Interoperability costs in the US automotive supply chain

Concurrent design and engineering in the supply chain are vital to the growing competitiveness of the US automotive industry. However, these innovative design and development processes are hampered if product data cannot be exchanged seamlessly across the supply chain. This paper estimates that imperfect interoperability costs the US automotive industry about $1 billion per year and delays the introduction of new models by at least two months. It also evaluates different methods for alleviating interoperability problems and concludes that emerging technologies and formats offer promising solutions that may lead to significant savings for the industry. Benefits from alleviating interoperability problems can also be realized in other product data exchange-intensive supply chains like shipbuilding and aerospace.