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In March, 2007, 2000 professionals from 150 organizations in the automotive industry came together, online via the internet, to address challenges facing the North American supplier industry and to collaboratively identify solution ideas. Their message: It is time to Break Away from Status Quo.

IBM and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA) hosted the Automotive Supplier Jam, the first industry-wide virtual collaboration event. Participants ranged from CEOs, to line of business (LOB) executives to functional VPs, middle managers and engineers. The Jam congregated a group of people that would never have been possible in the purely physical world. The Jam was guided and moderated by prominent leaders, from diverse realms, such as the Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan; Gary Convis, of Toyota; Bo Andersson, of General Motors; Paul W. Smith, of 760 WJR; Jim McElya, of Cooper Standard Automotive; Neil De Koker, of OESA; Sanjay Rishi, of IBM; and Peter Brown, of Automotive News. These leaders set the stage for an informed and insightful discussion.

During 3 days of "jamming", over 1,540 detailed comments were posted, covering a broad range of ideas, suggestions and point-of-views. A team of analysts sifted through all the posts, and with the help of analytical tools, thirty-two (32) distinct themes were identified. These themes cover a broad range of topics and widely vary in their maturity and feasibility. The 32 themes were aggregated into eight (8) "mega" themes reflecting the need to breakaway from the status quo. Finally, five (5) "industry change concepts' were developed representing critical areas that, when turned into practical plans, will be able to change the way the industry fundamentally operates. The Automotive Supplier Jam report describes in more detail these findings. CLICK HERE FOR THE REPORT.

For additional information, please contact Brenna Putman (bputman@oesa.org).