How Volvo & Kinaxis are Transforming Manufacturing Planning

Volvo Cars runs one of the most complex manufacturing supply chains in the automotive sector. 

With production facilities in Europe, the US and China, and vehicles sold in over 100 countries, the firm builds petrol, hybrid and fully-electric models side-by-side to meet changing consumer demand.

In 2024, fully-electric models made up 23% of Volvo’s sales, with another 23% coming from plug-in hybrids. 

Keeping up with demand across three different types of powertrains while ensuring parts and service availability for vehicles lasting over 15 years requires a robust supply chain strategy.

Balancing production across three powertrains

Volvo’s transformation centres on a shift from sequential, constraint-focused planning to a more agile, data-driven model.

Adam Sutherland, Transformation Programme Manager at Volvo, explains: “This wasn’t just about implementing systems. This is a transformation across the business.”

Managing three separate propulsion systems across the product lifecycle increases pressure on logistics, cost control and inventory management. Volvo responded by redesigning its approach to digital planning, aiming to meet delivery expectations without raising operational costs.

The company set out four core objectives: full visibility across its end-to-end supply chain, real-time scenario modelling, concurrent planning and decisions that result in measurable business outcomes. 

With this framework, Volvo is actively seeking to futureproof its operations while maintaining service levels.

To support this shift, the business is working with Kinaxis Maestro, a supply chain planning platform designed to meet complex industry needs which allows Volvo to move from manual scenarios to real-time insights. 

“We wanted to go from an environment with sequential planning and manual scenarios that was plant- or production-driven to a planning-centred approach,” Adam says.

Future-ready supply chain planning

In searching for a platform, Volvo placed emphasis on scalability and adaptability. The chosen solution had to fit current demands without blocking future innovations like AI.

“We know that if you customise your solution too much, it makes it difficult to adapt it to new solutions in the future,” Adam explains. “So, it was important that we selected a system that could be the foundation for adopting new technological advancements.”

Volvo opted for Kinaxis Maestro because of its built-in automotive capabilities, such as rule-based feature bill of materials and could-be-built functionality. These features help forecast production scenarios in real time, using Volvo’s own operational data.

Volvo also values Kinaxis’ experience with other automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), along with its ability to provide live demonstrations of the platform using Volvo’s datasets.

“Kinaxis has demonstrated expertise with OEMs, both through its team and its existing customer base,” says Adam. 

“The team took a practical, hands-on approach, showing us solutions directly within the platform using our own data. It was clear they were fully committed to the success of the project.”

Retiring legacy systems and embedding change

The digital transformation includes consolidating more than 20 legacy systems, including over 500 data fields and objects.

Volvo also launched a change management and training programme with Grange Partnership to prepare teams for the change. This included Supply Chain Planning 101 training, familiarisation with the platform and team-building sessions before the 20-week planning phase.

The transformation promises to reduce premium freight costs through improved inventory planning and reduce decision making to seconds instead of hours. 

Volvo can have better visibility to allocate inventory more effectively and meet customer commitments. The tool also provides benefits that can lead to fewer write-offs and higher planner productivity, allowing it to respond faster to change and protect profit margins.

“We brought all the different parties to the table and helped them buy into the vision and feel a sense of ownership,” adds Adam.