Big Three and suppliers need IT to maintain market share

As keynote speaker at AIAG 2004, General Motors Chairman and CEO G. Richard Wagoner, Jr., noted both good and bad could be found in today's automotive markets. His prescription for growth and profitability in a market based on global (rather than regional) leadership was more finely honed. Among other things, he said, "To compete globally, we need collaboration."

While close relationships between automotive OEMs and their suppliers are an historic fact, said Wagoner, "There are negatives in OEM-supplier relationships in the new environment. Those won't be solved in the press or by bickering."

As for information technology as a means to collaboration, said Wagoner, "It has been viewed as a necessary evil. GM, because of its ownership of EDS, had an unusual structure when it came to IT, and we needed to take control of our own strategy so as to use it as a competitive weapon. The industry as a whole has made a huge advance, and today is more integrated than 10 years ago."

Other areas cited to benefit from IT include cost controls, quality, and product design.