By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. Every business owner would like to have a better understanding of their customer to be sure they are meeting customer needs and are remaining competitive. So, how do they get this insight and feedback? The process is referred to as the voice of the customer (VOC). While this sounds […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. How many aluminum industry executives have been asked by their employees, management team, or board what their artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is? While this is a fair question, if it has not yet been explored, it’s not easy to provide an answer. AI tools are being used today in […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. Material developers and producers are feeling global pressure to optimize their respective businesses, especially as communications get easier and as once-difficult tasks are optimized and commoditized by automation technologies. Gone are the days that a midwestern forging producer would automatically have a competitive advantage with an automotive OEM over […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. Commercial vehicles have one key difference from passenger cars. They are a tool to do work and are, therefore, specified and built with a certain application in mind, which is often referred to as the duty cycle. Maintenance of the commercial vehicle is necessary, yet downtime to fix the […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. In automotive engineering, material selection is not a static activity. A decision made on today’s model could be reversed on the next one. This can be good or bad depending on one’s perspective. Materials manufacturers are continually innovating and bringing robust solutions to the market, providing vehicle OEMs with […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. In the world of product development, many materials are available to pick from, yet companies tend to play to their favorites. In metals, these materials range from exotic to common, from low density to high, and they are processed into different forms. The majority of car components — from […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting, LLC. Vehicle construction has always been a multi-material story. Instrument panels are comprised of plastic, foam, and metal, while seats are made from leather or fabric covering foam on a steel structure. Looking under the hood, the engine block is often made of cast iron with cylinder heads made of […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. Electric vehicles (EVs) and electrification of transportation in general are topics that dominate news outlets, magazines, and social media. OEMs, materials manufacturers, and those looking to capitalize on this new electrified economy are constantly sharing a barrage of information and data on new business models, the projected performance of […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. The automotive business is rife with change as OEMs introduce new powertrains for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs). Car companies are also spending billions in big bets on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), ride sharing, artificial intelligence (AI), and service businesses in an attempt to shift dollars from the […]
