VW Ready to Transform Automotive Supply Chains
New technologies and shorter product cycles pose serious challenges for the motor industry globally, and, according to Volkswagen: “In future, a key success factor will be a highly efficient global supplier network.”
The Volkswagen Group invited its key global suppliers to Wolfsburg for the kick-off event of the new Volkswagen FAST (Future Automotive Supply Tracks) program.
Dr. Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft responsible for Procurement, launched the new corporate initiative together with development and procurement board members of the Group brands.
“The automotive industry is changing fundamentally. New technologies and shorter product cycles pose challenges for our industry. In future, a key success factor will be a highly efficient global supplier network,” said Procurement Board Member Garcia Sanz at the kick-off event.
The Group-wide Volkswagen FAST initiative targets the best partners in Volkswagen’s international supplier network.
“Together with our partners, we intend to forge ahead with the globalization and innovations of our brand and the entire automotive industry and to actively shape the future of the industry,” Garcia Sanz emphasized.
“Volkswagen FAST” Initiative: Volkswagen Group Redefines Cooperation with Suppliers
The objective of the FAST program is to prioritize investments and make efficient use of resources in closer cooperation with suppliers.
We aim to boost the number of product and process innovations and to coordinate them even more effectively.
The first step will be to identify the best suppliers in an agreed selection procedure. Only these companies will receive access to Volkswagen FAST.
These partners will be involved in innovation cycles within the Group at an earlier stage. For this purpose, we have established a new innovation interface.
In return, FAST partners will also contribute their ideas to the pre-series development of vehicles at an earlier stage.
At the same time, production networks between Volkswagen and its partners will be harmonized even more closely in the context of the globalization strategies in order to generate further synergy effects and derive the maximum possible benefit.
Highlights
- Volkswagen intends to shape the transformation of the automotive industry together with strong partners
- Garcia Sanz: “The network of the entire automotive value stream will be even more important in the future.”
- More than 100 CEOs of top suppliers obtain information on innovations and global networking within the Volkswagen Group
It’s worth noting that The Volkswagen Group owns more than just VW.
It is now the second largest motor manufacturer in the world (Toyota holds onto crown of world’s largest automaker).
The Volkswagen Group brands include: Audi, SEAT, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti, and Škoda, and it controls MAN and Scania commercial vehicles, and Ducati motorcycles.
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