AIAG Supply Chain Conference: Real People, Real Problems, Real Progress
Recorded live from the AIAG Supply Chain Conference in downtown Detroit, this episode captures real conversations with the people driving (and dealing with) supply chain change. With a fresh venue, new voices, and an unfiltered look at what's working (and what's not), the ASCP team dives into what's happening across the automotive supply chain, shaping the road ahead.
The day starts with fresh eyes—Wayne State student John LaGarde shares what it's like attending his first supply chain conference. He's drawn in by the industry's complexity, but what stands out is his call for continuous learning and work-life balance—things Gen Z now expects, not just hopes for.
Fred Coe, Chair of AIAG's EDI Advisory, gives an update on their latest EDI survey. 500 companies responded, and results show a split: some still use fax and email, while others have moved to APIs. The industry isn't aligned, but the interest in standardization is growing.
Dr. Bing Xu from Catena-X shares what he heard at the event: companies are looking beyond old supply chain methods and focusing more on using data properly. He notes the interest in AI tools and stresses the need for fast implementation, especially with growing pressure from tariffs and supply chain instability.
Then comes Sig Huber from Elm Analytics with a warning: uncertainty is paralyzing the industry. Companies aren't investing, demand is unclear, and policy changes continue. A 5% increase in the cost of goods could double the number of distressed suppliers. Whether demand rises or drops, disruption is coming.
That pressure is already hitting the tier-two level. Jennifer Smith, VP of Supply Chain at Royal Technologies, explains how suppliers are stuck—OEMs want cost cuts, suppliers want margin. Her focus? Speeding up processes and getting actual context behind data. Suppliers need the "why" to make the right decisions—and that's still missing in too many places.
Finally, Tanya Bolden from AIAG puts the day into perspective. The industry is changing fast. Mandates, electrification, decarbonization, and digital tools are all colliding at once. AIAG's job, she says, is to bring all those pieces to the table—while helping the next generation of professionals see that this isn't your grandfather's supply chain job.
Themes discussed in this episode:
- The unpredictability and chaos of today’s global tariff landscape
- Why AI and digital tools are now essential for managing supply chain complexity
- What the next generation of supply chain talent actually wants from employers—and why the industry needs to listen
- Why transparency from OEMs matters more than ever to tier-two suppliers
- How policy shifts and tariff uncertainty are paralyzing investment and planning
- The risk of a bullwhip effect—and why the industry is still unprepared for sudden shifts in demand
- How supply chain roles are evolving—and why the next generation needs to see that shift
Featured guests:
Name: John LaGarde
Title: Marketing and Global Supply Chain Student at Wayne State University - Mike Ilitch School of Business
Discussed: [03:04] First-time attendee John LaGarde shares what drew him to supply chain, what surprised him at the conference, and what today’s students really want from employers.
Name: Fred Coe
Title: Chair, AIAG EDI Advisory Group
Discussed: [07:11] Fred Coe shares surprising insights from AIAG’s EDI survey, revealing a split between companies stuck in the past and those ready for API adoption.
Name: Bing Xu
Title: Senior Director of Catena-X at AIAG
Discussed: [10:18] Dr. Bing Xu came in expecting the usual talk—but was caught off guard by how much the conversation had shifted toward high-tech solutions and AI. For him, the message is clear: the time for slow planning is over—supply chain leaders need to act fast, use data better, and push resilience all the way down to the lower tiers.
Name: Sig Huber
Title: Chief Commercial Officer at Elm Analytics
Discussed: [13:00] Sig Huber explains how policy confusion, stalled demand, and political bias are paralyzing the industry, leaving companies unsure of how to act. With supplier liquidity dropping and even small tariffs doubling financial risk, the next 12 months look anything but stable.
Name: Jennifer Smith
Title: Vice President of Supply Chain at Royal Technologies Corp.
Discussed: [19:07] Jennifer Smith lays out the pressure facing tier-two suppliers—squeezed between OEM cost cuts and supplier margins—and explains why visibility and understanding the “why” behind the data are critical for faster, smarter decisions on the plant floor.
Name: Tanya Bolden
Title: VP of Supply Chain and Corporate Responsibility at AIAG
Discussed: [24:49] Tanya Bolden shares how this year’s AIAG agenda was designed to reflect the pace and complexity of modern supply chain—from tariffs and EVs to carbon tracking—while making space for students to see the full scope of the industry beyond outdated stereotypes.
Mentioned in this episode:
- AIAG Supply Chain Conference
- Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) Launches New Website and Brand Designed to Ignite the Next-Generation of Automotive Progress
- Episodes with Fred Coe: What's Next for EDI? Be Part of the AIAG Survey and Revving Up the Supply Chain: Exploring the Future of Automotive EDI
- Supply Chain Bullwhip Effect
- Value Analysis and Value Engineering (VAVE)
Transcript
[Transcript]
[:I'm Jan Griffiths, your host and producer. Let's meet your co-hosts.
[:[00:00:29] Terry Onica: I'm Terry Onica from QAD. Let's dive in.
[:Now, what's special about this venue is it has an entirely different vibe to it. It's very upbeat, modern, innovative, and it is right in line with the brand new AIAG brand. So we are all about uniting minds and elevating standards, that's what AIAG is all about and the podcast is one part of that. So, I have to tell you, I am thrilled to be contributing to the new vibe of AIAG, and here we are. Jim, what are you looking forward to today?
[:Number two, like you said, uniting minds, elevating standards. The power and the talent and the brilliance in this room is second to none. We've always been excellent at bringing people together. That's what we do. We collaborate, we bring experts together, and that just forms an energy that you just can't really describe.
[:[00:02:01] Terry Onica: For me, this conference has been excellent. I love it. If you look at the topics that we're gonna see just in the morning, you got EVs, you got battery, the future of EDI, oh my God. EDI's been around my whole career, and to think that it may start changing is amazing. You know, supply chain data. I mean, it's huge.
And then, this afternoon, I'm really super excited. I'm gonna do a panel with Megan Hunter, VP of Supply Chain at Martinrea, and also Jenny Smith, VP of Supply Chain at Royal Technologies.
So, I can't wait to dig into their minds, and find out what they're dealing with right now in spite of all these disruptions we're gonna hear about today.
[:[00:02:41] Terry Onica: Maybe.
[:The Auto Supply Chain Prophets podcast is on the road, and we are coming to you live from the AIAG Supply Chain Conference in downtown Detroit, and we have our very first guest with us today, John LaGarde. John is a student at Wayne State University. John, welcome.
[:[00:03:14] Jim Liegghio: John, I want to know, as a young supply chain—budding supply chain professional—what excites you most about global supply chain management?
[:[00:03:52] Terry Onica: John, we've had a couple great presentations already on tariffs and also electric vehicles. So, what excites you, a supply chain student, to be here at the conference? What are you looking to learn today?
[:[00:04:40] Jim Liegghio: Make sure you network. Today's a great day to do it.
[:[00:04:43] Jim Liegghio: Welcome to the show. Enjoy today.
[:[00:05:01] John Lagarde: Well, one thing that really surprised me was how the combustion engine was like really built right in Detroit, and that's where all the pieces are being built and supplied to the automotive manufacturers. But also, that China was where all the electric vehicles were being—that's where that hub is. I didn't really know that, to be honest. And that was really interesting.
And then, of course, just learning, one, that we will still see the normal combustion engine in the future. It's not just gonna be like a hole. Like I thought pretty soon we were just gonna be fully electric and autonomous and all that. But it's interesting to know that we still have a good amount of time with the historical combustion gas engine.
[:[00:06:02] John Lagarde: I would say, well, of course, it could be different from individual to individual, but I'd say definitely giving the opportunity for continuous learning. I think a lot of people say that, but especially when you're just entering the workforce. I think is gonna be some just like work that you may, I don't wanna say not want to do, but may feel like repetitive or just a task, like a report that you just spit out.
But just the continuous opportunity to learn and develop and send, like I've seen some younger professionals here at this event, so like sending your younger, new professionals to new events like this to learn and network.
And so, providing that would be, I think, really cool. And then, you know, I think a lot of people, of course everybody's gonna say like work-life balance and I can't say a hundred percent what that would look like, but I think of course that's important as well. But I'm sure a lot of younger people, and I think Gen Z especially is like really taking a stand on work-life balance. And so, that as well.
[:[00:07:04] John Lagarde: Of course, thank you for having me. Excited to be here.
[:[00:07:20] Fred Coe: Thank you. It's great to be here in person.
[:[00:07:37] Fred Coe: I do love that EDI is drawing so much attention. It is fantastic to have an audience.
[:[00:07:47] Fred Coe: That's right.
[:[00:07:51] Fred Coe: Likewise, likewise.
[:[00:08:02] Fred Coe: I've been really impressed with the presenters so far and what they've talked about in terms of the tariffs, and I think that is definitely casting a shadow over the automotive industry. And I think that's really where a lot of the attention is going right now.
[:[00:08:16] Terry Onica: And you're no stranger to our podcast for sure. We've done a couple episodes around EDI. Very knowledgeable. GM, I know, even as an OEM, I'm sure you've got tens of thousands of EDI connections. EDI is near and dear to the industry's heart. You are our Chair of the EDI Advisory Work Group, and I know we are working on an EDI survey. Can you give everybody an update on where that's at right now?
[:Almost 500 people responded to the survey. Really gave candid answers in terms of what they think of their EDI systems today, their readiness potentially to adopt APIs and in what spaces. So, a lot of positive feedback and a lot of enthusiasm both on the, "Don't change my EDI, it's not broken," and "When can we go to APIs?"
So, filtering through a lot of that information has been fabulous. And getting back with some of the respondents has been a good experience as well.
[:[00:09:21] Fred Coe: Yeah, absolutely. We're, you know, really we're gonna be focused on some of the questions that I found the most interesting. Henriette Douglas from Stellantis will be with me on stage, and she'll be reviewing some of that feedback as well.
And then, what our next steps are in terms of the EDI advisory council and how we move forward with potential API standardization.
[:[00:09:40] Fred Coe: I was actually really surprised of the number of people that are still using fax and email for EDI.
[:[00:09:46] Fred Coe: And the number of people that have already adopted APIs and it's almost balanced. So that was one of the things that surprised me the most.
[:[00:09:56] Fred Coe: Right. Exactly. So, we're really looking forward to sharing this information with the audience.
[:[00:10:08] Fred Coe: Thank you very much.
[:[00:10:27] Bing Xu: Thank you. It's my pleasure to come here to meet you again.
[:[00:10:40] Bing Xu: I think this things surprised me is I thought this is kind of a traditional supply chain management type of things. But I think for the last few session, you are all heard, it's not just the simple old way. It's keep moving, keep improving, getting even the high tech involved.
So, as far as I can see, people talk about the data already. How to use the data. And you already heard that people—quite a few people—mentioning that AI tools should be utilized to actually help managing the huge data set type of things.
So, again, the topic that I can hear so far: data, how to use data, how to actually use data smartly.
[:[00:11:31] Bing Xu: I think it's quick implementation. The reason is that we're really in a short fuse that if you just look at the first two speakers talking about the tariff things and the impact and the supply resilience. That's all actually coming. So, as far as I can see, the quickest things need to be done—to quickly implement whatever the things available, whatever the people are talking about. And try to managing the data, the transparency—supplier transparency—and finally, the resilience. To hopefully, to really get the whole supplier more resilient in facing so many, you know, challenge type of things.
[:[00:12:17] Bing Xu: The supply chain. Exactly. That surprised me.
[:[00:12:25] Bing Xu: Usually, even the EDI session that we talk about, it's mainly point-to-point, kind of not going down deeper, whatever. But now all of a sudden you heard everywhere global, doesn't matter, the shipyard where. That doesn't matter. The ship is whatever. They're all actually covering that down all the way to a lower tier.
[:[00:12:44] Jim Liegghio: We need to learn how to distill data into useful information.
[:[00:12:47] Jim Liegghio: And I think you need smart technology.
[:[00:12:50] Jan Griffiths: There it is.
[:[00:12:52] Jan Griffiths: Bing, thank you so much for joining us today.
[:[00:12:56] Jan Griffiths: And joining us at the mic is Sig Huber. Sig is no stranger to the microphone. Sig is the Chief Commercial Officer at Elm Analytics. But Sig has a deep, deep history in understanding the suppliers from an OEM level, both at Toyota and Stellantis. And he is now our expert on supplier risk management. So, Sig, welcome to the mic.
[:[00:13:26] Jan Griffiths: Sig, quick question. We're at the lunch break, but so far on the sessions this morning, what's your key takeaway that you got from this conference so far?
[:[00:13:49] Jim Liegghio: So that was gonna be my question. Are the clouds clearing at all? Do you see any light at the end of the tunnel? I know uncertainty is the name of the game for the first six months of 2025. What do you think for the next six months? What's your prediction?
[:[00:14:39] Jim Liegghio: Yeah, a bullwhip effect.
[:[00:15:02] Jim Liegghio: I love how you brought up the demand side of it, 'cause that's something people don't always think about, right? They think about the push side or the pulling the parts inside. The demand side, like you said, customer predictions. What customers are gonna want? Who knows what the name of the game there is gonna be, right? That's the other side of the equation.
[:People that are Conservative or Republican, seem to be much more optimistic about how things are going and where things are going. And people who are more left-leaning are much more pessimistic about how things are going.
I saw a very interesting piece on CNBC actually this morning about this, where people's investment strategies have taken a huge divergence based on their political. And so, some people are very fearful, and they're taking their money out of the market or they're putting it into other markets like Europe and others. Or like gung-ho, I'm gonna go into all the growth stocks here in the US. And it's been really interesting.
And I think that is also now raising its head into the corporate environment. And corporate managers, their perception on what they need to do is influenced in some respects by their political affiliation and their political leanings. And it's a really interesting dynamic I haven't seen before.
[:[00:16:43] Sig Huber: The number one risk right now is the uncertainty. Because of the lack of uncertainty, there's a lack of capital investment taking place. And with the pace of technology and the change that's needed and the pace of change that's needed, that lack of investment right now is gonna come back to bite us as an industry.
I think that's a really important problem that we're facing. The second one is financial health of the supply base. It's been sort of rumored that, yeah, suppliers are not in as good a condition as they should be. Our data is showing that. If you look at profitability metrics for suppliers across the board, especially if you get to tier two and below, profitability is suffering.
And when profitability suffers, it churns through the available cash that companies have stockpiled to save for a rainy day. And now we're seeing the liquidity metrics start to drop, which means that there's going to be real financial stress in our industry as we move forward into the second half of this year and in the first half of next year. That, to me, is a very, very important trend to watch.
We did a sensitivity analysis at our firm and we looked at the effect of tariffs. Even if they're not massive tariffs, the effect of even small tariffs on the supply base is massive. So, in our analysis, we found that just a 5% increase in cost of goods sold will more than double the number of suppliers that will be rated red from a financial health standpoint.
So you're now looking at an industry with all this uncertainty. And you've got a supply base, which is not equipped to handle uncertainty. And with tariffs creating more complications and more difficulty for those companies. There's just a lot of things coming at the industry at the same time, this confluence of things. And I'm a huge fan of the industry and the resilience of the industry, but this is a tough road ahead for the next 12 months.
[:[00:18:52] Sig Huber: Pleasure to be here. Thanks again.
[:[00:19:14] Jennifer Smith: Yeah, thanks for having me.
[:[00:19:22] Jennifer Smith: I think right now we're focused on a couple things, but the major one is the push for cost reductions from the OEMs down, along with the push to ensure profitability from our suppliers. We're kind of being stuck in the middle of that. And managing through the VAVE process up the supply chain with speed has been one that I think we're really, really focused on right now.
[:[00:19:58] Jennifer Smith: I think it depends on what's really going on in the industry. So, at the beginning of the year, I would say people were really concerned on where we were going and volumes. And right now, I think things are picking back up enough with where we are in the market. That things are kind of stabilized, and everybody's just kind of hanging on for what's gonna happen next.
[:[00:20:32] Jennifer Smith: I think there's a couple. The first thing I think we really focused on was the whole conversation around AI. How are we gonna use it? What are we gonna do with it? How do you actually leverage the data has been one that I think we really need to have major conversations on.
And then the other one is the EDI and API and where are we gonna go with it? As we go on our EDI journey through the platforms to the supply base, how do you engage API early in that transition versus waiting until after the fact? I think those are really big things that I'm gonna go back to the organization to have conversations on.
[:[00:21:14] Jennifer Smith: I do. I think it's just depends on what the market's doing. So, with the stall in the tariffs, I feel like people are bringing a lot in early. We're having really strong demands coming into the 4th of July where we normally wouldn't. And so, it's really anticipating what's gonna happen after that July 9th date in the tariffs and what will that do to the market. So I don't know how much of that's built ahead versus actual demand.
[:[00:21:59] Jennifer Smith: Yeah. I think we're gonna actually talk about that this afternoon, but one of the things I think is really important is we rely so much on data, right? Just follow my EDI. Follow the path. And what we don't always understand is the "why".
And if we could—if we could get our material managers to really understand the "why" behind the "what," I think we would run through walls a lot faster. For our OEMs to get their product. If we knew what was really going on.
And we have some OEMs who are really, really good at it that have conference calls that enjoy the tier twos that are involved in on a weekly basis. And if we could see that visibility, we'd be able to plan better or we're able to respond faster. And we can tell the story to our team and our suppliers as to what the real need is. And I think that's really the big thing. Data's great, but data with a "why" is even better.
[:[00:23:02] Terry Onica: Yes, it did.
[:[00:23:27] Jennifer Smith: It is in the data.
[:[00:23:31] Jennifer Smith: Right. Give us information and then tell me why it changed. So did you add a super? Did a supplier go down and you're not able to work for two weeks and now you're picking everything back up? Help me understand, not only the data, but what's going on with the qualitative side of it too. Yeah.
[:[00:24:03] Jan Griffiths: Yeah. And that's a beautiful message to go back up to the tier ones and the OEMs, is to please tell us why things changed?
[:[00:24:12] Terry Onica: Just a simple explanation. It helps you better plan, better understand what's going on.
[:[00:24:35] Jim Liegghio: Great insight. Yeah, great insight. Thank you for sharing that.
[:[00:24:42] Jennifer Smith: Thanks.
[:And joining us at the mic is Tanya Bolden. She is the Vice President of Supply Chain and Corporate Responsibility for AIAG. Welcome to the mic, Tanya.
[:[00:24:59] Jan Griffiths: It's an exciting day. A new venue, a new vibe, a new brand to this conference. How are you feeling about it?
[:[00:25:12] Jan Griffiths: Right. And there's definitely a vibe. There's a buzz here. There's an energy that's different. This is definitely not your traditional supply chain conference. There are new topics, new speakers, and a whole new vibe.
[:[00:26:02] Jan Griffiths: There it is.
[:[00:26:10] Tanya Bolden: When I approach an event agenda, I like to start with a macro view because you have to meet your attendees where they are. They come from different perspectives because supply chain has so many valuable facets to it. So, we like to start off the agenda with a broad scope, a broad perspective, and then drill down so that our attendees can get something out of the event. Every session, every speaker may not speak to them, but many of them will and do.
[:[00:26:54] Tanya Bolden: So, for today, we had a lot of students that were there. We had at least eight students that were there. So these are wide-eyed, curious, future professionals, and I like to be able to share with them and show them the vastness of the supply chain.
[:[00:27:13] Tanya Bolden: Right? For sure. Because that's the way we're gonna survive. I think automotive manufacturing has certain stigmas that are so not true today. There's so many exciting things that are going on, and I want our audience to take away from our agenda that there's so many facets. Again, we've talked about everything today, from tariffs to technology, to EV batteries, to decarbonization, and carbon foot printing—and we're still going. So there's so much.
We're gonna conclude the day with an OEM panel because we wanna hear from the OEMs how are they taking all these issues and managing them into not only their organization, but their supply chains.
[:[00:28:04] Terry Onica: And I know even in my position, I'm sure everybody in supply chain, you have to understand all of this. You cannot be in supply chain and just pick a little cubby hole to be, you gotta understand all the impacts of everything on it. And it really brought that to the forefront today.
[:[00:28:39] Terry Onica: Good one.
[:[00:28:40] Jan Griffiths: This is a great way to close us out. Well, it has been an excellent conference here in Detroit with AIAG with the Supply Chain Conference. And for those of you who might be feeling a little bit of fomo, listen to the podcast, share it with your friends, and join us next year. We'll see you then.
We love to hear from our listeners, reach out to any one of us, our contact information is in the show notes. And if you want to dive deeper into our content, check out our website at autosupplychainprophets.com.
