Powering Performance

During the September 9^th AIAG Supply Chain + International Trade Summit, Dave Leich, GM’s executive director, global supply chain, spoke candidly about the challenges of the past 18 months.

“There has been unprecedented volatility and uncertainty across the supply chain,” he said, “including a world pandemic, semiconductor crisis, raw material shortages, shipping delays, natural disaster events, and drastic swings in automotive demand.”

Details for our next Future Automotive Expert (FAE) event are now available – register today!

Join AIAG and Jeffrey Peterson, Director of Global Trade and Logistics Cl for Tenneco, Inc. for this October 14^th FAE event as we explore, “Careers in Supply Chain Regulatory Compliance.”

The global supply chain, where goods are shipped all over the world, is already stretched thin thanks to a year and a half of operating during a pandemic. It really doesn’t need hackers mucking things up further.

Never before have the complexities and the crucial role of supply chains been so clear to the public. Issues related to supply and demand of certain products have highlighted the need for greater visibility into inventories and movement through distribution. But that is not the only issue on people's minds.

There’s still time to register for the 2021 AIAG Supply Chain + International Trade Summit, quickly approaching next week on September 9^th. With the theme “Connecting the Links of the Supply Chain: Leveraging the Power of Process, Technology, and Change,” this virtual event explores a range of current and emerging trends with a lineup of the automotive industry’s strongest supply chain leaders and experts.

The fear voiced by Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka earlier this year was that “we will still have vessels at anchor come midsummer,” when terminals pivot to handling the peak season rush starting around Aug. 1.

It is now midsummer. There are still vessels at anchor — a lot of them.

Welcome back! Following a summer break period, sessions are resuming for the 2021 WSU/AIAG Auto Industry Certificate in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management program – and we’re eager to see this year’s phenomenal group of participants continue to make great strides.    

Designed to provide high potential candidates with an in-depth understanding of supply chain issues in the context of the global vehicle industry, this unique program is led by professionals from both industry and academia, and includes a mix of discussions and lectures, a company-related project and presentation, case studies, and much more.

On July 13, 2021, the U.S. government released an updated version of the Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory (“Advisory”), originally released in July 2020. The Advisory warns U.S. companies that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government continues to engage in “horrific abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) and elsewhere in China, targeting Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, and ethnic Kyrgyzin,” including state-sponsored forced labor and other human rights abuses amidst ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity.

Canada is beginning to reopen its borders for nonessential travel after a 16-month shutdown in response to COVID-19. Starting Aug. 9, fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents can enter the country.

After several months of discussion, the German Parliament ("Bundestag") adopted the "Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains" (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act – "Act" or "LkSG") on 11 June 2021.¹ The Act imposes, for the first time, a binding obligation on companies to establish, implement and update due diligence procedures to improve compliance with specified core human rights and, to a limited extent, environmental protection in supply chains.