Consulting Services

We help automotive suppliers save time and money while reducing risk!

Our consulting services are centered around working with our clients to develop, train and implement best practice solutions to a wide variety of commercial management matters. 

Our consultants have a deep understanding of the automotive supplier culture and challenges; and that knowledge enables us to build trust and credibility while fitting in with any team to deliver simple, cost effective solutions that improve productivity, information accuracy, profit and job satisfaction.

As the automotive industry races toward the electrification of vehicles and autonomous driving, many suppliers are still conducting business the same way they have for the last 25+ years.  While the world is moving forward with AI and automation, these companies continue with their archaic methods of chasing data around spreadsheets.  These suppliers are losing money from waste and inefficiency, they’re leaving money on the table during negotiations and they’re at an increased risk of mistakes. 

At Intertwine we offer practical solutions based on our areas of expertise, which includes quoting, cost estimating, cost accounting, sales and marketing, engineering change management, sales forecasting, financial forecasting, capacity planning, etc.   We work with our clients to develop, train and implement best practice solution that reduce cost and risk while growing sales profitably.

Quoting, Cost Estimating and Cost Accounting

• Activity Based Cost Model, or ABC Costing – in the last few years we’ve seen historic levels of inflation and labor cost increases, which means the cost of doing business is going up. If you’re not confident that the overhead and labor rates you’re using accurately reflect the cost of today’s market, we can help.
• Cost Accounting – as OEM’s continue to raise the bar and shift more responsibilities onto their suppliers, it’s important to understand how these activities drive cost; and to make sure those costs are accurately captured in your selling price.
• Quote Process – if  your company struggles to get quotes out on time, or if you submit quotes only to realize later that something was missed, we can help. We know how to establish robust and repeatable business processes with checks and balances that reduce the risk of errors and omissions without missing the due date.
• Training and documentation – maybe your company has a pretty good process and system, but not everyone has been trained on it; and maybe that’s because the training documentation doesn’t exist or it needs to be updated – if any of that sounds applicable, we can help!

Sales & Marketing

• Branding – Are you sending the right message?  Things change over time; and your brand is one of the things that separate you from your competition. Having 50 years of experience is great, but if your brand is old and worn it might not portray the image you want, or the innovation and corporate values that are important to potential customers and employees.
• Customer Acquisition – whether you want to grow your business in existing markets or diversify your products and portfolio by expanding into new markets, you need a plan to get there. Selling is both an art and a science; and to acquire new customer’s in today’s market requires a blend of new and old school methods.  We can help you develop a roadmap to sales success.
• Customer Perception & Experience – when it comes time to source the next new piece of business your customer will probably look at price first; however, they’re coming to you because they have a problem that needs to be solved.  Maybe it’s a simple problem, where they just need to buy a simple part for the best price possible, or maybe there is more to it.  The companies that can solve their customer’s problems as quickly and painlessly as possible will be the winners in the end.
• Pricing and negotiations – Our consultants have sold over $1 Billion in parts and tooling. We’ve resolved millions in outstanding commercial issues that others couldn’t.  We’ve lead negotiations on a range of topics that include tooling audits, raw material economics, productivity reductions and more.  From benchmark pricing analysis to negotiation strategy and legal obligations; we provide insight on proven methods that yield more favorable outcomes for our clients.
• Contract review – we’re not lawyers, but we understand contracts; and we’re well versed on automotive industry standards and business norms. We can help your company develop standard terms and conditions for your customers and suppliers, or we can review your customer’s contract and help draft and addendum that your customer will agree on. Contact us if you don’t want to accept your customer’s unreasonable, one-way terms, or if you just want a 2nd opinion to make sure you avoid taking any unnecessary risks.

Engineering Change Management, Sales, Financial and Capacity Planning, plus more…

• Engineering Change Management – we’ve solved the engineering change management puzzle; and we can help you establish a robust and repeatable process to:  Ensure seamless design and manufacturing Bill-of-Materials (BOM) alignment and version control.  Confirm that nothing get missed, meaning the feasibility, cost, price and timing of each change is covered, plus any obsolescence.  Easily see and track the part pedigree (BOM, Cost, Price, etc.) supplied throughout the program and part history.
• Sales Forecasting – If you didn’t know already:  trying to merge the latest EDI with your long term forecast while accounting for different vehicle derivatives, part quantities and take rates, plus keeping track of productivity reductions and engineering changes using spreadsheets driven by manually dependent processes isn’t going to work, ever.  f you want to keep trying we can show you some good tips and tricks, or if you’re open to a little change we can probably show you a better way.
• Financial Forecasting – if Sales Forecasting (above) sounds hard; trying to do Financial Forecasting on spreadsheets is even more challenging because you also have to take into account variable overhead cost and other macro-economic factors, such as Labor and Raw Material Costs; and sometimes scrap sharing.  The number of variables increases by an order of magnitude.
• Capacity Planning – stop chasing data around spreadsheets – it doesn’t work!  We can help you avoid unplanned outsource cost or big investments in underutilized assets.  We’ll provide the ability to easily compare make-vs- buy, or other manufacturing options, so you can come up with the recipe that yields the best price for your customer using the insight needed for your company to target the new business opportunities that maximize asset utilization and profit!
• Business Process Optimization – if you know what your company is doing doesn’t work, you can keep doing it, or we can help.  We’re more than happy to provide the outside, expert help that most companies need in order to break down the barriers that prevent them from making needed improvements.  We believe that everything from the forms used, to how the information flows and where it’s stored are important and worthy of review.  Once the forms and methods are settled, training and education are critical pillars of success.  With the input of your team, we’re confident we can help develop and implement processes with a best-practice approach, which everyone buys into and follows.                   

We recognize that the wants or needs of each company vary:  some want a little guidance before getting started, whereas others may lack the internal expertise or available resources needed to get the job done. So, whether your company is looking for a little help or a lot of help, we tailor our services to meet your needs; and we’re flexible enough to change if the needs change.