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Suppliers are first in the firing line, being forced to respond to the business, market and technology pressures driving the automotive sector globally. Consolidation of the OEM base is forcing similar consolidation of the supplier base, and that dynamic is rippling through the tiers as the food chain passes on its requirements for costdowns, improved responsiveness, customer service, flexibility and the rest from one to the next. Closures, even of formerly high profile names like Vickers in the North East, are sadly all too commonplace, and the message is clear for the survivors – shape up or you’ll be shipped out. Which explains the scale of change in these businesses at virtually every level, and their investments in worthwhile new and/or better business, engineering and production processes as well as supporting and indeed enabling IT
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