Stop Waiting for Perfect Data: AI in the Automotive Supply Chain

Automotive leaders spent Q3 waiting on things that won't show up on schedule: clean data, stable supply, and a version of AI that's easy enough to adopt without effort. Meanwhile, black swan events keep coming, and competitors keep moving.

In this Q3 review, host Jan and co-host Tom Roberts, Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD, look back at the quarter's conversations through three themes (data, resilience, and leadership) and set the agenda for Q4 and 2027.

Perfect data hasn't arrived in their lifetime, and it isn't coming soon. Tom points out that AI can already suggest commodity code cross-references and help clean records. But without process discipline and poka-yokes at the point of entry, the first person to enter something sends it off the rails. The companies taking steps now will pull ahead of the ones waiting for everything to come together.

That takes real AI fluency at the top. Jan is two sessions into an AI boot camp, and she points to GM's Sean Gaskin, who recently finished a professional certificate in AI and machine learning through Michigan Engineering. His lesson: leaders need enough depth to know what's possible, where it creates value, and what it takes to scale.

On resilience, GM's $4.5 billion parts inventory arrangement with Procura Auto Parts shows that just-in-time is no longer the answer to everything. Jan challenges purchasing to weigh the total acquisition cost against the purchase price variance. Tom puts the stakes plainly: in a fight for market share, no OEM can afford for a supplier to shut down a line.

The episode closes with two assignments. Pick one process, RFQ or otherwise, and cut its cycle time by 50%. Then study your supplier and item masters before the next data project starts. The leaders who begin this quarter won't need perfect conditions to outpace the ones still waiting for them.

• Why waiting for perfect data stalls progress
• AI fluency as a leadership requirement
• Proof over promise in AI adoption
• Classroom data vs real-world data
• Rethinking just-in-time for resilience
• Total acquisition cost over purchase price variance
• Decision speed and alignment
• Master data governance

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About Your Hosts

Jan Griffiths

Jan is the host and producer of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and The Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive manufacturing and supply chain executive, Jan is recognized as a Champion for Culture Change in the automotive industry. She brings direct, grounded conversations to leaders navigating execution, disruption, and transformation across the global automotive ecosystem.

Tom Roberts (Co-host)

Tom is Co-host of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD. He works closely with automotive and industrial manufacturers to close the gap between insight and execution, helping leaders move from visibility to systems of action that drive real operational outcomes.

Mentioned in the Episode:

• Q3 guests: Josh and Ian on USMCA and trade compliance, Ambrose Conroy (Seraph), Ted Mabley (UHY), Cheryl Thompson, and Mia and Daniel from Wayne State
• ISM leadership event, December 2, Detroit, with Isiah Thomas and Shilpan Amin

Episode Highlights

[00:04:06] Perfect data isn't coming: Jan warns against putting AI on hold until the data is cleaned up, because that day may never arrive.

[00:05:28] Clean it, then protect it: Tom explains why any data cleanup fails without disciplined processes going forward.

[00:08:01] Leaders need AI depth: Jan argues that executives don't need to code, but they do need to understand what AI can do in their business.

[00:10:26] Automate the month-end close first: Tom cuts through the AI hype and focuses on what's live and working in manufacturing today.

[00:13:13] Rethinking just-in-time: GM's $4.5 billion parts move signals a shift from pure inventory reduction toward resilience.

[00:16:43] Line up behind the decision: Tom describes the speed he saw at a Chinese automotive supplier once a decision was made.

[00:17:37] Cut one process by 50%: Jan and Tom give listeners concrete calls to action on process speed and data.

Top Quotes

[00:04:06] Jan Griffiths: "But what I find interesting from a leadership perspective, as leaders look at data, we are never gonna have perfect data."

[00:16:05] Tom Roberts: "There's not a single OEM, especially in the West right now, that wants to give up one micro percentage of market share because this is a bare-knuckle brawl for market share."

[00:18:14] Jan Griffiths: "Just start somewhere. It might be the internal RFQ process, the external one. Just take something. Do something. Start somewhere."

If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast, where we're closing the gap between insight and action across the global automotive supply chain.

Follow the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast for real conversations with leaders who are making hard choices, focusing their bets, and leading with intent.

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