Global viewpoints: technology leads the way
Delphi moves toward a more electronic portfolio
 Andrew Brown is Delphi's Automotive Director of Engineering. |
Andrew Brown, Delphi Automotive Director of Engineering, is not hinting that he's looking for a new job when he says it's his responsibility "to think of ways to put myself out of business." He's referring to the need for he and everyone else at Delphi to constantly strive for innovation in all aspects of the business.
"That means you have to be critical of your own self—critical of your own portfolio. Is this product making the cut or not? More importantly than that, you've got be about obsoleting your own technology. What I mean is, you've got to be thinking about how I'm going to put myself out of business. You've really got to think about what's the next wave of compressor technology—or of powerplant technology, or of infotainment technology—that's going to eliminate what I'm selling today," he said.
In so doing, Brown said, "I provide more value to my customers and further differentiate myself in the marketplace. From Delphi's perspective, that's what we're all about."
 J. T. Battenberg is Delphi's Chairman, CEO, and President. |
Delphi announced at the SAE 2000 World Congress that it will introduce 10 new mobile multimedia products and technologies during 2001, including the Communiport Mobile Productivity Center (MPCpro). This first model in the forthcoming MPC lineup synchronizes several phones and a Palm V or Vx handheld computer, then allows drivers to access the data and make hands-free phone calls through voice commands and text-to-speech software. Among the other multimedia products to be introduced are the Communiport Rear-Seat Entertainment System, a telematics unit for Lexus, satellite digital audio receivers, and MP3 playback receivers.
Delphi's "strategic move to a more electronic portfolio," as Chairman, CEO, and President J.T. Battenberg describes it, involves much more than telematics. "I like to remind people that just 35 years ago there were six sensors on vehicles; today there are 60," Battenberg said. "We're communicating to controllers for engine/powertrain, for safety, for convenience—in fact, for all systems. It's a pretty pervasive shift. I call it a revolution."
 A schematic of Delphi's Quadrasteer technology for GM. |
Of Delphi's 16,000 engineers, more than 5000 work in electronics and software, according to Battenberg. Further evidence of the company's technological capability are its 6000 patents and $1.5 billion annual R&D budget. "We're a technology storehouse," Battenberg said. "We are a technology leader, and we will continue to be." Another thing that sets Delphi apart, said Battenberg, is the fact that "almost all of the leaders at Delphi are engineers, and many of us have run car or truck programs—developing them from scratch. Many of us have been chief engineers. And we've got executives who have run racing programs."
About its Quadrasteer technology that will debut on a 2002 GM full-size truck model, Battenberg says it could prove as important a development as ABS. "It's a game-changer," he said.
As for the cost pressures from OEMs, Delphi is responding on several fronts. On the cost side, the company's Delphi Manufacturing System, based on the fabled Toyota Production System, is "really transforming our operations on a continuing basis," Battenberg said. On the portfolio side, Delphi is "weeding out the weak parts" of the operation (several more "actions" will be taken this year in that regard, Battenberg promises), and on the growth side the company has, among other things, created a special group to find nonauto-motive customers for its plethora of technologies. "So, we're working the cost side of the equation, the portfolio side, and the growth side, and it will take great concentration on all three to remain profitable," Battenberg said.
 Delphi's passive occupant detection system (PODS) is used on the Jaguar XK sportscar. |
Recent creation of a New Markets unit at Delphi is part of the company's larger emphasis on high-tech and -growth products and diversification of its customer base. In March 2000, the company introduced Mobile Multimedia as its first example of an aggressive growth business line to accelerate sales in high-growth markets. An example of a product being marketed to nonautomotive industries is Delphi's 2mm Hard Metric connector for the telecom and datacom markets through its Packard-Hughes Interconnect subsidiary.
Another important development in this area is Delphi's recent announcement that it will form a strategic alliance with incuVest LLC. Delphi will provide incuVest with access to its extensive portfolio of technologies, determining with incuVest which technologies will be commercialized into new businesses. Brown calls IncuVest a technology incubator that will also "further develop" the technologies, take them to market, and possibly do an IPO.
Asked which Delphi technologies in a 2001 model year vehicle best exemplify the company's technological capability, Brown pointed to the passive occupant detection system (PODS) on the Jaguar XK sportscar. "It's the first and only weight-sensing system of its kind to reach the market," he said. It uses a sensor in the seat cushion to determine the weight of the occupant so if the airbag deploys, it will do so at a force level commensurate with the occupant's size. The technology is being further developed so the force level can be varied infinitely; in the XK, there are two deployment force levels, according to Brown.
 Delphi's Communiport MPCpro synchronizes select Ericsson cell phone models with a Palm V or Vx handheld computer. |
Delphi's 31 technical centers around the globe help make it prepared to meet the needs of any OEM. "We believe it is very important to have a technical capability close to the customer and close to its manufacturing centers around the world," Battenberg said. "But in particular, we want to provide systems integration capability because modules are what the OEMs want. These global tech centers allow us to do that. They also help us as we recruit engineers." He expressed concern about the supply of domestic engineers, noting that there were more visas issued last year than there were engineers graduated.
Coordinating and facilitating engineering on a global basis is Brown's primary responsibility as director of engineering. In that capacity, he heads Delphi's Engineering Task Team, which is made up of engineering directors from each division. Together, they oversee the activities of the 16,000 engineers and scientists at the technical centers. Most technical centers are in the U.S., but there are also ones in France, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Japan, Singapore, India, Brazil, and Mexico.
Brown noted that India graduates more engineers per year—mainly in information science—than any other country. Gaining access to that pool of talent was one of Delphi's goals in establishing a tech center there.
