Page 43 - MetalForming March 2020

APSC 2020 delivers an agenda loaded with industry leaders ready to share their perspectives and advice. The event launches Tuesday afternoon, April 28, at 1 p.m., with an hour of exposition time, followed by opening remarks from PMA President David Klotz. Then comes the highly antici- pated and always informational Auto- motive Industry Outlook, delivered this year by Joe Langley, research and analy- sis associate director for IHS Markit.
Next to the stage will be Lauren Pry- ber, director–body and raw materials purchasing for FCA Chrysler. Having served in numerous roles over an 18- yr. stint at FCA, Pryber will speak on Common Issues Throughout the Sup- ply Chain.
Following Pryber’s talk, attendees will make their way to the Detroit Ath- letic Club for an evening reception full of networking opportunities.
Wednesday morning, beginning at 9 a.m., is the annual legal discussion with Dan Sharkey, co-founder and
At APSC 2020, GM manufacturing exec- utive director Doreen McDowell will dis- cuss the importance of innovation in GM’s manufacturing processes, including smart manufacturing. Example: 13,000 of GM’s 30,000 robots in plants worldwide feed operating data into the cloud, which the company uses to schedule predictive maintenance and improve uptime.
member of the law firm Brooks Wilkins & Turco PLLC. Sharkey, who concen- trates his practice in business contracts and litigation, with a special emphasis on supply-chain issues, began speaking at PMA’s APSC meeting in 2006. His
presentations on Contracts 101 and on Terms and Conditions were very well received. In 2016 he changed formats and went to an open Q&A forum.
“Essentially, the topics we cover include how contracts can hurt sup- pliers,” Sharkey says, “and how stam- pers can structure contracts to help themselves by minimizing or managing risk. We also discuss disputes and how to handle them—with customers as well as suppliers.”
Every year it seems like APSC atten- dees have a lot of percolating issues, and Sharkey comes prepared to offer advice. Some common themes:
“Your typical stamper has to pay spot price for steel,” Sharkey says. “It might be monthly or quarterly, but not long-term. It always surprises me to learn that companies often do not have steel-price adjustment clauses in their contracts, leaving themselves exposed to radical price increases.”
Another common theme, says Sharkey, has stampers under-quoting
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/March 2020 41