With more than two and half decades of experience at Stellantis – in purchasing, manufacturing, and quality management – AIAG’s newest Quality Steering Committee (QSC) member, Jennifer Joseph, is sure to bring a wealth of experience to the table.

In her current capacity as Supplier Quality - Operations Manager for Stellantis, Jennifer is responsible for driving the operations, processes, and strategy for supplier quality within her organization. She leads a team of specialists in overseeing, developing, and recommending creative input to improve their quality processes impacting buyers, suppliers, and supplier quality engineers.

To learn more about Jennifer – including how she keeps up on what’s new in the industry, and her advice for those just starting out in automotive – be sure to check out our brief interview below!

Why do you think it’s important to come together at AIAG and participate in events or volunteer for other activities? 

It's very important to have a collaborative forum for OEMs, suppliers and automotive support companies to share ideas and best practices and try to consolidate our complex processes and requirements. It's a safe space to bounce ideas off of each other, share struggles and constraints the industry is encountering, and to work collectively on these issues.

How do you keep up on what’s new and happening in the industry?

My team is constantly searching for publications that highlight best in class and the next wave of technology solutions. We strive to keep benchmarking as part of our goals each year. Attending conferences, demos and trade shows keep us fresh for the next tool that may help our group.

Based on your years of automotive (and related) experience, what current or emerging trends do you think are most urgent for the industry to prepare for?

Tier management is key. We need to be apprised real time of threats that are headed toward our supply chain. This allows us to manage the risk and triage our supply base. Another key area is how we are managing our data. We all have a barrage of data that is captured, but the dashboarding and utilization of this data is critical. 

What advice would you offer to those who are just starting out in the automotive industry?

Remain flexible. The industry is very different than it used to be, with numerous challenges that we are hit with daily. We all need to be cross-functional to be able to manage the risk. We also need to embrace the new virtual work environment and adapt to these changes as they come our way. Don't forget that networking is still key – both internal to your company and with others in and outside of our industry. Reach outside of your comfort zone and learn about all facets of the business and how each layer is affected along the way.