When carmakers make changes, be it launching a new model, adding or shifting a supplier location, or selling in a new market, they reverberate across the supply chain, either as ripples or shockwaves that require their own logistics response. Whether it is new packaging to transport a small part, the redesign of a plant’s parts supermarkets, or even new suppliers altogether, such decisions rarely touch any part of the supply chain in isolation. The best operations arise when OEMs plan far in advance, whether in cost modelling supplier decisions, or testing the delivery efficiency of part designs. It also helps when there is a strong, central supply chain function with responsibility from customer order input to meeting final delivery promises.

This ‘end-to-end’ focus, from model development through to outbound logistics, is precisely the remit of Opel/Vauxhall’s supply chain department, led since 2008 by director Michael Scholl, a 23-year General Motors veteran who has held various production, material and planning roles. His responsibilities run the gamut, including material and vehicle order management, production scheduling, packaging development, in-plant logistics, inbound and outbound logistics, and network planning, to name a few.