As OEMs, suppliers and logistics operators develop their digital supply chains, the use of artificial intelligence and genAI could revolutionise the efficiency and resilience of the network, whilst providing new insights in real-time, allowing them to respond to disruptions quicker, improve forecasts, keep ahead of competition whilst helping to share and spread information in real time.

This session will explore key areas where AI and genAI are benefiting the supply chain and playing a key role helping European manufacturers stay competitive in their supply chains. Hear a keynote from the chief digital officer of major tier-1 ZF, along with insights from an expert panel, on how the technology can support designing and validating components faster, detect errors, manage changes and optimise logistics and supply chain. It will also discuss the main barriers to success and what can be done to overcome those barriers.

Important to implementing IT is building the right understanding, skills and teams, including mixing digital, data AI and supply chain experts to ensure the optimum outcomes, easy access to clean data, having a clear strategy and upgrading legacy systems to enable AI to do its work.

As ongoing supply chain disruptions have shown, having a clear line of sight from tier-N suppliers to OEM to final customers is essential if organisations are to effectivity respond to changing circumstances in real-time, with minimum disturbance to their processes. As supply chain networks become more complex, companies need to work across functions and across multiple enterprises whilst ensuring costs don’t spiral and delivery dates are met, on time every time.

Whilst technology and automation play their part in a digital transformation strategy, challenges involved in successfully digitising the whole supply chain – and blind spots will remain. Whether it is the availability and quality of data, an inability or unwillingness by some partners to share information, or a lack of software, hardware or skills, automotive manufacturers and their logistics partners need to tackle the issues together.

Attend this session to hear from supply chain experts who will outline the key steps OEMs, suppliers and logistics can take to use technology to deliver greater agility, traceability and visibility, from inbound logistics, packaging to vehicle logistics. They will explore how common data protocols combined with advanced manufacturing and transport management systems, control towers and AI to provide stakeholders even greater line of sight across the supply chain whilst being prepared for blind spots.

As automotive OEMs and suppliers speed up launches of new models and technology, including EVs and software-defined vehicles, sourcing and material requirements are increasing across development phases, leading to greater complexity across the supply chain, from logistics to aftermarket. For many manufacturers, vehicle engineering data remains siloed across departments with often unintelligible semantics, and limited visibility across suppliers and logistics providers. But there is huge potential in joining up this information in fully digitalised product and operations management and promoting greater optimisation and co-creativity across the enterprise and supply chain.

In this session, learn how major OEMs like JLR are building this connected collaboration across product and supply chain planning, and helping to ensure that employees, suppliers and systems share master datasets that are updated in real time, including bill of materials, logistics, supplier and quality requirements. Understand the IT systems, data clouds and planning processes that can simplify operations, reduce cost and errors, and encourage greater innovation. And explore the potential to leverage greater data analytics and artificial intelligence in engineering and logistics planning cycles that include full product datasets and input from across the supply chain.

Finding the optimum transport route and inventory levels requires a myriad of permutations and combinations across many suppliers, touchpoints and legacy systems, which will always be a challenge for OEMs, suppliers and logistics providers. With disparate sets of data in every corner of every organisation, bringing it all together and turning data into a decision-making tool can bring benefits to all stakeholders.

That is why manufacturers such as Schaeffler are increasingly working in agile, digital supply chain teams who map out strategic objectives, and build agile solutions and products to test and roll out. In this session, learn more about how the tier-1 supplier has developed a transport management system that manages end-to-end processes, from ordering, executing and monitoring, to billing and auditing, to tracking and reducing CO2 emissions. Learn how the company planned its strategy, develop minimal viable products before working with IT teams to develop and implement the tool at scale.

Join a wider panel of supply chain and digital experts who will showcase and discuss key strategies for development and implementing digital tools in automotive logistics planning and execution, including for managing transport routes, optimising inventory, meeting sustainability targets, and reducing costs.

Learn more about the approach to systems, as well as ensuring effective data sharing and an alignment of people with the right skills in the right positions.

As supply chain networks become increasingly complex, leaders face mounting pressures for enhanced transparency, resilience, and predictability. It's imperative for supply chain leaders to conceptualise, develop, and align plans for change, establish implementation stages, and continuously review and refine strategies. The ability to lead change, navigate evolving technology landscapes, and effectively communicate vision and expectations can determine an organisation's success in preparing for the digital future.

Join us for insights from a vice-president at Bosch as we delve into the critical role of leadership in preparing for a digital future, and understand how supply chain, IT and data organisations are evolving across manufacturers and suppliers. Gain actionable insights to navigate complexities and lead your organisation towards a future-ready state.

Engage with a diverse panel of supply chain and leadership experts as they share real-world examples and discuss the transformative power of effective leadership in embracing the digital era.

In this session, digital and logistics leaders will share how they are turning supply chain data into a competitive advantage, whether in anticipating and responding to potential disruption, or in providing suppliers and customers the most accurate, actionable information. Learn about the true value of secure, transparent and sovereign data exchange and visibility – in operational, monetary and brand terms.

Experts will explore how this value is reflected across operations, whether for inbound and supplier visibility, across the vehicle logistics chain right up to final customer handover, and in building data clouds and lakes to train predictive models and digital twins. Understand more about defining the investment and ROI in the processes, standards, tools and systems that will deliver the data that matters most.

From sourcing materials across many regions, energy sources in manufacturing, to transporting inbound and outbound freight, the potential environmental and social impact of the automotive supply chain cannot be underestimated. Within local, national and international networks, how can stakeholders understand the risks and rewards within a digital supply chain, alongside adherence to ESG compliance and verification regimes?

Central to this is developing a collaborative strategy encompassing how stakeholders could redesign their supply chains and business models to better leverage such opportunities and avoid threats.

Hear from stakeholders as they discuss digital strategies and the use of technology to improve energy efficiency, optimise logistics resources and ensure material sourcing and validation, including the role that AI and big data which will play a key part in ensuring digital supply chains are more sustainable in the long run.

Developing a collaborative mindset where teams and organisations are empowered to have a single vision and solve problems together is an essential element of any supply chain strategy. Forward thinking organisations are developing collaboration techniques which go hand in hand with their digital strategy, opening up new levels of corporation, trust and transparency.

Collaboration within organisations (among IT, data and supply chain functions, for example) and between organisations (amongst OEMs and suppliers) can bring forth challenges which need to be overcome. Issues concerning unautomated processes, silos, security, increased complexity in global networks and communication and trust all provide barriers; but they also present opportunities to improve the system as a whole.

In this session, experts will discuss the key steps that can be taken to bring about effective collaboration and talk about how trust can be built, visions can be aligned, and automation can be widespread.

The European automotive supply chain is seeing rapid change, with new technology, competitive pressures, regulations and risks. Those manufacturers and providers who can anage and mitigate these changes will have an advantage, and digital and supply chain leaders are exploring the tools and systems that will help them most.

In this final session of Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Digital Strategies Europe, digital and supply chain leaders will explore the major technologies, risks, investment and skills needed to help the industry accelerate digitalisation and realise new gains, keep ahead of competition, collaborate and support customers. Experts will discuss the next step for AI in logistics, how to automate critical decisions, build immersive digital supply chain twins, develop a truly integrated, cohesive supply chain ecosystem, and use supply chain technology as a power for good, including reducing emissions across the supply chain.

Attend this closing session as we envision a future that ensures OEMs, suppliers, logistics and technology providers should prep