PROCUREMENT IN AUTOMOTIVE: Power, Process and the Cost of Standing Still
A market intelligence report | LConnect | 2026
This report draws on conversations and survey responses from senior procurement, supply chain and logistics executives across the automotive industry and adjacent sectors. All contributor insights are fully anonymised. No statement in this report should be attributed to any named individual or employer.
Procurement, purchasing, sourcing — so important, and yet so misunderstood.
One of the questions I hear most from logistics service providers is: how do we navigate the procurement process? Should we approach the purchasing team or the logistics function? How do we get our message across within the constraints of a formal RFQ? And is procurement really just about cost?
The same tensions exist inside the carmakers themselves. I have had conversations where supply chain and logistics functions openly admit they dislike — or distrust — the purchasing function. The silos are real, and they have consequences.
So I decided to go straight to the source. Not my opinions. Not Google. Not an AI tool. But by asking supply chain and purchasing leaders globally — directly, candidly, and on the record — to tell me how it really works.
This report has been kindly sponsored by Tawin Holdings Limited.
I hope you find it useful. I would genuinely value your thoughts.
Louis Yiakoumi
Founder, LConnect