Automotive suppliers have frequently accepted slim profit margins from their OEM customers in order to secure high-volume, multi-year contracts to supply parts. Further, today's down market has placed additional pressure on automotive suppliers to reduce prices. Unfortunately, supply and operational problems can quickly eliminate profits and even cause losses. The ability to quickly detect and correct supply chain problems is crucial for realizing planned profit goals. In a time when suppliers are consolidating and OEMs are reducing their supply-base, only the strongest companies will win future contracts. The OEM's assessment of the supplier's ability to manage their supply chain will become an even bigger factor as cost reduction and market share pressures increase. Teradata is helping automotive suppliers focus their limited resources on the areas of customer program management, operational effectiveness and efficiency and supplier performance.

• Decrease expediting costs 35% to 60% by improving management of ever-changing customer requirements
• Decrease procurement costs 2% to 5% by improving supplier performance and requirements communication
• Decrease production costs 2% to 4% by focusing cost reduction efforts on the most threatening cost issues