Tech-based planning can mitigate auto industry’s supply chain challenges: EY India

New Delhi, Feb 17 : Against the backdrop of semiconductor shortages hitting vehicle sales in the country, EY India on Wednesday said technology-based planning can mitigate such supply chain challenges faced by the automobile OEMs.
EY India, in a report, said automobile manufacturers should make use of rapid ‘what-if scenario modelling capabilities’ that are available in modern day intelligent digital planning solutions to assess such risks in advance.
Currently, automobile OEMs have started to witness a steady increase in vehicle demand due to the revival of car sales. However, the semiconductor industry is finding it difficult to address the increasing demand as it also caters to other industries like IT, consumer electronics, mobile and medical equipment.
According to EY India, automobile OEMs were faced with the threat of decreased consumer mobility due to work from home and lockdowns during the onset of the pandemic.
Nonetheless, vehicle manufacturers’ projections were initially correct – during April ’20 to June ’20, which witnessed nearly near zero offtake in automobile sales.
Ironically, the pandemic also witnessed an increase in demand of high-end TVs, mobile phones, entertainment systems and laptops to serve the “forced to stay at home consumers”.