Enterprise Demand Sensing In The Automotive Industry

ENTERPRISE DEMAND SENSING IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY By Lynn T. Truss, Peiling Wu, Atul Saroop, and Satish Kumar Sehgal GM’s research project investigates ways to quickly sense customer demand and ways to respond to it … new analytical methodologies, IT framework, and collaborative decision-making processes are being developed to better match demand with supply … the CPFR (collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment) program is being adopted by the auto industry. General Motors Corporation (GM) is the world’s largest automaker and has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM employs about 317,000 people around the world. We have manufacturing operations in 32 countries, and our vehicles are sold in 200 countries. In 2004, GM sold nearly 9 million cars and trucks globally, up 4 percent from the previous year, which is the second highest total in the company’s history. The General Motors extended enterprise, which includes suppliers, dealers, and logistics providers, is a large, complex network. The automotive industry in general has unique and significant challenges in sensing and responding to customer demand. Customer preferences ...