Pushing Past the Status Quo: The CIO Drives Business Value

Auto Supply Chain Prophets

In 2022, information technology (IT) professionals in supply chains can no longer sit on the sidelines. Responsible for more than just technology, they play a major role in strategy and business functions.

No one knows this better than Heidi Mattison, Chief Information Officer at Superior Industries. From the beginning of her career in the automotive industry on the manufacturing floor, she saw how tech plays a crucial role in every corner of the company.

As an IT professional, “you need to have a seat at the table,” Heidi says. “If you don't understand how your role affects the P&L, you need to figure it out.”

In this episode of Auto Supply Chain Prophets, Heidi talks about her auto supply chain journey, growing up in an auto household, and launching a career in IT. Expect to come away from this episode with a totally different view of your IT department!

Themes discussed in this episode:

• Why tech matters across the supply chain.
• How IT functions can better support the supply chain process.
• Why cybersecurity should be everybody’s concern, from shop floor workers to executives.
• How IT professionals can get a seat at the C-suite table.
• Why traditional lines around IT are blurring and overlapping with other roles.

Featured on this Episode

Name: Heidi Mattison

Title: VP and Chief Information Officer, Superior Industries

About: Heidi has worked for several original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 companies throughout her career in the auto industry. As Chief Information Officer at Superior Industries, she focuses on the crucial role of technology in the business.

Connect: LinkedIn

Episode Highlights

Timestamped inflection points from the show

[0:40] Meet ‘auto baby’ Heidi Mattison: Heidi Mattison has motor oil in her blood. Listen to how she started on the manufacturing floor before falling into information technology.

[4:32] Cooperation to integration: Heidi explains how Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has evolved throughout her career — from a disconnected string of islands to an integrated web.

[5:31] A measurable impact: Information technology is a pretty big career leap from Heidi’s starting point in manufacturing, but the shop floor is where she got her first exposure to the importance of tech in the business and in the supply chain.

[7:16] A seat at the table: Technology impacts everything that happens in the supply chain. That’s why “IT professionals need to have a seat at the table and participate in executive-level conversations”, Heidi says.

[9:12] Blurring the lines: Heidi discusses why the roles of business analysts and IT professionals are overlapping with one another, and why those lines will continue to blur in the future.

[10:03] Be vocal: IT professionals are playing a vital and challenging role in a changing industry. Heidi offers some insight on what they can do to better support supply chain processes.

[13:49] Breaking the silos: Information and operational technology can no longer be discussed separately, especially given how integrated and important technology has become throughout the supply chain. Heidi breaks down barriers across her company to improve communication and collaboration.

[16:05] Stronger partnerships, stronger security: As an IT professional, cybersecurity is on Heidi’s radar every day. But it should be a concern that the industry works to address together, she explains.

[18:23] Budget and educate: Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies might not have the budget or ability for their own IT departments or teams, but security needs to be one of the first lines of defense in your company, Heidi says.

[19:50] The one thing: We have more data than ever available at our fingertips, and the cost of storing all that data is only going down. Supply chain leaders should embrace that data and be open to change, says Heidi.

Top quotes

[7:48] Heidi: “I think you can no longer be responsible for [just] technology, you have to be responsible for strategy. It's no longer a day where you are in the basement; you need to have a seat at the table. If you don't understand how your role affects the P&L, you need to figure it out.”

[8:45] Heidi: “Timing is everything. Not only in your love life, but in technology, too. You may have the exact solution that is going to solve the business problem, but if there are other initiatives that are key drivers […] you need to find where that fits in.”

[17:43] Heidi: “That line of communication, all the way through the board of directors, needs to stay open. And to be quite honest, there are a lot of boards of directors that do not have technology, especially cybersecurity expertise, within them. So we have a very large role right now to be educators, all the way through the C-suite and into our boards.”

[20:15] Heidi: “I think the one thing that supply chain leaders need to do right now is embrace data. We, right now, have more data available at our fingertips than ever in our history. Cost of storage has decreased, it's led to the ability for more data, extensive analytics and extensive reporting. Embrace what your technology team can deliver to you, and be open to change.”