Growth through the future automotive workforce

Supply chain analytics is definitely the way forward for many companies in many different industries. One industry that already is feeling the changes in this new technology is the automotive industry. The automotive industry is undergoing some fundamental changes due to digital and intelligent technologies such as cloud and artificial intelligence. Some crucial component of these technologies is enhancing customer experiences, enabling predictive maintenance and driving efficiency in the value chain. Automotive executives are feeling these massive changes and according to Accenture 75% of CXO’s believe that the automotive industry will be completely changed by new intelligent technologies. Furthermore, 60% believe that AI will be used to assist in tasks in their organization in a large degree. Half of CXO’s also believe collaboration between human and machine is important to achieve the company’s strategic priorities.

New technologies will affect the industry beyond traditional automation in production, automating work and extending human capabilities. The aftermath of such technologies and its disruption will force OEM’s to transform their workforce, both retraining and strategically. Interestingly, two thirds of auto employees believe intelligent technologies will make their jobs easier and encourage creativity and innovation. But only a tenth of employers are actively planning and preparing their workforce for new technology and only 2% of CXO’s plan to significantly increase reskilling programs. As it is of today, only one in four CXO’s believe their workforce is ready to work with AI.

New smart technology also allows for new and greater collaboration and connectivity. Business boundaries are blurring. Instead of creating sophisticated and complicated capabilities in-house companies, startups and universities can pool resources, data and expertise to create leading-edge capabilities. Four out of ten automotive businesses are already report working with double or more partners today than they were two years ago.

Automotive companies are starting to look differently at collaboration between humans, machines and companies but they still have a long way to go. Both employers and employees seem exited for new technologies but are nevertheless woefully unprepared for any changes that new technology will cause. Connectivity between companies are on the rise. Companies now share and utilize data more than ever before, but the potential of this collaboration is largely untapped. Companies will need to adapt to the use of automation and data in this new era in industrial evolution. The use of AI and RPA (robotic process automation) to collect mundane data perform analytical tasks is a good small first step than some leaders are taking. This will not of make data analytics more efficient, it will also free up time for managers to be used for adding value to the user experience.