ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan will present a two-day conference that will explore the potential impact and application of information technologies in the global automotive industry,
“AUTOe: Information Technology Enabling the Future” will feature presentations by leading automotive and information technology experts. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from General Motors Corporation, Lear Corporation, Siemens Automotive, International Truck and Engine Corporation, Visteon Corporation, Dong Feng (2nd Auto) Motor Corporation-China, IBM Corporation, EDS, Dana Corporation, Johnson Controls will share their visions and plans for aligning IT initiatives to business goals. Hundreds of senior IT and automotive executives are expected to participate at the annual conference.

The event is sponsored by the U-M College of Engineering‘s Center for Professional Development (CPD). “The business model of the automotive industry (both manufacturers and suppliers) is essentially broken, as evidenced by high sales volume, but low profitability. Massive restructuring is under way to achieve a new model that features real time, math-based collaborative engineering across the supply chain, the use of virtual prototypes, creative alliances spanning traditional boundaries, high performance rapid build-to-order processes, lean agile systems, and much more. Perhaps the key enabler of the new business model is the Internet and a broad collection of e-tools; this means the effective integration of the next generation of information technology. This conference will focus on these critical issue,” says conference co-chair David Cole, president of the Center for Automotive Research at Altarum.

Questions to be addressed include:

What are the information technologies that will enable concepts such as build-to-order, modularity, open architectures, the 72-hour car, and the one-month global car design?

How can legacy systems be incorporated?

What are the evolving issues surrounding security?

How can Internet and wireless communication technologies be used to ensure adequate data mobility?

What are the impacts of information systems on supply chain management?

How can collaborative work systems evolve as new information technologies and new automotive concepts emerge?

Michael Grieves, conference co-chair, said, “This conference is an excellent opportunity to hear what the leading auto IT executives are focused on. While the industry talks about reducing costs and time to market, these executives have to allocate resources, select technologies, and drive projects to implement these goals. How they do so is critical to the direction of the industry and the professionals who support it.”

To register or for more information, contact Beth Hillis, bhillis@umich.edu or (734) 647-7200. You can also visit the conference Web site at: http://cpd.engin.umich.edu/programs/index-conferences.html

AUTOe: Information Technology Enabling the FutureCollege of EngineeringMichael Grievesbhillis@umich.edu