Disrupting the Automotive Industry

Industry Star Team Members

Team Photo: Left to Right Ken Nelson, Aysad Ozkan, Matt Forster, Charles Bean, Lynsey DeGraaf (WMU Alum), Tim Taylor, Eric Meldrum (WMU Alum), Ben Ludy, William Crane (WMU Alum), Tyler Davis (WMU Alum)

IndustryStar founder and CEO, William Crane, B.B.A.’06, says his company’s success at a recent automotive competition demonstrates the need for the company’s Supply Chain as a Service product, virtual supply chain team enabled by patent-pending software. IndustryStar earned accolades for the Most Disruptive Technology Innovation and was named the winner of the New Automotive Consumer and Business Opportunities category in the final round of competition at this year’s Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit.

Participating in the 8th Annual Global Automotive and Mobility Innovation Challenge, IndustryStar was recognized for its patent-pending supply chain software-as-a-service platform. Crane says that during the last two years IndustryStar has realized some amazing customer results in industries from automotive to consumer electronics in both NAFTA and the EU and that quantitative proven customer results were the focus of his presentation during the competition.

“We focused our presentations on our results,” says Crane. “We have been able to reduce staffing costs by 50%, realize bill of material cost savings of 10-64%, and expedite programs by 33% on average across automotive vehicle and consumer wearables programs. This quantitative information resonated with the judges.”

Crane says the entire company’s staff, which includes three Business Bronco employees, were excited and even a bit surprised by the international reach of the competition:

 “Having the ability to showcase our team’s supply chain experience and technology platform through SAE’s competition has been an amazing experience,” says Eric Meldrum, B.B.A.’11, manager of Supply Chain Solutions. “The fact that we were recognized as one of the most disruptive business models is a great honor and promises a very bright future for our team and company. What we are most excited about is the opportunity to partner with some of the most innovative companies in the world to support and grow their supply chain operations.”

Supply Chain Solutions analyst Tyler Davis, B.B.A.’13, says that “being recognized as one of the most disruptive business models in the automotive industry is a great achievement for our team. This is just another positive example that highlights our company’s unique value proposition in the marketplace.”

 “Showcasing our team’s disruptive approach to supply chain and innovative software platform on such a large stage was a huge honor and has given us the opportunity to continue to expand into new spaces,” adds Supply Chain Solutions analyst Lynsey DeGraaf, B.B.A.’15. 

The competition and awards are a collaboration of the MIT Alliance in Michigan, SAE International and NextEnergy. Winners earn cash prizes and in-kind services in business commercialization acceleration from the event’s sponsors.