That the automotive industry has been hit by the Covid pandemic, and the knock-on effect of a global semi-conductor chip shortage, is old news but its effects are still being felt. Given the complexity of the global automotive supply chain, it is perhaps no wonder that the sector has been impacted as hard as it has.  

The automotive supply process is notoriously fragile. Leaving aside the impact of the pandemic, environmental, geo-political, and economic pressures have all served to add additional strain on supply chains. 

However the sector has shown in past decades how resilient it can be and will now have to do so again. All levels of the manufacturing food-chain will have to stress-test their supply models so that they can be ready to deal with the next crisis: is single-sourcing of components a good idea in practice? Whilst warehousing excess components can be expensive, is it worth it to ensure production lines won't stall in the next component shortage? Should blockchain technology be used to provide greater transparency on supply issues?  

These (and many other) questions will need to be considered to defend the industry from the challenges the past couple of years has presented.