How Nissan, Accuride and others use digitalisation to stay ahead of supply chain compliance

As global trade becomes increasingly fragmented, companies are under pressure to manage a mounting array of compliance obligations – from customs classification and ESG data validation to increasingly integrated concerns such as cybersecurity and modern slavery criteria. At Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Digital Strategies North America, industry experts discuss how increasing levels of digitalisation can help turn compliance from a burden into a competitive advantage.

How to “ENSURE” success 

Expanding on insights shared by other Nissan speakers on the agenda –including Gerardo de la Torre, regional senior director of supply chain management at Nissan Group of the America and the conference’s keynote speaker – Adam Shumake, senior manager of SCM compliance, outlines how the company transformed complexity into capability through a structured framework called the ENSURE model.

He begins by reminding the audience that compliance isn’t something to fear, even as established regulations such as the USMCA agreement come under increased scrutiny. “That level of inspection and due diligence isn’t new to us in the supply chain,” Shumake says, “but the activities of our supply chains are being increasingly regulated and there are significant consequences at play.”

The ENSURE acronym stands for: Engage cross-functional leaders; Normalise objective standards; Start developing procedures; Utilise technology to augment systems; Reinforce consistent governance; and Educate stakeholders continuously.

Each part of the model represents a strategic capability:

• Engaging cross-functional leaders means forming coalitions across engineering, procurement, logistics, legal and data science.
• Normalising objective standards involves identifying regulatory precedents and benchmarking across industries. “Pay attention to global policy efforts in that domain. Look at other sectors and industry approaches,” Shumake comments.
• Developing procedures requires translating legislation into workflows and minimum viable processes.
• Technology is brought in only once a repeatable baseline is established, allowing Nissan to apply FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) to its compliance data.
• Reinforcing governance gives the company the structure to track progress and escalate issues consistently.
• Continuous education means upskilling not just internal teams, but suppliers and customers.

“We saw the lines blurring between IT and supply chain risk,” Shumake explains. “Cybersecurity isn’t just a firewall issue anymore – it’s about safeguarding the digital threads that tie our suppliers, systems and shipments together. That’s why we brought it under SCM.”

Cross-functional teams as compliance engines

Building a coalition of experts from legal, procurement, engineering and data science is essential. “You don’t need to know everything,” Shumake says, “but you do need to know who does.” He credits structured problem-solving methodologies, like Nissan’s V-Up programme, with aligning the team behind a unified vision and set of metrics.

This ethos of collaboration is echoed by Carrie McConnaughey, regional production control and logistics manager, Americas at Aptiv. McConnaughey describes the moment when her team realises suppliers are providing incorrect trade data. This triggers immediate emergency outreach to partners, third-party support and sales teams knocking on customer doors to renegotiate terms – all in the name of rebuilding trust.

At Accuride, SVP of supply chain and CIO Skotti Fietsam also emphasises the critical role of diverse functional expertise, noting that legal teams, engineers and finance all have vital roles to play. When tariffs hit unexpectedly, Accuride has to move fast. “We created a RACI model,” she says, detailing who was Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. This not only clarifies internal roles but helps Accuride proactively pass costs to customers, avoiding cash flow issues.

Digitalisation as a strategic enabler

Shumake’s team at Nissan leverages advanced mapping tools – a key part of Nissan’s supply chain resiliency playbook – to scan nearly 1.9 million nodes in its supply chain. Even when accuracy isn’t perfect, it still delivers meaningful insights: data-informed models allowing his team to assess probabilistic risks, identify synthetic supply chain links and rapidly adjust based on evolving trade policies. “Even if the model is wrong, it’s useful,” he says.

He adds that mapping tools should be implemented as early into the process as possible, even if they are not perfectly attuned, as models can continually be enhanced. He stresses the importance of layering technology only after basic governance and standards are in place. Nissan engaged external specialists – legal and data science advisors – to validate assumptions and enhance its digital architecture. The result is a resilient, flexible model that can scale as legislation evolves.

Other panellists also illustrate how digitalisation is being embedded across the compliance value chain. Moe Saleh, president and CEO at Greatway, outlines how AI can help with compliance from a LSP perspective. Greatway and IT partners have developed an AI-powered app that generates Carta Porte documents – a critical part of Mexico’s cross-border compliance – using photographic prompts. Saleh explains that the app will “speed up the process, eliminate some human error and get the customers more involved so they have faster way to process [the product] before [it] reaches the border for clearance.”

Accuride’s Fietsam focuses on enabling her team to become “prompt engineers,” using generative AI tools to simulate different tariff scenarios and reduce information overload. “We can’t prepare for an infinite number of possibilities,” she says. “So we simulate the top ten and build out plans accordingly.”

Building a digital backbone

Centralised data platforms emerge as a critical enabler for all participants. McConnaughey details Aptiv’s work on a control panel that integrates supplier data, CAD drawings, tariff schedules and real-time shipment visibility. The tool acts as both a validation mechanism and an operational dashboard.

We know all the suppliers, we know what our rate of tariff should be – but it also provides a ‘double check’ on what we say it is, compared to what it actually is,” she explains.

Pointing to the cross-functional nature of compliance and the potential of digital tools to close information gaps, McConnaughey adds: “I think that there is truly a space for better digitalisation. We have a lot of inconsistencies… AI and some other tools will help that immediately.”

Meanwhile, Fietsam notes that Accuride’s investment in a unified platform enables visibility not just for trade issues, but also for sustainability requirements, cybersecurity standards and modern slavery compliance.“Having the information in one place is a starting point,” she says, “to ensure compliance and drive improvement.”

Read more here on how data can be used to counter disruption  

Future readiness

Despite notable progress, the panellists agree that more work is required to improve compliance adherence. Saleh highlights how LSPs are navigating layered forms of compliance – not only customs regulations but driver, equipment and warehouse compliance.

To scale these efforts, panellists advocate for stronger standardisation across the industry. Fietsam argues that consistent survey formats and regulatory expectations would allow suppliers to avoid duplicative reporting. McConnaughey agrees, adding that more transparency and support from OEMs could empower smaller suppliers to raise their game.

As for Shumake, he calls for a fundamental mindset shift: “Compliance has to be everybody’s job. We need a shared language, shared timing and shared tools. It’s not just about protecting the company – it’s about protecting each other.”