CIMdata Publishes eBook: “Managing and Optimizing Profitability in the Automotive Supply Chain”

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, USA 27 May 2021—CIMdata, Inc., the leading global PLM strategic management consulting and research firm, announces the publication of a new eBook focused on the complex problem of managing profitability in the automotive supply chain. This eBook identifies the characteristics of initiatives, solutions, and technologies required to successfully support this critical factor for any company—assuring that their product offerings will be profitable at a winning price. This is especially problematic for automotive suppliers due to complex relationships with their primary customers, the automotive OEMs. Campfire Interactive presents an especially compelling solution suite that enables its customers to win and maintain profitable business. The eBook also documents how several automotive suppliers are using the Campfire solutions to transform their business to new levels of profitability.

All companies operating in a supply chain need to understand the profitability of their product offerings before bidding on each new project. However, computing profitability is a complex undertaking that must consider much more than the simple “Profit = Revenue – Costs” formula. Revenue and cost are themselves financial calculations influenced by numerous variables. This is particularly true when the product’s OEM changes requirements frequently and applies continuous pressure to reduce costs—such is the case in the automotive supply chain. Suppliers are consequently forced to continually analyze profitability on current products while anticipating how to increase profitability on future products. Traditional enterprise solutions such as PLM, CRM, SCM, and ERP certainly provide information germane to the problem, but each lacks the breadth of data and functional capabilities needed to solve the profitability puzzle. This eBook makes the case that Campfire’s solution provides both the ability to aggregate the required data from other enterprise sources (including the ubiquitous Microsoft Excel), as well as external industry data sources, and process that data to provide unique capabilities to manage and optimize profitability.

Mr. Stan Przybylinski, Vice President, CIMdata, stated that “Automotive OEMs have significant buying power, allowing them to call the tune for their Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, making them rapidly submit detailed proposals developed with little solid information. This is a complex multivariate problem that involves functions and systems across the value chain. Campfire Interactive leveraged their deep automotive supply chain knowledge to create a purpose-built solution that is helping leading automotive suppliers manage billions of dollars of booked and pursuit business, helping their customers optimize their business portfolio to maximize their profits.”

Mr. Pradeep Seneviratne, President & CEO of Campfire Interactive, described the CIMdata eBook as an objective source meant for executives pursuing excellence in the area of product profitability management. “We interact daily with automotive supplier executives challenged to manage profitability in what is a highly complex, competitive, and fluid market. Claims from enterprise solutions vendors, such as PLM, ERP, and CRM, cause confusion about the necessary capabilities for a true Product Profitability Management solution. Because CIMdata is a recognized authority within the industry, we invested in this effort with them to educate suppliers on the limitations of traditional enterprise solutions and the advantages of a purpose-built solution from a company focused exclusively on this problem.”

Please download and read the complete eBook at https://www.cimdata.com/en/resources/complimentary-reports-research/white-papers.