Tightening supply chain links

Improved electronic tools and more outsourcing fuel increased collaboration.

Automakers are tightening the close relationships they have always had with their suppliers, using the Internet and Intranets to collaborate on designs. The ability to communicate quickly and share large CAD files is helping engineers perform more complex designs without extending development cycles.

At the same time, the ability to share information is improving quality by making it possible to use design data to go directly to manufacturing. As suppliers handle more of these tasks, they are becoming supply-chain managers, handling tasks that automakers once performed internally.