Using CobiT to Ensure Compliance

The UK has for many years had a strong automotive industry both in vehicle manufacture and component supply chain. The automotive component sector in 2004 was responsible for 190,000 jobs and a turnover exceeding £15 billion per annum with the SMMT estimating that there are approximately 7000 manufacturing sites operating in the UK automotive supply industry of which approximately 2000 are dedicated to automotive. Many companies were and remain heavily reliant on the fortunes of the vehicle manufacturers and any demise in vehicle manufacturing has an adverse effect on component suppliers. As with the case of MG Rover in 2005, many of the suppliers were geographically located in areas where traditional manufacturing had seen a spiralling down turn and the collapse of Rover was the final nail in the coffin. The automotive industry is highly competitive with ever increasing competitive pressure especially in recent years with increasing trends in ‘off-shoring' where companies are sourcing components in what are known as Leading or ‘Low’ Cost Countries (LCCs). There is no hiding from the fact that there is over capacity in the automotive industry making competition even harder. The big global players are rationalising operations and cutting costs whilst new markets such as China and Iraq are in expansion mode. With all these negative pressures, is there really any hope of UK and Western European component suppliers being able to be competitive?