October 15, 2019 Industry Forum Blog Product safety is an increasingly high priority for the automotive supply chain, and rightly so: recent years have seen a string of global product safety crises in the industry. Carmakers and their suppliers are the subject of media and regulatory scrutiny like never before, and the trail of recalls, regulatory investigations and litigation speaks for itself: despite significant advancements in quality management standards and techniques, automotive businesses continue to stumble into crises as a result of design and manufacturing errors, poor communication/document management or inadequate crisis planning. And if you thought these issues were a concern only for OEMs, think again: with the increasing complexity of automotive supply chains, the growing opportunities and pressures of new technology and increasingly sophisticated regulatory frameworks, the reputational and financial risk for Tier 1 and 2 suppliers and beyond is real and growing. There has never been a more important time to understand and address your exposures. As part of its ongoing work to position the UK automotive sector as a leader in product safety and quality management, SMMT Industry Forum has teamed up with product liability experts at leading global law firm Eversheds Sutherland to provide sessions helping UK automotive businesses to understand their legal responsibilities and liabilities and to improve their systems so as to minimise the risk of product safety crises and respond better when they occur. Eversheds Sutherland’s product compliance team have been working on these issues with OEMs and major Tier 1 suppliers for many years and in partnership with SMMT Industry Forum, the whole UK automotive supply chain can now access their expertise. Find out more about these courses here: NEW! Product Liability: why does it matter? what you can do about it? NEW! Product Safety Crisis Management
