Supply Chain interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your background + path into automotive supply chain.
2. Tell me about a supply chain project you've owned end-to-end.
3. Why automotive supply chain vs general industrial / consumer / aerospace?
4. Why supply chain specifically vs engineering, manufacturing, finance, or commercial roles?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our vehicle portfolio + plant footprint?
7. Tell me what you understand about our supply chain organization and recent strategic moves.
8. Walk me through how you'd handle a line-down event - supplier shortage, quality reject, or logistics failure.

Technical concepts to master

• APQP + PPAP supplier qualification

  APQP (Advanced Product Quality Planning) · PPAP (Production Part Approval Process) · DFMEA + PFMEA + control plan · Cpk + MSA · IATF 16949

• Automotive commodity strategy + supplier development

  Should-cost + clean-sheet costing · Dual-source vs single-source vs sole-source · LTA + indexed material pass-through · Supplier development + supplier quality engineering · PPV + productivity + VAVE

• JIT / JIS line execution + materials flow

  Broadcast window + sequenced delivery · Kanban + pull replenishment · Build-to-schedule + build-to-broadcast · Line-down cost economics · MILK + EXCESS + line-side audits

• EV / battery supply + IRA / CSDDD + trade

  Battery cell sourcing - JV / off-take / vertical integration · Cathode + critical minerals - Li / Ni / Co / graphite / rare earth · IRA Section 30D + FEOC + battery sourcing requirements · EU CSDDD + battery passport + scope-3 · Tier-N visibility + supply continuity tooling

Practical drills

• You manage a $40M annual spend commodity (machined castings) with current supplier on a 3-year LTA. Annual productivity commitment is 3%; steel index pass-through is in place; current PPV running -1.5% YTD (unfavorable). Engineering proposes a VAVE redesign (wall-thickness reduction) that should yield $1.8M savings + 4-month implementation. Should-cost on a competing dual-source quote shows $0.9M opportunity but requires 12-month PPAP + $400K tooling. Walk through the economics + recommendation.
• It's 6am Monday. The plant manager calls - the body-in-white line is going down in 4 hours because a Tier-1 wire harness supplier in Mexico had a fire over the weekend. Inventory at the plant covers 18 hours; sister-plant has 3 days. The harness is a JIS-sequenced part with 47 trim-level variants. Walk me through your first 24 hours and the structural follow-up.
• Your OEM is launching a new BEV crossover in 30 months. Battery cell options are - (a) existing JV partner with a US plant (NCM cathode, fully IRA-compliant, $130/kWh contracted, 18-month capacity ramp); (b) Chinese cell maker with superior LFP cost ($95/kWh) but FEOC-restricted under IRA (loses $7,500 tax credit, would need to be sold without credit or relocated); (c) Korean supplier with US plant under construction (LFP, $110/kWh, but plant not ready until SOP+12 months, requiring bridge supply). Cathode minerals also need IRA + CSDDD compliance check. Walk me through how you'd structure the decision and what additional data you'd need.

Smart-question anchors

• Supply chain org - centralized CPO vs plant-led, reporting line, central vs plant talent paths
• APQP / PPAP cadence + supplier-development culture - SQE depth, Tier-1 relationships, launch readiness
• JIT / JIS maturity - sequenced delivery, plant logistics tooling, in-line sequencing maturity
• Battery cell + EV supply strategy - JV / off-take / vertical integration, cathode mineral compliance
• Commodity strategy + recent moves - semi LTAs, nearshoring, dual-source program, supplier consolidation

Sourced from

AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) APQP + PPAP + FMEA Handbook · IATF 16949:2016 + ISO 9001:2015 automotive QMS · Automotive News + Reuters Auto + Just-Auto + Wards trade press · US Treasury + IRS IRA Section 30D + FEOC proposed + final rules · European Commission CSDDD + EU Battery Regulation · Gartner Supply Chain + Resilinc + Everstream Analytics Tier-N supply visibility research