GSCW chat: ZF’s challenges chasing microchips to keep parts flowing

Melding cultures from major acquisitions a key to meaningful growth

· Thursday, February 17, 2022

FreightWaves Detroit Bureau Chief Alan Adler talks with Brandon Paquette, director of end-to-end planning and supply chain continuity for ZF North America Inc., about coping with disruption of supply chains in the Tier 1 supplier's business.

This fireside chat is from Auto Day of the FreightWaves Global Supply Chain Week. Day 4 focuses on truck manufacturers, suppliers and advanced technologies.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: ZF’s challenge in chasing microchips globally to keep parts and components flowing.

DETAILS: ZF North America is part of one of the largest automotive suppliers on the planet. Between technology advancements and the creation of a commercial vehicles segment that includes Wabco Holdings, Brandon Paquette discusses how the German supplier manages to secure microchips to satisfy OEM customers.

SPEAKER: Paquette is the director of end-to-end planning and supply chain continuity for ZF North America Inc.

BIO: Paquette has global responsibility for transformation and digitization, focusing on securing semiconductors and collaborating with other ZF division functions. Prior to joining ZF in 2011, he was an operations supervisor with Penske Logistics.

KEY QUOTES FROM BRANDON PAQUETTE

“It’s not so much a decision about the winners and losers, it’s how we can get the supply that’s available to us and how we can most equitably allocate those parts. If we have a constraint on part A and excess on part B, we might shift part B to another manufacturing location to balance out that volume across the board.”
“Obviously the semiconductor issue is the biggest constraint that we’re all dealing with right now. There’s other challenges throughout the supply chain, whether it is the availability of various raw materials or it is the transportation network itself. It is a bit of a game of whack-a-mole. It seems that every week there’s a new challenge that’s coming up.”
“We’re optimistic the situation will begin to ease. Hopefully that happens this year. There are a lot of forecasts out there that expect the semiconductor challenges to last through this year. Obviously, a lot depends on factors outside our control from consumer electronics and how quickly capacity can come on line. So there’s a lot of unknowns, and you never know what the next material shortage might be.”