Volkswagen joins industry-wide data network for supply chain efficiency

MANILA: The Volkswagen Group has announced that the company will be a part of the Catena-X Automotive Network, a union that aims to establish unvarying standards for the flow of data and information in the automotive value chain.

The Catena-X Automotive Network is composed of 25 partners from the business and science fields. The industry network will be creating uniform standards that will serve as the basis for a digital ecosystem wherein automakers, dealers, and technology suppliers can get involved.

Volkswagen believes that the secure and antitrust law-compliant data exchange will help increase the efficiency and transparency for production and supply chains.

In a statement, Volkswagen Group Production and Logistics Head Gerd Walker said, “Data is a key driver for Volkswagen on the path to becoming a sustainable digital company and can become even more important if we share certain data across corporate boundaries. To tap into the full potential of a data network, we need uniform standards and common principles. With Catena-X, we are creating this valuable foundation to enhance our productivity through the secure and sovereign sharing of data and improve transparency along our supply chains.”

Volkswagen Board of Management Member Murat Aksel stated, “Digitalization and networking play a key role for the production and supply chains of the future. On the one hand, constantly connected data chains from the supplier to the manufacturer enable the flows of material to be organized more efficiently, meaning supply bottlenecks can be identified early on. On the other hand, digitalization helps us to strengthen processes for observing environmental protection and human rights standards and to make supply chains even more transparent on these sensitive points.”

As a founding member of the network, Volkswagen will be sharing its knowledge and expertise gained from the networking of its global factory in developing the data infrastructure of Catena-X. The group will also be taking care of the supply chain optimization and business partner master data management applications.

Aside from Volkswagen, 24 other partners from different levels of automotive value chain will also take part in Catena-X, including BMW AG, Deutsche Telekom AG, Mercedes-Benz AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, SAP SE, Siemens AG, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. The industry network aims to become a registered association.

Being a part of Catena-X helps Volkswagen in elevating its global network with over 40,000 suppliers and partner companies. Since 2019, the group has been working on the Industrial Cloud in partnership with AWS and Siemens. The Industrial Cloud allows partners to connect with Volkswagen sites and provide industry applications in the open platform. The expansion of its Industrial Cloud through the Catena-X collaboration will enable faster software application development based on industry standards.

For many years now, the Volkswagen Group has been staying true to its commitment on creating uniform data standards within the automotive industry. Volkswagen is a member of the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) and the European cloud infrastructure GAIA-X. The group will incorporate the principles of the IDSA and GAIA-X on data protection and interoperability with the development of Catena-X. Volkswagen would like to guarantee that each company has full control on whom and for what purpose it prefers to share specific data.

Photo from Volkswagen

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