about
what's necessary to power dealer
growth and their margins.
Genesis was the first automaker
in Canada to adopt an
agency model, which has proven
to be exceptionally successful for
both our distributor partners and
customers. The agency model
has opened doors for us to
rethink the traditional way of
doing business and find new
opportunities to maximize growth
and profitability while delivering
on customer experience.
This success shows there is
an opportunity, driven by necessity,
for the industry to rethink the status
quo both at an automaker and dealership
level. There are multiple factors that are
driving the need for change and which will
impact the right direction to take:
Digitization
Consumers clearly want to blend
online purchasing with physical experiences.
The answer is an omnichannel solution,
allowing for the customer to transition
seamlessly between online and
in-store experiences based on their preference.
This gives consumers the control
and flexibility they want in the buying process,
while also allowing retailers to scale
and adjust different elements of their
operation based on demand.
REPLYING TO
A CONFIDENTIAL BOX
email: ANCBoxreply@autonews.com
(use box number in the subject line)
Consolidation
Of course, digitization brings an investment
burden in more technology and
nontraditional skill sets. Consolidating
vendor stacks will be critical to avoid longterm
cost-creep, integration challenges
and a frustrating inability to profit from
new revenue streams including connected-car
services and predictive service
upsell (to name but a few). With the
amount of data now available to us, there
is immense value in consolidating and
properly leveraging that information.
Automakers and dealer
groups that take the lead in this
space and consolidate now will
be best set up for success, even
if it's swimming against the tide
today.
Hamilton:
The agency
model allows
rethinking
of the status
quo.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Distribution and facilities
Zoning restrictions, housing
and environmental pressures are
just some of the factors that
keep pushing real estate costs to
a level that stifles return on
investment. It's becoming much
harder to scale operations when
growth and sales are tied to the
size of a facility and how many
vehicles can be stored in its parking lot.
Genesis has proven that centralized
inventory is the solution, as scale can be
achieved without the need for a larger
retail footprint and vehicles are still readily
available in a matter of days.
The future, considering these factors,
does not need to look like the past. Much
of Genesis' success can be attributed to
implementing these elements with the
support of our strong distributor partners
within our pioneering agency model. It will
be incumbent on automakers and their
dealers to come together to rewrite some
fundamental assumptions, which
although may appear daunting now, will
pay dividends down the road. - ANC
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Automotive News Canada - September 2021

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